Byways in British Archaeology. By Walter Johnson, 

 F.G.S., Author of Folk- Memory, etc. 



Demy 8vo. Cloth, pp. xii + 530. With 99 illustrations. Price \os. bd. net 



Extract from the Preface 



The following chapters, though superficially presenting the 

 appearance of disconnected essays, really possess a strong 

 bond of continuity. Running through the whole, implied, 

 where not actually expressed, will be found an insistence on 

 the principle which, in a former work, I ventured to call folk- 

 memory. 



To a large extent the studies are connected with the 

 church and churchyard. The sections which treat of pagan 

 sites, orientation, and burial customs, embody the results of 

 observations relating to some hundreds of buildings in all 

 parts of England and Wales. The chapters on "The Folk- 

 Lore of the Cardinal Points " and " The Labour'd Ox " 

 partially, at least, break virgin soil. In "The Churchyard 

 Yew" are set down inferences drawn from many years of 

 investigation, the literary side of which has been rendered 

 difficult by the existence, in various modern works, of 

 unfounded statements and hypothetical references. The 

 remainder of the book treats of somewhat more familiar 

 themes, though it is hoped that fresh outlooks are suggested. 



Since some of the matters here brought forward have 

 been, and indeed still are, provocative of keen, and even 

 heated controversy, to anticipate agreement with all the con- 

 clusions would be sheer folly. Nevertheless, it may be claimed 

 that the facts collected have been carefully sifted, the refer- 

 ences conscientiously verified, and the opposing theories 

 honestly presented. 



CONTENTS ■ ■ ■ ■' 



Churches on Pagan Sites — The Secular Uses of the Church Fabric — The 

 Orientation of Churches — The Orientation of Graves — Survivals in Burial 

 Customs — The Folk-Lore of the Cardinal Points — The Churchyard Yew — 

 The Cult of the Horse— "The Labour'd Ox," 



Athenaeum. In these 500 pages Mr Johnson has brought together a series of 

 essays on archaeological subjects, each of which shows considerable 

 reading and accurate research. ...The amount of information compactly 

 presented is remarkable, and it may fairly be said that every reasoning 

 British archaeologist ought to read these pages.... Throughout the volume 

 is well illustrated. 



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