mpart of earth several feet
high, forming a circle about 300 feet in diameter. An avenue still 1200
feet in length, bordered by two walls of earth, leads up to the rampart
from the north-east. On the axis of this avenue and nearly at its
extremity stands the upright stone known as the Friar's Heel.

In 1901, in the course of repairing the central trilithon, careful
excavations were carried out over a small area at Stonehenge. More than
a hundred stone implements were found, of which the majority were flint
axes, probably used for dressing the softer of the sandstone blocks, and
also for excavating the chalk into which the uprights were set. About
thirty hammer-stones suitable for holding in the hand were found. These
were doubtless used for dressing the surface of the blocks. Most
remarkable of all were the 'mauls,' large boulders weighing from 36 to
64 pounds, used for smashing blocks and also for removing large chips
from the surfaces. Several antlers of deer were found, one of which had
been worn down by use as a pickaxe.

These excavations made it clear that the blue-stones had been shaped on
the spot, whereas the sarsens had been roughly prepared at the place
where they were found, and only finished off on the spot where they were
erected.

What is the date of the erection of Stonehenge? The finding of so many
implements of flint in the excavations of 1901 shows that the structure
belongs to a period when flint was still largely used. The occurrence of
a stain of oxide of copper on a worked block of stone at a depth of 7
feet does not necessarily prove that the stones were erected in the
bronze age, for the stain may have been caused by the disintegration of
malachite and not of metallic copper. At the same time, we must not
infer from the frequency of the flint implements that metal was unknown,
for flint continued to be used far on into the early metal age.
Moreover, flint tools when worn out were simply thrown aside on the
spot, while those of metal were carefully set apart for sharpening or
re-casting, and are thus seldom found in large numbers in an excavation.
We have, therefore, no means of accurately determining the date of
Stonehenge; all that can be said is that the occurrence of flint in such
large quantities points either to the neolithic age or to a
comparatively early date in the copper or bronze period. It is unlikely
that stone tools would play such a considerable role in the late bronze
or the