116 



Notes on Bowl's Barrow. 



which are by no means clear. Sir R. C. Hoare came to the con- 

 clusion that it was " nothing more than the decayed turf."" In this 

 view he was supported by two of the most able chemists of the day, 

 Mr. Hatchett and Dr. Gibbs, who failed to detect the presence of 

 animal matter. 1 



Mr. T. Powell, chemist, of Denmark Hill, has lately examined 

 some of this substance in its fresh, moist condition, and has distinctly 

 proved the presence of salts of ammonia. On again testing some 

 masses of it, which had been allowed to dry for a considerable time, 

 no traces of the ammonia could be detected ; the volatile ammoniacal 

 salts had evaporated. Hence it is no longer a matter of surprise 

 that the chemists above named failed to find it in the specimens sent 

 to them, which were, no doubt, quite dry when examined. 



The discovery of the ammonia has led us to the conclusion that 

 the blood o£ the human victims sacrificed, or of the oxen killed on 

 the occasion, (possibly of both,) was a main factor in promoting 

 such complete decomposition of the vegetable substances of the turf ; 

 and that the iron of the colouring matter of the blood is the source 

 of the reddish-brown tinge which it exhibits when dry. 



We have here a remarkable instance of the power of loamy soils 

 to absorb and retain the salts of ammonia — the water, which for so 

 many centuries had filtered through from the surface, having failed 

 to remove them. 2 



Many of the bones, especially the long bones, have been gnawed 

 by rodents, apparently by rats, as the marks of the teeth correspond 

 in width with the incisor teeth of the common rat. It is a well- 

 known fact that these animals gnaw the bones in modern London 

 churchyards ; and it is possible that rats may have had access to 



1 Ancient Wiltshire, I., 92. 

 2 This peculiar black earth is said by Sir R. C. Hoare (Ancient Wilts, I., 92), 

 and by Dr. Thurnam (Archaeol., xlii., 181-2), to occur in long barrows only. I 

 have, however, noticed it on more than one occasion in round barrows, e.g., in 

 barrow "d" on Roundway Hill, but only to a small extent, and not at the base 

 of the barrow, but in detached masses of a yard or so in extent, two or three 

 inches in thickness, and thinning out to the edges. In two long barrows 

 examined by Dr. Thurnam it was altogether absent. Wherever found, I would 

 suggest that it has been produced by the spilling of blood on the turf, as above 

 mentioned. 



