of an hypothefis, which would establish thefe immenfe ftructures as the work of an Oriental colony, that the grand entrance to this temple, not lefs than Stonehenge, is towards the north-east quarter; for, as Stukeley has very judiciously remarked, ever fince the world began, in building temples, or places of religious worship, men have been ftudious in fettling them according to the quarters of the heavens; fince they confidered the world as the general temple, or houfe of God, and that all particular temples fhould be regulated according to that idea. The east naturally claims a prerogative, where the fun and all the planets and stars arife: the east, therefore, they confidered as the face and front of the univerfal temple. The north was confidered as the right hand, and great power of the world; the fouth as the left hand, or leffer power. For, when the fun approaches the northern region, paffing over the vernal equinox, he brings plenty, and the fulness of his benign influences: when he returns to the fouth, the face of nature languishes in its winter attire; therefore they thought the polar region not only higheft, but of moft eminence and effect. This obfervation, he afterwards adds, immediately applies to our purpose, 1 purpofe, for we cannot but obferve, that the whole of Abury temple, if due regard be had to its figure, has its upper part to the north, and its face, if we may fo fpeak, towards the caft. In that direction the ferpent bends, that way the cove of the northern temple opens; that way the cove of Beckhampton avenue; that way the face of Stonehenge temple looks. So that the Druids appear to have the fame notions with the other wife men of the Oriental ancients.* It has been obferved, that the two wings of Abury are formed of two temples inclofed within the great circular temple; the one of thefe is fituated on the north, and the other on the fouth, on which our antiquary remarks: it should seem that the northern temple had the pre-eminence, and was the more facred of the two: for, as the cove was the adytum of that temple, fo the whole northern temple may be efteemed as the adytum of the whole work, the southern being as the body of it.† Thefe temples, however, were not only thus placed with reference to ancient theological notions, ftrictly Oriental; but their ftations were fixed with mathematical precifion to correfpond with the four cardinal points. Dr. Stukeley is of opinion, that, in thus fixing their fituation, they ufed a compafs, or magnetic inftrument, and he has moft ingeniously attempted to afcertain, from the variation of that needle, the exact æra of the conftruction of either building. He found the variation in all the works about Stonehenge to be between fix and feven degrees to the eaft of the north, and at Abury to be about ten degrees the fame way, and that as precifely as poffible. This circumftance, he obferves, muft neceffarily excite attention; as, from this regular variation in both places, there is lefs reafon to fuppofe it accidental. The whole work was manifeftly intended to be fet on the cardinal points of the heavens, but they all vary one way, and exactly the fame quantity. Thus Kennet-avenue enters the town of Abury ten degrees north of the north-weft point, which north-weft point was the Druids' purpose. The neck of the ferpent going down from Overton-Hill regards Silbury precifely, and their intent was that it fhould be full west; but it is ten degrees north of the weft. The meridian line of the whole work paffes from Silbury-Hill to the centre of the temple at Abury: Abury this varies ten degrees to the eaft from the north point. The ftupendous cove in the northern temple opens ten degrees eaft of north-caft; whereas it was their purpofe that it should exactly correspond with northeaft. The diameter of the great circle of the great ftones at Abury, on which the north and fouth temples are built, was defigned to have been fet on the line from north-weft to fouth-eaft, but it verges ten degrees northward; and fo it is of all other particulars.* The refult of his obfervations on this point is, that, arguing upon Halley's hypothesis, that an entire revolution of the circle is performed in about the space of 700 years, and judging from the different effect of the weather upon the respective structures, the great diverfity in the manner of the works, added to many other confiderations, we may conclude Abury to have been erected at least 700 years prior in time to Stonehenge. But if we take two entire revolutions of that circle, it will then have been erected 1400 years previous to the other, which will carry us back to the time of Abraham, near two thousand years before. Chrift, about which time the Doctor thinks the Tyrian Hercules led the first Phoenician colony to Britain. To all this accumulation of conjectural evidence by Stukeley, I fhall add, that the magnet is mentioned, by the moft ancient claffical writers, under the name of Lapis Heraclius, in allufion to its afferted inventor Hercules; and Dr. Hyde enables me to affirm, that the Chaldeans and Arabians have immemorially made ufe of it, to guide them over the vaft deferts that overfpread their refpective countries.* According to the Chinese records, alfo, the Emperor Ching-Vang, above a thousand years before Chrift, prefented the ambaffadors of the king of Cochin-China with a fpecies of magnetic index, which, fays Martinius, certe monftrabat iter, five terra illud, five mari facientibus." The Chinese, he adds, call this inftrument CHINAN; a name by which they at this day denominate the mariner's compafs. In refpect to the Indians, there can be little doubt of their having been as early acquainted with the magnet, as the earlieft of those nations whom their gems and rich manufactures allured to their coaft, and whofe fhores they 66 See Hyde de Religione Veterum Perfarum, p. 189. " themfelves |