SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— H. 407 



Mrs. E. M. Clifford. — Types of long barrozvs on the Cotswolds (2.50). 



The Cotswold hills form part of the so-called prehistoric highway of 

 England and the area is justly famous for its long barrows, which are built 

 of local materials. Three types of chambered barrows are distinguished 

 and these include three of the four known examples of double cruciform 

 type (Uley Bury, Nympsfield and Notgrove), the last named differing 

 from the others in having an ante-chamber approached from a horned 

 entrance with two walls and a central dome-like structure in which there 

 was a cist containing human bones. The barrows are formed of orthostats 

 and dry stone-walling and are surrounded by revetment walls, which are 

 often supported by extra-revetment material. This in its turn forms the 

 outer edge of the covering of the mound, which is largely of stone. Tney 

 are found on high ground and their connection with trackways is probable. 

 It is possible they were used over a long period for the burial of the ruling 

 classes. The type of skull is dolichocephalic except in three cases, one of 

 these being the Bisley trephined skull, and beaker ware has been found in 

 four long barrows. Neolithic A ware (including pottery spoons). Neolithic 

 B beads, and bone tools are among the objects found, and the animals 

 include horse, roe-deer, red deer, ox, sheep or goat, and dog. 



Miss C. A. '&m.v?,o^.—Trackioays (3.10). 



Mr. H. J. E. Feake.— Some problems of the Neolithic (3.30). 



Prof. V. Gordon Childe and Mr. W. Thorneycroft.— TAe experimental 

 production of phenomena distinctive of vitrified forts (4.10). 



A model murus gallicus was built 12 ft. long X 6 ft. wide X 6 ft. high 

 using bricks for the faces. A raft of close-set pit props formed the founda- 

 tions for the core and one face, and the faces were tied together above by 4 tiers 

 of transverse beams set at vertical and horizontal intervals of 16 ins Each 

 layer supported other timbers, and the rest of the core was filled with basalt 

 rubble. The whole was ignited from timbers heaped against both faces m a 

 strong breeze. The wall burned for 6 hours and after coohng the three 

 lowest layers of rubble were found fused into a solid mass. In this mass the 

 casts of timbers and other phenomena, observed in the vitrified ramparts 

 of prehistoric forts in Gaul and Scotland, were faithfully reproduced in 

 building the wall i ton 6 cwt. dry timber and 7 tons 7 cwt. of basalt had been 

 employed and over 145 cwt. vitrified basalt was obtained. The experiment 

 was repeated on a smaller scale using schist actually employed in the pre- 

 historic rampart of Rahoy and yielded confirmatory evidence. Thus is 

 confirmed the most authoritative account of vitrif action that attributes it to 

 the combustion of a stone and timber rampart such as the munis gallicus 

 of Caesar. 



