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On the Early Occupation of the Cotteswold Hills by Man. By 

 G. F. Playne. Bead at Williton, October 5th, 1870. 



In common with many districts of England, the Cotteswold 

 Hills retain traces of their occupation by early races of men, 

 of whose existence we have little evidence except the remains of 

 their works. These remains consist of portions of the dwellings 

 in which they sheltered, of defensive works by which they 

 protected themselves, of structures whereby they marked the 

 graves of their dead, and accompanying these larger works are 

 found various implements, ornaments, and weapons of stone, 

 earth, and metal. These relics, from the imperishable character 

 of their materials, have suffered comparatively little by the 

 ordinary effects of nature ; but by the agency of man very many 

 have been injured, and numbers have doubtless disappeared 

 altogether. The plough has been the great leveller of earth- 

 works ; the mere value of the materials has led to the removal 

 of many structures formed of massive stones ; the treasure-seeker 

 has marred the antiquarian interest of numbers of barrows ; and 

 the researches of antiquaries have aided in the destruction of 

 these ancient works. Those which have remained to the present 

 time are now subjected to these various destructive agencies in 

 a rapidly increasing ratio, — 'by the inclosure of "common" 

 lands, whose hitherto untilled surfaces have preserved in a 

 remarkable manner even slight depressions or mounds made 

 many centuries ago ; by the more thorough cultivation of long 

 existing farms, for which barrows or other works before spared 

 are now removed ; and by the restless activity of antiquaries, 

 whose investigations threaten to leave to the future few vestiges 

 of these ancient works intact. It therefore appears desirable to 

 take note of the present state of these remains, and to gather 

 up the evidences they afford before they altogether disappear. 

 I shall not attempt to give a detailed account of all the 



