§ 4. Mr. E. Fletcherasked the Minister of Works whether as a result of the excavations undertaken at Stonehenge last year, he is now in a position to make a statement regarding the date of the building of Stonehenge.
§ Mr. MolsonAs a result of excavations at Stonehenge last year, the date of the last phase of the building of Stonehenge is put between 1860 and 1560 B.C. This confirms the date already accepted by archaeologists.
§ Mr. FletcherDoes the Minister appreciate that these excavations and a report of the Ancient Monuments Board have attracted a great deal of attention? The 4 public will be glad of this confirmation as a result of the excavations that his Ministry have undertaken.
§ Mr. MolsonI am very much obliged to the hon. Gentleman for what he has said. These works have been carried out under the advice of the Ancient Monuments Board, which contains most of the most eminent archaeologists in this country. These works have been extremely skilfully carried out by architects of my Department and the archaeologists.
§ Captain PilkingtonIs an attempt being made to date the earlier phase of the building of Stonehenge?
§ Mr. MolsonThat is obviously more difficult. The archaeologists have tried to discover when the earlier buildings were completed, but I think the purpose of the Question was to refer to the antlers which were found and used on the second rebuilding of Stonehenge and, therefore, tend only to confirm the date of the second rebuilding.