A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE 



visible Smith to be discussed by those who have more leisure, I only 

 remark that these stones are, according to the best Danish antiquaries, 

 a Burial Altar ; that their being raised in the midst of a plain field, near 

 the great road, seems to indicate some person there slain, and buried ; 

 and that this person was probably a Chief or King, there being no 

 monument of this sort near that place, perhaps not in England beside.' 



This monument, however, clearly belongs to a group of sepulchral 

 structures of which, although there are no others in Berkshire, examples 

 are found in Wiltshire and other neighbouring counties. It is a gallery- 

 dolmen or chambered tumulus ; that is, a sepulchral 

 chamber or chambers approached by a passage or 

 gallery, and originally covered by earth, constructed 

 probably on the plan of the house of the period. 

 As these structures are few in number they must 

 be supposed to have contained the bones of a chief- 

 tain or person of high rank. This interesting relic 

 of the past is figured by Lysons 1 as being already 

 in a ruinous state, although he describes it as a 

 ' considerable tumulus.' It was also described by 

 Ackerman in 1847.* This ancient tomb was no 

 doubt rifled long ago, as no remains connected with 

 it have hitherto been found. It has lost its earthen 

 covering, and many of the stones of which it was 

 composed have been scattered or disarranged ; but 

 the eastern arm of the chamber still retains its 

 covering slab of stone in its original position. 3 



THE BRONZE AGE 



The introduction of metal, instead of flint and 

 other kinds of stone, as a material for the manu- 

 facture of implements marks a very great advance. 

 The first metal thus used in this country was 

 bronze, which is a mixture of copper with about 

 12 per cent, of tin, the mixed metal being much 

 harder than pure copper. The circumstances that 

 led to the introduction of bronze need not be dis- 

 cussed here, as it was probably at first imported into 

 BRONZE SPEAR-HEAD FROM t ^[ s country. Its uses were many and various. 



SPEEN. i i 1 i r i 



Although the pattern or the stone axe was to a cer- 

 tain extent followed, there was ultimately considerable change of form 

 through the flanged palstave to the socketed axe. 



The spear-heads are of various patterns, and vary greatly in size. 

 A fine leaf-shaped specimen about 16 inches long from the Thames 



1 Lysons, Mag. Brit. (1806). 



Arch, xxxii. 312. See also the article by Mr. Thomas Wright, ' The Legendary History of Way- 

 land Smith,' Journ. Arch. Ass. 1860, xvi. 50. 

 3 See illustration facing p. 192. 



180 



