author
William Stukeley
1687–1765
A lively early explorer of Britain’s ancient past, he helped turn Stonehenge and Avebury into subjects of serious study. Trained as a physician and later ordained, he brought curiosity, fieldwork, and a flair for big ideas to everything he wrote.
5 Audiobooks
Abury, A Temple of the British Druids, With Some Others, Described
by William Stukeley
The Philosophy of Earthquakes, Natural and Religious or, An Inquiry Into Their Cause, and Their Purpose
by William Stukeley
Stonehenge, a Temple Restor'd to the British Druids
by William Stukeley
About the author
Born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in 1687, William Stukeley was an English antiquarian, physician, and later an Anglican clergyman. He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, trained in medicine, and became one of the earliest researchers to document Britain’s prehistoric monuments in a systematic way.
He is best known for his work on Stonehenge and Avebury, which he surveyed, sketched, and described in detail. Although some of his interpretations now seem imaginative, his careful notes and illustrations preserved valuable evidence and helped lay foundations for modern archaeology.
Stukeley also wrote widely on history, religion, and natural philosophy, and he produced an important early memoir of Isaac Newton. He died in 1765, but he remains a memorable figure for readers interested in the moment when curiosity about the ancient world began to take on a more scholarly form.