4 MATHEWS— CEREMONIAL STONES [January i, 



A spiral of this kind has not been observed by me before and 

 consequently adds to the value of the present specimen. In a few 

 other cases, however, I have seen a single, continuous incised line 

 girdling the upper half or pointed end of the stone. In most of the 

 specimens in my possession, as well as in those which have come 

 under my notice elsewhere, a girdling incision of any sort is absent. 

 It is on this account that I have drawn attention to the peculiar 

 marking of the stone now described. 



Fig. 5 is a view of the basal end of the stone. A characteristic 

 of all the stones of this class which I have seen consists in their 

 having a saucer- or dish-shaped depression chipped or ground into 

 the larger end. In our example there are three such depressions 

 ground into the end of it. (See Fig. 5.) The two smaller ones are 

 very shallow, although easily discernible, but the larger has a depth 

 of nearly one-tenth of an inch in the center. The present is the only 

 instance in which I have observed three of these depressions — one 

 only being the general rule. 



Another point to which attention may be invited is the very 

 much elongated oval form of a section through the shaft. This is 

 prominently seen in Fig. 5, where the diameter is more than twice as 

 great in one direction as in the other. Most of the stones of this 

 kind are nearly circular in section, whilst an elongated oval section 

 is rarely met with. Again, very few of these stones are so profusely 

 inscribed as the present example. 



Fig. 6 is a long, thin, cylindrical spindle of a very hard clayslate, 

 eighteen and a quarter inches long. At four inches from the base 

 the greatest diameter is two inches, and at ten inches from the base 

 (Fig. 7) the smallest diameter is one and eleven-twentieth inches. 

 Fig. 7 represents the implement turned a quarter round. 



A large amount of chipping and grinding has been done by the 

 native artificer to bring this specimen into its present shape, especially 

 at the pointed end and near tjie base. About the middle of the shaft 

 the original surface of the stone is seen in a few patches some inches 

 in length. 



Commencing a little over an inch and a half from the base there 

 are numerous incised marks, both horizontal and slightly oblique, 

 all the way to the apex. About half an inch from the extreme point, 



