408 NORTHUMBERLAND. 



The two barrows next to be described were situated at Broom- 

 hill, about a mile and a-half to the south-west of the last, upon the 

 ridge of the sandstone rock which there skirts the valley of the 

 Till, and in close proximity to ground in which several burials 

 have been discovered 1 ; where, moreover, flint implements and 

 chippings are met with on the surface whenever it is disturbed. 



CLXXXVIL The first barrow, the upper part of which was 

 entirely formed of stones, the lower having much earth inter- 

 mingled with them, was 16 ft. in diameter and 3 ft. in height. 

 It was enclosed at the base by a circle of stones set on edge and 

 placed close to each other. The diameter of the circle being 12 ft., 

 the extreme edge of the barrow extended only a little beyond the 

 line of encircling stones, which projected above the surface of the 

 mound. The primary interment was found at the centre of the 

 barrow ; it was contained in a cist, the bottom of which was formed 

 by the original surface of the ground. The cist was made of four 

 sandstone slabs set on edge, with a single massive flag for a cover, 

 which bore on its upper surface the signs of fire ; the joints at the 

 angles were filled up with clay. The cist lay north and south, and 

 was 2ft. 11 in. long, 2ft. wide, and 1 ft. Tin. in depth. At its 

 northern end were two portions of the skull of a child about two 

 years old, and close to them was placed a * food vessel ' standing 

 upright and quite empty. There cannot be a doubt that the whole 

 body had been originally deposited in the cist, and that nearly all 

 the bones had disappeared through decay, leaving only that portion 

 of the skeleton which, on account of the texture of the bone, has 

 frequently been found to have resisted longer than any other part 

 the action of various disintegrating agents to which the body has 



1 I possess two urns found many years ago at Broomridge, in a circular hollow 

 sunk in the ground and lined with clay. The larger urn, which stood upright, had 

 the smaller one reversed within it over the deposit of burnt bones contained therein. 

 It is 9 in. high, 7 in. wide at the mouth, and 3 in. at the bottom ; in form it ap- 

 proaches to fig. 56; the upper part is ornamented with lines of twisted-thong 

 impressions arranged herring-bone fashion. The inside of the rim is ornamented 

 to the unusual depth of l in. with a diamond- shaped pattern placed between two 

 lines which encircle the vessel, all of twisted-thong markings. The smaller urn is 

 5 in. high, 4f in. wide at the mouth, and 2^ in. at the bottom ; and has the upper 

 half ornamented with encompassing lines with short vertical lines below them, all the 

 markings being due to twisted-thong impressions. Another burial after cremation 

 was met with about the same time, not very far from this just above mentioned. An 

 * incense cup ' was associated with the burnt bones ; it is 2 in. high, 2^ in. wide at the 

 mouth, and 2^ in. at the bottom. The upper half has five encircling lines of twisted- 

 thong impressions upon it, which are crossed by four sets, each consisting of four 

 vertical lines of similar impressions ; the lower half is plain. Just below the mouth 

 are two perforations, the one placed above the other. 



