VOL. XXXV.] I'HILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 213 



kidneys there was no apparent defect; nor had the parts In the thorax received 

 any visible alteration, except that the lungs adhered more firmly to the pleura 

 than usual. The intestines and all the viscera contained in the abdomen were 

 of a whiter colour than usual, by being so long steeped in the liquor they 

 floated in. 



On a Human Skeleton of an extraordinary Size, found in a Repository at Repton 

 in Derbyshire ; also some Examples of Longevity. By Simon Degg, M. D. 

 and F. R. S. N° 400, p. 363. 



Repton, or Repingdon, is a town on the Trent, the burial-place of the 

 Mercian kings, whose chief seat was at Tamworth in Staffordshire. It is also 

 remarkable for its free-school, and its ancient abbey. Having viewed the ruins 

 in this town, and inquiring for antiquities, the inhabitants brought one Thomas 

 Walker, a labourer, 88 years of age, who gave the following account. 



About 40 years before, cutting hillocks, near the surface he met with an old 

 stone wall; on clearing farther, he found it to be a square enclosure, of J 5 feet: 

 it had been covered, but the top was decayed and fallen in, being only sup- 

 ported by wooden joices. In this he found a stone coffin, and with difficulty 

 removing the cover, saw a skeleton of a human body 9 feet long, and round it 

 lay 100 human skeletons, of the ordinary size, with their feet pointing to the 

 stone coffin. The bottom of this dormitory was paved with broad flat stones, 

 and in the wall was a door-case, with steps to go down to it, whose entrance 

 was 40 yards off, nearer the church and river. The steps are stone, and much 

 worn : it was in a close, on the north side of the church, and over this re- 

 pository grew a sycamore, planted by the old man when he filled in the earth. 

 This was attested by several old people, who had likewise seen and measured the 

 skeleton. 



Instances of Long Life. — At Uttoxeter, in the Moorlands of Staffordshire, 

 1702, were buried, in 14 days, 3 women; the first 103, the second I26, and 

 the 3d 87 : and the same year two sisters and a brother of that parish ; the 

 brother 92, the younger sister 95, tiie elder sister 98. And in the same parish 

 this present year, 1726, were buried in 22 days, the following aged people: 



Aug. 7, a woman 94, and a man aged 81. Aug. 4, a man aged 68. Aug. 

 19, a man aged 87. Aug. 22, a man aged 82. Aug. 23, a man aged 83. 



In 1726, at Gravely in Hertfordshire, 31 miles from London, almost every 

 6th person is upwards of 60. Inhabitants 187 ; aged above sixty, 29. 



