Encyclopaedia of Rude Stone Monuments All Countries

Till antiquaries are agreed whether the circles are temples or tombs or observatories, whether the dolmens are monuments of the dead or altars for sacrificing living men, and whether the mounds are tombs or law courts, it seems impossible, without arguing every point, to write anything that will be generally accepted. Still more, till it is decided whether they are really prehistoric or were erected at the periods where tradition and history place them, it seems in vain to attempt to explain in a simple narrative form either their age or uses.

As a necessary consequence of all this confusion, it was scarcely practicable to compile a work which would be merely a Historical and Statistical account of the Rude Stone Monuments in all parts of the world; but James Fergusson created this work from the fragments that were available which can clearly be agreed upon as a survey that takes the form of an argument. This work will be found to contain a greater number of facts regarding Rude Stone Monuments, and of carefully selected illustrations extending over a larger area, than have yet been put together in a volume of the same extent. The work would be of great interest to historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, and the students of architecture.