Stukeley's 'Stonehenge': An Unpublished Manuscript, 1721-1724

William Stukeley (1667-1765), one of the first to conduct fieldwork at Stonehenge and to recognize its historic importance, meticulously recorded his findings in a manuscript that has remained unpublished for hundreds of years. That manuscript is transcribed here, accompanied by detailed annotations that confirm the value of Stukeley's archaeological research and set it apart from his later unsustainable theories and obsessions with Druids, which appeared in 'Stonehenge', the book he published in 1740. Trained as a medical doctor, Stukeley's interests were antiquarian and archaeological, with a particular enthusiasm for evidence of early sacred ritual. His Stonehenge field notes include careful measurements, drawings and plans as well as original analyses and remarkable discoveries, among them the enigmatic cursus which no one before him had seen. Stukeley's manuscript provides a fascinating review of what could be said of the stone circle and its landscape in the early eighteenth century. Aubrey Burl was formerly principal lecturer in archaeology, Hull College of Higher Education, East Riding of Yorkshire. His many books on stone circles include 'Prehistoric Avebury' and 'A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany'. Neil Mortimer edited the archaeology folklore journal '3rd Stone' between 1996 and 2003. He is a columnist for 'British Archaeology' and the author of 'Stukeley Illustrated'.