William Stukeley (1687–1765) is best remembered as a pioneer of field archeology and a promoter of the Druidic cult in eighteenth-century Britain. However, he touched many and varied corners of knowledge. Born in fairly modest circumstances at Holbeach, a small town in Lincolnshire, on 7 November 1687, he spent considerable periods in his native county, but achieved national distinction thanks to the breadth of his interests and the pertinacity with which he explored ideas. A student of the past, he yet opened up numerous avenues for future research through his innovative techniques and insatiable curiosity. Once looked on as an eccentric, in the sense both of strangeness and marginality, he can now be seen as a significant figure in the making of the British enlightenment, a…

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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "William Stukeley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 May 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4272, accessed 24 April 2024.]

4272 William Stukeley 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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