Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/311

 shoe, which was found in Fleet Ditch, in 1847, will make this change manifest (fig. 104). This may have been of a later date than some of the other Saxon shoes, but it was in all probability in use before the Norman conquest. It was very small, thin, and without calkins. Mr Syer Cuming, alluding to this shoe and the alteration in its shape, lays some stress on the form assumed by the inner margin, which in the Celtic pattern, he says, is the figure of a Norman arch, and this Saxon shoe that of an arch of the 15th century. The very ancient specimen in the British Museum, however, which was found with Roman remains, is narrow across the toe, and the third York Museum example is the same.

In one of the Fairford graves opened by Mr Wylie, and which apparently belonged to the Saxon period, a small, thin plate of iron 'like a miniature horse-shoe was found.' In the drawing given, however, there are no traces of nail-holes.

At Caenby, near Lincoln, Mr Jarvis reports, that in a tumulus opened by some workmen, there was found a skeleton, a sword-blade, horse-furniture, and a horse-shoe. This was supposed to have been a Saxon grave. No drawing or description is given of this shoe.

Some years ago, a Saxon tomb was opened on Brighton Downs, and with some characteristic remains