335 
works in question with the builders of the grave-hills under 
notice. But while identity of construction, at least identity 
of principles and materials of construction, on the one side, may 
at least suggest a like date, and the same race of constructors, 
it would appear to be a rather captious style of criticism 
which, with nothing whatever even to suggest, and much 
less to support, a contrary theory, would seek to dispute that 
point. I therefore take it for granted : and I assume that, 
while the general tendency of all these facts and consider- 
ations conjointly is to assert for even the youngest or most 
recent of these interments, — proved to demonstration to have 
been successive, and in some instances, doubtless, not closely 
so in point of time, — a highly remote antiquity, this conclusion 
no less than that stated a moment since assigns the tumuli 
themselves to an even much more remote antiquity. 
And this assumption in both its parts I believe to be fully 
borne out, speaking generally, by the character of the 
pottery found in them. It is certainly a singular circum- 
stance that while, amongst the urns I have succeeded in 
collecting, two in particular commend themselves to the 
accustomed, almost to the simply observant, eye as pre- 
sumably the most ancient in the number, alike on account of 
a peculiar but not easily describable character of the biscuit, 
their greater thickness, not to say clumsiness of fabric, and 
their obviously ruder look, — these are just those urns which 
were taken from the central parts of their respective hills ; 
which, in other words, were doubtless the original deposits 
over which these houes were raised. And what is, perhaps, 
equally remarkable, is that the singularly rude stone relics 
just now adverted to were found covered by one of these two 
urns. 
With respect to the other urns at large, one would feel no 
little difficulty in deciding which was the least old ; or, at 
least, which of them shewed decided signs of any real 
increase of artistic skill employed in their manufacture. 
cc 
