432 REPORT — 1901. 



on solid side of causeway in the north-east corner of the ditch extension, 

 Section 2. These flakes must have been placed on the ledge and for- 

 gotten, eventually becoming buried in the silting. 



Just to the west of this ledge a small oval-shaped hole in the lime- 

 stone floor of the ditch was found, filled with a stiff clayey mould, but 

 no relics were found in it. Other doubtfully artificial pieces of flint 

 and chert were found in this excavation, some of which need to be 

 examined by the geologist as well as the archajologist : they have been 

 preserved. The only animal remain found here was a tooth of sheep ; 

 depth at 21 cm. 



The excavations made in the fosse revealed nothing but early 

 Neolithic chipped stone implements, the majority of which were found 

 below the 30 cm. level from the surface. It would be, however, some- 

 what rash to state on these grounds alone that the ditch was undoubtedly 

 of Stone Age construction, although the evidence certainly points in that 

 direction, for only a comparatively small portion of the whole fosse at 

 Arbor Low has been explored ; in fact, only one-twelfth part. It would 

 be safe to assign the construction of Arbor Low to a definite age, if, 

 say, one-fourth part of the fosse were re-excavated ; and the somewhat 

 inconclusive nature of the evidence at present seems to point to the 

 desirability of further excavations being made in the most systematic 

 and skilled manner possible. 



Before leaving the ditch it should be stated that its average width at 

 the parts already excavated is 6™ "40, and the average depth of re- 

 excavated ditch beneath surface of silting, l™-98. 



The remainder of the time and funds were expended in trenching 

 down to the undisturbed rock in the centre of the circle, between the two 

 large stones, Nos. I. and II., and further in an easterly direction. The 

 area excavated, which covered a very irregular surface, measured 10™-67 by 

 2™-12, and is marked on the contoured plan. To the west a stump (No. 13) 

 was found under the turf standing in a leaning position towards the north- 

 east. At ' 19,' the only fragment of pottery was found at a depth of 15 cm., 

 just under the turf : it consisted of a fragment of rim of Romano-British 

 pottery, grey on the outside and brick-red on the inside. Close to and 

 between Stones I. and II. (20 on plan), a small chipped flint implement — 

 length 33 mm., width 28 mm. — approaching a leaf-shaped arrowhead in 

 form, was found at a depth of 27 cm. : it has a bi-convex cross-section. 



The primary idea in making this excavation was to see whether holes 

 could be found in which Stones I. and II. originally stood ; but no holes 

 wei-e found between these stones ; in fact, the undisturbed ground in this 

 part was struck at about 52 cm. from the surface. To the east of 

 Stones III. and IV. there were signs on the surface of this part having 

 been excavated before (in somewhat recent times). The rock was 

 reached here at very variable depths, and at the extreme east an excava- 

 tion 2"^-40 deep was made before the undisturbed ground was struck. 

 The hole was filled with rich mould mixed with a little chert. No relics 

 were found, except a fragment of human ulna (9 on plan) at a depth of 

 15 cm. It is possible that a skeleton or skeletons may have been removed 

 from here, and that this ulna was lost in the filling in. If this part had 

 been excavated before there were no signs of the ground having been 

 disturbed to the west of the small stone. No. IV. Here, close to 

 Stone III., a human skeleton was discovered ; the middle of his body (a 

 fully adult male) was situated l'"-83 to the south-east of the centre of the 



