414 NORTHUMBERLAND. 



projected 8 in. beyond the sides of the cist ; all the stones were of 

 shale, except the two end ones which were of sandstone. The cist 

 was 4 ft. long, 2 ft. 8 in. wide, 2 ft. 4 in. deep, and had its longer 

 axis east and west. In it was a skeleton, laid on the left side with 

 the head to E., which appeared to have been placed upon a small 

 flat stone as if for a pillow. Behind the shoulders was a ' drinking 

 cup' of an ordinary form, like fig. 120; it is quite fragmentary, 

 but appears to have been originally about 8 in. high. Major 

 Luard-Selby found that the whole cairn showed signs of careful 

 construction, the stones not being merely thrown on without order 

 as is frequently the case. The cist was covered by large stones 

 sloping inwards, and there was the appearance as if a circle of 

 stones had encompassed the cairn near to the outer edge. On 

 making a further examination, I found amongst the stones com- 

 posing the cairn an oval quartzite pebble, 3J in. long and 3 in. 

 wide, which had served as a hammer, and showed signs of having 

 been much used at one end. I also met with several flat pieces of 

 sandstone, from Gin. to 10 in. long, which seemed to have been in 

 use for polishing or grinding, the surfaces being worn quite smooth. 



CXCIV. The second cairn was situated 244 ft. south-east of the 

 last ; it is 62 ft. in diameter, and had originally been about the 

 same height (10 ft.) as the preceding one. It was partially opened 

 by Major Luard-Selby, who ho we vet did not reach the surface- 

 level at the centre. I completed the examination, and found an 

 oblong hollow at the centre excavated in 'the clay sub-soil and 

 filled in with stones. It had a direction west-by-north and east- 

 by-south, and was 4f ft. long, 3 J ft. wide, and 2J ft. deep. At the 

 south-east corner was an oval hole sunk to a depth of If ft. below 

 the bottom of the grave ; it was 1 ft. 8 in. long and 1 1 in. wide, 

 having the same direction as the grave itself, and was filled in with 

 clay and stones. There was no trace remaining of the body which 

 had no doubt once occupied the grave, the bones (unburnt) having 

 gone entirely to decay ; nor apparently had anything been interred 

 with the body. Major Luard-Selby discovered a whetstone, 3| in. 

 long, amongst the stones composing the cairn, and I met with 

 several flat stones similar to those in the last-described cairn, and 

 like them worn quite smooth. 



CXCV. The third cairn, lying 201 ft. south-east of the last, is 

 55 ft. in diameter, and about the same height as the other two. It 



