58 



and the other probably of gum. A portion of a fifth 

 (No. 11) is similar in appearance to No. 10, and shows 

 the fracture at its two extremities. 



Nos. 12, 13. 14, and 15, appear to to have been busses 

 of books, and No. 13 appears to have sustained some 

 considerable pressure. If this surmise be correct, the 

 books must have varied in size from the thick 4 to. to the 

 tiny 24mo., as the articles are respectively of suitable 

 sizes. No. 13 appears to be brass, but one at least 

 is iron. 



No 16 appears to have been a small handle for the 

 drawer of a bureau. The part of it at the top to which 

 the ring is attached is marked with a cross. This may 

 have been from accident, i.e.,. from mere ornament, or it 

 may have been from religious motives. 



No. 17 is beautifully ornamented on one side, speckled 

 like a peacock's tail, and terminates in a delicate hook. It 

 is most probably one of the ancient hooks similar to those 

 which the Romans used for attaching the lower part of the 

 dress at any height on the person. 



Of buckles there are no fewer than eighteen varieties, 

 of which the following is a detailed account : — 



No. IS is a fragment of a hollow buckle of a very 

 curious construction. 



Nos. 19 and 20 are peculiar by having each of them 

 the head of an animal distinctly impressed upon it. In 

 the latter it seems to be that of a fox, and in the former of 

 a hound — an allusion, probably, to the chase, which, as 

 we know, is still respected and practised in the locality 

 where the articles were found. The former appears to be 

 iron — the latter is undoubtedly brass ; and as neither bears 

 marks of having been a portion of a buckle (properly so 

 called), it is interesting to know what they were. (For an 

 allusion to their use see Nos. 2G — 30.) 



Nos. 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, are buckles which repre- 

 sent large classes in the present collection, indicating, in 

 some respects, a progress in the art of construction. The 

 first is simply square, so as to admit of an ordinary leathern 

 strap ; the second is similar, but with a runner at the part 

 on which the tong lies ; the third is ornamental on its upper 

 surface, and has, besides, small shoulders at the front part 

 of the buckle ; the fourth is similar to the third in the 

 shoulders of the buckle, as is also the fifth ; but both the 

 latter differ, in having peculiar runners, in being weak at 

 the joint, and strong where apparently they would least 



