Sarsʹen Stones

The “Druidical” sandstones of Wiltshire and Berkshire are so called. The early Christian Saxons used the word Saresyn as a synonym of pagan or heathen, and as these stones were popularly associated with Druid worship, they were called Saresyn or heathen stones. Robert Ricart says of Duke Rollo, “He was a Saresyn come out of Denmark into France.” Another derivation is the Phœnician sarsen (a rock), applied to any huge mass of stone that has been drawn from the quarry in its rude state.