Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 10.djvu/330

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. x. OCT. 25, 1902.

mean " dare," but stands for the impersonal verb tkar, "it needs," and that is why it governs the dative hym. Dore in 1. 649 is for thore, and means " there." Dow in 1. 836 is a mere variant of thow, i.e., "thou" ; and so on. WALTER W. SKEAT.

RATS' BONES FOUND IN TUMULI. To account for the invariable finding of considerable quantities of rats' bones in the tumuliof Derbyshire and Staffordshire opened by the late Mr. Thomas Bateman and other antiquaries seems to be a question of some interest. Mr. Bateman, on p. 61 of his ' Ves- tiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire,' says : " The skeleton was surrounded with a multitude of rats' bones, the remains of animals which had in former times feasted upon the carcass of the defunct warrior, which fact was satisfactorily proved by the gnawed appearance of the various bones, and from the circumstance of several of the smaller ones having been dragged under the large flat stones upon which the body lay, and which could not by any other means have got into that situation. This barrow is extremely interesting, as having produced conclusive evidence regarding the qwvstio vexata of the cause of the perpetual occurrence of rats' bones in barrows in various places, which are the remains of generations of those unpleasant quadrupeds which have burrowed into the tumuli, in all probability to devour the bodies therein interred."

This we may assume is the conclusion most people would naturally come to. Quite recently the writer heard another view pro- pounded namely, that it was possible the rat was looked upon as a sacred animal, and formed part of the original interment, num- bers of them, on this account, being buried with the bodies. The fact, however, of some of the human bones being found in a gnawed state, and removed from their original posi- tions, seems to upset this latter view, for live rats must have inhabited the cists to have left this proof of their existence behind. Dismissing this suggestion, then, as mere surmise, is that given by Mr. Bateman probable 1

On 27 Oct., 1848, shortly after the publica- tion of the 'Vestiges,' Dr. J. Barnard Davis (author of ' Crania Britannica '), writing to Mr. Bateman,* says :

" There are two or three subjects 'which have most particularly impressed me, either by way of inquiry, or otherwise, in reading your volume, which I beg your permission to remark upon. The most important is the universal rats' bones found in barrows, which you have so happily given a satisfactory solution of. At p. 28 you refer to Dr. Buckland's ' Reliquiae Diluviante,' who has referred these intruders to the water rat or water

published).
 * Bateman Antiquarian Correspondence (un-

vole (Arvicola amphibius). Unfortunately for the doctor's osseology, the water vole is not a car- nivorous animal ; and at p. 61 of your work it is rendered very obvious what business brought the rats into these ancient tombs. The introduction of the brown rat into this country is a question of interest in zoology. It has occurred to me that these bones might possibly throw some light upon it. I conclude they must be the bones of the black rat or of the brown rat. If of the latter, its being indigenous would be put beyond question, although the best writers admit that it was imported. I think if we could have a respectable number of fair specimens of its bones, we might be able to deter- mine the matter. However, I refer the subject to your consideration, and shall be glad of your views upon it, and specimens also, if you can conveniently spare them."

Writing again on 2 June, 1849, he says :

" The box containing the skulls has arrived

safely You have sent me a fine collection of rats'

bones, far more complete than I expected. They are clearly the bones of the water vole (Arvicola amphibius), as Dr. Buck land long since decided. Still this animal is considered by the best autho- rities entirely phytiphagous. There is no difficulty in accounting for their presence at a distance from streams, as the accurate White of Selborne relates the finding of one of their hybernacula in a dry, chalky field, far removed from water. And it seems probable that they might find the barrows very convenient for their hybernacula, and adopt them for this purpose. To account for the gnawed appearance or bones you have noticed in barrows, may we suppose that it is a habit of the water vole, like some other animals, as the wild boar, to amuse and exercise itself and its teeth by gnawing at some substance of tolerable density? Such an amuse- ment is not unlikely to be adopted during its winter retreats to while away the time. Still the whole subject is deserving of further investigation. By the way, the supposition of such a health-promoting amusement is much strengthened by the mode of growth of their incisor or gnawing teeth. It is absolutely necessary that these should be worn away at their extremities, as they continually lengthen by growth. Very numerous instances amongst rodent animals of injury and even death from a want of power to wear away the incisors are on record, as 1 have no doubt you are aware. Indeed any keeper of rabbits or squirrels is aware of the need these animals seem to lie under of continually gnawing hard substances."

The view taken by Dr. Davis, as explained in the two extracts given above, is apparently the correct solution of the matter. The fact that Mr. Bateman unfortunately died at an early age, and that a great amount of the work he had in hand was uncompleted, will partly explain why we have no further remarks from him on this interesting point. CHARLES DRURY.

12, Ranmoor Cliffe Road, Sheffield.

"BUCKS" AND "GOOD FELLOWS" IN 1778.

(Continued from 9 th S. ix. 445.) THE Kit -Cat Club's first meeting was at the "Fountain," in the Strand, where