A Recent Discovery of Worked Flints. 3 3 



according to the extent to which the sea carried away the 

 shelving sand which sloped from the peat down to the sea. 

 There was also a good exposure of the peat and numerous 

 remains of large trees between tide marks. Here one walked 

 on the top of the deposited beds, which were probably thinned 

 away by marine denudation. The beds of compact peat higher 

 up on the beach which present faces of various heights, as 

 referred to before, were overlaid by banks of sand from fifteen 

 to twenty feet high, with vegetation on their surface. The 

 sand was fine, and seemed to be chiefly blown, but in some 

 places a slight stratification showing pebbles was noticed. This 

 sand had been deposited over the peat, but was now being 

 removed by the action of the winds and waves. The peat was 

 exceedingly compact, but contained sand, showing that it was 

 formed within the influence of winds carrying sand, doubtless 

 from some sea strand. The peat could not possibly have been 

 formed at its present level as regards sea ; the land here had 

 probably experienced a downthrow, or possibly alterations of level 

 had taken place, and thus the sea had been enabled to encroach 

 very considerably upon the land. I'he remains of the forest of 

 large fir trees between tidewater-marks at a level where such trees 

 could not be grown made the matter of the downthrow very 

 evident. In many places around our shores submerged peat 

 with tree remains was found. On the occasion of a visit to 

 Portrush in April, 189b, he was examining the exposed sections 

 of peat at the West Bay, when he noticed the point of a piece 

 of flint projecting from the weathered face, and on pulling this 

 out it proved to be a well- formed flint flake. A little examina- 

 tion with the blade of a knife showed that there were more flakes 

 behind the one first noticed, and the result was that in two 

 visits he collected about eighty flakes, about twelve cores, and 

 a considerable quantity of chips, but no axes, scraps, nor any 

 examples showing secondary workmanship. With the exception 

 of two or three outliers the flints were confined to an area of 

 not more than two feet square. They formed a flattened heap; 

 they rested on peat, and were overlaid by about one foot of 

 c 



