262 YORKSHIRE. EAST RIDING. 



fatty earth upon the level of the ground, extending throughout the 

 whole barrow, and increasing in depth up to the centre, wh'ere it 

 attained a thickness of 2 J ft. This deposit was full of burnt earth 

 and charcoal in every part ; but there was more evidence of burning 

 in that 'part which immediately overlaid the natural surface. There 

 were also in it a very large number of animal bones 1 , as well 

 as sherds of pottery, principally of plain dark-coloured ware, flint 

 implements, and chippings of the same material. Amongst the 

 implements must be numbered 79 saws [fig. 22] ; 17 scrapers ; 

 3 leaf-shaped arrow-points ; 2 pointed tools (probably for boring) ; 

 several flint articles of uncertain purpose ; a hammer-stone ; and a 

 piece of a greenstone axe. Many of the saws are very delicately 

 serrated, some along both edges, and showing by the glaze upon 

 the edge that they had been in use. The number of saws 

 was very surprising, and far exceeded the aggregate of those ob- 

 tained from all the barrows I have opened ; and it is by no means 

 easy to give any reasonable explanation of the phenomenon. 



LXVIII. The next barrow was situated about a quarter of a mile 

 to the south-east of the last. It had been much dug into in pursuit 

 of rabbits, and in one part a trench had been cut through it down 

 to the level of the ground. It nevertheless proved one of the most 

 prolific and interesting mounds I have ever examined. It was 40 ft. 

 in diameter and 3J ft. high, the lower 18 inches being of earth, 

 the remaining or upper portion of chalk. The earth which over- 

 laid the graves was so compact that it was only broken up with 

 great difficulty, and had all the appearance of having been in- 

 tentionally puddled ; although it is more probable that this con- 

 dition had been caused by the material having been put together 

 in very wet weather, and much trampled on in the process. It 

 will be remembered that a similar appearance was noticed in a 

 barrow at Weaverthorpe [No. xlvii], as also in the second barrow of 

 the present group [No. Ixiii]. 



At a distance of 7| ft. south-west of the centre, and 1J ft. above 

 the surface-level, was the body of an adult, laid on the right side, 

 with the head to N.N.W. ; but the hands were so much decayed 



1 The bones are of red deer, four, and two teeth; of goat or sheep, twelve, and six 

 teeth; of horse, four; of dog (canis familiar is), two; of pig (sus scrofa domesticus), 

 sixty-five, and thirty teeth; of ox (bos longifrons), one hundred and thirty, and forty- 

 one teeth ; and of another species of ox, either of the urus type or of a cross between 

 that species and bos longifrons, a domestic variety, and of larger size than has been 

 before met with in the barrows of the wolds. 



