Barroics on the West FritJiam Plain. 207 



On Fritliam Plain, not far from Gorely Bushes, lies another 

 vast graveyard. The grave-circles are very similar in size to 

 those round the large harrow on Bratley Plain, though a good 

 deal higher, with, here and there, some oval mounds ranged 

 side hy side, as in a modern churchyard. In the autumn 

 of 1862, I opened five of these, with the same result of finding 

 charcoal in all, though placed in different parts, hut in all 

 instances resting on the natural ground, and giving evidence 

 of only one interment. As in other cases, the grave-heaps were 

 often alternately composed of mould and gravel. No traces 

 of urns or celts were found, hut in one or two a quantity 

 of small circular stones, with indistinct marks of borings, 

 which could hardly have accidentally collected. 



About a quarter of a mile off, on the road to Whiteshoot,* 

 lies, however, a square mound, measuring nine yards each 

 way, and averaging a foot and a half in height. On opening 

 it on the north side, we came upon the fragments of an 

 urn, but so much decayed that we could only tell that they 

 were, probably, Keltic. On the west side, another trench, 

 which had been made, showed the presence of charcoal, which 

 kept increasing till we reached the centre, where we found 

 what ajipeared to be the remains of three separate urns, placed 

 in a triangle at about a yard apart. These also were in the 



knives were discovered by Mr. Drayson, near Eyeworth Wood, and some- 

 what resemble the chipping found in the largest barrow at Bratley, and 

 were, perhaps, cotemporary. The conchoidal fracture may be well seen in 

 specimen on the right-hand side, "i'he celts found by Warner and IJrander, 

 with others in the possession of (Jough, mentioned at p. 199, foot-note, were 

 bronze. 



* There arc two large heathy tracts known as Fritham Plain ; the one 

 to the east, where stand several large trenclied barrows, which still remain 

 to be opened ; and the West Plain, where these excavations took place. 



