142 PEEFORATED STONES. 



In Great Britain numerous perforated pebbles or artificially-shaped 

 stones of quartzite and other hard materials have been found, several of 

 which, identical in shape and size with some from California, have been 

 beautifully represented by Mr. Evans* He classes them as a group under 

 " Perforated Hammers," which, by an easy transition, passes into "Perfor- 

 ated Axes," all of which have the common character of a perforation pre- 

 sumably for the purpose of hafting the implement. While there can be 

 little doubt as to the use of many of these British perforated implements, 

 both as axes and hammers, the series runs, as in other localities, into sev- 

 eral forms of doubtful use ; and in the case of the hammers passes into 

 the simple pebble, either with a straight or a countersunk hole, which may 

 or may not have been used as a hammer. Perforated disks of stone, some 

 of which are ornamented, have also been found in Great Britain, and are, I 

 think, properly classed as spindle-whorls by Mr. Evans, who gives figures 

 of four of this character. 



It is of interest to note that Dr. Schliemann found many perforated 

 stones during his extensive explorations at Hissarlik. Among his photo- 

 graphs there are twenty-five or thirty of them represented, and in his vol- 

 ume numerous references are made to " quoits," "weights," and " hammers" 

 of hard stone of various shapes, though the majority represented in the 

 photographs appear to be oval and circular pebbles. Thus, for instance, 

 he writes : " Large and small hammers, axes, and balls, with a hole through 

 the centre ; * * * quoits made of granite and other kinds 

 of stone, with a hole through the centre for throwing them." "The ham- 

 mers do not all possess a perforated hole ; upon many there is only a 

 cavity on both sides about one-fifth to two-fifths of an inch deep." "Are 

 clumsy hammers of diorite, but occasionally also hammers of the same or 

 of green stone very prettily worked ; some of them have a wide hole at 

 both sides and a narrow one in the middle, and I cannot understand how a 

 handle could have been fixed into them."f 



In a recent conversation with General di Cesnola, he informed me that 

 he had found two similar stones during his explorations in Cyprus. These 



'"Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, pp. 204-5, tigs. 155, 156, 157, and on p. 372 are 

 figures of four typical spindle- whorls. 



t Troy and its Remains, pp. 163, 238, and 252. 



