: OfOXFOXD^SHtliB. 
ter a PjiramiJal form ; which Mabadeu^ he faith, in their Lan- 
guage fignifies the great Gcd ^, And after this faftiion, he faith, 
'tis the cuftom of the Brnchmans to reprefent Mahadeu ^, 
1 06. All which being put together, efpecially as recommend- 
ed by fo Learned a Perfon as the Reverend Dr. Stillingfleet ^ havd 
prevailed with me much : However, the Reader is free to ufe his 
judgment, whether they are memorials of the dead^ as common- 
ly thought, or reprefentations of the Deities of the ancient 5ri- 
tans^ given them by fome Companions of the Eaftern Merchants^ 
trading hither for Tin^ to the Cajfiterides, 
107. Other Antiquities contemporary with the /lones dhove^ 
mentioned, I met with none here in Oxford-Jhire^ but thofe three 
Rings lincked one within another, and engraven by miftake a lit- 
tle out of their place, Tah. 16. Fig, 4. for that they are not like to 
be Britijh or Roman^ I think is pretty certain. The Britans^ 'tis 
true, nfed Rings inftead of Mony^ yet as Cd^far teftifies, they were 
only of Iron^, And though the Romans^ amongft their other 
dona militaria^ did ufually give Calbeos \ five armillas^ bracelets^ 
yet they were conftantly I find, either of gold or fiher ; where- 
as ours J as in number, are of three different materials ; the largefl 
copper-, the fecond iro/7, and the leafl g/^r/y, orfome^o^eof 
that colour. 
108. It remains they mufl: therefore be either Saxon or VaniJ/j, 
but whether of the two, we muft not hope to determin, fince we 
find fuch rings ufed by both Nations. That the Saxons had fuch 
bracelets^ is plain from King Mlfred^ who notwithftanding he 
came to the Kingdom, long habituated as it were to rapines and 
murders^ yet brought it before his death into fo goodapofture, 
(as is learnedly made out, and by what degrees he did it, in that 
excellent Hlflory of his Life^ now in the Prefs} that he could, and 
did hang up fuch bracelets of gold in the high-ways, which no 
Traveller dared touch. -^Ifredas per publicos aggeres^ ubi femiti^e 
finduntur in quadrum^ Armilla^ jubebat aureob appendix ut Viantium 
aviditatem irritaret, cur non effet qui eas acciperet^ fays Florilegm 
of him"". Where, by the way, perhaps it may not beamifs to 
note, that thefe Rings were drawn out of the River Cherwel with 
a Fifhing-net, near Hampton Gaj^ not far from the meeting of 
Tet.dellaValleViaggi-ip.-i, Lett.x. §.15. />. 107. ^ Ibidem. * 'juhCafarUComment. debeUoGalUco^ 
lib 5. *> Vid- Sexti ?omp. Fefii^Fragment. libra 3. * Matth. Wefimon. Flares Hifi. in An. 8c?2. 
X X fuch 
