Cold Kitchen Hill, 1893. 281 



of the mound a large deposit of oyster-shells was found about 6in. 

 under the turf. In another, forty-one paces south-west of the 

 mound, we dug down 4ft. 6in. through rich dlack mould — evidently 

 the result of ancient habitation, for such black mould could never 

 be produced by merely natural causes at the summit of a high chalk 

 down, on which, moreover, the natural soil above the chalk is a 

 thin layer of reddish clay with flints — before the chalk bottom was 

 reached. We, however, found but little in these depressions, only 

 an iron fibula, a bronze pin, some bones and broken pottery, and we 

 saw no signs of stone foundations or of the painted plaster spoken 

 of by Mr. Cunnington in 1808. 



The great majority of the bones, the fragments of pottery, and 

 the other articles illustrated in the accompanying plates came from 

 the two trenches cut through the mound. 



Both these were carried down to the level of the original chalk, 

 but no sign of an interment below the tumulus was found. The 

 mound itself was composed of made earth, with a few pieces of stone 

 from the gi'eensand which crops out at the foot of the hill near 

 Maiden Bradley and Horningsham, and throughout the whole mass 

 small veins and single bits of charcoal, quantities of animal bones, 

 and broken pieces of pottery were found scattered apparently at 

 random. Indeed, as the rabbit-burrows went down in places nearly 

 to the original level, and as the whole tumulus was honeycombed 

 with them, it was impossible to say of most of the things found 

 whether they were in their original positions or not. So that no 

 certain evidence could be gained as to the age of the mound — for 

 the small articles found 3ft. or 4ft. deep might very well have fallen 

 down rabbit-holes from near the surface, whilst, on the other hand, 

 the rabbits had no doubt dug out many articles originally buried 

 deep below the surface. The only things which could not well have 

 moved from the spot where they were originally placed were the 

 skeletons — or rather portions of skeletons, for the skulls and upper 

 parts could not be found — which were discovered about 2ft. under the 

 surface, slightly to the south-east of the centre of the mound, with 

 the feet in one case pointing roughly to the east. A couple of large 

 chalk flints, about a foot square, were found just above the skeletons. 



