On British Gists found at Galashiels, by James Wood. 441 



been used in "weaving 1 ; if so, the web in this case must certainly 

 have been very coarse, as they must each weigh nearly half a 

 pound. 



There is a rough stone weighing- three or four pounds, with a 

 hole drilled through it, and another hole not carried quite 

 through ; there would be nothing- very remarkable about this, 

 but for the fact that exactly similar stones are not uncommonly 

 found, at least in England ; rough stones pierced with a hole, 

 and having* a second hole apparently, but no doubt intentionally, 

 not completed. 



December, 1878. 



On British Cists found at Galashiels in 1878. By Mr 

 James Wood. 



On the 17th June, 1878, I was informed that some workmen 

 whilst engaged in levelling a mound in Gala Park, preparatory 

 to erecting a dwelling-house, had uncovered four large stones 

 standing in a semi-circular form, and apparently erected either to 

 mark the vicinity of graves or of some place notable in the history 

 of the British tribe who once inhabited this locality. Deeming 

 it highly important to watch the progress of the demolition of 

 this mound, I visited the place the following day, and found, as 

 I had anticipated, that the men had come upon an ancient grave, 

 and in a few days afterwards they discovered another, situated 

 immediately below the first. These two cists I examined care- 

 fully, and ascertained them to be of corresponding dimensions, 

 viz., 3 feet 8 inches long, 18 inches broad, and 16 inches deep. 

 Their sides were formed of two large slabs, of the whinstone 

 (greywacke) common to the district ; the sides closed up by 

 similar stones, and the tops covered by three slabs overlapping 

 each other. These slabs were fitted into their places with great 

 care, and some of them had small stones inserted here and there 

 in order to procure a proper level. The floors of these cists were 

 composed of sand and gravel ; they contained no articles of utility 

 or of personal adornment, nor any weapons of the chase, but 

 only a small quantity of dark coloured clay with portions of 



