A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and repaired it. It was dredged up near Crossens : there is no evidence 

 in this case of great antiquity. 



The two canoes from Preston are of greater interest, not only because 

 they differ somewhat in construction from those previously described, but 

 also because the circumstances of their discovery are known and have been 

 carefully recorded. 



In a considerable excavation made for the construction of the Ribble 

 Docks at Preston, various objects of antiquity were come upon at levels 

 which varied from lo to 20 ft, below the surface, including a bronze leaf- 

 shaped spear-head, shown in fig. 22, and animal remains of the urus or 

 wild ox. Associated with these were a series of human skulls, described 

 in a later section, p. 256, which, though too few in numbers to war- 

 rant any general conclusion, suggest by their range of indices that 

 mixing of races which, as the evidence of art also shows, took place at the 

 uprising of the Bronze Age with the incoming of a Celtic element among the 

 population. The great antiquity of this stratum is well substantiated, and 

 is of importance in considering the date of unknown types. The first of 

 these canoes lay, when found, on a bed of gravel 14 ft. below the surface, at 

 a distance of 130 ft. from the present river bank. It is 8 ft. 9 in. long, 2 ft. 

 6 in. across in extreme width, and has a greatest depth of i ft. Its stern was 

 closed by a stern-board inserted in a groove, cut in the sides and bottom. 

 The prow projects 10 in. forward of the dug-out portion. The stern is 

 hollowed from the root of the tree-stem. 



The second of the Preston canoes (see Plate VI.- 1.) is smaller and less 

 elaborate. Its length over all is 7 ft. 8j in., with greatest width 2 ft. 8 in., 

 and width at the stern 2 ft. 2 in. Its depth is i ft. 2I in., while the bottom 

 remains ijin. thick in the middle and 4 J in. thick at the stern. In the bow 

 is an irregularly-shaped hole. There are traces of clean cutting produced by 

 sharp metallic tools. It was found at a depth of i 3 ft., about a quarter of a 

 mile east of Penwortham Church. 



Hitherto there has been found no criterion for assigning a date to such 

 dug-out canoes from intrinsic evidence. The mere fact of simplicity of 

 construction must not be taken alone as a sign of great antiquity. Movable 

 stern-boards, also, are found alike in association with lake dwellings of the 

 Bronze Age,^ and in a deposit of Late Celtic times at Buxton.' The only 

 satisfactory dating of these canoes must be separately done from the special 

 associations of each example. The Preston canoes seem to be as early as the 

 Bronze Age, and the oldest in the county ; while that from Crossens may not 

 be as old as Norman times. 



There remain two canoes,' found near Warrington in the Arpley 

 Fields, each found about 20 to 25 yards northward from the former bank 

 of the Mersey at that place before the cutting of the Ship Canal, and at 

 a depth of about 1 8 ft. below the surface of the ground. One canoe is 

 ribbed in two places and of considerable elaboration. It is furnished with 

 a seat in the broader end, and several pegs are fitted regularly around 

 the gunwale. Each one is rounded, and several plug holes are provided 



1 Proc. Soc. yf„tij. Scot. xi. 21. S Ibid. ZO6. 



Boats fb^'uS'nt' /wa"S^to„.'°' ''""^^^'' "'"■ '''■ '"'"■ ""' '''"■ ^•^^ '• ^7. Madeley on -Two Ancient 



250 



