Page:The New Forest - its history and its scenery.djvu/218

Rh milestone on the Ringwood Road. In a straight line to the north, at the distance of a quarter of a mile apart, rise three others, whilst round it on the east side lie a quantity of small circles, so low as hardly to be discernible when the heather is in bloom. An irregularly shaped oval, it rose in the centre to a height of nearly six feet above the ground, measuring sixteen yards in breadth, and twenty-two in length, with a circumference of from sixty to sixty-five. On the south side was a depression from whence the gravel had been obtained. We first cut a trench two yards broad, so as to take the centre, and at about two feet and a half from the surface came upon traces of charcoal, which increased till we reached the floor. A few round stones, probably, as they bore some slight artificial marks, used for slinging, and the flake of, perhaps, a flint knife, were the only things found, and were all placed on the south side. We now cut the mound from east to west, and on the east side, resting on the floor, we discovered the remains of a Keltic urn. The parts were, however, in a most fragile state, and in some instances had resolved themselves into mere clay, and we could only obtain two small fragments, sufficient to show the coarseness and extreme early age of the ware. No charcoal nor osseous matter could be detected adhering to the sides, which, as we shall see, is generally the case.

Round it, as was stated, lie a quantity of small grave-circles, varying from twenty-five to ten yards in circumference, and scarcely better defined than fairy-rings. Two of these I opened, and they corresponded with the mounds on Sway Common examined by Warner, in having a grave about three feet deep, in which we found only charcoal. This was, however, the only point of resemblance, as they had no mound, and contained no urn. One fact is worth noticing, that they were dug in a 200