442 REPORT ON EXCAVATION AT SIGWELL. 



southernmost of the two halves of the twin-barrow, driving a trench 

 15 feet wide from east to west, beginning along a line 30 feet south 

 of the line of the centre picket, but some little way from the 

 actual southern boundary of the barrow. Some excavation had 

 been made, either for the sake of investigation or for digging out 

 rabbits, fox, or badger, on the south-east side of the barrow ; the 

 earth disturbed by this operation had been partly thrown out east- 

 wards, partly filled in again; through the westward part of the 

 disturbed soil we dug, and found that the diggers had not gone 

 very far down and had left a ' steel' for striking a light and a piece 

 of glazed pottery in their ' fllling-in.' We came upon the natural 

 surface at a depth of 9 feet 10 inches, as in the northern barrow, the 

 ground and the mound being of the same distinctive character as 

 regards each other. 



A piece of British pottery (labelled ' Sigwell ii a ') was found 

 1 5 feet 6 inches to the south-west of the centre picket, and 9 feet 

 10 inches below the surface. It had been apparently the bottom 

 of a jar or urn, and may possibly indicate that an urn burial had 

 taken place in this barrow before the one we had to deal with. 

 The distal half of the metacarpal or metatarsal of a sheep or goat 

 was found about 5 feet down in the barrow near to the centre 

 picket. It was a good deal decayed, but one of the phalanges was 

 found in relation with it. 



3 feet 8 inches to the west of the centre picket we found a grave 

 1 foot 6 inches deep in the natural soil, 10 feet long, 5 feet wide at 

 the north, 4 feet wide at the south end, its long axis due magnetic 

 north and south, that of the tumulus itself being about north 5 

 east. The eastern end of the grave was 7 feet to west of the centre 

 picket, 3 feet 10 inches of the length of the grave being to the 

 south of the centre, and the remaining 6 feet 2 inches to the north. 

 In this grave was contained a bark coffin, inside of which was a 

 bronze dagger, and a quantity of very thoroughly burnt small 

 fragments of human bones. The longest diameter of the largest of 

 these fragments being only -g inches, it is difficult to say more 

 than that this fragment, being apparently a part of that portion of 

 the occipital bone which is known as the Torcular Herophili (the 

 very same portion of bone as that which was found in the deposit 

 of La Tiniere, and one which possesses a singular power of resisting 

 various destructive agencies), probably belonged to a young male 



