ON THE AGE OF STONE CIRCLES. 381 



of the stone circle ; it was found, however, to deviate to an inconsider- 

 able extent. As previously stated, no relics were found in the cuttings 

 made through the vallum ; and in this department of the excavations, as 

 at Arbor Low,' no interesting deductions could be made. 



The fosse from the N.E. to the W. was clearly defined on the surface 

 before the excavations were undertaken, but from the W.S. W. entrance 

 to the stone wall on the E.S.E. there was absolutely nothing superficial 

 to suggest that a fosse ever existed. The excavation revealed a broad 

 but irregular ditch on the N. and N.W. which averaged 2 9 feet in depth 

 from the surface of the silting and 4' 2 feet below the nearest part of the 

 central plateau. At Cutting 2 a fosse was found in much diminished 

 proportions, and at the entrance it did not penetrate the sub-soil, but 

 terminated in the manner shown on the plan. A slight ditch was found 

 to begin in line with the end of the rampart on the S. side of the entrance, 

 but it could not be traced for many yards to the S.E. ; and in the next 

 cutting, No. 4, and in the trial cuttings to the S.E. and E. the bog iron- 

 ore was found as a solid floor. 



Whatever the original purposes for such ditches and ramparts were, 

 my opinion with regard to the N. fosse of the Stripple Stoiies is that it 

 was intended to .serve a practical and very necessary purpose as a means 

 of drainage. The position is a very wet one, with moisture constantly 

 flowing. The peaty ground and surface soil in this vicinity do not require 

 a large amount of rain to render it very boggy ; and owing to the pre- 

 sence of bog iron-ore at a slight depth moisture remains near the surface 

 for a considerable time. It would be very necessary to keep the central 

 plateau tolerably dry, and such a ditch as that on the N., with its outlet 

 at the entrance to the circle, would drain ofi" most of the water derived 

 from the higher ground, which would otherwise swamp the circle to a 

 very uncomfortable extent in wet weather. If this were the purpose of 

 the N. fosse we should not look for a ditch of similar dimensions in the S. 

 half of the circle. Regarded from this point of view, we get an explana- 

 tion why no ditch penetrated the sub-soil in the S. half of the circle ; and 

 if a fosse existed there at all, it was very shallow, with perhaps the iron- 

 ore layer as its bottom. 



I offer these remarks merely as a suggestion, in the endeavour to 

 explain the difficulties pi-esented by the irregularity and character of the 

 fosse. 



Relics and Date. — The few relics discovered at the Stripple Stones 

 give us absolutely no certain evidence of date ; and even if any of them 

 pre.sented characteristics of a deBnite period, the position in which they 

 were found would render them comparatively useless as proof of date. 

 The existence of flint flakes to the exclusion of metals does not necessarily 

 establish an early date for the Stripple Stones, even if they had been 

 found on the ' old surface line ' under the vallum, or deep in the fosse ; 

 and yet, considering the amount of digging done (25 cuttings, large and 

 small), the total absence of bronze should have some significance. The 

 evidence of date resulting from the excavations at the Arbor Low stone 

 circle and at Stonehenge was strong enough to satisfy the most precise 

 antiquary, but we have no direct evidence in the present case. It is only 

 from negative evidence that we are in any way justified in suggesting a 

 late Neolithic or early Bronze Age for the Stripple Stones. If we were 



' Arvhreohgia, vol. Iviii., pt. ii., pp. 477, 478. 



