118 Annual Meeting. 



1913-14 together with those of our slight excavation are of 

 immense interest. The hillock where is now the tennis ground, 

 was composed, as to its upper layer, of refuse cast up from the 

 ruins of the Benedictine Abbey cleared in restoring the old chancel 

 to make the jtresent cathedral. Many carvings in Scrabo and 

 Dundonald sandstone and in Castleespie limestone were found ; 

 these comprise bases and capitals of pillars, mullions, .&c ; half of 

 a piscina and various fragments of carved work. Most of these 

 are to be seen in Mr. Harley's garden adjoining the cathedral. In 

 this level of the hill were also found many flooring tiles of 

 apparently early 13th century, a number of which are on exhibition. 

 The designs are interesting, some being purely Celtic in idea ; 

 others are early Norman. The lion rampant facing either to the 

 dexter or sinister is much in evidence. Beneath the level of the 

 deposit of building refuse the workers came upon the foundations 

 of the walls of the chapter house, and it is a remarkable tribute 

 to the accuracy of Mr. Philip's conjectural plan, that this wall 

 was found within 6 inches of the position conjectured by him. 

 Beneath the apparent level of the chapter house floor, immense 

 quantities of bones, mostly, if not all, human were removed, 

 showing that a very ancient cemetery had existed here prior to 

 the erection of the Abbey. How ancient was this cemetery, 

 cannot of course be accurately conjectured, but that it went far 

 back into Pagan times Avas proved by the discovery of three 

 circular drybuilt graves measuring about 5 feet deep, by 3' 6" 

 wide, containing skeletons buried in a sitting position with the 

 knees drawn up to the level of the chest. A number of bronze 

 rings were found in or near these graves, but their exact position 

 unfortunately was not noted down. In the tennis ground 

 excavation no fragments of domestic. or other pottery except the 

 tiles from the Abbey debris are recorded to have been found. 



In the experimental trench beginning to the east side of 

 Hogg Island lane, and at about a right angle thereto, much of 

 great interest was found. At the upper end the debris resembled 

 what had been found on the surface layer of the tennis ground 



