The Phœnician origin of Britons, Scots & Anglo-Saxons : discovered by Phœnician & Sumerian inscriptions in Britain, by preroman Briton coins & a mass of new history : with over one hundred illustrations and maps

OBSERVATION TABLE-STONE AT STONEHENGE 233

Stonehenge. And the tooled or worked condition of the stones supports this late date.*

The orientation of the original old Stonehenge Circle of the Sumerian ‘‘ Sun-worshippers "’ for the Midsummer solstice observation is abundantly attested by the great earthen embanked ‘‘ avenue’ extending from the Circle for about five hundred yards to the N.E. in the axis of the Circle, and in the exact line of the summer solstice sunrise ; and also by the two great monolith pillars of undressed Sarsen stone, obviously for sight-lines placed in the middle line of this “avenue,” namely the so-called “ Friars Heel,’ about 250 feet from the Circle, and a similar one nearer the Circle, now fallen and fantastically called “ The Slaughter Stone ” on the notion that it was originally laid flat and used by the Druids to immolate their victims there.*

The function of this Observation Stone at Stonehenge was clearly identically the same as that of the corresponding Observation Stone at Keswick. It also acted in the same way as the back-sight of a rifle in aligning the Sunrise or “Shooting the Sun.” Before being blocked out by the erection of the trilithon horse-shoe temple, it commanded a straight view to the N.E., through the centre of the old Circle and out beyond the edge of the N.E. pillar of the Circle, along the northern edges of the two outstanding index or indicator monolith pillars (the ‘‘ Slaughter Stone ”’ and “‘ Friar’s Heel’) and right along the middle of the great “avenue '’ beyond these to the point of Midsummer solstice sunrise. This fact is graphically shown in the annexed diagram (Fig. 29), wherein the real use of the outstanding indicator monolith pillars is now disclosed for the first time. It is seen to be the northern perpendicular edges of these pillars which provided the sight-line, and not the top of the middle peak of the “ Friar's Heel” pillar, as surmised by

1G.C., 8, 1o-11; and C.B., 1, 134.

*Sir A, Evans on archeological grounds dates the massive part of Stonehenge with its trilithons no earlier than ‘“‘ the end of the fourth and beginning of third century B.c.”’ (Arch. Rev., 1889, 322, etc.); whilst Pergusson ascribed it to the Roman period or later.

* It isnot impossible, however, that it may have been so used by the Druids after it had fallen and the circle was abandoned by the Sun-worshippers.