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Notice of a Cist containing an Urn found near Eckford 

 in February 1889. By John G. Winning. 



The Parish of Eckford, in the County of Eoxburgh, lies 

 between the base of the Cheviots aud the River Teviot. 

 Geologically it is interesting from the number of upper drift 

 deposits of sand and gravel within its bounds. These deposits 

 form mounds or rounded banks, and are chiefly situated within 

 the triangle formed by the junction of Kale Water with the 

 Teviot near Eckford village. 



Whether owing to this district having been thickly populated 

 in early times, or that the dryness of these banks and the 

 easiness of their excavation formed an inducement towards their 

 selection as places of burial, there appears to be hardly a pro- 

 minence in this part of the parish which has not been used for 

 ancient cist interments. 



The Statistical Account of the parish states that stone coffins 

 had been frequently found, and particular mention is made of 

 one found in Priestcrown field in 1831. See Dr Hardy's notes re- 

 gardingthis Cist in Vol. xi., page 178 of the Club's Transactions. 



The Cist to which this paper applies was found in February 

 1889, in the field adjoining Priestcrown on the west. The field 

 is numbered 429 on the Ordnance Survey, and its local name is 

 " Blackman's " Field. This is the third Cist found in the 

 locality since 1885. It, like the others, was brought to light by 

 the plough, and was opened by Mr Purdom, the tenant of 

 Easter Wooden Farm, on 5th February. He found it filled with 

 sand, probably caused by the displacement of the cover. Some 

 fragments of an Urn were obtained, and these were handed to 

 me by Mr Purdom when I visited the place on the 9th. I found 

 the cist had been roughly cleared out, but the ground was frozen 

 too hard to admit of a satisfactory re-examination. Further pieces 

 of the Urn,however, were found. No charred remains were found. 



The Cist is placed on the ridge of the field, lying east and 

 west ; the length at top being 33 inches, width 20 inches, and 

 depth 18 inches. The side stones inclined in towards the top, 

 and the inside bottom measurements were 41 inches by 25 inches. 

 It is constructed with six rough slabs of red sandstone, two 

 forming the bottom, and the others the sides and ends. The 

 cover (of the same material) was in three pieces, and had been 

 packed round the edges with small stones. There was nothing 

 to indicate the position of the Urn in the cist. By careful 



