2 MATHEWS— CEREMONIAL STONES [January i, 



be recorded and published as widely as possible, in order to bring 

 these relics under the notice of every person who may have oppor- 

 tunities of obtaining further particulars regarding this interesting 

 subject. 



The stones in question vary in length from about six inches up 

 to as much as two feet, but the more common lengths range from 

 eight to fifteen inches. They are widest at the base, gradually de- 

 creasing in dimension towards the other end and terminating in a 

 blunt point. They consist of different material, including sandstone, 

 quartzite, clayslate, kaolin and such other kinds of stone as might 

 be available. 



For the present I shall describe only four of the specimens in my 

 possession. One is a fine-grained piece of clayslate, which when 

 found by the maker was probably very close to the requisite 

 form and needed only a little trimming or grinding to bring it to its 

 present shape. It is just a trifle under one foot in length by a 

 maximum width at the base of two and four-fifth inches, by a 

 thickness of one and a quarter inches. The weight is two pounds 

 six ounces. It was found in the bush by Mr. E. J. Suttor, owner of 

 Tankarooka Station, on the Darling River, near Tilpa, New South 

 Wales. 



I have prepared two diagrams exhibiting the two wide faces and 

 the edge of the implement, together with a view of the extremity of 

 the base and have numbered the figures from i to 12. One face of 

 the stone is practically flat throughout its length, being rounded ofif 

 towards the edges on either side. The opposite face is slightly 

 convex. 



Fig. I delineates the flat face of the stone, which contains a large 

 number of marks cut or scratched into the surface with some sharp 

 instrument, such as a mussel shell, a sharp flake of hard stone, or a 

 marsupial's tooth. Some of them are merely well-defined scratches, 

 whilst others are cut into the stone about one-sixteenth of an inch. 

 The marking extends from the base to the apex. 



Fig. 2 shows one of the edges of the implement, the marks upon 

 which are not reproduced, because they are continuations of those 

 given on the two faces. I have, however, shown the position of three 



