Report of Meetings for 1879, by James Hardy. 15 



railway, tliat about ten years ago, a British urn was found at tlie 

 great depth of 15 feet beneath the surface. In working the 

 facing of the railway cutting for gravel, this urn was exposed 

 upon the occurrence of a fall of a quantity of the material. It 

 was then dug carefully out, and was presented by Mr Green, 

 engineer, to the Berwick Museum, where it is now preserved. 

 Other two, if not more, had been discovered there previously. A 

 coloured sketch of this urn was brought by Captain Norman to 

 the meeting. The urn contained, mixed with clay, a number of 

 human bones, with some perfect teeth among them. It had no 

 bottom when it came to the Museum. It is of more than usual 

 capacity ; the diameter at the mouth is 11 f inches ; and at its 

 widest part, 14 inches ; the depth of what remains is 8 inches. 

 It is of rough workmanship and of rude material. The orna- 

 mentation which is only on the upper half of the urn is of two 

 kinds. On the one half of the round it consists of spaces with 4 

 or 5 upright lines, followed alternately by others with as many 

 lines disposed horizontally. An unbroken long line bounds the 

 lower edge of this kind of pattern. On the other half of the 

 round, there is no fixed plan, some of the lines, which are of the 

 dotted kind, and not entire, are perpendicular, and some hori- 

 zontal; others angular, and even cross-hatched. The lower 

 boundary line across the vessel on this side is of the dotted kind. 

 A series of short oblique lines ornament the rim round the 

 mouth. 



The company walked northwards along the public road that 

 passes what was formerly Houndwood Inn, now the Free Church 

 manse. Formerly the banks hereabouts, and continuing south- 

 wards to Heughhead, were occupied with brush and coppice 

 wood, like that still conserved on the Eenton property. Hillend 

 also had its natural woods {sylvis) as we learn from a lietour 

 dated April 26, 1632.* The bank opposite to that on which the 

 Free Church is situated, used to be called the " Wul-cat-brae, " 

 which furnishes another testimony to the former existence of a 

 not very popular member of the native fauna. A corn mill once 

 stood on the haugh by the Eye, intermediate between the Free 

 Church and Chirnside road. Near the smithy, but on the 



* Inquis. Ret. Berwick, No. 533. Also, Act Pari. James VI., 1621, vol. 

 iy., p. 658. " All and haill the Landis of Hilend with the woddis of the 



