52 



manufactured near by. Such a manufactory has been found 

 between Cheltenham and BirdHp. Flint itself is only found in 

 chalk and the nearest chalk is some forty miles away. 



Not only did early man leave his weapons and tools scattered 

 about on the surface of the ground, but he buried his dead under 

 heaps of ground, now called Barrows. Neolithic man made long 

 barrows, more or less oval in shape, while the men of later ages 

 made round barrows. 



Instances of long barrows are to be seen at Belas Knapp, 

 across Cleeve Hill, on the Crippets Hill, and at West Tump 

 near Birdlip; while round barrows are to be found near the Air 

 Balloon on the left side of the Birdlip Road, at Dowdeswell, on 

 Cleeve and at many other spots, being very common indeed. 



The West Tump barrow was opened in [iSyf?)]. It was not 

 quite oval in form as its curve was indented at one end and so it 

 is spoken of as a horned barrow. Every yard or two round the 

 outside a skeleton was found, all of their skulls being of the 

 long head or dolico-cephalic type. Inside the barlow was a 

 pathway sloping down to a central chamber. Ten skeletons 

 were found in the main entrance and on a stone at the end of 

 the central chamber was seated the skeleton of a young woman, 

 with most beautiful teeth and she held a small baby in her arms. 

 This young woman was called by Mr. Witts the Cotteswold 

 Princess. No metal implement of any description was found 

 during the digging but some flint implements were discovered. 



The Belas Knapp barrow was dug out in i8... and the skulls 

 and other bones found in it are now in the College Museum and 

 form a very valuable collection. 



Passing to Roman times we find the chief Roman remains 

 in our district are villas and camps. Of the villas only a few 

 have been excavated, and many others are known but have not 

 been dug into. The best one is at Chedworth, while remains of 

 another in the wood below Birdlip have been visited before now 

 by the Natural History Society. 



The high ground of the Cotteswolds ending off abruptly 

 along the escarpment offered a capital situation for military 

 camps. This was of course known to the Pre-Roman settlers 

 and they made camps along the edge. The Romans made use 

 of the camps they found in existence when they came into this 

 country, sometimes enlarging or altering them no doubt, and 



