Stukeley's 1740s monographs on Stonehenge and Avebury helped cement the Druid myth as the go‑to origin story for megaliths in the newly united Britain.
William Stoutley made Druids dominant explanation for megaliths in 1740s
EnglandTheory
Key facts
- William Stoutley published two famous books on Avebury and Avebury in the early 1740s
- His fieldwork was unprecedented in its detailed study of the monuments
- The Druid theory was championed by Scottish members of the Royal Society
- John Aubrey had earlier circulated the theory among Oxford scholars between 1660s-1730s
- The Druids provided a unified heroic past for the newly united British state after 1707
- By the 1770s, Druids appeared in operas at Covent Garden and aristocrats installed stone or live Druids in their grounds
Site mentioned
Sources
STONEHENGE LINK TO DRUIDS DENIEDnytimes.com
Prof Atkinson, in Brit Govt pamphlet, says Druids did not build Stonehenge; repts no evidence of human sacrifice.
Stukeley Studies Stonehenge and Avebury | Historyebsco.com
William Stukeley was a pioneering figure in the study of two of England's most famous prehistoric sites, Stonehenge and Avebury.
Stonehenge, A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids Indexsacred-texts.com
Stukeley's Stonehenge was intended to be the first volume in a comprehensive study of universal history, which he never completed. He believed a pure form of ...
Dr Stukeley & the Druidsthegardenhistory.blog
At the same time he was creating the Stamford garden, the early 1740s, he finally began to publish his research into ancient monuments. In his ...
Theories about Stonehengeen.wikipedia.org
Stonehenge has been the subject of many theories about its origin, ranging from the academic worlds of archaeology to explanations from mythology and the ...
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