Field MEEtiNos. 357 



piece the fragments together. There was only one burial in 

 the cairn." The next to be opened was " a large mound of 

 irregular form," and this was found to be the burial place of 

 a body which had not been subjected to fire. " On its south- 

 western margin, at a depth of 3 feet from the surface of the 

 mound, the excavators struck upon a large slab of freestone, 

 4 feet 8 inches by i foot 10 inches. Beneath this slab was a 

 perfect well-shaped cist, formed of four clean level side-stones, 

 placed nearly diie east and west, 3 feet 4 inches long, i foot 

 10 inches wide at the west end, 2 feet i inch at the east end, 

 and 20 inches deep. The cist was clear of any intrusive soil, 

 and on a level bed of the native peat earth lay the remains of 

 a body on its left side, in a contracted position ; that is, with 

 the knees drawn up towards the head, the head slightly bent 

 forward, in the north-west corner of the cist. Neither food 

 vessel nor flint implement was found in the cist. After care- 

 ful examination, Dr Barrow of Rothbury reported the remains 

 to be those of a male adult, probably between thirty and forty 

 years of age, from 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches in height. 

 The skull is distinctly brachy-cephalic, or round-headed, be- 

 longing to a race who are generally supposed to have sup- 

 planted the older dolicho-cephalic, or long-headed, race of 

 people in Britain." In another cairn, which measured 26 

 feet in diameter and six feet in height, were found three 

 burials. In one cist, two feet below the natural surface of the 



irround, and covered with three slabs, no remains were dis- 

 cs ' ^ 



cernible. A second cist contained " a large deposit of cal- 

 cined bones and ashes, evidently the remains of several burnt 

 bodies in a fragmentary condition, placed in the cist after 

 cremation. Judging from the reddened appearance of the 

 closely surrounding stones and soil, it is probable that the 

 bodies were burned on the site of the burial." In the same 

 mound was a cinerary urn, of rough pottery, standing in an 

 inverted position on a flat stone on the natural surface of the 

 ground ; and near it two smaller urns, of the " food vessel " 

 tvpe. The cinerary urn contained burned bones and part of 

 a flint implement. 



Excavation of the Craigdarroch tumuli or others in the 

 district would probably yield similar results ; but definite 



