ANCIENT EARTHWORKS 



differ in certain details, but that by Hardwick seems to be the most 

 trustworthy. The operations were as follows : — 



First a trench about 50 ft. long by 12 ft. wide appears to have been cut 

 from the north-east side of the mount (A) as far as its centre ; here its depth 

 was 1 1 ft. or more. Secondly, a shaft was sunk to the same level rather 

 south-west of the centre of the mount. At the bottom of the trench, and 

 also of the shaft, a rude pavement of boulders was discovered ; it extended 

 nearly level for two-thirds of the length of the trench, and for the remaining 

 third (towards the centre of the mount) was as much as a foot higher ; its 

 width was not ascertained beyond the breadth of the trench (i.e. 12 ft.), but 

 it is said to have had the appearance of being continued on either side. On 

 the top of this pavement lay a stratum, 2 ft. 6 in. thick, of decayed vegetable 

 matter, chiefly rushes and grass, intermixed with large quantities of bones 

 of various animals ; these were generally broken. There were also sundry 

 objects of iron, bronze, and wood. The soil beneath the pavement was 

 saturated with decomposed animal matter, which turned blue on exposure to 

 the air, probably the result of vivianite produced by iron in contact with the 

 bones. 



Lying upon the pavement and its debris, or projecting out of the 

 ground, were the broken timbers and wattling of what appeared to have been 

 a circular habitation ; this was divided into several chambers. On the top 

 of the debris were remains of the beams, wattling, and thatch of one or more 

 roofs, seemingly of varying construction and materials in different places : all 

 were black with both smoke and age. Near the centre of the mount a thick 

 oak post was still standing which had been broken off 5 ft. from the floor, 

 and was bored with holes for the insertion of pegs ; other very similar posts 

 and beams were found prostrate. 



The broken bones of animals discovered in the mass upon the floor were 

 all of species used for human food. Those of the boar greatly predominated, 

 but there were remains of deer, ' long ' and ' broad-faced ' oxen, hares, rabbits, 

 and also of geese and fowls. It was noted that bones of the goat and sheep 

 were curiously absent. A few mussel shells were also found. 



Of objects used by former occupiers of the habitation were a broken 

 wooden paddle, two net weights of lead, a curved bronze loop (possibly for 

 harness), the leather sole of a shoe, part of a knife-handle of stag's horn, 

 wooden pegs, an iron ' Roman key,' and three iron nails — all found beneath 

 or among the decayed matter lying upon the pavement. Last and most 

 important a beautiful prick-spur was disinterred and picked up among matter 

 thrown out from the excavations ; as far as known it came from the layer of 

 debris lying upon the floor ; its blue colour, and the fact of portions of the 

 said stratum being found adhering to it, would also seem to confirm this ; 

 there is always the possibility, however, of its having fallen from the higher 

 floor shortly to be described. Experts have variously described this spur as 

 of Saxon and Norman workmanship, but it is most probably of the latter date. 



This ancient wooden habitation was evidently occupied sufficiently long 

 for the bones of hundreds of successive meals to have been thrown upon the 

 floor, and to have been covered by relays of rushes ; even as now com- 

 pressed, these amounted to a horrible mass 2 ft. 6 in. thick. 



Above these remains earth appears to have been subsequently heaped. 



535 



