180 Mr. H. C. Collyer’s Notes on the 
at the centre, and the earth thrown roughly out, leaving a great 
hole. I sunk two pits in the undisturbed edge of the barrow in 
the hope of finding some secondary interments, but only found a 
layer of ashes, which covered the surface of the ground on which 
the tumulus had been thrown up. This contained bones of the 
ox and pig, which had evidently been the remains of a funeral 
feast, roasted at the fire which consumed the body. 
The principal contents of the barrows had been removed by 
those who dug into it in the first instance, and it is a matter for 
regret that it should have been disturbed in the way it was, as 
from its size this tumulus must have been the memorial of some 
chieftain of importance. 
The disturbance of this and some other barrows must have 
taken place a long time ago, as the turf over them was from two 
to three inches thick; and it would be of interest if any of our 
botanical members could inform us of the rate of growth of turf 
on a dry exposed situation like the chalk downs. 
The barrows of later date are much smaller than the pre- 
ceding, being shallow mounds about 25 ft. in diameter, with a 
slight depression in the centre; and, on digging into them, a 
grave is found excavated in the chalk, in which the body has 
been laid. They are Anglo-Saxon graves, and eleven all together 
were dug into; of these only four had not previously been 
disturbed. One contained the perfect skeleton of a man 6 ft. 3 in. 
high, with the skull cloven by a sword cut; it lay with the head 
due south, and no weapons were found with it. Another close 
by contained the skeleton of an old man, the teeth of which were 
worn down nearly to the stumps, but not in the least decayed. 
Under the head was an iron knife, and a bronze pin was on the 
breast, used apparently to fasten a cloak. Traces of a wooden 
staff could be seen. The head was to the west. Two others 
contained the skeletons of women in a much decayed condition. 
The only ornaments found were a shell armlet and an iron bead. 
The heads of both were to the west. 
A fine barrow of this description, which showed no outward 
sign of its having been disturbed, was found to have been rifled 
and carefully restored to its original shape; but part of the 
skeleton remained, showing that it had belonged to a man of 
gigantic stature with a very thick skull. A fragment of an iron 
weapon, probably the point of a spear or dagger, had eluded the 
search of the former investigators. The turf on this barrow was 
very thin, so probably it had been opened in recent years. 
Six others proved to have been opened before, as they con- 
tained only displaced bones; but in three the leg-bones retained 
their position, showing that the body had been buried with the 
feet to the north. The graves lay north and south. ; 
An unusually large mound of Anglo-Saxon date was partly 
