334 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



so as to expose to view the original hut sites, with flakes, cores, 

 hammerstones, broken bones, shells, and other evidence of the handi- 

 work and daily life of the prehistoric people in this place, is small 

 compared with the parts which are still covered with sand and sward, 

 but this sandy covering will no doubt be blown away at some future 

 date, when more sites will be exposed. 



An interesting find of a human skeleton in the centre of a hut-site 

 was made by my daughter when assisting Professor Haddon and Mr. 

 Coffey in taking photographs. The skeleton was that of an adult man, 

 and was lying on the left side with the head to the south, and looking 

 westward, arms flexed, hands up to chin, legs flexed, knees between 

 the elbows. The humerus was 12f inches, radius 9 J inches, ulna 10 J 

 inches, femur estimated 18 inches. The skeleton was exposed by careful 

 removal of the sand, and several photographs were taken, one of which, 

 by the kindness of Mr. Coifey, is here reproduced (see Plate XYIII.). 

 The skeleton was then covered up, and hopes were entertained that it 

 might have been possible to remove it entire in the state in which it 

 was when it was discovered, to the Museum in Dublin, but when 

 this could not be satisfactorily accomplished my daughter brought 

 away the skull, which was now more broken than it was when found. 

 The fragments were nearly all forthcoming, and Mr. Coffey has been 

 able to put them together, and restore the skull suificiently to allow 

 Professor Haddon to measure it. I shall give the various measure- 

 ments in Professor Haddon' s own words, from which it will be seen 

 that it is a typical l^eolithic skull, and, therefore, there cannot be 

 much doubt that it belonged to one of the settlers who made the flint 

 implements found around the hut-sites in the sandhills. His notes 

 and measurements are as follows : — 



" The specimen is much broken ; several pieces of the cranium, and 

 practically the whole of the face, are wanting, and, in consequence, one 

 cannot be certain that the contoiu"s are quite correct. 



''The cranium is that of an adult man. Viewed from above the 

 contour falls into the ovoides group of sergi, and, indeed, bears some 

 resemblance to the Oldbridge cranium I 'described three years ago.^ 

 The parietal region is fairly well filled. There is no sagittal crest, but 

 there is a slight saggittal groove between the parietal eminences. The 

 frontal siauses and glabella are well marked. Yiewed from behind, 

 the side walls of the cranium are straight, and slant slightly outwards 



1 "Studies in Irish Craniology : III. — A Neolithic Cist buried at Oldbridge, 

 county of Meath," Proc. Eoy. Irish Acad. (3), Vol. iv., p. 570. 



