A HISTORY OF WARWICKSHIRE 



was also a variety of beads in amber and glass paste. One urn only 

 was discovered : this was well fired, had been turned on the lathe, 

 and was much ornamented. Close to the urn lay an iron sword, and 

 across the mouth an iron spearhead, distinguished from the rest by a 

 narrow bronze ring round the socket. Other pottery was found of a 

 distinct character, comprising several cups capable of containing about 

 half a pint each, imperfectly baked and in crumbling condition. 1 



Of the objects figured from this site, two call for special mention as 

 being of rare occurrence in Anglo-Saxon graves. One is a metal fragment 

 described as ' an article of brass supposed to have been attached to a sword 

 belt,' but its original breadth of 2^ inches leaves little room for doubt 

 that it was the chape of a scabbard, the longitudinal ribs on both sides 

 having clearly been attached to the leather sheath, which has perished. 

 Whether this fragment originally belonged to the weapon found near the 

 urn just mentioned it is perhaps impossible to decide, but it is in itself a 

 rare specimen, and is sufficient evidence that a sword was once deposited 

 with it in a grave. The other piece of special interest is a circular 

 brooch of the same metal, from which the settings have disappeared. No 

 detailed description is given, but the form is enough to refer it to a type 

 common in the late Roman period, and frequently found in localities 

 yielding Anglo-Saxon relics. The original setting seems to have been a 

 carbuncle, either oval 2 or circular ; and while a find at Canterbury 3 

 shows a specimen associated with ornaments richly enamelled in the 

 Roman manner, the national collection contains examples of both shapes 

 from Roman and Anglo-Saxon sites. 4 The central cabochon has in most 

 cases been lost, but a glass-paste imitation is found on some of the 

 Roman examples ; while the Teutonic fashion was to cut 

 the stone or glass into thin slabs and set these on gold foil. 

 An interesting example of such work has been found near 

 Rugby, 6 and consists of a gold stud, now somewhat damaged, 

 with the centre ornamented in quadrants, and garnets in- 

 laid in imbricated and step patterns, while the edge has 

 oblong pieces of the same stones. This jewelled boss was 

 probably intended to ornament a circular brooch, a buckle, 

 or even a cup, 6 and may have been subsequently attached 

 as a P omme l to a sword-hilt, as rough holes at the bottom 

 and at two opposite points on the rim show that an 

 unskilled hand has fastened it by means of a wire or metal band. 



Coloured drawings of other brooches found on this site are given in 

 Akerman's Pagan Saxondom, pi. xviii., including two long narrow speci- 



1 Roach Smith, Collectanea Antijua, i. 41, where the cinerary urn is figured ; other objects on pi. 

 xviii. p. 36; Society of Antiquaries, Proceedings, ser. I, iii. 55 ; Bloxam, fragmenta SepulchraKa, pp. 

 5 2 . 53. 57 ; an( i Monumental Architecture and Sculpture of Great Britain, pp. 34, 44, 52. 



2 A specimen found at Ragley Park and noticed below seems to have been of this description. 



3 Roach Smith, Collectanea Antiqua, vii. 202, pi. xx. fig. 3. 



* Long Wittenham and East ShefFord, Berks ; and Haslingfield, Cambs. 



6 Preserved in the School Art Museum, and kindly lent for illustration by Mr. Thos. Lindsay. 



6 Compare the Kentish jewellery, the Taplow buckle, and the Ardagh chalice. 



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