YORKSHIRE TUMULI. 
303 
Mr. Henry Denny, at a meeting at Leeds in August, 1866, read 
an important paper on early British tumuli on the Hambleton Hills, 
near Thirsk. In this paper, the area embraced the region occupied by 
the moors of Boltby, Eskwith, Hawnby and Kepwick Moors, and South- 
woods ; the numerous tumuli on which had been examined by the Rev. 
W. Greenwell, of Durham ; Mr. Craster, of Middlesbro' ; Mr. Verity, 
of Southwood ; and Mr. Murray, of Dales ide. Accompanied by Mr. 
Fox and Mr. Abraham Horsfall, of Leeds, Mr. Denny had spent some 
days prosecuting with great zeal the laborious task of grave-digging, 
with the result that they opened some tumuli, which the author then 
proceeded to describe. One skeleton which was discovered, that of a 
female, had round the neck a necklace consisting of about 120variousl3^- 
shaped beads of jet and Kimmeridge coal, similar to a necklace found 
by Mr. Greenwell in Northumberland, the beads of which were also 
of jet and shale. Several fragments of pottery were found which had 
apparently been drinking vessels, and urns mixed with bones and 
drippings of flints. A second tumulus opened near the preceding 
one, contained, besides the skeleton, a portion of the brow antler of 
a red deer. No pottery or personal ornaments were found. The 
body was laid on the surface of the ground, the stones being heaped 
above it covered with soil. In the village of Hawnby there are 
numerous indications of tumuli. The locality forms a spur running 
out from the western side of the Hambleton Hills overhanging the 
village. It is crossed by an ancient dyke, and on the west side there 
is a gi'oup of tumuli, one large one in the centre, and eight or nine 
small ones surrounding it. These have been examined by Mr. Murray 
and Mr. Verity. The larger tumulus was 120 feet in circumference, 
and 4 feet in height. It contained the skeleton of a young female, 
evidently of high rank, from the various decorative articles and 
personal ornaments which accompanied it. At the head was a bowl 
of thin bronze, with three handles about 1 1 inches in diameter. It 
had a wooden cover, with bronze straps arranged in a diamond pattern 
across it. The young lady's waist had been encircled by a leathern 
girdle, of which the buckle or clasp was made of two pleats of gold, 
one of which, set witli four garnet-coloured glass ornaments, still 
remained ; they had been rivetted to the leather with gold rivets. 
