Transcribed from the Brown & Co., Third (c1890?), edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org The Age of Stonehenge. BY THE REV. EDWARD DUKE, M.A., F.G.S., &c. * * * * * * * * * * _THIRD EDITION_. * * * * * * * * * * SALISBURY: BROWN & CO. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. * * * * * _PRICE THREEPENCE_. * * * * * PREFACE. The first thought which is almost sure to present itself to the mind of a visitor to Stonehenge is this—can we reasonably fix its age? The author of the accompanying little pamphlet has endeavoured to answer this question as far as, in his judgment, it admits of being answered. Lake House, near Salisbury. The Age of Stonehenge. Will the precise age of the erection of Stonehenge ever be ascertained? It seems very unlikely that it ever will be. Perhaps it is not desirable that it should be. The mystery which enwraps it in this respect adds not a little to the imposing grandeur of those weather-beaten stones. But though we cannot say exactly how old this wonderful structure is, we may, I think, say with confidence that it is not later than a certain era, _i.e._, that when the Roman legions invaded our shores (B.C. 55) Stonehenge was standing as now in the midst of Salisbury Plain. To the proof of this I am wishful to draw attention, inasmuch as the post-Roman theory put forth by the late Mr. James Fergusson has obtained credence with not a few intelligent persons.