Page:A Glossary of Words Used In the Neighbourhood of Sheffield - Addy - 1888.djvu/56

 lay six or eight inches below the surface, and were surrounded with charcoal. We are glad to hear that this curious relic of our ancient British ancestors will be exhibited in the Weston Park Museum.

The form of the larger urn resembles in general appearance the cinerary urns engraved between pp. 67 and 74 of Canon Greenwell's British Barrows. It is most like the engravings on pp. 70 and 74, though it differs considerably from both of them. The 'smaller urn' above referred to is one of those vessels which, for want of a better name, have been called 'incense cups.' It is of a flattened globular form, and resembles fig. 62 on p. 75 of Canon Greenwell's work. It is, however, quite devoid of any ornamentation. Just above the middle line, where the circumference is greatest, two small holes have been pierced. These holes are close to the base of the interior of the 'incense cup',' like the aperture which opens into the bowl of a tobacco pipe. The outer urn is unfortunately broken into many pieces, but the fragments show that it was ornamented in the same manner as the inner one. Both the urns are of a reddish or salmon colour, and the fragments of the outer urn show that the interior was lined with a darker clay than that of which the exterior is formed. I cannot determine whether two kinds of clay were used, for the difference may have been caused by the application of a greater heat to the interior of the urn or by kindling a fire within it. The 'incense cup' is of a lighter colour and is made of much finer clay. It is quite plain, but neatly and regularly formed. Various opinions have been expressed concerning the use of these so-called incense cups, but only two of these seem worthy of serious mention. One of these two opinions is that they were incense or perfume burners. This, however, as Canon Greenwell says, 'appears to imply a state of refinement to which we can hardly consider the people who used them to have attained.' The better, and probably correct, opinion is that of the Hon. W. Owen Stanley and Mr. Albert Way, who, as Canon Greenwell tells us, seem to lean to the belief that they may have been chafers 'for conveying fire, whether a small quantity of glowing embers or some inflammable substance in which the latent spark might for awhile be retained, such, for instance, as touchwood, fungus, or the like, with which to kindle the funeral fire.'