Barrows on the West Fritham Plain. 



On Fritham Plain, not far from Gorely Bushes, lies another 

 vast graveyard. The grave-circles are very similar in size to 

 those round the large barrow on Bratley Plain, though a good 

 deal higher, with, here and there, some oval mounds ranged 

 side by side, as in a modern churchyard. In the autumn 

 of 1862, I opened five of these, with the same result of finding 

 charcoal in all, though placed in different parts, but in all 

 instances resting on the natural ground, and giving evidence 

 of only one interment. As in other cases, the grave-heaps were 

 often alternately composed of mould and gravel. No traces 

 of urns or celts were found, but in one or two a quantity 

 of small circular stones, with indistinct marks of borings, 

 which could hardly have accidentally collected. 



About a quarter of a mile off, on the road to Whiteshoot,* 

 lies, however, a square mound, measuring nine yards each 

 way, and averaging a foot and a half in height. On opening 

 it on the north side, we came upon the fragments of an urn, 

 so much decayed, however, that we could only tell that they 

 were, probably, Keltic. On the west side, another trench, 

 which had been made, showed the presence of charcoal, which 

 kept increasing till we reached the centre, where we found 

 what appeared to be the remains of three separate urns, placed 

 in a triangle at about a yard apart. These also were in the 



knives were discovered by Mr. Drayson, near Eyeworth Wood, and some- 

 what resemble the chipping found in the largest barrow at Bratley, and 

 were, perhaps, cotemporary. The celts found by "Warner and Brander, 

 with others in the possession of Gough, mentioned at p. 199, foot-note, were 

 bronze. Mr. Keeping also discovered a stone celt in the drift, but this 

 belonged to a far earlier period. See chap. xix. 



* There are two large heathy tracts known as Fritham Plain ; the one 

 to the east, where stand several large trenched barrows, which still remain 

 to be opened ; and the West Plain, where these excavations took place. 



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