In the 1520s Scottish scholars, inspired by Parisian studies, began calling prehistoric stone circles "pagan temples" and linked them to Druids—a view that stuck for two centuries.
1859-60 scientific chronology displaced Druids from megalith building
Key facts
- In 1859-60, British scholars accepted the great age of the planet and human race
- The Danish three-age system (stone, bronze, iron) replaced the Bible as the ordering system for prehistory
- Within 10 years, Druids were relegated to the unimportant late Iron Age
- Megaliths were declared to have been built much earlier by a completely different people
- This new model included concepts of progress and race, with each technological age brought by superior newcomers from the east
- The model justified modern colonialism by paralleling it to supposed ancient population replacements
Sources
Witches, Druids and King Arthur 185285555X, 9781852855550dokumen.pub
The remains of Romano-British pagan temples have been found at Brean Down, Pagans Hill, Henley Wood and Lamyatt Beacon, and suspected at Cadbury (Congresbury) ...
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