1874-75] Jf I f 



where flints naturally occur in greatest abundance. But worked flints 

 are not confined to the outcrop of the Chalk ; they are also distri- 

 buted over the Trappean plateau that covers the Chalk of Antrim 

 and Derry, and at some spots they are very numerous, particularly 

 at Toomebridge, where they are found in Lough Neagh, as described 

 by Mr. Evans in the Archseologia, Vol. xli. But the worked flints 

 are not limited to Toomebridge ; they are found in the Bann for 

 several miles of its course ; around Portglenone they are very nu- 

 merous, and are frequently found on the shore of Lough Neagh, 

 particularly near Lurgan. In addition to the gravels of Holywood 

 and Ballyholme, worked flints are found in County Down, in places 

 far removed from the outcrop of the Chalk. In the islands of 

 Strangford Lough, and in the Ards, as far south as Ballyquintin 

 Point, worked flints are found where no kind of flint occurs naturally; 

 and even at Leestone and Cranfield, flakes are found in tolerable 

 abundance, although these localities are removed from the flint- 

 bearing rocks by the entire County Down, including the Mourne 

 range of mountains. A few have been found on the sand dunes at 

 Newcastle and Cranfield Point, County Down ; but here flakes 

 are by no means so plentiful as on the north coast of Antrim. 



Now, wherever flakes occur in abundance they are accompanied 

 by other forms of stone implements, &c, more evidently the result 

 of human workmanship, and among them may be frequently found 

 the cores from which the flakes were struck. The uniformly con- 

 stant character of the cores goes a long way in proving the artificial 

 origin of the flakes struck off. The best examples of cores are 

 found at Belfast, Holywood, Carrickfergus, Kilroot, Larne, Island- 

 magee, Ballygally, and Ballintoy. They are usually about four 

 inches long, but sometimes not longer than an inch, and partake 

 somewhat the form of a truncated cone, the base being formed by 

 the original flat fractured surface of the flint, and the sides of the 

 cone are formed by a series of facets showing where the flakes were 

 struck off. 



In addition to the cores which so clearly show the design of the 

 manipulator, the Antrim and Down flint flakes are found more or 



