stones (according to the British history) Aurelius Ambrosius, King of
the Britons, procured Merlin by supernatural means to bring from Ireland
to Britain."

From the present ruined state of Stonehenge it is not possible to state
with certainty what was the original arrangement, but it is probable
that it was approximately as follows (see frontispiece):

[Illustration: FIG. 1. Plan of Stonehenge in 1901. (After
_Archæologia_.) The dotted stones are of porphyritic diabase.]

There was an outer circle of about thirty worked upright stones of
square section (Fig. I). On each pair of these rested a horizontal
block, but only five now remain in position. These 'lintels' probably
formed a continuous architrave (Pl. I). The diameter of this outer
circle is about 97-1/2 feet, inner measurement. The stones used are
sarsens or blocks of sandstone, such as are to be found lying about in
many parts of the district round Stonehenge.

[Illustration: Plate I. STONEHENGE FROM THE SOUTH-WEST
Photo Graphotone Co. To face p. 17]

Well within this circle stood the five huge trilithons (_a-e_), arranged
in the form of a horseshoe with its open side to the north-east. Each
trilithon, as the name implies, consists of three stones, two of which
are uprights, the third being laid horizontally across the top. The
height of the trilithons varies from 16 to 21-1/2 feet, the lowest being
the two that stand at the open end of the horseshoe, and the highest
that which is at the apex. Here again all the stones are sarsens and all
are carefully worked. On the top end of each upright of the trilithons