Who but I Knows the Secrets of the Unhewn Dolmen?

John Cleland and the Druidic Mysteries of Stonehenge

John Cleland the famous 18th century CE author of the erotic classic “Fanny Hill” was also a
Freemason and a Druid. It is not my intention here to deal with all of the aspects of Cleland’s
Druidism in this article, I will save some aspects for future discussion. It is my intention here to
discuss only one aspect of Cleland’s Druidism in this study which shows the “authentic” nature
of his esoteric knowledge of Druidic and more ancient traditions.

In the 18th century CE it was not customary to simply “announce” esoteric knowledge
(particularly not in print), rather the knowledge was indicated with “hints” understood by the
initiated. Only if a person was able to “decode” the hidden information would it become clear
that the writer of the text was a “fellow initiate”. 18th century C.E. oaths of secrecy were of
particular importance in relation to esoteric knowledge as exemplified by the foundation in
1717 CE of the first Masonic “Grand Lodge” of England.

In 1746 CE Cleland wrote an important book “The Way to Things by Words”, one of the first
ever systematic attempt at comparative linguistics and systematic etymology. Although the
book would be regarded as “prescientific linguistics” by contemporary standards it was
nevertheless an important and ground breaking work for its time.

In the course of discussing various linguistic matters in this book Cleland refers obliquely to
Pliny the Elder’s description of the “sacrifice of a White Bull” as part of Druidic ritual.

It is in the course of this discussion that the “esoteric information” which I am discussing here
takes place. Cleland relates this account to the Greek the Goddess  the ancient Greek
“Cow Goddess”. In the course of his discussion Cleland relates this name to a circle and its
diameter, or a “staff” by which a circle is drawn. Cleland is here “hiding a mystery” that has to
do with Greek gematria and the “Druidic mysteries” particularly in relation to Stonehenge. In
Greek gematria each letter of the alphabet as a numerical value, in relation to the name of the
Goddess  we can analyse as follows:

 = 10
 = 70

10 + 70 = 80 and 80 = ! Which is of course the accepted mathematical symbol for the
relationship between the radius and the diameter of a circle. This mathematical convention was
probably known to Cleland as the  symbol was first proposed by a welsh mathematician in
1710 CE. The fact that a Welsh mathematician had proposed the  symbol for the ratio would
have particularly appealed to Cleland as an added “Druidic” element.

There is a “hidden” relationship between the  ratio and the mysteries of Druidism in general
and Stonehenge in particular. Firstly discussing the Ogham alphabet in “The White Goddess”
Robert Graves argues that the  approximation 22/7 was specifically “hidden” in the original
form of the Ogham alphabet. I will not attempt a detailed analysis of Graves reconstruction
here as that would occupy too much space. Suffice it to say however that there is a tremendous
amount of independent data supporting Graves contention. Graves specifically connects the 
ratio with “the secret of the Unhewn Dolmen” mentioned in the ancient Irish “Song of
Amergin”, and relates it to the “shape” of a “square arch” like those at Stonehenge.

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© Bishop Leonie Newman 2016
It is not necessary for our purpose to rely on Graves to establish the knowledge of the 22/7 
approximation amongst the ancient Celts (Indigenous Irish). There exists an important artefact
from ancient Bronze Age Ireland that clearly encodes the 22/7 ratio in association with circles.
This Artefact is illustrated below:

The Glenisheen Collar © National

Museum of Ireland Dublin

This Collar has 11 circular Flanges on each side making 22 in total. There are seven bows on
the elliptical segment, thus 22/7 is encoded in association with circles!

It is however when we consider the archaeology and metrology of Stonehenge that the 
approximation 22/7 becomes particularly important. Ever since the initial “unveiling” of the
“Holy City Diagram” in his seminal study “The City of Revelation” John Michelle has
established the presence of the 22/7  approximation in the measurements of the bluestone
circle at Stonehenge. Michelle’s conclusions have been generally accepted by many authors,
and he himself further elaborated his initial conclusions.

