VEGETABLE REMAINS AT NEWSTEAD, MELROSE. 33 



This opinion is supported not only by the results of the 

 examination of the material from Newstead and the records 

 from the Lochlee Crannog, but also by the results of similar 

 investigations which at various times I have made of the plant 

 remains of other sites of Roman and pre-Roman occupation. 

 Thus, to quote the result of one such investigation only ^ : — " Of 

 a number of logs from a prehistoric pile-structure in Wigtown- 

 shire, which I examined in 1903, seven were, I found, birch, five 

 alder, three hazel, one poplar (or willow), and one oak." 



Oak recorded from Newstead, from the Lochlee Crannog, 

 from the Wigtownshire prehistoric dwelling, and from many 

 other Roman stations, appears to have occurred plentifully in 

 primeval woods of North Britain, in which were also scattered 

 trees of rowan and white beam. 



It is rather remarkable that no specimens of coniferous wood 

 have been found in the brushwood deposits either at Newstead 

 or at the Lochlee Crannog, and the absence of beech-wood in 

 the material from both stations is worth noting, 



3. The absence of seeds and fruits of common trees, with the 

 exception of those of hazel, finds its explanation probably in 

 the character of the deposits examined. These were, I feel 

 sure, in most cases, the debris collected in refuse pits, and 

 although small twigs and wood-chips are present, such are but 

 a small proportion of the total debris, and represent, doubtless, 

 scraps from clearings. 



IL Woods of Implement Handles and other Articles. 



{For detailed Identifications, see Table at end.) 



Turning to the Table giving the kinds of woods used for tool 

 handles and other articles, one finds that those perhaps most 

 commonly employed were ash and hazel. The latter wood 

 figures as the shaft of a spear, as the shaft of a javelin, and as 

 handles to tools. It doubtless recommended itself for these 

 purposes on account of the clean and straight stems of moderate 

 diameter and light weight obtainable. Hazel, though not 



'See Ludovic Maclellan Mann, "Prehistoric Pile-Structures in Pits," 

 Proceedings of the Society of Antiqtcaries of Scotland, 1903. 



VOL. XXIII. PART I. C 



