Coffey and Praeger — The Antrim Raised Beach. 195 



was measured and found to extend to 5 feet above high-water mark. 

 Eelow this level the foreshore is exposed to alterations at every gale. 

 At this level the land proper commences, and it is only above tliis 

 level that blown sand forms, vegetation begins, and man could settle. 



We must, therefore, deduct from the levels at Whitepark Bay 5 feet 

 if we wish to compare them with the levels at Broighter. In other 

 words, the high-water mark at Whitepark Bay is, for all practical 

 purposes, 5 feet higher than at Broighter. 



The lowest points at which ^Neolithic man was found at "Whitepaik 

 Bay were 13 feet at "M" on Mr. Co:ffey's map of sites, in Knowles' 

 Fourth Report,^ and 19 feet 6 inches at " f " (east end of same map). 

 Deducting 5 feet for storm-beach, and also the actual amount of 

 blown sand observed below the black layer at these points, we find 

 that the old land surface on which the sand-dunes collected, before 

 IS'eolithic man settled there, is at present 6 to 8 feet above the storm- 

 beach, or practical high- water mark. This is the level which must 

 be compared with Broighter, and it is important to note that its age 

 as a land surface is clearly determined to be pre-Neolithic, or 

 Neolithic. 



Thus Whitepark Bay reduces the discrepancy between the Neolithic 

 land -level and that of Broighter, but still leaves a margin which we 

 were anxious to eliminate, as it could not yet be positively asserted 

 that the whole of the elevation took place prior to the period suggested. 

 It was just conceivable that a pause in the uplifting might have 

 occurred, leaving Wliitepark just above tide-level, and Broighter just 

 below. If this pause were long enough, "Whitepark might have been 

 a l^eolithic land surface, while Broighter remained tidal until, say, 

 lloman times. 



Evidence from Portstewart. 



We, therefore, returned to the problem, and selected the neigh- 

 bourhood of Portstewart for further measurements and observations. 

 Here extensive sand-dunes rise between the Biver Bann and the ocean. 

 In deep wind-excavated hollows in these dunes old surfaces with 

 Neolithic remains, similar to those at Whitepark Bay, are numerous. 

 In another hollow a fine storm-beach is exposed (Plate IX.), consist- 

 ing of well-marked ridges of large pebbles, and separated from the 

 present storm-beach by 150 yards of sand-dunes. A line of levels was 

 run along a line, starting from high- water mark on the sandy shore, 



iProc. R.I.A., 3rd Ser., vol. vi., p. 333. 



