EARLY MAN 



Fic. 



I lA. — Flint Knife from Cairn 

 No. I, Fernworthy 



cairn, nor were there any of the larger-sized urns or remains of same for containing a cinerary 

 mterment. This absence of bone may seem surprising, but when it is remembered that the roots 

 of the furze, etc., penetrated down to the lowest depths of 

 the cairn, it is not difficult to realize that these plants grow- 

 ing for an unknown period had assimilated, and thus entirely 

 removed, any signs of phosphatic matter. 



The vase was evidently placed in the bottom of the pit 

 on the ' calm ' or sub-soil, and some of the cairn stones were 

 roughly built around it, two flat stones forming the cover of 

 this rude receptacle. The bronze object was found lying on 

 the upper cover. 



Although no bone ashes were recognized, the Explora- 

 tion Committee had no hesitation in considering this to be 

 an interment after incineration, for wood charcoal was dis- 

 covered in the bottom of the pit. 



The dress-fastener or button may have been deposited in 

 the cairn alone, or it may have been attached to the dress, 

 and the whole placed therein with the ashes of the dead, the 

 vase, the bronze object, and the flint knife at the time of 

 interment. This most interesting and important exploration 

 settles the period of the interment as that of the period of 

 culture known as the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. 



The bronze object above the vase, and the flint knife below, links the Stone and Early Metal Ages 

 in a most satisfactory manner, and in addition to this there is the decoration on the vase and the 

 evidence of the dress-fastener.' 



The vase contained fine soil, which gave distinct traces of phosphoric acid, and may have 

 contained food, but the shape suggests a class of vessels known as drinking cups or beakers which, 

 regarded as a class, is considered by some eminent authorities to be the oldest Bronze Age ceramic in 

 Great Britain. The dimensions of the Fernworthy vase are as follows : — Extreme height J^ in., 

 diameter of bottom 3 in., at mouth (internal) 5 in., thickness of rim ^ in. The dress-fastener has a 

 diameter of 2 J in. 



The next step taken was to examine the interior of the stone circle, and this was done by 

 driving a trench north and south and another east and west. These were cut through peat, locally 

 known as ' ven,' forming a layer 1 8 in. thick, which rested on the ' calm ' or sub-soil. There 

 was no ' meat ' earth. The trenches were driven right through the circle with a width of 2 ft., and 

 from end to end it was observed that the floor of the ' calm ' or sub-soil was strewn with small pieces 



of wood charcoal. There 

 was no charcoal in the 

 ' calm ' or sub-soil ; it was 

 all existing on it, and the 

 floor was as definite as those 

 found in the hut circles. 



Three pits were dug 

 between the trenches, and 

 another at the foot of one 

 of the largest stones of the 

 circle. The whole of these 

 gave the same indications 

 of charcoal — the remnants 

 of fires of wood ; in fact, 

 fires seem to have been 

 kindled all over the circle, 

 for every scoop of the pick 

 and shovel which was re- 

 moved from the floor dis- 

 played charcoal. This is a 

 very interesting and im- 

 portant discovery, for it 

 may unravel the mystery 

 of the so-called ' sacred ' 

 circles. 



PLAN OF KIST 



SHE WIN C POSITIOA/ or (//?Af 



SCALE Z FEET TO I INCH 



COVER STONE 



Fig. 12. 



SECTION 



-Plan of Kist, Chagford Common 



' For further particulars of buttons or dress-fasteners see Evans, Stone Imp. and Greenwell, British Barrows. 



359 



