This page needs to be proofread.

EARLY MAN the roundish hammers just described with those definitely round in form which follow. Of these round perforated implements, that from Irlam, in the museum at Warrington, and two from Alexandra Park, in the Queen's Park Museum at Manchester, are typical illustrations. The first-named is shown in the photograph on Plate 11. No. 8. It is about 4J in. by 4 in., with a per- foration i^in. by i§ in. The outer edge is chipped all around, but the hole remains smoothly polished. It is of grey gritstone, and was found in the Ship Canal works at Irlam in 1890. The two stones from Manchester are not quite similar. They were found in laying out Alexandra Park in that city. The one is 4| in. by 4 in., with a thickness of fin., and a perforation ij by !•§• in. as in the former instance. The other is nearly round, being 4i in. across, except where it is chipped ; in thickness it just exceeds i in., and its perforation is ijin. Both implements are badly chipped all around their outer edge, preserving, however, a good surface to their perforations. Another large round perforated stone is illustrated in the Salford Museum, where it is described as a ' stone fishing-net weight.' It is apparently 6J in. in diameter, and was found at Stalybridge, on the border of the county. The beautifully rounded specimen of a ham- mer, or more probably a spindle-whorl, shown on Plate II. No. 7, is in the museum at Warrington. It was found at Haydock, which is about two miles north-east of Newton, in a pit, 2 ft. below the surface, in clay. ' Beneath was every appear- c 1)1 ml 1 • • c r 1- 1 . Fig. 12. — Round Stone Ham- ance of a paved way. The object is of hght ^^^ ^^^^ Goosnargh. grey burr stone,' and measures 2| in. in diameter. Scale, i : z. with a thickness of | in. The perforation mea- sures -TB-in. across, and is countersunk from each side. It is a well-finished specimen, and for the county of Lancashire apparently unique. An example is shown in a museum at Ashton-under-Lyne, but its provenance is doubtful. Another, rough and small, but fairly round, was found at HoUingworth Lake, near Rochdale. (e) In Lancashire over Sands : Stone hammers have been found through much the same area as that already indicated in the case of stone celts and other implements. Isolated instances, indeed, occur in the region of the Lakes, as at Wray Hill, near the head of Windermere, and at Torver, which is east of Coniston Water. At Rusland also, which lies between Coniston Water and the pool of Lake Windermere, was found in 1881 a comparatively large implement, measuring 9 J in. by 3i in., with a depth at the hole of 2I in. An even larger hammer is recorded from Rampside, in the extreme south of Furness, with a length of i o in. and breadth 4^ in. It was found there in the churchyard. In the eastern part of the county, at Ayeside, near Newby Bridge, was found in a wood a perforated hammer 8| in. in length, with a width of 3I in. and depth of 3 in., weighing 4J lb. ' It is considerably rounded in both 1 Jrci. Joum. xv. 233. 227