EXCAVATIONS AT MAUMBURY RINGS. 249 



trench, also diminished in size as our digging progressed, on 

 account of the position of the shaft. 



Bearing in mind the enormous amount of labour that would 

 be entailed in clearing out the shaft and the limited time at our 

 disposal, it was decided not to attempt its complete re- 

 excavation, but we followed its N. margin down .to a depth 

 of 9'6ft. below the surface. The sides exposed were far 

 from steep, shelving away at an angle of only 27 (Plate III). 

 A large number of flint flakes, some very large, of Neolithic 

 type, were found below the Roman level, but no antler 

 tools were discovered. We were rather reluctant to leave the 

 mouth of this great shaft, but its re-excavation was not the 

 primary purpose of our researches at Maumbury. 



In tracing the inner trench westwards it was found that its 

 inner edge and the margin of the shaft united, and still further 

 west the trench became more feebly represented by rock- 

 chalk (Plate III.). Ultimately the deepest part of the trench 

 no longer had a solid bottom ; and as far as solid chalk was 

 concerned, it ceased to exist ; but the Romans, finding this soft 

 place made the best of the difficulty, as we shall show later on. 

 The trench in this part contained seven iron nails and two 

 pieces of Romano-British pottery. 



Returning to the N.E. end of the shaft, an interesting 

 structural feature was noticed close to its mouth and its 

 sloping side, viz., a smooth-sided hole, semi-circular in outline, 

 and having an even and flat bottom (Plate III.). Its N. 

 margin was within 0'25ft. of the outer edge of the inner trench, 

 the cutting of the latter by the Romans not having disturbed it, 

 It contained a very fine deposit of marly chalk and about 

 sixty well-struck flint flakes. It was quite evident (1) that 

 the hole was once circular (diam. 2'2ft.), with sides almost 

 vertical, and (2) that it had been sliced through obliquely 

 at the time the shaft was sunk. No doubt it belongs, like 

 the shaft, to the Neolithic period, but in point of years (or 

 months) it was certainly anterior to the shaft itself. Nothing 

 earlier in date than this circular flat-bottomed hole has been 

 revealed at Maumbury. 



