378 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



of the circle. Much time was spent in this department of the exca- 

 vations, and it is with regret that I have to report that no objects 

 of antiquity (except a few pieces of wood) were found in any of the 

 cuttings connected with the fosse. Firstly, we will deal with Cuttings 

 1 to 3, from the N. to the W.S.W., where the existence of an ancient 

 ditch was a certainty. 



Cutting 1. — By far the largest excavation made at the Stripple Stones 

 was 88^ feet of fosse on the N. and N.W. The maximum height of the 

 vallum in this part above the silting of the ditch is 3 feet, while the 

 nearest part of the central area occupied by the monoliths is 1 5 foot 

 higher than the middle of the silting. This part of the ditch, we are told, 

 is generally full of water during wet weather, and it was not entirely dry 

 during the time of the excavations. We commenced digging at the 

 W. end of the area selected, where the margin of the ditch was found to 

 be about 9-5 feet wide, and the depth of the silting 2-4.5 feet in the 

 middle, of which 1-8 foot consisted of turf, peat and mould. Below this 

 the silting was composed of rather fine granitic sand, which had, doubt- 

 less, been washed down from the sides of the ditch when it had been open 

 to the bottom. For 20 feet or so no great change was found in the 

 character or depth of the fosse ; a section was taken at CD. which gave 

 a width of 9 feet at the top of the ditch and 1-1 foot at the bottom, with 

 a depth of 2*2 feet. In no part of the ditch were the sides steeper than 

 here. As the work continued, it was found that the average width at the 

 top was 9-.') feet for three-quarters of the length of the cutting ; but at 

 the E. end it gradually expanded to a maximum width of 16 feet.^ The 

 bottom of the fosse in the E. half of the cutting was not clearly defined ; 

 indeed, in most parts the bottom presented a concave surface in a con- 

 tinuous curve with the sides of the fosse. As will be seen by the photo- 

 graphs of this excavation, '■' the slope of the sides of the fosse was very 

 slight, and it became evident that the constructors paid little, if any, 

 attention to symmetry or design. A portion of the N. margin* of this 

 fosse is marked on the plan by a dotted line at the point where one of the 

 ' bays ' or recesses occurs ; but I am not sure whether our excavation here 

 should not have been continued further N. to find the true margin of the 

 fosse, which possibly followed the ' bay ' to a greater extent than my plan 

 indicates. On the extreme east of the cutting the cut bottom of the fosse 

 began to show itself again. Here the fosse reached its greatest depth, 

 viz., 3-4 feet below the surface of the silting. The filling at this end 

 of the cutting consisted of peaty-turf 05 foot, followed by black earth 

 mixed with roots and a little sand for a depth of 2 feet ; at the bottom, 

 granitic sand washed down from the sides, or profile, of the fosse. 



In the silting of the fosse of Cutting 1, and in the N.E. half, nearly a 

 dozen pieces (mostly small) of dark wood were uncovered in a saturated 

 condition. They were found just above the granitic sand silting, in the 

 black earth, at an average depth of 2-3 feet from the surface. Three 

 typical pieces were sent to Mr. Clement Reid, F.R.S., for microscopical 

 examination. They prove to be oak ; some bear traces of rough cutting, 

 but it is difl[icult, if not impossible, to say definitely whether any of the 

 cuts or hacks were made before the wood became deposited in the silting. 



' Owing to the nature of the material in which^the fosse had been cut, it was 

 found very difficult to determine even the approximate width of the original fosse 

 at the eastern end of this cutting. 



2 A number of photographs were taken, some of which it is hoped will be published 

 later. 



