218 ANCIENT REMAINS IN ARRAN. 



The black earth of the urns was most kindly examined 

 for me by Dr. Thomas Anderson, Professor of Chemistry, 

 Glasgow University. It contains many minute bone frag- 

 ments, small pebbles, sand, and ordinary soil, but no trace of 

 animal matter. The bones, carefully cleaned, have the 

 following composition : 



Phosphates, . 84 '11 



Siliceous matter, . . . . ' . 6 '29 



Organic matter, . . . . . . 3 '57 



Carbonate of lime, . . . . . .. 3 '41 



Water, ,. 2'62 



100-00 



From this analysis there can be little doubt that the 

 bones have been burned, and that the earthy matter is 

 part of the soil introduced along with them when they were 

 gathered from the spot where the ceremony of incremation 

 was performed. The absence of nitrogen shews that the 

 organic matter is not of animal origin, but that it and the 

 siliceous matter are part of the soil which could not be 

 separated from the bones before analysis. 



The urns are of the earliest forms, fashioned by the hand 

 before the potter's wheel was used in these western lauds; 

 the irregularity thence arising is very perceptible under the 

 lower band; the form of the mouth also is not perfectly 

 round. The ornamental markings are made by sloping 

 lines, neither straight nor parallel, and appear as if marked 

 in the soft clay with a bit of twig, the streak coming off 

 light towards the lower part ; the two rows of alternate dabs 

 appear as if made with the thick end of the twig; the lines 

 separating the bands of ornament are drawn without any 

 attention to accuracy. The height is 7| inches; diameter, 7 

 inches at the mouth, 3^ at the bottom ; circumference at the 

 lower baud, 25 inches; at the upper, 24 inches. 



The urn was either sun-dried, like the Mexican adobes, 

 or subjected to but a very slight degree of burning, as Dr. 



