234 



MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. X. There are some long beads of agate, bored through longitudi- 

 AntioiJ7ties ii^% '> ^^^'^ beads of cornelian and of gum. 



A SWORD 



SPEAR HEAD FOUND m GAIRNS 

 Mxlhouse 



The absence of silver in the cairns may be an indication of their 

 antiquity, gold having been much less common than silver as far 

 back at least as the eleventh century. One Roman coin— an 

 Aureus — has been found. 



LIOSofURHS 



CONOREVE 



The diameter usually varies from 20 to 28 feet, but there are 

 some small cairns measuring only 9 or 10 feet. Most of the pots — 

 cinerary urns — and implements are found within a few feet of the 

 surface, either beneath stone slabs or resting on other slabs or 

 a close pavement sunk a few feet down. The earth between the 

 two layers of stones in which the pots are tightly packed is a 

 black finely pulverized soil resembling decomposed animal matter. 



