nd the other projecting obliquely into the
timberless zone between the former and the outer woodwork. It is thus
described in the _Proceedings of the Glasgow Philosophical
Society_:{29}

'Made of a slab of oak which has been split from the tree by wedges
(on one side little has been done to dress the work), it is 15 feet 3
inches long, 2 feet broad, and 3.5 inches thick. Six holes are cut
for steps, 12 inches by 10 inches; the bottom of each is bevelled to
an angle of 60 degrees to make the footing level when the ladder is in
position. On one side those holes show signs of wear by long use.'

An under quern stone, 19 inches in diameter, was found about halfway
between the canoe and the margin of the circle of piles, and
immediately to the east of the so-called causeway already described.

I carefully examined the surface of the log-pavement with the view of
finding evidence as to the possibility of its having been at any time
the habitable area of this strange dwelling-place; but the result was
absolutely negative, as not a single particle of bone or ash was
discovered in any of its chinks. This fact, together with the
impossibility of living on a surface that is submerged every twelve
hours, and the improbability of any land subsidence having taken place
since prehistoric times, or any adequate depression from the shrinkage
of the under-structures themselves, compels me to summarily reject the
theory that the Dumbuck structure in its present form was an ordinary
crannog. The most probable hypothesis, and that which supplies a
reasonable explanation of all the facts, is that the woodwork was the
foundation of a superstructure of stones built sufficiently high to be
above the action of the tides and waves, over which there had been
some kind of dwelling-place. The unique arrangement of the wooden
substructures suggests that the central building was in the form of a
round tower with very thick walls, like the brochs and other forts of
North Britain. The central space was probably occupied with a pole,
firmly fixed at its base in the 'well,' and kept in position by
suitable stays, resting partly on the stone 'cairns' already
described, partly in wooden sockets fixed into the log-pavement, and
partly on the inner wall of the tower. This suggestion seems to me to
be greatly strengthened by the following descripti