Aixhceologia. 301 



On the whole, the discoveries made in these barrows are not appa- 

 rently of very great importance, with the exception, perhaps, of the 

 pottery, which requires a more careful examination. We have not 

 repeated such terms as "Brigantian," " British," etc, applied to these 

 objects in the account printed in the Times, which are, perhaps, better 

 avoided, because they imply the decision of questions which are at 

 present not at all decided. As far as we can judge by the description 

 of the contents of these barrows nothing has been found but the 

 pottery which can give any assistance in determining their date, and 

 that, therefore, requires a more careful examination. There are- 

 reasons for suspecting that many, at least, of these barrows which 

 are scattered over the downs of the North and East Ridings of York- 

 shire, instead of being Brigantian or British antecedent to the Roman 

 period, may belong to that later period which intervened between the 

 age of Roman imperial domination and the settlement of the Angles 

 in the Northumbrian kingdom, and as this question is an interesting 

 one, it is desirable that the objects found in the barrows should be- 

 as carefully preserved and examined as possible. 



On the 1 6th of August a large tumulus on Norries Law, near 

 Largo, on the coast of Fife, Scotland, was opened and examined, It 

 appears to have had two circles of stone, surrounding a cairn, the 

 stones of which bore marks of burning. On one side was found a small 

 triangular cist, containing human bones, which had been burnt, and 

 near it was an urn, among wood cinders. The urn is not described. 

 The most remarkable circumstance connected with this tumulus is 

 that, about half a century ago, some objects formed of silver were 

 found near it, though it does not appear that they had any direct 

 connection with it. These objects, which are interesting on account 

 of the curious figures engraved on them, are now deposited in the 

 Museum of Antiquities at Edinburgh, where they can be easily 

 examined. 



We turn from these to another class of barrows, which are at 

 least much more productive of interesting results, and at the same 

 time with comparatively much less labour. All who were present 

 at the meeting of the Kent Archaeological Society at Sandwich, last 

 August, must have been struck with the beautiful display of Anglo- 

 Saxon jewellery, personal ornaments, and other articles, in the tem- 

 porary museum. These objects were obtained from barrows in East 

 Kent, and especially at Sarr, in the Isle of Thanet, where, in the 

 autumn of last year, an extensive Saxon cemetery was partly exca- 

 vated at the expense of the Kent Society. The excavations were 

 carried on under the careful direction of Mr. John Brent, jun., the 

 well-known antiquary of Canterbury, and, among the objects found 

 in them, besides the usual weapons and implements in iron, such as- 

 swords, umbos of shields, spear-heads, knives, and keys, there were 

 found several glass vessels, much pottery, a pair of scales of bronze 

 with the weights, a door-lock, with bolt, constructed to work dia- 

 gonally, a horse's bit, an axe-head, two weapons like a Highland 

 dirk and knife, in one double scabbard, a pike three feet nine inches 

 long, a spear with a fastening like that of a modern bayonet, a 

 sword with two plates of silver, forming part of the guard, an 



