Thursday, July 16th. 



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circles, but — to the great disappointment of the Members — at the 

 last moment important Parliamentary business prevented his 

 leaving London, and he was unable to come. In his absence the 

 Key. E. H. Goddard led the party round the vallum pointing out 

 the remains of the outer and inner circles, and giving a short 

 general account of the structure, mentioning that when some years 

 ago a section 6ft. wide was cut through the mound by Mr. Trepplin, 

 acting for Sir H. B. Meux, the original surface level was found 

 running through from the outside to the " step " which is visible 

 in many places half-way down the bank on the inside. This 

 original surface had not been disturbed, the brown soil being 

 perfectly level and distinct all through under the bank of white 

 chalk rubble. A section too of the ditch was cleared out, and it 

 was found to have silted up to a depth of eight feet above the 

 original bottom. A considerable number of pieces of red deer horns 

 were found in the rubble of the bank — apparently the remains of 

 picks used in the work of excavation, and one or two bits of worked 

 bone, like fragments of paper-knives. One small bit of British 

 pottery was found on the original surface beneath the mound. 

 There was thus nothing found during the excavation which went 

 to show that the work was of later date than the Neolithic Period, 

 though, on the other hand, it cannot be said that the mere absence 

 of any object of metal proves that it was not of the Bronze Age. 

 The Eev. C. V. Goddard followed with a few words on the recent 

 discovery of a line of standing stones in the " high place " at Gezer, 

 in Palestine. After tea at the inn the party drove off past the 

 remains of the KENNET AVENUE to Kennet, and on to SILBTJBY 

 HILL. Here the Eev. E. H. Goddard again discoursed shortly 

 on what is known about the hill. Although neither of the evcava- 

 tions hitherto undertaken — the shaft sunk from the top by the 

 Duke of Northumberland in 1750, or the tunnel driven into the 

 side by the Archaeological Institute in 1849 — had discovered 

 anything in the way of an interment, he thought that probably it 

 was a sepulchral mound, its great size, covering live acres of ground, 

 making it almost impossible to explore it thoroughly. Mr. Sloper 

 suggested that both in Silchester and Silbury the prefix Sil is from 



