12 
cromlechs which he had seen opened, was led to make excavations 
which resulted in the discovery of the vast storehouse of curious 
objects similar to those now before us. 
The soft and yielding nature of the sandy cliff offers but little 
resistance to the pick and spade, and at the distance of little more 
than three feet from the surface, are found the baked clay clumps, 
to which have been given the name of “ Hand-bricks,” because, as 
will at once be observable upon inspection, they have been formed 
by simply moulding in the grasp a handful of kneaded clay, and 
then stamping the ends upon flat boards or stones, in which state 
they have been fired ; and their surface still bears the imprint of 
the cuticle and fingers which were employed in their manufacture. 
They are found, not lying indiscriminately, but packed together 
with evident order, care, and arrangement, lying transversely over 
and across one another, and, at intervals, as if to support the 
weight and pressure, are placed a sort of rude flat bricks, shaped 
as if formed without a regular mould, but merely pressed together 
with boards; the length I was not able to ascertain, having failed 
in procuring a perfect example, but probably 14 or 16 inches. 
Associated with these is a great abundance of broken pottery, 
both baked and unbaked, mostly coarse and of the rudest manu- 
facture, but here and there portions occur which bear marks of 
the wheel, and of more careful elaboration. J have unfortunatel 
lost the only specimen illustrative of this fact which I possessed, 
but it was apparently sun-dried, and of finer clay than any of the 
examples now before us. Limpet shells innumerable are profusely 
distributed throughout the deposit, which, from age, have parted 
with their animal matter, and adhere more or less to the tongue. 
The accompanying stone* was disinterred at the same time; to 
which I draw attention, as it will be seen, upon examination, that 
_ it is not in its normal condition, but bears marks, in its bevelled 
edge and smooth surface, of having been subjected to friction, and 
made use of probably as a muller, in the manufacture of the clay 
for the accompanying pottery. 
The old fisherman who was my guide attributed the fabrication 
of the “ Hand-bricks”’ to the Druids, who, like other representa- 
tives of unknown powers, are occasionally made responsible for 
facts which cannot be referred to any known origin. Amongst 
ourselves, Julius Cesar and “ Old Scratch” divide the honour of 
similar ascriptions. Mr. Lukis, however, informs me that the 
period to which they may most probably be referred is the 
Romano-British or Gaulish, but that this point is doubtful and 
requires further elucidation. 
It seems possible, indeed, looking to the isolated situation of 
these islands, that their inhabitants may have remained in a rude 
and barbarous condition, and have retained their primitive habits, 
uses, and customs, for a considerable period after the tribes in- 
* The Stone here referred to, together with specimens of the Hand-bricks 
and Pottery, were laid upon the table at the time this paper was read, and are 
now deposited in the Museum of the Royal Agricultural College, at Cirencester. 
