:<;14 Proci'cdings of Ihc Rni/al Irish Acadcmji. 



and it has sutfered a little injury at one corner of the edge by tlie ypade of the 

 finder striking it. Otherwise the edge is good and sharp ; and I am convinced 

 that the edge was the only part intended for use ; and that such a specimen 

 could not have been intended for the coulter of a plough, or any other use than 

 that of an axe. I have also another of those thin axes, 18J inches long, but 

 not quite symmetrical, and the edge is oblique. It has suffered from 

 weathering. No. 125 shows an axe made of the clay-slate, and oxhiljiting 

 along the edge several layers. It is 14 inclies long, 3 inciies broad, 

 and 2 inches in thickness, and was found at Culljane, in August, 1904. It 

 was found after digging away about a foot of peaty soil, then about two feet 

 of the diatomaceous clay, when the axe appeared standing upright, with the 

 edge uppermost. It is a very perfect specimen, ground only, with no trace of 

 polishing. I have several specimens nearly similar to No. 3, varying from 

 13 to 16 inches in length. Some are nearly cylindrical in section. I have a good 

 many axes 10 to 12 inches long; some very perfect specimens from 5 or ti 

 to 8 inches long. In lig. 128 I show two views of an axe 8| inches long, 

 2| inches broad, and li inch thick. The view to the left is in perfect condition ; 

 but the face shown in the right-hand figure has been much exposed to the 

 weather ; and we see how softer layers have been eaten into or removed while 

 harder layers are scarcely affected. No. 98 is another axe with one straight 

 side, probably formed by sawing, while the other side is worked into shape by 

 coarse chipping. The ground edge shows several layers of the clay-slate. It 

 is 6 1 inches long, 2^ inches broad near the edge, and li inch thick. The 

 edge is the only part ground. It was found at Culbane while digging the 

 diatomaceous clay. No. 99 shows a very perfect axe from Ballyscullion bog, 

 on the borders of the Bann, on the County Antrim side. It is made of 

 clay-slate, but has been ground all over tiU not a trace of original chipping is 

 visible. There is no trace of polishing, and the striae of the grinding are still 

 quite plain on the surface. It is 7| inches long, 3-^- inches broad near the 

 edge, and 1\ inches thick. The base of the axe is ground to a sharp cutting 

 edge. Many of the Bann axes and chisels have a cutting edge at both ends ; 

 but the edge at the butt-end of the axe is always narrower than the usual edge. 

 In Plates XVI and XVII are shown some axes and chisels of various types. 

 No. 97 is a small axe somewhat lozenge-shaped. It is formed of clay-slate, 

 and shows several layers on the edges — the two lower sides of the lozenge are 

 both cutting edges — the other sides are rounded. It is 3|- inches long, 3-1- inches 

 broad, and 1 inch thick. This is the only specimen I have of this shape, and 

 I am of opinion that the original form of the small boulder from which it was 

 made has suggested its present shape. However, neither No. 100 nor 101 is 

 of the ordinary type of axe, and they were, no doubt, specially designed, and 



