Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 6.djvu/90

46 a kind of shaw. There is no historical tradition connected with the actual spot, but about two miles lower down the stream is a rocky ford known as "Mowbray Wath," and near this, it is said, a great battle was fought with the Danes. The stone of this Cist is not that of the neighbouring quarries of Ellington Firth, but apparently the coarse-grained sandstone of Agra Moor and Colsterdale, about seven miles distant to the westward. The lid was unfortunately split across the centre, by the work-people, before they were aware of its nature; it was placed about two feet from the surface of the ridge, and contained the greater portion of the bones of a human skeleton, but no remains of any other kind; many of the bones crumbled to dust on exposure to the atmosphere; others, with the skull, were less decayed, and were stated by a surgeon who examined them, to be apparently those of a female. The workmanship of the Cist is rude, and totally devoid of any kind of ornament or inscription. The measurements are as follow:—Length at the bottom or ground line, 6 feet 3 inches; length at junction with the lid, 6 feet 9 inches; width at the bottom, 2 feet; width at junction with lid, 2 feet 6 inches; thickness of lid at centre, 1 foot 4 inches; thickness of lid at the edge, 10½ inches; thickness of sides of Cist, 6 inches; height of Cist from ground (without lid), 2 feet; depth of cavity, 1 foot 6 inches.

In the following year, 1836, the Cist, No. 2, was discovered by the labourers, whilst pursuing their occupation of digging gravel in the same ridge, and a few yards further northward than the position of the former. It is formed of the same kind of stone, but is more rude in shape and workmanship, and was entirely empty. The dimensions nearly correspond with those of the Cist already described:—Length, 6 feet 6 inches; width, 2 feet 3 inches; height, 1 foot 8 inches; thickness of the lid, 7 inches. The lid of this is a flat stone, with a chamfered edge, and it projects slightly over the sides of the Cist, and rather more over the ends. For their better care and preservation, both Cists were removed to the pleasure-grounds at Swinton Park. Similar Stone Cists, some of which are ornamented, or bear inscriptions, discovered in the neighbourhood of York, are preserved in the Museum of the Philosophical Society in that city.

The discovery of the second coffin in the same ridge or hill of gravel, leads rather to the supposition that, instead of its