A HISTORY OF NORFOLK circle of stones prevented it from falling again into the pit. The size of these pits varies considerably. The diameter ranges from 8 to 20 feet and the depth from 2 to 6 feet ; but the average size is one having a diameter of 1 2 feet and a depth of 3 feet. The Weybourne Pits. During the exploration of these interesting sites by Mr. Harrod numerous trenches were cut in different directions through the pits, and it was found that large numbers of stones, some of which may have been used for lining the interior, were found at the bottom of the excavations. The stones had in some cases been brought from the beach nearly two miles distant, and had evidently been selected for the special purpose of forming some kind of hearth or flooring to the dwellings. In several cases two pits had been joined together by a narrow trench, which itself had been carefully lined with stones. In addition to the more regularly shaped depressions there are some which either have been formed with less care or have undergone subse- quent disturbance. The latter is the more probable explanation, and there is every reason to conclude that they have acquired their present irregular form in consequence of the destruction of the original banks between several small pits. There were no traces found of fires in the pits, neither were pottery or other antiquities dis- covered in the course of Mr. Harrod's explorations, but the tradition among the peasantry and the layer of vegetable soil by which the surface of the ground and the original surfaces of the floors are in every case covered point to a considerable antiquity. Section through one of the Pits at Weybourne, SHOWING method OF CONSTRUCTION. 264
