254 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [suss. 
town of Perth, which never were islands. The story of the 
existence of iron rings in the adjacent rocks for the mooring of 
boats wants the essential link of an eye-witness to make it 
admissible as an argument in this inquiry. There remain, there- 
fore, to be seriously considered the circumstances under which the 
two anchors and boat-hook were discovered. 
The Megginch anchor is thus referred to by the author of the 
article on “ Perthshire ” in the N. St. Act. of Scotland (p. 378) : — 
“The writer has conversed with a man who told him that he 
recollects distinctly of hearing his father state that, at a period of 
Fig. 2. — Boat-liook of iron, found in Carse of Gowriei (|. ) 
about forty years ago, the latter was engaged in digging in a piece 
of very low ground on the estate of Megginch, not many feet 
beneath the surface, when he and his fellow labourer found a small 
anchor, the figure of which was tolerably preserved, hut which 
mouldered down or went to pieces when lifted.” 
The discovery of the other anchor and the boat-hook is recorded 
by Mr Robert Chambers ( Ancient Sea Margins , p. 20) : — 
“In the same district, which is fully a mile from the margin 
of the firth, a boat-hook was discovered 8 feet below the surface, 
