TIDESWELL AND TIDESLOW. 7 1 



examining one; this was at Brier Low, near Buxton, on May 

 12, 1845, at which operation I had the pleasure of assisting. 

 That both Mr. Addy and Professor Skeat concur in opinion in 

 assigning Tides-low to the historic (Anglo-Saxon) period, the 

 following quotations will be deemed sufficient proof : — 



Mr. Addy : " Tid must have ' died into the hill ' long before a 

 church at Tideswell was thought of. Was English spoken here 

 before the sixth century, or do the rude cinerary urns of Derby- 

 shire belong to a later date than that? Some of these lows may 

 have been family tombs " (9th xij., 341). 



Professor Skeat : " The name Tidi occurs in the ' Liber Vitse 

 of Durham, and again in Beda, but not later. So the mound 

 may be as old as the eighth century, or even earlier " 

 (10th j., 91). 



Does not the former lay himself open to much comment 

 when alluding to the " rude cinerary urns " ? 



These opinions are based on a misconception, that because 

 a tumulus bears an Anglo-Saxon name it must therefore belong 

 to that period ; whereas the Anglo-Saxon names of the majority 

 of the lows are of comparatively modern date (historic) as 

 compared with the period of their original construction 

 (prehistoric). 



Then comes this important question : Is it probable or 

 possible that any personal, tribal, or family name has been 

 perpetuated, or has descended to us, through the long period 

 that has elapsed between the Neolithic, the Bronze, and the 

 Iron Ages, and that of the Historic ? To this a decided and 

 final negative must be given. 



The science of philology has undoubtedly made great strides 

 during the last few years, and no one appreciates the labours 

 of Professor Skeat in this direction more than I do, but from 

 their very nature such labours must, in a great measure, be 

 limited to the historic period ; but it seems to me that we must 

 wait for future developments before it can throw much or any 

 light on matters relating to the domain of Prehistoric 

 Archaeology. 



