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DESCRIPTIONS OF CRANIA.
it by Merda, a kingdom founded by Angle tribes, wlio had gradually extended themselves over
the whole of midland Britain. In 628 a.d., a battle was fought near Cirencester by their king,
the wai-like Penda, ivith Cynegils the king of the West Saxons, and his son Ouichehn. It is
probable that, by the treaty which foUowed this hardly contested battle, the country around
Cirencester was ceded to Penda, and thus became a part of Mercia*. Under the sons of Penda,
Wulfhere and iBthelred, it formed part of the dependent kingdom of the Hwiccas, corresponding
with the counties of Gloucester, Worcester and part of Warwick, and with the old diocese of
Worcester. This district, during the greater part of the seventh and eighth centuries, was
governed by mib-reguli of its own, and subsequently by ealdormen, under the supremacy of the
kings of Merciat. That Cirencester was in this sub-kingdom, is expressly stated by Plorence :—
" Cirencestre qu® est in meridiana parte Wicciorum t •" The southern boundary of the Hwiccas
must have been the same with that now separating the counties of Gloucester and Wilts, as
shown by the notices in the chronicles of the battle between the Hwiccas and Wiltssetas, in
800 A.D. ; the former of whom, under their ealdorman Etheh^iund, crossed over from their
territory, at Cynemisresford, identified with Kempsford on the Isis, a place only four miles to
the south of rairford§.
Whether the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Pah-ford is to be ascribed to the West-Sexe, or to the
Angles of Mercia, may be questioned ; and it is possible it may have been used by both people in
succession. The antiquarian evidence, however, seems to us in favour of its Mercian attribution,
and of its belonging to the pagan period. Christianity had been introduced into Wessex in
635, and finaUy established in that kingdom in 646 a.d. The conversion of Mercia was at a
somewhat later period. In 653, two yeai-s before the death of Penda, Peada his son had been
baptized, and Christianity was fii-st preached among the Mercians, under Diurna the Scot, who, m
655, became theh first Bishop. Twenty-five years, however, elapsed before the Mercian kingdom,
under iEthebed m 680, was divided into five dioceses, of which the sub-kmgdom of the Hwiccas,
with its see at Worcester, formed one||. During the whole of this period, Christianity was
doubtless spreading more and more among the people; but many pagan customs certainly
survived; above all, pagan funeral customs, which would have a very gradual extinction, after the
estabUshment of cemeteries around chui-ches under Archbishop Cuthbert in 742. Altogether,
historical and archieological reasons unite in leading us to fix the probable date of this cemetery
in the coui-se of the seventh century, and as prior to that of Harnham in South Wilts, described
in these pages.
In no part of England did so large a British element coalesce with the immigrant and
conquering Germanic tribes as in Mercia ; and a considerable Romano-British or Celtic population
must here have had a dependent existence at least accorded to it«l[. The language and
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 628 A.D. Florence of Worcester,
628 A.D. Henry of Huntingdon, 628 A.D. William of
Malmesbury's account of the defeat of Penda in this battle derives
no confirmation from the earlier chroniclers.
t Beda, lib. i r . c. 13, 23. Kemble, " Cod. Dip." vol. i.
pp. 10, 22, 60, 64, 128, 144, 146. Florence of Worcester,
680 A.D. and Appendix. (Mon. Hist. Brit. pp. 536, 622.)
Lappenbcrg, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 250 ; vol. ii. p. 327. The name
of the Hwiccas may be preserved in that of Wickwar, a small
town of Gloucestershire.
+ Florence, 879 A.D.
20.
§ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 800 A.D. Florence of Worcester,
800 A.D.—"de Mercia exiisse vadumque quod ' Cymeresford'
nominata transisse."
II Beda, lib. iii. c. 21, 24 ; lib. iv. c. 23. Florence of
Worcester, 680 A.D. and Appendix. (Mon. Hist. Brit. pp. 636,
622.) . , ,
^ See what Lappenberg says of the large proportion ol the
servile class in the districts where the British population maintained
itself the longest, as in this very district of the Hwiccas,
where there was " one slave to every third freeman." Vol. ii.
p . 321.
