Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 5.djvu/380

 284 BERKSHIRE ANTIQUITIES. of the sides. So that, m the result, we have a basin fitted to receive and hold water and moisture ; and not, as is usual, contrivance used to exclude it, and keep dry the relics within. That the parings of the Down had been employed for the purpose above mentioned, was apparent when we came to the floor of the barrow, where, to our surprise, we found ourselves at least eighteen inches above the level of the surrounding soil. Sept. 19. In the course of our researches upon this mound, and when we were anxiously looking for its occupant or occu- pants, and to learn in what fashion they had been placed beneath it, we came upon a discovery which caused some excitement and speculation ; that of the skeleton of a young and tall man, clearly no aboriginal Briton, who, from his strange position, seemed to have been deposited here by being thrust or jammed into a hole, rather than buried. It was found in the mould, on the south-east side, three or four yards from the centre, and somewhat more than one below the surface; the head towards the south-east, the body inclined to the north-west. The skull was all broken, probably by weight of earth, with the face downwards, and resting on one hand, while the other was raised upon it ; the body so twisted that the hip bone had the front nearly uppermost ; the knees were raised up towards the pelvis, and the legs, one of which was broken, gathered again under them. The individual had been of tall stature, for the femur measured 19 inches, and the humerus 13; and was probably not more than 20 or 21, for the epiphyses of the long bones were found separated from their shafts, in con- sequence of not having been consolidated with them, and the dentes sapientise were only just appearing. Neither trinket, weapon, or article of dress was discovered. Here then was cause for curiosity and conjectiu'e. It might be a person unfairly dealt with ; or a tramp so buried by his companions to save funeral charges ; but the soundness and freshness of the bones forbad the idea that it could be one of the original occupants of the barrow. Vlio and what the individual was, will per- haps for ever remain unknown ; but it has been thought that history may throw some light on the latter particular. For, upon reference to Sir Edward Walter's historical discotu'ses, vol. the last, pp. 13, 14, it appears that in 104 4, the garrison of Charles I. at Reading, having, with the assistance of his army, dismantled the works there, and evacuated the town, had on Saturday, May 18, their rendezvous on the Downs near