158 GREAT STONES CHAP. III. 



lay about 9 inches beneath the level of the 

 surrounding ground, and its upper surface 

 19 inches above the ground. 



A hole was also dug close to a second huge 

 stone, which in falling had broken into two 

 pieces; and this must have happened long 

 ago, judging from the weathered aspect of 

 the fractured ends. The base was buried to 

 a depth of 10 inches, as was ascertained by 

 driving an iron skewer horizontally into the 

 ground beneath it. The vegetable mould 

 forming the turf-covered sloping border round 

 the stone, on which many castings had re- 

 cently been ejected, was 10 inches in thick- 

 ness ; and most of this mould must have been 

 brought up by worms from beneath its base. 

 At a distance of 8 yards from the stone, the 

 mould was only 5^ inches in thickness (with 

 a piece of tobacco pipe at a depth of 4 inches), 

 and this rested on broken flint and chalk 

 which could not have easily yielded to the 

 pressure or weight of the stone. 



A straight rod was fixed horizontally (by 

 the aid of a spirit-level) across a third fallen 

 stone, which was 7 feet 9 inches long ; and the 

 contour of the projecting parts and of the ad- 

 Coining ground, which was not quite level, 



