A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE area averages 160 ft. In each the curve of the rampart crest closely accords to that of a circle, the deviations at Dove Holes rarely exceed- ing 2 ft., but the outline of the central area is less regular. The present average height of the rampart above the old surface level at Arborlow is 6 ft., and depth of the ditch 4 ft. 6 in., according to Mr. H. St. George Gray, who carried out a number of excavations on the spot in 1901 and 1902 on behalf of the British Association. At Dove Holes these measurements are somewhat less, but on the whole this circle, or rather its remaining earthworks, are more symmetrical in plan and less dis- turbed by the accidents of time. Arborlow has the advantage of still retaining most of its original stones, but they are in a more or less re- cumbent position. Of those which formed the inner circle (a few feet within the inner brink of the ditch) about forty remain, the largest of which is about 1 3 ft. long ; while near the centre of the enclosed area are several still larger stones, the remains of a fallen megalithic structure of some sort. All these stones are of the local limestone, rugged and much weather-worn. There is little doubt that those of the circle, at least, were once erect, and there are uncertain traditions that some were still standing in the eighteenth century. As might be expected, the present shallow condition of the ditch is in each case due to slipped soil from the banks, and silt. Mr. Gray found that the original bottom at Arborlow was in the limestone, ex- tremely irregular, and from 2 to 4 ft. below the present surface. At Dove Holes, Mr. Salt, the writer and others recently cut a trench across the ditch and found a similar irregular rocky bottom at a depth of from 2 to 3 ft. 6 in. ; and there were indications that the rocky surface had been long exposed. These excavations have thrown little light upon the age of these monuments. Mr. Gray found many implements and pieces of flint in the filling of the former ditch, and the general conclusion he and his colleagues came to, was that the circle was of late Neolithic age. We also found at Dove Holes a few pieces of flint, one slightly trimmed, and several potsherds of pre-historic character, the latter rest- ing upon the old bottom. A more reliable gauge of the antiquity of these monuments is furnished by the presence of a Bronze-age barrow upon the rampart at Arborlow, and partly made of its materials. This was successfully opened in 1848, when it was found to contain a cre- mated interment accompanied by two small food vessels and other relics in a cist. This shows that the period of the circle cannot be later than the Bronze age. About 1,000 ft. to the west of Arborlow is a large bowl-shaped barrow known as Gib Hill, about 1 5 ft. high, which according to the older writers was connected with the circle by ' a serpentine rampire ' of earth. Probably this was so, for a slight bank starts from the rampirt of the circle on the south-west side, in a southerly direction, but is soon lost, probably having been obliterated through cultivation. This great mound was explored by Mr. Thomas Bateman in 1 848,' when he found that
- Diggings, p. 1 7.
182
