The Giant* s Ring 15 



generations excited the curiosity of many people of historic and 

 antiquarian tastes. Within the last few years it has been placed 

 under the guardianship of H.M. Office of Works, who have 

 ample powers to protect it from destruction. 



In the early part of last year I had an interview with the 

 Board, and laid before them the fact that a number of local 

 gentlemen would be willing to provide the funds necessary to 

 investigate and excavate the Ring if the Board would give them 

 permission. They advised us to form a local committee who 

 would be responsible for the proper carrying out of the work 

 under their supervision, and guarantee that no injury would be 

 done to the structure, and that everything would be left as we 

 found it, and that any antiquarian remains found would be 

 handed to the local Museum. The necessary preliminaries having 

 been satisfactorily arranged, a liberal sum was contributed 

 towards the expenses, and work was commenced on Monday, 

 the 10th September. I have to acknowledge the kindness of 

 Mr. Gray and Mr. Thompson, the tenants in possession of the 

 Ring, for their permission to make the excavations, and for their 

 help in many ways in forwarding the work. 



The vast extent of the Ring of course prevented any thought 

 of excavating it all over, so we decided to sink trenches radiating 

 fi-om a small circle round the cromlech. In dry weather in 

 certain places in the Ring the grass dries up and yellows in 

 patches, suggesting the presence underneath of stone slabs or 

 hollow cavities as the cause. Several of these were noticeable 

 in a line running east of the cromlech, so we began the first 

 radial trench, No. 1 in the plan, to cut through some of these 

 patches. We found the undisturbed till to lie evenly 15 to 18 

 inches under the surface, being of the glacial deposit common in 

 the whole basin of the lower Lagan. The yellow patches were 

 not caused by slabs of stone as we thought possible, but merely 

 by some extra porous spots in the gravelly nature of 'the till. 

 We extended this trench to the inner edge of the Valium, but 

 nothing in the way of. archaeological remains rewarded our 



