104 



THE PVPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



On a farm occupied by M. Dahls, near Elbe in Jutland, are four 

 tumuli, known as Great Kongeboi, Little Kongehoi, Guldhoi, and Tre- 

 enhoi. This last was examined in 1861. Near its centre were found 



Comb. 



Woollen Caps, from Tumulus. 



three wooden coffins, two of full size, and one evidently intended for 

 a child. The contents of the larger were partially j)reserved, and very 

 interesting : caps, a comb, two woollen shawls, traces of leather, some 

 black hair, and the brain, remained, when all of the bones had changed 

 into a kind of blue powder. Implements of bronze accompanied these 

 remains, and there seems no doubt that they dated from a prehistoric 

 antiquity. 



Many of the dwellings in use during the Bronze Age were no 

 doubt subterranean or semi-subterranean. On almost all large tracts 

 of uncultivated land, ancient villages of this character may still be 

 traced. A pit was dug, and the earth which was thrown out formed 

 a circular wall, the whole being then probably covered over with 

 boughs. The " Penpits," near Gillingham, in Wiltshire, are of this 

 character, and indicate a populous settlement. In Anglesea, similar 

 hut-circles exist. On Dartmoor and elsewhere, where large blocks of 

 stone abounded, the natives saved themselves the trouble of excavat- 

 ing, and simply built up circular walls of stone. In other cases, prob- 

 ably when concealment was an object, the dwellings were entirely 

 subterranean. Such ancient dwellings are in Scotland known as 

 " weems," from " Uamha," a cave. In one of these at Monzie, in 

 Perthshire, a bronze sword was discovered. Such underground cham- 

 bers, however, appear to have been used in Scotland as dwellings, or 

 at least as places of concealment, down to the time of the Romans ; for 

 a weem described by Lord Rosehill was constructed partly of stones 

 showing the diagonal and diamond markings peculiar to Roman work- 

 manship. Sir John Lubbock believes that Stonehenge also belongs to 

 the Bronze Age. 



From the independent statements of Homer and in the book of 

 Kings (where the word is mistranslated brass) we find that bronze was 

 abundant in the East no less than three thousand years ago. Bronze 

 is composed of about nine parts of copper to one of tin : and copper is 

 found in so many countries that we cannot as yet tell whence the 



