ON THE AGE 0I< STONE CIRCLES. 455 



The Age of Stone Circles.— ^Report of the Committee, oonsisting of 

 Dr. J. G. Garson (Chairman), Mr. H. Balfour (Secretary), Sir 

 John Evans, Mr. C. H. Bead, Pi-ofessor R. Meldola, Mr. A. J. 

 Evans, Dr. R. Munho, Professor Bovd Dawkins, and Mr. A. L. 



TiEWlS, appoioited to conduct Fxplorfdinns mith the ohject of Ancer- 

 taining tlie Age of Stone Circles. (Dra/ivn up In/ the Secretary.) 



The Committee report that the excavations commenced last year at 

 the Arbor Low Stone Circle in Derbyshire, were renewed towards the 

 end of May of the present year, the necessary permission having again 

 been very kindly granted by the Duke of Rutland, the First Commissioner 

 of Works, and Mr. Warrilow, the ground tenant, and this opportunity 

 is taken for thanking these gentlemen heartily for having thus enabled 

 the work to be further prosecuted. As last year, so again this year 

 Mr. A. Pitt-Rivers was good enough to lend the principal apparatus 

 employed, for which sincere thanks are due to him. The actual organisa- 

 tion and carrying out of the excavations were again placed in the hands 

 of Mr. H. St. 6. Gray, of the Taunton Museum, and the Committee 

 wish to testify to their high appreciation of the manner in which he 

 conducted the work under somewhat trying circumstances. He has com- 

 pleted his elaborate survey plans with sections illustrating this year's 

 diggings, and has, during last year and this year, taken between thirty 

 and forty jDhotographs showing views of the monument, the excavations, 

 and principal finds. He is further constructing a relief model which will 

 accurately represent the entire structure. Considerable time and atten- 

 tion was devoted to the relaying of the turf covering the parts disturbed 

 during last year's excavations. This was satisfactorily performed, and 

 as arrangements have been made with the tenant whereby cattle and 

 horses will be kept out of the field until next spring, it is hoped that the 

 turf will now settle properly and that all traces of disturbance will dis- 

 appear in a short time. 



The following detailed account of the work done this year has been 

 submitted by Mr. Gray as a report to the Committee. 



On the Excavations at Arbor Lotv, May-June 1902. 

 £y H. St. George Gray. 



Little need be said this year in a prefatory way as regards the position 

 of Arbor Low and its general description, these points having been dealt 

 with somewhat exhaustively in last year's report. The various dimensions 

 of the circle and earthworks were also given, and the surveys, sectional 

 diagrams, and photographs were fully described. 



Excavations were renewed this year on May 27, and continued until 

 June 9. For the greater part of the time eight men and a boy were em- 

 ployed as against a maximum of six men and a boy last year. A fairly 

 large amount of time and labour had to be expended in relevelling and 

 returfing last year's excavations, for it was found that cattle, combined 

 with dry weather after the completion of the work last year, had played 

 great havoc with the relaid sods ; indeed, fresh turf had to be obtained 

 and cut with proper tools for the purpose of returfing. The excavations 



