Anybody know what these two specific little holes do?

Hi guys, I marked them on this photo, sorry for the weak effort at marking, but these two holes have me concerned and I am wondering if anyone knows their role in an F-head engine: Oil or Coolant? Forced up? or Draining down?

 

I count four holes, two around each bigger hole.

 

True but the ones i marked are slightly smaller I think, anyway, let's call it all four then, any idea what they do?

 

unless they are the return drains for the upper valve train, no. But that is the only thing that comes mind at the moment.
Never had mine appart, yet.

 

They are steam holes. they are there so no air pockets would form.

 

Ah, I knew some one really smart would come along! You mean from the casting?

 

Blow air thru them and see if it blows to the water jacket or the oil galley.

 

The reason I was wondering is I had some difficulty getting the head gasket to perfectly align and those two holes kept coming back to being the PITA. They kept being slightly covered and that HG is not 100% tight, it can slide around just a bit as you work. SO after I got it all on I am confident all holes are lined up, except those two little punks which may not be perfectly 100% aligned....so if it is steam it is less of a concern since it can still blow thru even if the holes are slightly covered as opposed to oil or coolant that might bind up in the gasket material. Those two holes were clogged almost completely when I took everything off.