Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/266

186 186 PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OF west, flows past it eastward, down a deep ravine called Craignant ; and rather further off to the north-west is a place called " Tyn-y-rhyd," near the banks of this river, which signifies — " the house on or of the Ford.*' The position of the tumulus, with reference to this river, as well as its local connexion with the farm already named, called Gorsedd Wen, aff'orded ground for belief that it might be the tomb of Gwen, one of the sons of Llywarch Hen, Prince of the Cambrian Britons, during the sixth century. The farm Gorsedd then is identified with a place called, in one of the poems of Llywarch lien, (whose posthumous renown is greater as a poet than as a sovereign,) Gorsedd Gorwynnion ; while, in another of his poems, " An elegy on his old age," the death of his son, on the Ford of the Morlas, is passionately described. The investigation commenced on the 5th of March, by cutting a trench from the north-west to the south-east across it ; the party consisted of Mr. W. W. E. Wynne, President of the Cambrian Archreological Associ- ation ; Rev. R. Williams ; Mr. Dawes ; and Mr. Smith, agent to Mr. West. The outer covering, to the depth of 18 inches, consisted of sward and soil, in which were found, at a few inches beneath the sward, on the south- east side, pieces of slate laid horizontally, as if for a covering ; but, as no slate was found on the other sides of the tumulus, their presence on the south-east might have resulted from accident ; there is, however, no slate in the neighbourhood. After cutting through the soil there appeared large boulder, or pebble stones, among which were found wood-ashes, and occa- sionally pieces of burnt stone : the outermost stones on the north-west were much larger than those nearer the centre. When commencing the trench on the S.E., there was found, next to the floor, a layer of wood-ashes and burnt soil, to the depth of several inches, whence it was inferred that this was the site of a funeral fire. The interior of the tumulus was a cairn, formed of lime-sand, grist, and other stone, Avitli which much charcoal was intermixed, the outermost stones being the largest ; the interior consisting of smaller stones, scarcely larger than the broken stone now used for repairing roads. Beneath the cairn was a structure of clay with which a quantity of charcoal and some small stone were mixed. It was 3 or 4 inches in thick- ness, and evinced extraordinary tenacity, resembling in colour and sub- stance, as the Avorkmen not inaptly suggested, "cart-wheel grease." Beneath the stratum, about the centre of the cairn, appeared the deposit, the remains of a skeleton, measuring in situ 6 feet 2 inches, which liad been laid at length on its back in a shallow grave, about 18 inches deep, cut in the lime rock, here appearing at the original surface. The right-arm was folded over the breast ; and just where the hand would have come, over the left breast, was found a bronze dagger-blade, the point of which was broken ofi". The clay was tightly rammed about the bones, and was quite blackened by the intermixture of charcoal with it. Besides the skeleton, were found, within 5 or 6 feet to the south-east of it, beneath some large stones, each of which required the united strength of three men to lift, the bones and teeth of some animals ; and in the cairn, about 15 inches above and over the skeleton, lay a piece of iron, which Mr. Wynne has supposed to be part of a sword or dagger blade near the hilt. Near the same spot was noticed a piece of iron, apparently a rivet. From the manner in which the charcoal was traced throughout the grave, and indeed the whole cairn, there can be no doubt that the fire was