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ANGLO-SAXON-PAIREORD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
customs of the conquerors, however, clearly prevailed; and British Christianity was supplanted
by the paganism of the dominant race. Notwithstanding the denunciation of the patriotic
Welsh bard,—"Woe to the young (maidens) that covet marrying (with the stranger)!"*
—marriages between the two people (the Saxons and Angles bringing few women with them)
must have been frequent. In fine, to use the words of the Triad, the Lloegrians, or Britons who
remained in the East and Midland districts, " became Saxons." Hence, in the examination of
Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, those of Mercia especiaUy, we shaU be prepared for evidence of such
a mixture of races as the history of the tune leads us to expect. By the side of crania of
Anglo-Saxon form, others of British type wiU be met with; while the presence of such as combine
Celtic and Germanic characteristics cannot surprise us.
The site of the ancient cemetery we have to describe was a field, about four acres in extent,
caUed "Waterslade," which adjoins others, caUed "Garrows" or " Garstons." It was very old grass
land, with the turf somewhat uneven and undulating, but presenting no appearance of barrows or
grave-mounds : several fine old beech-trees grew in the field. The interments, first discovered in
1844-45, were not observed with accuracy; but those found in 1850-51 and 1854 had the advantage
of being watched and described, though under unfavourable circumstances, by a careful
antiquary, W. M. WyUe, Esq.t Altogether, about one hundred and fifty graves were explored;
though the hmits of the cemetery, which appears to have extended beneath the road, were not
supposed to have been reached, except on the eastern side. The graves were for the most part
arranged regularly in rows,, with uncertain intervals between them, sometimes not exceeding
three feet, the skeletons being stretched at length, north and south, with the heads to the south
(or in some instances rather to the east, and once or twice to the west, of south); this being the
position which, though not uniform, is most usual in Anglo-Saxon interments of the pagan
period. In three instances only were skeletons found lying east to west, with the feet to
the east, as in Christian cemeteries. In two cases also, the position of the skeleton proved that
the body had either been interred in the flexed position, or had been thrust into the grave
without any care. The graves had a depth of from two and a half to three and a haK feet, and
did not extend much below the oolite rubble or stone-brash. In nearly aU were old and even
water-worn shards of pottery, chiefly Roman, of seven or eight varieties, including the " Samian
ware" and fragments of mortaria; aU clearly pieces of different vessels, not parts of such as had
been used for funeral libations and then broken on the spot. Their presence seems to indicate
the practice of some unknown pagan funeral rite. There were also ii'on scorise in several
graves, which must have been obtained from a distance. In many were the bones, horns, and
especiaUy the teeth of various animals,—Ox, Sheep, Pig and Horse. In two places a sort of pit
was found, in which were heaps of unctuous-looking burnt earth with charcoal ashes: in one
were the fragments of a coarse earthen vessel ornamented with Vandykes, and containing bones;
in the other were the bones and teeth of animals, which had mostly undergone the action of
fli-e, and a small iron hook, evidently intended for hanging a vessel over the flre : a large iron
staple and pm, which may possibly have had a similar purpose, were found with the other heap.
These were probably the traces of funeral feasts and sacrificial rites, which had been celebrated
on the spot. In nearly aU the graves, forming a stratum over the skeletons, were large stones
* Llywarch Hen, "Elegy on Cyndhelan."
t " Fairford Graves, " by W. M. WyUe, Esq., B.A. , F.S.A.
1852. Archseologia, 1851, vol. xxxiv. p. 77. Proceedings of
the Society of Antiquaries, 1853, vol. ii. p. 132 ; 1856, vol. iii.
20.
p. 105. Journal of the British Archaeological Association,
1846, vol. ii. p. 53. We owe to the kindness of Mr. Wj-lie,
some particulars not found m the published description of this
cemetery.
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