ON THE AGE OF STONE CIRCLES. 151 



funereal purposes, there was every likelihood of Neolithic shards 

 becoming scattered in the neighbourhood. This is mentioned because 

 General Pitt-Eivers says in regard to this ware that, in spite of the 

 West Kennet pottery being assumed to be of the Stone Age, the frag- 

 ments from Handley bearing similar decoration were without doubt 

 associated with relics of the Bronze Age. He inclined to the con- 

 clusion, therefore, that the pottery in question was referable to the 

 Bronze Age. 



But the study of prehistoric pottery has developed considerably 

 even since the General's time, and although the gisement of shards 

 of ancient pottery (upon which one's conclusions are partly based) is 

 of the highest importance in archaeological excavations, single pottery 

 fragments of earlier date, in a locality successively occupied by tribes 

 from and including the Stone Age, must occasionally have become 

 mixed with relics of later times, and especially in localities frequented 

 by burrowing animals. 



The writer is inclined on the whole to regard these pottery frag- 

 ments, Nos. 163 and 167, as being of Neolithic date, and it is possible 

 that some of the unornamented fragments described as being of Bronze 

 Age type in the former reports may really belong to the Stone Age. 

 At the same time it should be pointed out that no pottery of the drink- 

 ing-vessel, or beaker, type has yet been discovered at Avebury ; and it 

 should also be repeated that only 6 inches of silting divided the lowest 

 object of Boman date found from the prehistoric pottery discovered 

 nearest the surface. 



A small fragment of pottery belonging to No. 163 was sent to 

 Mr. Clement Beid for close examination, and he has kindly sent the 

 following interesting report: — 



' The " grout, " or coarse material used for stiffening this pottery and 

 making it keep its shape when burnt in an open fire, is of unusual com- 

 position. It consists mainly of fragments of burnt bone, with a few 

 minute bits of charcoal. I think that ashes of a fire have been used, 

 as being grit that would not fly, shrink, or burn out when the pottery 

 was fired ; there are also one or two small fragments of flint. The 

 clay with which this " grout " was mixed seems to have been a coarse 

 sandy clay with large rounded grains of quartz. Probably the so- 

 called " clay-with-flints " so common on the chalk-downs was used. 

 As far as one can judge from so small a sample, only enough clay was 

 used to bind the material.' 



VI. Concluding Remarks. 



From the detailed description of the relics discovered in Cutting 

 VIII. , and on reference to the former reports it will be seen that the 

 objects found this year are more important with regard to the much 

 debated subject, 'the date of Avebury,' than those discovered pre- 

 viously. The strong negative evidence of date afforded by the absence 

 of metals below the Boman stratum of silting has now been greatly 

 strengthened by the discovery of prehistoric pottery of a well-known 



