Macalfster, &c. — Bronze-Age Interment near Naas. 353 



8 ft. 6 in. ; above exterior ground-level, about 10 ft. 6 in. ; depth of fosse, 5 ft.; 

 breadth of vallum-base, about 33 ft. ; width of fosse, about 26 ft. These 

 dimensions naturally vary considerably according to the state of preservation 

 of different portions of the structure. 



The stone in the centre of the enclosure is a needle of granite, four-sided, 

 but of slightly irregular shape. It stood about 17 ft. 6 in. above ground 

 before the excavation began ; the girth at the ground-line is 9 ft., which 

 is suddenly reduced to 6 ft. at a shoulder 5 ft. 6 in. from the top. The monolith 

 did not stand upright, but was leaning toward the north-west, the oversail 

 amounting to 2 ft. 6 in. Careful examination failed to reveal any artificial 

 dressing, ornament, or other marking on its surface, apart from the scribblings 

 of modern idlers. 



Inside the enclosure there were no traces of buried structures to be 

 discerned, or any surface indications whatever that afforded a clue for the 

 guidance of the excavators. A few hollows and mounds, all slight and 

 insignificant, were noted, and tested by excavation in every case ; but they 

 all proved to be mere casual surface irregularities. 



3. Account of the Excavation and of the Structuees discovered. 



Excavation began on the morning of Tuesday, 4th June, 1912, and lasted 

 till the afternoon of the following Saturday. Our first care was to shore up 

 the standing-stone with large props, so as to make it possible to excavate 

 around its foot without disturbing it. A wooden frame was securely bolted 

 as a collar around it, just below the shoulder mentioned; and three large 

 timber struts were erected against this. Meanwhile a trench 20 ft. long and 

 about 3 ft. 6 in. wide, running north and south, was marked out on the eastern 

 side of the stone, and gradually extended in all directions. In the absence of 

 any satisfactory surface indication it was necessary to dig over an extensive 

 area in order to increase the chance of concealed structures or objects coming 

 to light. The area excavated is shown in fig. 1 as a quadrilateral enclosing 

 the cist, &c. 



We very soon observed that we were dealing not with a natural land- 

 surface but with made earth, as indicated by its looseness and by the irregular 

 disposition of stones within it ; and the presence of this layer of made earth 

 presented at the outset a problem by no means easy to solve. The earth was 

 very dry under the surface, and was interspersed with small Silurian stones 

 and pebbles. 



At a depth of 1ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. an old surface was found, extending, as 

 afterwards appeared, over the whole area excavated in the centre of the 

 enclosure. This was marked in places by flat flagstones — the largest of them 



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