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[Page 29]
ornaments. the earliest record of any of the great Sarsen stones fulling was in 1645 and the last fall was in 1900. The remainder have been made secure. The uprights of "Trilithons" have been measured and their estimated weight vary from 65 to 70 tons. The Lintels or cross pieces weight from 20 to 25 tons. These huge stones can be found all over the plain and they have been picturesquchy called "Grey Wethers" and it is not hard to picture them as a flock of titanic sheep, reclining at ease upon the pasturage of the Downs. The alternative name Sarsen is a corruption of the word "Saracen" which means antagonistic to Christianity. the people of the middle ages attributed all stone circles and megalithic monuments to the work of heathens if not the devil, and was roundly condemned. Consequently the stones of Stonehenge were Saracen or heathen stones which has been shortened in time to Sarsen. There is slated grey Wethers appear on the Downs or a county that is devoid of any rock save chalk. They are the core or kernel of a much larger block of friable sandstone worn away on all sides by wind & weather. They existed