Page:VCH Kent 1.djvu/452

 A HISTORY OF KENT owing to the stratification of the chalk in which they were sunk. The direction of the interments varied, but the majority were east and west, or north-west to south-east. Those, however, that lay north and south were for the most part the most interesting to the antiquary. An east- and-west grave contained, on the right of the skeleton, a spear, the head of which lay by the right ear, the ferrule by the knee ; and touching the blade was a small vase of black pottery surrounded by slabs of chalk and filled to the brim with clear water, which had doubt- less drained in from above. An irregular grave, cut north and south, 9 feet long and 4 feet deep, is important as revealing the nationality of the interred. A dished brooch, | inches in diameter, has a rude human face engraved in the centre, exactly corresponding to several from Harnham Hill, near Salisbury, and Chessell Down, Isle of Wight, but rare in Kent. On the left lay another brooch of an Isle of Wight type, with a square head and a lozenge design below the bow (otherwise as pi. i. fig. 3) ; another somewhat larger and with garnet settings was unfortu- nately broken. A circular Roman brooch with projections from the edge and the central paste-setting missing was described as a girdle-ornament, and among the relics gold wire braid, weighing over i^ dwts., was found round the skull. One of two Roman coins was of Constantine and pierced for suspension, and 10 inches beyond the skull, carefully protected by slabs of chalk, was a wooden bucket (called a stoup) with ornamental bronze hoops. It was 4I inches high, and 4I inches in diameter, the handle being a thin arc of bronze. At one spot there had been two interments, the lower skeleton lying in a contracted position north and south, the upper east and west : the difference in direction may have been due to the introduction of Christianity. Two articles of purely British origin are illustrated from this site : one an open-work disc with C-shaped scrolls from a grave that was cut north and south and had a recess for the head and shoulders. The other was a curiously-shaped ring' of a type common in this country, and was probably affixed to leather near the horse's neck to guide the rein. The grave in which it was found is described as a vault, con- taining six skeletons all lying north and south. It was circular, with a diameter of nearly 9 feet, and was between 4 and 5 feet deep. The skeletons were of women, and all on the same level, disposed in such a manner that the feet were curved round and lay nearly together, while the shoulders were almost touching each other. It was difficult to assign the various relics, but besides the ring already mentioned, which was described as a brooch, was an openwork escutcheon, probably used to attach the handle to a bucket (Hke that found between Sandgate and Dover), but called a girdle-ornament. Of the four Roman coins found, two were of Diocletian and Constantine respectively, but of more importance were two brooches : the first of silver covered with garnet cell-work and of quatrefoil form, evidently of Prankish origin ; the other of the square-headed Isle of Wight type, but larger than the ' A similar piece from the Chessell Down cemetery is in the British Museum. 366