862 REPoRT—1899. 
of life were obtainable under such agreeable conditions. The effect of these 
incursions, so far as our present subject is concerned, is that there is to be found 
in the British Islands a greater variety of prehistoric and later remains than is 
seen in most European countries, a fact which should add considerably to the 
interest of their exploration. At the same time also it must be borne in mind that 
it is by such researches alone that we can arrive at any true understanding of the 
conditions of life, the habits and religious beliefs, or the physical characters of the 
varied races who inhabited Britain in early times. 
It may seem unnecessary to urge, in face of these facts, that all such memorials 
of the past should be, in the first place, preserved ; and, in the second, that any 
examination of them should be undertaken only by properly qualified persons. 
Unfortunately, however, it has never been more necessary than it is at the present 
time to insist upon both points, and the fact that these prehistoric remains are 
scattered impartially over the whole country, with the exception, perhaps, of the 
sites of ancient forests, makes it almost impossible to devise any special measures 
for their preservation. An additional difficulty is to be found in the fact that many 
ancient remains, such as the barrows of the early Bronze Age, are altogether 
unrecognised as such, and in the process of cultivation have been ploughed down 
almost to the level of the surrounding surface, until at last the plough scatters the 
bones and other relics unnoted over the field, and one more document is gone that 
might have served in the task of reconstructing the history of early man in 
Britain. 
Such accidental and casual destruction is, however, probably unavoidable, and, 
being so, it is scarcely profitable to dwell upon it. We can, perhaps, with more 
advantage protest against wilful destruction, whether it be wanton mischief or 
misplaced archeological zeal. An enlightened public opinion is our only protec- 
tion against the first of these, and will avail against the second also, but we are 
surely entitled to look for more active measures in preventing the destruction of 
archeological monuments in the name of archeology itself. It is a far more 
common occurrence than is generally realised for a tumulus to be opened by 
persons totally unqualified for the task either by experience orreading. An account 
may then be printed in the local journal or newspaper. When such accounts do 
appear it is often painfully obvious that an accidental and later burial has been 
mistaken for the principal interment, while the latter has been altogether over- 
looked, and no useful record has been kept of the relative positions of the various 
objects found. The loss that science has suffered by this indiscriminate and ill- 
judged exploration is difficult to estimate, for it should be borne in mind that an 
ancient burial, once explored, is destroyed for future searchers—no second exami- 
nation can produce results of any value, though individual objects overlooked by 
chance may repay the energy of the latercomers. So much varied knowledge is, in 
fact, required for the proper elucidation of the ordinary contents of a British 
barrow that it is almost impossible for any single person to perform the task 
unaided. A wide experience in physical anthropology must be combined with an 
acquaintance fully as wide with the ordinary conditions of such interments and 
the nature, material, and relative positions of the accompanying relics, all of 
which must be brought to bear, with discriminating judgment, on the facts laid 
bare by the digger’s spade. Added to this, the greatest precaution is needed that 
nothing of value be overlooked. In some soils, such as a stiff clay, it is almost 
impossible to guard against such a casualty, especially when the barrow is of 
large size and vast masses of earth have to be moved. The amount of profitable 
care that may be bestowed on scientific work of this character can nowhere be 
better seen, I am glad to say, than in our own country, in the handsome volumes 
produced by General Pitt-Rivers as a record of his investigations in the history 
of the early inhabitants of Dorsetshire. The memoirs contained in them are 
unsurpassed for scientific thoroughness, and they will probably long stand as the 
model of what archeological investigation skould be. It is very seldom, however. 
that circumstances conspire so favourably towards a desired end as in the case of 
General Pitt-Rivers, where a scientific training is joined to the love of research, 
and finally ample means give full scope for its practice under entirely fayour- 
