PARISH OF WILLERBY, EAST RIDING. 487 



of rubble expanded into a regularly constructed cairn of stones, 

 carefully laid in order from a central point, and placed upon the 

 stratum of clay already mentioned. The diameter of this cairn was 

 18 ft., and its centre was 49 ft. from the east end of the barrow. 

 There was nothing found beneath it, nor was there any indication 

 that a body had ever rested there. The cairn itself, being enclosed 

 within the larger mound, must have been first constructed ; 

 and no doubt was made at the same time as the line of oolitic 

 rubble, of which, indeed, it seemed to form a part l . An examina- 

 tion of that portion of the barrow which lay to the west of the 

 cairn disclosed merely the continued employment of the same 

 material as had been used in other parts, namely, the firmly-com- 

 pacted oolitic rubble, clay and earth ; nor was there anything to 

 show that burials had taken place beyond it. No trace of metal, 

 no fragment of pottery, no piece of flint, was met with in the entire 

 barrow, so far as it was examined. 



Before making any remarks upon the singular facts afforded by 

 this barrow, and before entering on any enquiry as to the relative 

 age of the long barrows, and the information we seem to gain from 

 a knowledge of their contents, I think it best to give a detailed 

 account of the examination of some other barrows of that class in 

 Yorkshire, Westmoreland, and Gloucestershire. In doing this I 

 shall depart from the rule to which I have adhered in the account 

 of the round barrows, that of describing them in the order of their 

 locality. I think I can thus best bring before the reader the several 

 facts they disclose ; and the plan will not, moreover, be materially 

 departed from, as the whole number I have opened amounts in all 

 to no more than twelve. 



PARISH OF WILLERBY, EAST RIDING. Ord. Map. xcv. s.w. 



CCXXII. Upon Willerby Wold, in close proximity to several 

 round barrows, most of which I have opened, is a single long one. 



1 At the time this cairn was an inexplicable feature, but subsequent examinations 

 of long barrows, especially of those at Westow and Crosby Garrett, seem to explain 

 its use. It is clear that the long barrows, where cremation was practised, were so 

 constructed that the bodies might be burnt after they were covered by the mound. 

 To ensure this, it was necessary to carry the burning along the line of the deposit 

 of the bodies. This was effected by arranging the stones somewhat after the fashion 

 of a flue, so as to create a draught, for which purpose a vent was required at the end 

 opposite to that where the fire was applied. Provision for carrying this out appears, 

 in the case of the present barrow, to have been made by the cairn in question. 



