shape, and possibly similar purpose, found in Roman cemeteries, for instance, at Hardham, Sussex, as figured by Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins. But urns more similar still have been found in many Teutonic cemeteries in England, as well as in France and Germany. May 3, 1870.-An old Anglo-Saxon woman, with tweezers," knife, metallic button, and small metallic ornament at head of humerus; large stones set by the sides of the graves as described in Archæologia, l. c. p. 438; but no nails. Depth of grave 2 feet 6 in., direction north-west to south-east. Abundance of charcoal in the grave; arms extended, patellæ in situ. Tibiæ platycnemic. May 3, 1870.-Fragment giving about three-sevenths of the circumference of an Anglo-Saxon "holy-water vessel," or, perhaps, rather of a rudimentary representation of cremation urn; found near the bones of a young person. This vessel has the characteristic German angular projection round its body, the vandyking and the stamped pattern, &c., which we are familiar with in urns of larger size intended for the reception of burnt bones. Its small size, as well as FRAGMENT OF SAXON URN, FRILFOrd. SCALE LINEAR. SAXON URN, HASLINGFIELD. the fact that many such vessels have been found with buried bodies, and without any bony contents, show that this vessel cannot be considered as a cinerary vessel. Cochet, in his Arch. Ceramique, p. 13, explains what he calls the mystery of the custom by the often quoted passage as to holy water from Durandus, vii. 35, 37. a Sussex Archæological Collections, vol. xvi. p. 58. For figures of similar tweezers, see Lindenschmit, Alterthümer, Bd. ii. Hft. v. Taf. vi. where they are said to be found usually in men's graves, but sometimes in women's. Neville, Saxon Obsequies, pl. ii. Cochet, Normandie Souterraine p. 219, pl. vii. fig. 35. For the greater fineness of workmanship in these smaller vessels, see Kemble, Hora Ferales, p. 225; Roach Smith, Collect. Antiq. iv. 161-196. I think this passage of little weight, considering that Durandus lived in the thirteenth century. I incline to consider these vases, another example of which, from Haslingfield, is herewith figured, and which sometimes have been, as at Selzen, found to contain combs, shears, beads, fibulæ, flint and steel, and bronze rings, in fact everything that an ordinary cremation urn does contain except the bones, to be rudimentary representations of such cremation urns. Solemn occasions are tenacious of their symbols, and will hold to them or keep hold of them in miniature when they can no longer maintain them in full proportions. The wide range over which this diminutive representation of the larger Germanic urn has been found is another argument in favour of my view, which is based upon the recognition of an acknowledged tendency of the human mind as opposed to a view which can only appeal to a superstition of probably much more limited geographical range. A somewhat similar vessel, both as to size and contour, from the Oberpfalz of Bavaria, may be found figured in "Die Sammlungen des Germanischen Museum," Nurnberg, 1868, p. 67. ... May 23, 1870, iii.; May 23, 1870, vii. -Skeleton of old Romano-Briton lying a It was thus as given by Cochet l.c., "Corpus ponitur in speluncâ in quâ . Aqua benedicta ne dæmones qui multum eam timent ad corpus accedant: solent namque desævire in corpora mortuorum, ut quod nequiverunt in vita saltem post mortem agant." Cochet's own words are, "Tous les cimetières mèrovingiens et même carlovingiens que nous retrouvons . . . montrent toujours aux pieds du mort un vase vide dont les hommes d'aujourdhui nous demandent le sens et le mystère. Nous croyons l'avoir trouvé dans la piété náïve et grossière, peutêtre même materielle et superstitieuse, de nos pères. Nous supposons donc, non sans fondement, qu'ils auront mis dans ce vase une eau sacrée préservatrice des obsessions et des possessions démoniaques si fréquentes chez les vivants et dont les morts ne leur paraissaient ni exempts ni affranchis. For the general literature, see Cochet, Arch. Cer. p. 14, ibique citata; Normandie Souterraine, pp. 199, 267; La Seine Inferieure, p. 530; Tombeau de Childeric, p. 391, ibique citata; Akerman, Researches at Long Wittenham, Archæologia xxxv. pp. 342, 346, 352, (note) 330, 333, 342, 352; pl. xx. fig. 2 ; Pagan Saxondom, pl. xxii. where an urn eight inches high is described as containing tweezers, shears, comb, and knife, though it is not stated whether any bones were found in it or not. See also Inventorium Sepulchrale, 1856, Introd. p. xxvi. and Neville's Saxon Obsequies, p. 9, where vessels like these are said to have been very frequently, as regards the entire number (viz. three or four times out of twelve), found with infant skeletons, and to have been found either at head or foot, "though in the grave of an adult two small vases were found, one on each side of the former." This difference in placing seems to me to favour my view as above stated. The Selzen vases were, it is true, or nearly always, at the feet, and those found in the French interments of the same period, always, according to Cochet l. c. But at Hallstatt (see V. Sacken, Das Grabfeld von Hallstatt, 1868, p. 107) the position of these vases was most variable, "bald standen sie zur rechten, bald zur linken Seite des Skelettes, neben dem Kopfe, bei dem Hüften oder zur den Füssen, bei Verbrennungen in der Regel neben den Brandresten, selten auf denselben." in grave such as are described in Archæologia, XLII. p. 422, undisturbed 18 inches below skeleton of a young Anglo-Saxon, æt. about 17, with umbo, spear, and knife. May 23, 1870, iv. b.; May 23, 1870, iv. a.-Skeleton of old Romano-Briton, buried with coffin, lying from 4 feet 7 inches below skeleton of old Anglo-Saxon woman, lying in the contracted position without any relics, and, indeed, with disproof of any coffin, with two cruciform fibulæ, a shroud-pin, an iron ring, and a knife." In both cases the long axis of the upper grave formed more or less of a right angle with the long axis of the semi-oriented lower one. This shows that the burials could scarcely have been simultaneous; for the other conclusions which can be based upon the finding of two skeletons, verifiable as Saxon and Romano-British respectively in the relation specified, see my previous Memoir on Frilford, p. 423. It is worth while noticing that this Anglo-Saxon woman was 5 feet 5 inches in height, an instance of what is said to be usual, but what I have found to be by no means invariable, viz., an equality, or an approach to equality, in the stature of the German women and men;" next, that her skull was found five inches above her sternum, three stones having been placed underneath it; and, lastly, that the knees were at a higher level by several inches than either the ankles or the hips, besides being, as the statement of the body having been in the contracted position implies, out of the line of the long axis of the skeleton. These points are not ordinarily found in Christian burials. The arms were, however, crossed, and the hands folded inwards, as was often done in such interments; with which, again, on the other hand, this Anglo-Saxon burial appears to have contrasted in the body's being turned somewhat on to the left side, a point which, from the crushed condition of the skeleton, lying only about 2 feet from the surface of the ground, it was difficult to make out. The question now arises, Were such non-oriented, contracted, shallowly interred, but relic-provided, bodies, the bodies of heathen or of Christianized Saxons? Mr. Kemble's dictum, "Hora Ferales," p. 98, to the effect, that, "if there is any equivocation in the matter, it lies the other way; a few half-converted Christians may for a while have clung to the rite of burning, but no Pagan Saxon was buried a These four skeletons, with the relics accompanying them, were presented to the Cornell University Ithaca, United States. A more detailed account of these objects than that given above may be found in the Register" of that University for 1870-1871, pp. 50-54. b For figure of a skeleton with skull similarly raised, see Grabfeld von Hallstatt, tab. iii fig. 4. |
