Stonehenge and its Environs forum 134 room
Image by jimit
Stonehenge and its Environs

Stukeley's 'Stonehenge'

close
more_vert
Jane J
Jane Jun 30, 2005 14:29:47
Replying to oxford stu

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love old maps. I love old drawings. I love stone circles. I love old paper.

Oxford Stu has just allowed me to glimpse all these items rolled into one in the form of Gough's maps 229 and 231. This pair of astonishing volumes contains many of William Stukeley's ORIGINAL drawings, letters, sketches, plans and watercolours, and many of the engravings which were printed after his drawings. ASTONISHING!

(date 1720s)

THANK YOU stu! Thank you SO much.

Highlights include EVERTHING, but especially:
-the measured observations pertaining to moonrises around Stonehenge
-a beautiful ink drawing of the Rollrights (which he calls Rowldrich) showing the southern entrance (which has only just been re-exposed)
-two incredible drawn theories of how 'the Druids' raised the stones using LEVERS and wooden blocks (Goughs maps 229, page 37 and Gough's maps, page 11).
-(in the vaults) a coloured nautical chart of the Mediterranean from around 1500 which was GOBSMACKING.

I feel very lucky.

Wanna see MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J
xx

PS My blue and white flowery backpack contains nothing more than my ancient red umbrella, a rather bruised Braeburn apple, my wallet, my phone, a lipstick, my radio and some crumbs from yesterday's cheese sandwich.

O oxford stu
oxford stu Jun 30, 2005 15:50:58
Replying to Jane

was a pleasure Jane, really. Seems strange to say but when you work in a place like this for a while you just ignore all the marvellous truly incredible stuff in here. takes showing someone else them to make you appreciate it all again.
now, does anyone else want some original tolkien drawings...

N nigelswift
nigelswift Jul 1, 2005 07:22:02
Replying to Jane

Jane said:
"-two incredible drawn theories of how 'the Druids' raised the stones using LEVERS and wooden blocks (Goughs maps 229, page 37 and Gough's maps, page 11)"

Stu - would you know whether those are published anywhere?

and Jane, any chance that you could sketch the methods from memory for the Stonehengineers?

L Littlestone
Littlestone Jul 3, 2005 23:45:45
Replying to Jane

>This pair of astonishing volumes contains many of William Stukeley's ORIGINAL drawings, letters, sketches, plans and watercolours... a beautiful ink drawing of the Rollrights (which he calls Rowldrich)...<

"Various speculations have been advanced from time to time as to the origin of the name "Rollright" or "Rollrich." In all these attempts to define the name it seems to have been taken for granted that the Stones give their name to the parishes of Great Rollright and Little Rollright, and not their name to the Stones. Stukeley considered the name to be derived from the Welsh "Rhol drwyg," the Druid's Wheel. In the "Pipe Rolls" of 1192 (Richard I) we find that Paganus de Parles owes ten shillings in "Rollendrich" in 1219 and 1236. In the "Patent Rolls," "Close Rolls," "Hundred Rolls," and "Calendars of Inquisitions" up to the year 1434 the name invariably appears with the termination as some form of "right," e.g., "rith," "ret," "rit," etc."*

* <b>The Rollright Stones</b> by T H Ravenhill. Cornish Brothers Ltd. Publishers to the University. Birmingham 1932