The Irish Naturalist* 



March, 



REVIEW. 



MAN AND THE BAISED BEACHES. 



The Larne Raised Beach : a contribution to the Neolithic 

 History of the North of Ireland. By George Coffey and 

 R. Ivi^OYD Praeger. Proc. R. I. Academy, vol. xxv., Sect. C, no. 6, 

 Dec, 1904. 



By the thorough-paced stratigrapher the ' superficial ' deposits are 

 often regarded as so much rubbish that impedes his work by hiding the 

 ' real ' geology. Yet in some respects these latest records of the earth's 

 crust are the most important of the whole sequence, since in them 

 geological time ceases to be superhuman, and overlaps upon the history 

 of our race. And as the province of the geologist merges with that of 

 the archaeologist in these deposits, it is fitting that the forces of the 

 two sciences should be united in their investigation. The excellent 

 results which may be obtained from this ideal combination are ex- 

 emplified in the paper before us, in which a difficult problem is attacked 

 on the two sides so effectively that while either attack taken separately 

 might fail to carry conviction, their united force is irresistible. 



In an ' Introductory Note,' we are informed that the paper is the out- 

 come of further research into the age of the Post-Glacial raised beach 

 of the North of Ireland — a subject in which both authors had been 

 previously interested — for the purpose of obtaining evidence to bring 

 forward in the recent lawsuit between the Attorney-General (represent- 

 ing the Crown authorities) and the Trustees of the British Museum 

 regarding the custody of the gold ornaments found at Limavady, Co. 

 Londonderry. 



We rejoice that the comparatively unimportant question with regard 

 to these ornaments should have led to a permanent result of such sub- 

 stantial scientific consequence, for assuredly this paper will long be 

 referred to as a standard of information on the subject with which it 

 deals, after the occasion from which it arose is forgotten. 



The geological aspect of the problem is first dealt with by Mr. Praeger, 

 whose qualifications for the task are attested by his several earlier papers 

 on the Post-Glacial geology of the North of Ireland, which still represent 

 the highwater mark of our previous knowledge. In the paper before 

 us he summarises this previous work, and combines it with later in- 

 formation. He traces the course of events since the close of the Glacial 

 period, and brings out clearly the character of the evidence on which we 

 rely in recognising changes in the relative level of land and sea during 

 this interval. By combining the information obtained from the sections 

 in the estuarine clays at Belfast — more especially that at the Alexandra 

 Dock — and from the raised beach at Larne, Mr. Praeger is able to 



