ANGLO-SAXON REMAINS 



an ornament does not of itself prove the original owner a Christian, but 

 without indulging too freely in speculation there seems enough evidence 

 for the inclusion of the Cransley burials among those with the Christian 

 orientation. Perhaps the most interesting relic from this site is a bronze 

 bowl, the description of which of itself suggests a close connection be- 

 tween the settlements at Cransley and Desborough. The bowl had a flat 

 turn-over lip or rim, and was of thin metal, much corroded and broken ; 

 there were traces of gilding in the interior, and a handle with a thickened 

 flange projected horizontally from the rim. A comparison was instituted 

 between this bowl and those found in the Roman cemetery at Irchester; 

 but a closer parallel, apparently overlooked at the time, is the Desborough 

 bowl which had been described by the same writer six years previously. 

 This has been already referred to, and a comparison of the dimensions 

 shows that the two vessels had the same proportions, and as they were 

 found under similar circumstances the probability is that they were used 

 by the same people for the same purposes. The form seems to be a 

 reminiscence of a Roman pattern, but this is not surprising, as other 

 indications^ point to a marked survival of Roman civilization in the 

 county when other parts of Britain, more exposed to the sea or with 

 more fertile soil, were being overrun by the invading Teuton. 



To the same group certainly belongs Islip, which has yielded a few 

 interesting objects of the Anglo-Saxon period. In the autumn of 1 878 

 excavations for ironstone revealed three or four human skeletons about a 

 yard below the surface, the graves penetrating the limestone rock to the 

 depth of one foot, and pointing east and west. A portion of one of the 

 skulls was found adhering to the inner side of the boss of a shield, on 

 which the warrior's head had been laid. With a supposed female skeleton 

 were found beads of glass, amber and terra-cotta ; and a number of 

 brooches, clasps and buckles were recovered in very good preservation. 

 The brooches were of various designs and sizes, some ' longitudinal ' and 

 others circular, of well-known Anglo-Saxon or rather Anglian types. 

 One of the circular specimens had a fylfot design in open-work ; ^ and 

 two, which must be rather Romano-British, are described as of the true 

 ' safety-pin ' type. 



This batch of finds was not described as fully as could be desired, 

 but attention was very properly drawn at the time to the opportunities 

 afforded by the ironstone digging in many parts of the county for 

 securing archaeological remains. The nature of the work renders im- 

 perative a careful supervision if such remains are not to be lost to science. 



The discoveries at Great Addington too have not been recorded 

 with sufficient precision to be of much evidential value ; but the inter- 

 ments appear to belong to two periods separated by a considerable 

 interval. ' Near the south end of the village is an elevation called 

 Shooter's Hill, which seems to have been used as a place of burial by the 

 ancient Britons and Romans, several human skeletons and ancient relics 



' Journal of British Archeeological Association, 1899, p. 295. 

 ^ Figured in Proceedings, Society of Antiquaries, vol. ix. p. 90. 



241 



