EXAMINATION OF THE BONES OF ANIMALS FOUND IN THE TUMULUS.

BY E. T. NEWTON, F.G.S., OF H.M. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

Four parcels of disjointed and splintered bones scattered in the body of the mound, and found under the dome-shaped bed of blue clay, have been submitted to Mr. Newton, who has supplied me with the following list of the animals, which he has been able to identify. Parcel No. 1, containing the bones found immediately over the grave B, comprised :

Bos taurus, probably var. longifrons.

Capreolus caprea (Roebuck).

Parcel No. 2, taken from the soily material at the base of the barrow, contained :

Homo sapiens (human).

Cervus elephas (red deer).

Bos taurus (calf)? var. longifrons.

Canis vulpes (fox).

Sheep or goat.

Gnawed bones.

Parcel No. 3. The bones were removed from the body of the mound at depths varying from 13 to 18 feet, and consisted of.—

Homo sapiens.

Bos taurus? var. longifrons.

Sus scrofa (pig).

Canis vulpes (fox).

Sheep or goat.

Parcel No. 4, taken 3 feet below the bed of blue clay, included

the bones of :

Canis vulpes (fox).

Capreolus caprea (Roebuck).

FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONTENTS OF THE HOWE TUMULUS.

BY J. R. MORTIMER.

I trust that a few additional remarks on the facts recorded in the former description of this barrow may be of some interest, and may help to further illustrate the history of this important barrow. Referring to Dr. Garson's descriptions of the skeletons it will be observed, probably with some surprise, that he had met with no female bones, the eight adult specimens all belonging to males. The height of the tallest he calculated to have been about 6 feet 3 inches, and the shortest about 5 feet 1 inches. It will also be noticed that their average height and cranial measurements correspond very closely with those usually found in long barrow interments, and are very different in type from other round barrow specimens with which Dr. Garson has compared them. But according to the prevalent theory the round barrows were raised by a round skulled race, and the long barrows by men with long skulls. A theory which is decidedly negatived by the evidence obtained from this round barrow, and also from numerous other examples which have come under my observation. It is to be regretted Dr. Garson has omitted giving the approximate ages of the eight adults. From my own examination of the teeth at the time when I was engaged in repairing the crania, I was led to believe the ages of the adults varied from 18 to 70, or even more, whilst those of the children extended down to the period of infancy. From this it would seem that in the grave and immediately above it there must have been the representatives of three generations who had, from some cause or another, been buried at the same time. As there was no break in the layers of soil covering the grave, this must be taken as affording a proof that no intrusive interment had taken place at any subsequent period.

As a specialist Dr. Garson naturally attaches the greater importance to the collecting of the osseous remains. But then an ordinary archæologist probably considers the collecting of other relics somewhat more important than merely securing the bones, for these are, except

in the hands of a specialist, comparatively useless. Yet I possess nearly two cart loads of these crania and other portions of the human skeleton (properly labelled and stored away) which have been collected at various periods from British barrows during the last 25 years.

I have hitherto during all these years sought in vain for the assistance of an expert to describe these bones, Dr. Garson being the first and only one from whom I have been favoured with any reply to my enquiries since the death of Dr. Barnard Davis. Nevertheless, I have continued to collect the crania and such long bones as were thought suitable for description, believing the time would arrive when they would be of greater interest.

From a more recent examination made of no less than forty of the cremated deposits (now in my possession) obtained from Howe Hill, I found them to consist of about twenty-five per cent. of infants and young children, and about sixty-five per cent. whose ages appeared to range from boyhood to manhood; whilst there did not seem to be more than ten to fifteen per cent. assignable to very old persons judging from the closed sutures observed in the fragments of the skulls.

It is difficult to avoid speculating as to the meaning of such a large number being met with in the mound. Why were they burnt and dispersed in the manner and in such abundance as that in which we found them? Were they the remains of slaves or servants, who, with their families, (as they were evidently of all ages) had been sacrificed and interred during the raising of the mound?

The absence of any cinerary urn, food vase, or flint instruments with these cremated deposits is significant, and would seem to imply that very little respect or care was bestowed on their disposal. They appear to have been placed merely in small heaps, occasionally comprising more than one body, as the mound was being raised. If these deposits were not the remains of cremated attendants they may have been those of prisoners taken during a war with some hostile clan.

The disjointed and fractured bones found during the excavations most probably represented the animals that were slaughtered and eaten by the builders of this mound. Their presence in this instance can scarcely be otherwise accounted for. The bones of the fox having

B

been taken from each division of the mound under the blue clay show that these animals were then numerous and used as food. As regards the human bones, two of which are the lower ends of the humerus belonging to adult persons, the larger is blackened in consequence of having been scorched, probably in cooking, show the sharply jagged fractures similar to those observed on the splintered animal bones, with which they were associated.

These human bones had been broken at the same time in a similar fresh condition, and might also have been the remains of feastings. Cannibalism has undoubtedly existed at one time or another all over the world, and probably this repulsive practice would long survive, especially at great funeral gatherings or other religious ceremonies. As before stated, very few bones were found in the large mass of rough chalk forming that portion of the mound above the bed of blue clay, with the exception of those met with in the disturbed portion at the apex of the barrow. These, as already mentioned, (p. 217) were detached and broken bones of the ox, the dog, and the horse, also a few human bones. The remains of the horse were not found below this disturbed portion of the mound. All these were evidently of a secondary character, belonging to an unknown but comparatively recent period; probably they were Anglo-Saxon interments. These bones were not included in the collection submitted to Mr. Newton for determination.

In conclusion it can only be stated that in spite of the devoted efforts of this ancient race to perpetuate the memory of their illustrious dead, how scanty is the record which reaches us, and how great are the blanks which still remain in our knowledge of their lives and their customs even after we have, by careful search, exhausted their burial mound of its evidence! But the little we have been able to gather, and now place upon record, will, we trust, remain as in some degree a memorial, even though vague, of the savage customs and low culture under which this ancient race lived and struggled.

* Bones which have been buried for a long time lose their gelatine, and consequently break short like the rotten decayed branch of a tree without showing any splintering.