164 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



MAMMALIA. 



HOMINID.E. 



Human Bones at Bromehill. — On both sides of the Little Ouse River, 

 for several miles between Brandon and Thetford, human bones have been 

 at various times found on the surface or unearthed in considerable numbers. 

 I myself have found them exposed on the ground on several spots on the 

 north bank, chiefly near Bromehill Mere, in the parish of Weeting, and at 

 St. Helen's Well (or "Tanner's Pit"), the site of St. Helen's Church, 

 Thetford. The bones at the latter place were doubtless buried there at 

 various dates. In February, 1885, in the meadow a few yards west of 

 Bromehill Mere, I saw, by the mouth of a rabbit-hole, part of a human 

 skull, many human bones, bones of cat, horse, sheep, and rabbit, two flint 

 "scrapers" of neolithic work, three "plague-pipes" (tobacco-pipes of the 

 date of Charles II), and fragments of pottery ancient and modern, glazed 

 and not glazed. Some of the ancient bits were of a greyish brown (as if 

 they had only been dried, but not burned or baked), and contained in the 

 substance of the clay many small white stones. One small bit of this grey- 

 brown or unburnt ware has the imprint as of wicker-work on its convex 

 side, as if it had once formed a clay lining to a basket, possibly to make 

 the basket water-tight before folk knew how to make pots to stand alone 

 without a basket to hold them together. On enlarging one of the numerous 

 rabbit holes (nearest to the human bones) with my hands and feet and 

 sheath-knife, I grubbed out three more human skeletons, apparently perfect. 

 Whilst taking them out the Weeting gamekeeper came and watched me, 

 and told me of an old man who once ploughed this meadow, and who 

 declared that he turned out men's heads all over the place. I was benighted 

 by the time I had secured three skeletons, but from what I have seen and 

 heard there must be many thousands only just covered, or partly covered. 

 These three skeletons seemed to have been hastily " crowded " in, so that 

 they were somewhat mixed and in different postures. I could not find any 

 sign of east-and-west posture, or any specially recognised posture, nor any 

 trace of violent death, nor of any metal, pottery, ornament, stone implement, 

 or clothing with them. This particular spot is marked on the Ordnance 

 map as the site of Bromehill Priory. The various articles I saw on the 



