172 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



AECH.^:OLOGY. 



At many places on the raised beach, between Greenore, County 

 Louth, and Portstewart, County Londonderry, flint flakes, with 

 occasional rude " implements," have been collected. 



The shores of Belfast Lough were formerly a famous collecting- 

 ground, notably at Kilroot, on the Antrim side, where large coarse 

 flakes were abundant. The growth of watering-places and great 

 increase of building along the shores of the lough have destroyed 

 most of the best sites. At Ballyholme Bay, on the County Down 

 side, a fine section of the beach was formerly exposed, but the face 

 has been since trimmed to an even slope, and sown with grass. 



The Lakne Flints. 



The most important site now remaining is at Larne, County 

 Antrim. Attention was first directed to this site by G. V. Du J^oyer, 

 of the Geological Survey, Ireland, in 1868.^ Since that date it has 

 been a favourite resort of collectors, on account of the abundance of 

 the flakes, and ease with which they can be gathered. Indeed, the 

 flakes are so abundant that the untrained visitor finds it hard to 

 believe tbat they are not due to some natural cause. 



The Field Club Re-port. 



The question whether the flint flakes are found only on the surface 

 and in the disturbed surface layers, or throughout the gravels, had 

 been for some time in controversy, when, about 1886, a committee of 

 the Belfast jS'aturalists' Field Club was appointed to investigate the 

 Larne gravels, and determine the position in them of the flint flakes 

 and cores for which they are noted." The final report of the com- 

 mittee, drawn up by E. LI. Praeger in 1889, represents the first 

 systematic examination of the raised beach of the north-east of 

 1 1 eland in regard to the distribution of the worked flints in the 

 gravels.- 



1 Q. J. G. S., vol. xxiv., p. 495; Journal E. G. S. I., vol. ii., p. 169. Du 



Xoyer presented collections of specimens from Larne and Belfast Lough to the 

 Museum of the Geological Survey, Ireland, and to the Jennyn-street Museum, 

 London. 



2 Proc. Belfast Nat. Field Club (2), iii,, pp. 198-210, 1890. 