For our purposes the study of the unpublished Ph.D. dissertation of the Australian academic Dr
Joan Helm of Brisbane University is particularly important. In the Ph.D. thesis she studies the
mediaeval poem “Eric and Enid” which was part of the “Grail cycle” and was originally
composed by Chretien de Troyes the first of the “Grail poets”. Dr Helm shows that the entire
structure of this poem is based around the Holy City Diagram and that it implies knowledge of
the dimensions of Stonehenge and of the 22/7  approximation. Dr Helm also demonstrates
that this diagram and its metrology was utilised by the mediaeval “operative masons” in the
building of various ancient cathedrals. From the mediaeval operative Masonic tradition the
Holy City Diagram passed down into 18th century CE “speculative” masonic tradition.

Apart from this well accepted occurrence of the  approximation in the bluestone circle at
Stonehenge however, there is a further additional occurrence of the ratio in relation to a single
“bluestone arch” at Stonehenge. It is in relation to the largest of the five Trilithon bluestone
arches. This trilithon reveals the 22/7 approximation (in the shape of the letter !) when
measured in “Northern Feet” a well-known ancient measurement that survived down to
mediaeval times and is sometimes (inaccurately) called the Saxon Foot. This ratio can clearly
be seen in the following diagram:

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© Bishop Leonie Newman 2016
 Largest trilithon at Stonehenge measured in
Northern Feet showing 22/7  approximation
after Ralph Ellis

Not only does the central trilithon encode the approximation 22/7 but it also resembles the
shape of the Greek letter ! It may have been this very fact that led to the Welsh mathematician
proposing the symbol of  for the ratio between the circumference and the diameter of a circle.

In the 18th century CE Stonehenge was associated by several important scholars such as John
Aubrey and William Stukley with the Druids, so the utilisation of measurements from
Stonehenge at the “esoteric layer” of Cleland’s test is understandable.

It is interesting to note in this respect that Cleland’s contemporary William Blake used the
image of the central trilithon as a symbol of Druidic tradition as can be demonstrated from the
following illustration:

Plate from William Blake’s poem

Jerusalem Showing Trilithon as
Symbol of Stonehenge and
“Druidic” Wisdom

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© Bishop Leonie Newman 2016
It is interesting to note that Blake’s drawing incorporates an eclipse thus showing that the use of
Stonehenge for eclipse prediction was known in the 18th century CE.

The important thing to note in relation to Blake’s engraving is that the trilithon was
simultaneously taken as a symbol of the whole of Stonehenge and so of “Indigenous British
Wisdom”. Therefore Cleland may well have had the same understanding of the symbol in
relation to Druidism. There is some suggestion that Blake and Cleland had met in a Masonic
(and Druidic) context and that they were aware of each other’s writings. Blake’s example
shows that Cleland could have used the image of the trilithon as a kind of “shorthand” for both
Stonehenge and Druidism.

It is of course remotely possible that Cleland independently derived the  symbol for the
trilithon by independent measurement since the measurement of the “Saxon foot” was well
known in 18th century CE England. I consider this unlikely for several reasons.

1. The use of the Greek letter  to symbolise the ratio between the circumference and diameter
of a circle had been proposed in England only 36 years prior to Cleland writing, and the
proposal was a Welsh mathematician.

2. The 22/7 approximation was part of ancient Celtic symbolism, related to genuine Druidic
and Bardic mysteries.

3. The measurements incorporated into Stonehenge and found in the Holy City Diagram were
part of a much larger esoteric system that was at least 5000 years old and of cross cultural
scope by the time that Cleland wrote his book.

4. The esoteric usage of the Holy City Diagram along with its approximation of 22/7 was part
of Masonic tradition as well as political tradition in Cleland’s time.

It is much more likely that Cleland “inherited” knowledge of the 22/7 approximation to and
the corresponding symbolism from an existing tradition.

The result of this brief investigation makes it clear that 18th century CE British Druidic and
Masonic traditions contained “genuine elements” of ancient knowledge that were consistent
with later archaeological and metrological discoveries. In this light it is reasonable to assume a
“continuity of tradition” in respect of some aspects of the ancient “pagan traditions” in Britain.

Blessed Be

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© Bishop Leonie Newman 2016