Macalisteu — Excm)ations Recently Conducted in Co. Gatwajj. 507 



underlay it, at a depth of four feet from the present surface. (See the 

 section, Plate XLIII, fig. 2.) 



The most noteworthy fact, however, is that the rock lies immediately 

 under the surface of the soil except at this point, in the exact middle of the 

 ring. This was proved hy testing at several places within its circumference. 

 It is hardly accidental that the fissure or hollow in the rock should be so 

 accurately in the centre of the ring ; and this suggests that for some reason 

 it attracted attention, and was the raison d'etre of the monument. Unless 

 we are to assume that the bones of an interment have absolutely decayed to 

 nothing, and have left not the smallest trace behind, there was no burial 

 in connexion with the monument. This, I believe, limits us to the conclusion 

 that it was a place for religious rites. 



There is usually a solitary stone standing outside the circumference of a 

 stone circle. No such stone, however, exists in connexion with the Mason- 

 brook Ring. It should be noticed that the stones, or some of them, were for 

 a long time prostrate, and were re-erected on their old sites in comparatively 

 recent years. 



There is an ancient quarry close by, from which it is highly probable the 

 stones originally came. 



The Eing having been thus examined, I turned my attention to the 

 Mound. It is a narrow oval on plan, the top surface measuring 115 feet in 

 length and 20 feet in width. The sides rise in a steep slope, divided, by two 

 terraces that surround the whole mound, into three stages. The lowest sta^e 

 is 22 feet in maximum heiglit, and is surmounted by a terrace 14 feet in 

 width : the outer margin of its platform is raised slightly as a kind of kerb. 

 The next stage is 8 feet high, having a terrace at its top 8 feet wide, without 

 a kerb. The last stage is 5 feet high ; so that the whole bill is 35 feet above 

 the lowest point in the surrounding field. For a view of the mound and of 

 the lower terrace, see Plate XLIV. 



There are a number of eskers in the neighbourhood, and the mound had 

 all the appearance of having been adapted from some such natural hillock ; 

 but I had hoped that it would prove to be a tumulus, artificial perhaps in its 

 upper stages. Testing in several places above and below, however, made it 

 clear that the mound was natural throughout, of esker gravel interspersed 

 with large boulders. 



There can be no doubt that it has been scarped artificially to its present 

 form, and care seems to have been taken to make it as symmetrical as 

 possible, for here and there hollows are filled up with large stones. For 

 what purpose, and at what time, this was done are difficult questions. It 

 is not a Norman motte ; the proportions at the top are not suitable for the 



