88 A GALLOWAY STONE-AGE VILLAGE. 
recognisable as the sprinkling disclosed by the test diggings in 
the vicinity, yet no one present failed to detect it. While the 
black layer appeared horizontal at its top, its base dipped con- 
siderably in the middle of the east wall, reaching to within 1} 
feet of the floor level. At the lower part of the east wall, and 
in a curvature coinciding with the dip of the black layer, lay the 
white sand to a maximum depth of over 12 inches. 
Slicing away the soil of the east wall, the dip of the strata 
became less until it disappeared, and the presence of the white 
‘sand became gradually less noticeable. 
No similar feature was observed at the other side of the pit. 
It is conjectured that the vestiges of some kind of entrance 
passage or doorway had thus made themselves evident. Similar 
but less pronounced traces were also seen at the east wall of Site 
Noid: 
No matter what type of hut may have been in vogue at these 
places, the function of the wooden substructure is an interesting 
problem. 
The reasons for primitive man having lived in a sunken or 
earth-hidden dwelling are obvious. Whether the under-surface 
habitation was of stone or wood, or whether half or wholly sub- 
terranean, it was warmer and less exposed to adverse weather 
conditions than the ordinary surface hut, and—an important 
consideration—it was not readily liable to detection by an enemy. 
The sunken flooring might, however, be a serious drawback 
and act merely as a hollow in which rain and ground water 
would accumulate. If the subsoil were gravelly, chalky, or of . 
pure sand, the dwelling would be dry and comfortable. Should 
the subsoil be moisture-retaining, or overlie a bed of clay, the 
great discomfort of a damp floor would arise. Now the excava- 
tions revealed the presence of a bed of moist blue clay, and, 
what in these circumstances might be expected, a wet stratum 
immediately above it. A likely hypothesis then is that the 
moisture in and above the layer of clay rendered the earthen 
floor uninhabitable, and, as a means to prevent a wet floor, the 
pre-historic architect hit upon the ingenious expedient of a struc- 
ture of wooden piling, more or less unright, under and supporting 
a horizontal flooring. The flooring would thus be insulated 
against direct contact with the moisture-laden strata, and thus 
render the dwelling comparatively dry and comfortable. 
