EXCAVATIONS AT MAUMBURY RINGS. 251 



when the mouth of the shaft was approached, and after this 

 the inner trench was no longer complex, but assumed a simple 

 outline in the rammed chalk, depth 2ft., width at top l'6ft., at 

 bottom 0'7ft. An interesting feature revealed itself here, 

 and less definitely in one or two other places near by, viz., 

 the outline of a decayed barrier (O35ft. thick) in the inner 

 trench, the packing on either side consisting of a marly chalk 

 intermixed with a little mould. These deposits are well 

 shown in a sectional diagram which will be published hereafter. 



The gangway was also defaced by the presence of the shaft, 

 but the deficiencies in solid chalk were made up by the usual 

 packing. Its level was very little lower than the adjacent 

 arena-floor. 



Here, the arena- wall was of a less imposing character 

 than elsewhere, and its line was decidedly sinuous. There 

 appeared to be some defect in the formation of the rock- 

 chalk in this, the N.N.W. part of the amphitheatre, and it 

 should be observed that the stratification of the chalk dipped 

 to the S.S.E. The height of the wall, which was about 6ft. 

 above the gangway in Cutting XII. (1909), diminished to 

 about 5ft. at the N.E. end of the new cutting ; in the middle 

 it was little more than 4ft. high and further S.W. only 2 '7ft. 

 At the end of the cutting its height was still less, but the top 

 was somewhat raised by means of rammed chalk. The lower 

 face of the wall was practically straight, leaning northwards, at 

 an angle of 76, the upper part, to the back of the strut- 

 holes (described below), being at an angle of 18. From the 

 latter point to the virgin chalk level under the foot of the great 

 embankment, the arena- wall proper was capped by solid 

 chalk, the face of which leaned at an angle of 38 towards the 

 N. The natural level of the chalk was found to be 8'4ft. 

 higher than the gangway, and the old surface line under the 

 embankment, which was very clearly defined as dark brown 

 soil, was 10' 7ft. above the gangway at the foot of the arena- 

 wall. 



At the top of the wall where it sloped at an angle of 18 

 a series of six peculiar transverse grooves, or notches, were 



