ON THE AGE OF STONE CIRCLES* 463 



occurred and the lost material, gradually sliding down, has assisted in the 

 formation of the silting of the ditch. A section, i^-l^ wide, was first 

 made through tlie bank and ditch at a point 51"'-85 from the centre of 

 Arbor Low, and within the area of the plan. The finds in the ditch here 

 were : — A small worked flint flake of yellowish-brown colour and trans- 

 lucent, depth 37 cm. (22 on plan and section) ; and a flint flake, depth 

 55 cm. (24 on plan and section). The bank yielded : — At 23 a doubtfully 

 artificial black chert borer, depth 24 cm. At 27 (plan and section) 

 depth 27 cm., on the level of the 'old surface line,' a well-formed greyish- 

 white chert or flint end scraper, maximum length 42 mm., width 36 mm. 

 thickness 8 mm. ; both faces are almost flat, and the bevelled edge of 

 horse-shoe form is finely chipped, exhibiting signs of considerable use. 

 At 30 (plan and section), depth 21 cm., a greyish flint or chert scraper, 

 an end- and side-scraper combined ; length 53 mm., width 30 mm. 

 thickness at chipped and bevelled edge, 8 mm. ; at the opposite end, that is, 

 at the 'bulb' end, the implement had been finely worked to a point. This 

 end and side were probably used for cutting purposes ; the whole imple- 

 ment, and especially the finely chipped semicircular scraping end, is very 

 smooth and worn, indicating prolonged use. These implements (Nos. 27 

 and 30) are undoubtedly of the date of construction of the dyke. 



No further excavation of the bank was made, but the exploration of 

 the ditch was extended for l°^-37 to the north, and produced the follow- 

 ing stone objects : — At 25 (plan and section) a long greyish-white chert 

 flake, with rough and irregular serrations along both edges, depth 61 cm. • 

 the oblique top does not appear to have been worked ; the bulb of 

 percussion displays a large and well-marked eraillure. At 26 (plan and 

 section) at a depth of 98 cm. close to the bottom of the ditch, a small 

 white flint or chert knife, finely chipped and of somewhat triangular 

 form, length 30 mm., width 20-5 mm., greatest thickness 7 mm., was 

 discovered. It is of an uncommon form, and at first sight would pro- 

 bably be included in the category of arrow-heads ; it is, however 

 apparently a finished implement, being chipped all round the ed^es ■ 

 the edge at base shows signs of crushing or bruising ; one of the side 

 edges is straight and neatly chipped, whereas the other is convex with 

 a finely worked bevelled cutting-edge with signs of crushing near the 

 base. On the other face the concave edge has been considerably worked • 

 the bulb of percussion has also been chipped, leaving part of the 

 erailhire facet visible. This is the most interesting implement found 

 outside the vallum of Arbor Low during these explorations. Two 

 flakes (not marked on plan) were also found here, both at a depth of 

 61 cm. : one is merely a long narrow outside flake, the other a flint flake 

 with edges slightly serrated. 



At this point the bank had been levelled down, probably for a 

 modern cart-track, but it recommences and almost immediately terminates 

 in the vallum of Arbor Low. Opposite to where this occurs another 

 small excavation, 2™-44 wide, was made of the ditch to determine whether 

 it ended here or continued in a northerly direction under the vallum of 

 Arbor Low. The ditch shelved up gradually, and the rock-end was 

 found, as shown in a poor photograph outside the vallum, thus proving 

 that this little earthwork is of the same period of construction as 

 Arbor Low or later ; but, judging from the relics discovered, it would 

 appear to be of about the same date as Arbor Low itself. In this 

 latter excavation a calcined chert scraper was found at a depth of 



