Part 2 classifies the disputed material into weapons, implements, perforated ornaments or charms, cup-and-ring stones, figurines, and grotesque heads before examining their forms, markings, and quality of workmanship in detail. Lang compares the Clyde objects with finds from Scottish crannogs, surviving folk charms, Australian sacred stones, North American magical objects, and Neolithic pendants and figurines from Portugal and elsewhere in Europe, arguing that the material may not be entirely without parallel. Through discussions of unmarked charm stones, perforated pendants, slate weapons, figurines, and carved faces, he asks whether archaic ritual practices could have survived into the Iron Age and later folklore or whether an unusually learned forger copied objects from widely separated cultures. Although he accepts that certain pieces are clearly forged or highly suspicious, he maintains that the evidence is insufficient to condemn the entire collection and concludes that the conflict between their apparent cultural age and their archaeological setting should remain unresolved until future excavations supply stronger proof.
