72 LEADEN COFFIN FOUND AT CANN. 



leaden coffins were discovered about a quarter of a mile west- 

 ward of the church of East Ham. l Another, 3ft. 2ins. in 

 length, containing the skeleton of a young girl, was found at 

 Irchester. 2 In 1828, two leaden coffins, containing the 

 skeletons of young persons, were found at Rouen 3 ; they 

 were accompanied by grave-goods. 



There is no evidence that the cement ever entirely enveloped 

 the Cann coffin. The edges of the tray were more or less 

 rounded, and there was no indication of fracture along the 

 margins. Leaden coffins were, of course, frequently 

 enveloped in an outer covering of wood, as in the case of 

 the interment discovered at Grey Down Quarry, Marnhull, 

 about 6 miles west of the site where the Cann coffin was 

 found. I described the Marnhull burial in the Western 

 Gazette, 29 June, 1892, and later in Somerset and Dorset Notes 

 and Queries, Vol. IX., pp. 5 8. 4 Several large nails, about 

 4|ins. in length, and some rectangular plates of thin iron 

 pierced with nail-holes, were found outside the coffin, all 

 of which bore traces of wood still attached by rust, indicating 

 that there had been some external wooden structure. From 

 the measurement of the long-bones I was able to estimate 

 that the stature of the individual was about 4ft. lOJins., 

 which is about the average stature of the females of the 

 Romano-British Villages of Woodcuts, Rotherley, and 

 Woodyates (excavated by General Pitt-Rivers). The 

 Marnhull individual had been buried in sandals or shoes, 

 as evidenced by the remains of hob-nails at the feet. No 



1> " Three leaden coffins were next found, lying like the sarcophagus 

 north and south. Two were ornamented ; the third plain. Their 

 measurements are 4ft. lOJins. by ll^ins. at the top, and 9ins. at the 

 bottom, and the smaller 2ft. 4ins. in length." (Collect. Antiq., VII., 

 191). The last -mentioned is in the British Museum. 



2 - Collect. Antiq., VII., 192-4. 



3 - Op. cit., III., 56-57. 



4t Som. and Dor. Notes and Queries also contains some of my notes 

 on leaden coffins found at Wiveliscombe and in other parts of Somerset 

 (see Vol. IX., 8, 58 ; and Vol. XIV., 335). 



