PARISH OF COWLAM. 221 



elapsed since the earth of which it was composed had been sub- 

 jected to any process of removal. Nor is it likely, if the barrow 

 had been opened for other purposes than those of burial, that the 

 bodies which were disturbed by such act would have been relaid 

 with attention to the due order of the constituent bones. The 

 mound may have been in use as a burying-place for some length 

 of time ; and it is possible that it had been opened at various 

 places, and probably, if so opened, oftener than once, in order 

 to introduce fresh interments, though it is not easy to decide 

 which the introduced interments were. These appearances may, 

 however, be accounted for in another way. All the bodies may 

 have been previously deposited, either under or above ground, 

 at some other place, and may have afterwards been removed to 

 where they were discovered, for none seemed to be complete or 

 to have all their bones in proper order. On this supposition the 

 barrow was an ossuary, though not on a large scale, nor having the 

 bones placed all together in one common mass, as is usual in such 

 a mode of final disposition of the bones. Similar conditions with 

 regard to the bones have been met with in other barrows, and 

 though I would not insist upon the ossuary view as explaining 

 all the circumstances of the different cases, it appears on the 

 whole to present fewer difficulties than any other theory, and 

 it has the merit of being in accordance with a not uncommon 

 practice. 



The large quantity of fragments of pottery also deserves special 

 remark. It was, nearly all of it, of the well-baked, unorna- 

 mented, dark-coloured ware, of which several of the barrows in this 

 locality as well as others elsewhere on the wolds have afforded 

 specimens, but which is by no means so common in average bar- 

 rows as the lighter-coloured, inferior kind of pottery, frequently 

 characterised by the presence of ornamentation, and usually con- 

 stituting portions of cinerary urns or other sepulchral vessels. 

 I strongly incline to the opinion that this plain ware appertained 

 to vessels for domestic use, which were necessarily better fired 

 than those which I believe were specially made for burial pur- 

 poses. This subject has been however more fully considered in 

 the Introduction. 



The two barrows next in order were situated upon the same 

 ridge of high land as that whereon the last seven were placed, 

 but about a mile to the west of them. 



