444 
ON RECENT PRE-HISTORIC " FINDS " IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF 
TODMORDEN, YORKSHIRE. 
BY ROBERT LAW, F.G.S. 
{Read November 17 th, 1898.) 
Plate LXYI. 
On Thursday, July 7th of this year (1898), a very interesting 
and important archaeoloj^ical discovery was made on a portion 
of land known as Higher Cross Stone Farm, belonging to 
Mr. Sutcliffe, of Todmorden. In a field on this farm, called 
Black Heath, a ring circle, made of earth, has long been known 
to exist, and has gone by the name of the " Frying Pan." No 
history or tradition exists as to the origin of this circle, and 
various speculations have from time to time been indulged in 
by the residents. Some have called it a Roman Camp, others 
a fairy circle, others a circus ring, made to break in horses ; 
but the excavations prove it to be a burial place of pre-historic 
times. Mr. Tattersall Wilkinson, of Burnley, a well-known 
archieologist of considerable experience on ring circles, along 
with the writer of this article, came to the conclusion, on 
hearing of this circle, that it probably contained human remains, 
and an excavating party was organised to meet on the spot on 
the day above mentioned. This party met at the appointed 
time, and the plan of operations was to find the centre of the 
circle, by means of a tape, then to dig a circular trench, about 
three feet from the centre, in which space it was thought the 
remains would lie. The ring was nearly a perfect circle. It 
was raised conspicuously above the ground. The rim of raised 
earth was about three feet wide, and the diameter of the whole 
circle was thirty yards. After the digging had been going on 
for a short time, burnt soil and charcoal were met with, and 
