256 ANGLO-SAXONS AND DANES. 



tumuli must be looked for with interest ; as far as the inquiry 

 has yet gone, they appear to be most frequently British. 



TUMULI. 



Not many of the grave-mounds of Anglo-Saxons have been 

 opened in Yorkshire. They have been chiefly in the vicinity of 

 Driffield, where indeed, from many circumstances, Anglo-Saxon 

 remains may be expected to be more abundant than elsewhere. 

 One opened by the Yorkshire Antiquarian Club, under the di- 

 rection of Dr. Thurnam, was of a diameter much greater than 

 any British tumulus yet described, but elevated only a few feet. 

 So great a number of burials were found in it as to indicate 

 that it had been a common place of sepulture for a considerable 

 population. The skeletons were laid in various directions, in 

 several combinations, and were of different ages, certainly not 

 the remains of slain warriors only, though some warlike instru- 

 ments were found. 



Among the personal ornaments found in the mound at Drif- 

 h'eld were many amber beads of unequal size, mostly rough in 

 aspect. Amber occurs on the eastern coasts of England, but not 

 so abundantly as on the Baltic coast, from which the owners of 

 the necklaces probably drew their origin. 



The most remarkable objects were rock-crystal pebbles, perfo- 

 rated with a degree of accuracy which implies not only the skilful 

 use of the lathe, but also the possession of emery a substance 

 not likely to be had except from the island of Naxos. Such 

 beads were probably a part of the treasures of the East, brought 

 to the north of Europe by mercenary soldiers or roving pirates. 



No example of an axe has occurred in our Anglo-Saxon 

 tumuli. The iron instruments found have been chiefly knives, 

 and blades and spikes of spears ; the latter placed in the tumulus 

 at Driffield at such a distance from the blade as to indicate a 

 wooden shaft of some 4 or 5 feet in length. One of the most 

 remarkable objects obtained is the iron umbo of a round shield, 

 with four circular iron discs probably placed round it on the 



