487 



On an Urn found at Galashiels. By Mrs Wood, Wood- 

 burn, Galashiels. 



A short time ago, an urn was found in a grave here by Mr 

 J. Murray, Master of Works, Galashiels. Happening to enter 

 the old churchyard one day, he saw the sexton busily engaged 

 in digging a grave on a part of the ground taken in between 

 30 and 40 years ago, and which previously was used as a stack- 

 yard. At the head of the new grave the man had come upon an 

 ancient cist, and had already removed some of the enclosing 

 stones. There were, however, still two in position, supporting 

 the east and west ends ; — large rough slabs broken off the 

 boulders, which are so common on the land in this locality. The 

 length of the cist was about three feet, and its direction south- 

 east and north-west. At one corner an urn was observed by Mr 

 Murray, but unfortunately too late to prevent it being broken by 

 the spade. The pieces, however, in Mr Murray's possession, are 

 large enough to show the size and form of the vessel. It is 

 made of baked yellowish clay — haclay, — the same as that of the 

 Clay-Dubs in Gala Park. The height of the urn is 7£ inches ; 

 its girth at the widest part 20 inches, and at the narrowest, viz : 

 the base or foot, 8 inches. The circumference of the inner 

 part of the brim or mouth is 17 inches, and the width of the 

 brim itself f of an inch. The flat lip which slopes gently down 

 towards the mouth, has a very neatly executed herring-bone 

 ornament running round it in a horizontal direction. The urn 

 is divided into three sections, the two uppermost of which are 

 concave, and are separated from each other by raised bands. The 

 first division is ornamented with a zig-zag pattern mixed with 

 slanting lines, and various other markings. The second has a 

 vertical herring-bone ornament all round the upper part of the 

 section, and below it double upright lines of a dark slaty colour, 

 with double horizontal lines between of the same hue. The 

 lower division of the vessel is quite plain and shaped exactly like 

 a flower pot, the base being very narrow and without a margin. 

 There are no traces of ashes, or of matter on the inside of the 

 urn. I noticed a small stone sticking in the clay which had got 

 mixed with it when it was moulded. A careful examination of 

 the earth in and around the cist was made at the time by Mr 

 Murray, without discovering anything, except a few small scale- 

 like fragments of bone. 



