1600–1900 Throughout recorded history, Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and, in his plan of the monument, he recorded the pits that now bear his name, the Aubrey holes. William Stukeley continued Aubrey's work in the early eighteenth century, but took an interest in the surrounding monuments as well, identifying (somewhat incorrectly) the Cursus and the Avenue. He also began the excavation of many of the barrows in the area, and it was his interpretation of the landscape that associated it with the Druids.Stukeley, William, 1740, Stonehenge A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids. London Stukeley was so fascinated with Druids that he originally named Disc Barrows as Druids' Barrows. thumb|left|As painted by John Constable, 1835 The most accurate early plan of Stonehenge was that made by Bath architect John Wood in 1740.Wood, John, 1747, Choir Guare, Vulgarly called Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain. Oxford His original annotated survey has now been computer-redrawn and published. Importantly Wood's plan was made before the collapse of the southwest trilithon, which fell in 1797 and was restored in 1958.
1600–1900 Throughout recorded history, Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and, in his plan of the monument, he recorded the pits that now bear his name, the Aubrey holes. William Stukeley continued Aubrey's work in the early eighteenth century, but took an interest in the surrounding monuments as well, identifying (somewhat incorrectly) the Cursus and the Avenue. He also began the excavation of many of the barrows in the area, and it was his interpretation of the landscape that associated it with the Druids.Stukeley, William, 1740, Stonehenge A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids. London Stukeley was so fascinated with Druids that he originally named Disc Barrows as Druids' Barrows. thumb|left|As painted by John Constable, 1835 The most accurate early plan of Stonehenge was that made by Bath architect John Wood in 1740.Wood, John, 1747 Choir Guare, Vulgarly called Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain. Oxford His original annotated survey has now been computer-redrawn and published. Importantly Wood's plan was made before the collapse of the southwest trilithon, which fell in 1797 and was restored in 1958.