EXPLORATION OF SOME " RED-HILLS " IN ESSEX. 183 



" One of the two pieces from Peldon appears to belong to the class of ware 

 known as late-Celtic. s 



"As there was an overlapping of the late-Celtic and Roman period, and 

 the forms of the fictile vessels of both these sources of culture appear to have 

 been made simultaneously, it is common to find the two in association. The 

 occurrence of late- Celtic types, therefore, does not necessarily indicate an 

 earlier period. I have already drawn attention to this elsewhere, but it is a point 

 that cannot be too strongly insisted upon. There is no reason why some 

 Red-hills should not have originated in pre-Roman times, but this can only be 

 determined by extended enquiry ; such a conclusion cannot be drawn from 

 isolated specimens. The weight of evidence so far points to their origin in 

 Romano-British times." 



As before stated, I simply put forward the above supposi- 

 tions in a tentative way to suggest further enquiry, which the 

 newly-appointed Committee of the Essex Archaeological Society 

 and the Club will doubtless give to the matter, to confirm, 

 extend, or possibly confute, the conclusions here set forth. There 

 are numerous very interesting questions connected with geology, 

 topography, and even the biology of our coast suggested by the 

 problems of the Red-hills. The density and salinity of the 

 estuarine waters as compared with the open sea is one of them, 

 and the age of the alluvium and the older sea-walls, are others. 

 It is a large and very interesting subject, and one worker 

 can do very little, but my brothers and I have had much 

 satisfaction in making up the above sheets, and recalling the 

 many pleasant days spent on the breezy Essex marshes with the 

 Red-hills and the curlews. 



[The Club is indebted to Mr. H. A. Cole, for the drawings accompanying this paper. It 

 should be stated that the drawings on pp. 175 and 176 are one-half the natural size of the 

 objects.] 



8 These pieces came from Mr. Stopes, and are presumably the fragments alluded to in 

 his paper, E.N. I., page 99. 



