DESCRIPTIONS OE CEANIA.
and concave or disli form, of solid bronze, rioMy ornamented and gilt on the inside. Of these
there were not fewer than nine distinct types (see Plate, figs. 1,4, 5, and two woodcuts). Others,
also cii'oular, were of a much less costly sort, consisting of a simple flat disc or ring of metal, ornamonted
with different combinations of circles and dots, which had been impressed with a punch.
Of these there were at least seven varieties in pairs, no two pairs precisely resembling each
other*. The fibula; were in all cases found on the breast, not the shoulders. Two large bronze
fibulse, of the sort often improperly called cruciform, curiously ornamented with grotesque
human heads and other devices, about six inches in length, were exhmned (fig. 2). Each of these
was found with a sepai-ate skeleton, and Mr. "Wylie supposed that they indicated the military or
social rank of their possessors. Two small fibuliB were simply cruciform (fig. 6); another was
bird-shaped (fig. V). Among the other female ornaments were examples of armlets, ear-rings,
finger-rings and girdle ornaments of bronze or white metal, two armlets of ivory, and upwards
of three hundred beads, more than half of which were of variously coloured glass, plain or
ornamented, or of baked clay covered with party-coloured vitreous pastes. About one hundred
and fifty were of amber, of all sizes up to an inch and a half in diameter,—the largest being
amulet-beads,—^which, with scarcely an exception, consisted of rude shapeless bits simply
perforated. There were four or five small brass Roman coins of the lower Empire. These were
of GaUienus, AHectus, Valens and Grratian, the fiist of which, and another which was illegible,
had been perforated for ornaments.
The bones of a horse, accompanied by the remains of its trappings, are stated to have been
discovered in one part of the cemetery, but no competent observer was on the spot, and there
is some doubt as to the accuracy of this statement. The skeleton of a single horse which had
been interred in its trappings was found on the north side of the Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at
Marston Hill, Northamptonshire, described by Sir Henry Dryden. "With it were an iron bit and
nmnerous rings and iron fittiags of the reins and head-stall: there was also a brass article, the
use of which was not known f- The only object among the Eairford relics which has been
preserved, which may probably have belonged to the trappings of a horse, is a bronze ring two
inches in diameter, the curious ornamentation of which, occupying three-fourths of its circumference,
bears a striking resemblance to that of rings, clearly parts of horse-trappings, found
at Hagbourne in Berkshire and at Arras in Yorkshire, the last of which is figured and described
in these pages i.
' The skull which we have to describe from this cemetery, was added to the collection of the
* The various fibulse here described have been beautifully
represented in " Pagan Saxondom," plates 19 and 30. One
of the large so-called crnciform fibulse is shown in plate 7 of the
same work. All these are of forms common in the Anglo-Saxon
cemeteries of the Midland Counties, but, so far as observation
has yet extended, not common in those of Kent and the south
of England; the inference being that they are Angle rather
than Saxon in their origin and use.
f Archseologia, 1850, vol. xxxiii. pp. 330, 331.
t The ring from Fairford has heen represented by Mr.
Wylie, "Fairford Graves," plate 5. fig. 7. It should be compared
with the ring figured in the description of an Ancient
British skull from Barrow at Arras, E. K. Yorkshire, fig. 13.
Having inspected the Fairford ring, we are able to state
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confidentlv that it is identical with the rings referred to
above. The horses of the Anglo-Saxons were probably of the
native British breed, and -we need not be surprised if at this
early period their harness was the same as that previously used
by the Britons. This derives strong confirmation from the
mention, about the close of the seventh century, in the Laws of
Ine king of the West Saxons, of the king's Ilors-Wcalh, by
whom the Wealh or Briton, who had the care of the royal stud,
the Uors-thegn, is intended. From this notice, it may at least
be inferred that at the time in question, the native Britons
excelled the Saxon settlers in the knowledge and treatment of
horses. Laws of King Ine, § 33. Thorpe, " Ancient Laws and
Institutes of England," 1840, p. 53.
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ANGLO-SAXON—EAIREORD, GLOUOESTEESHIRE.
writer, through the kindness of Mr. James OornwaU (Surgeon), of Eairford. The skeleton was
that of a man of almost gigantic stature, being estimated at seven feet. Near the skuU was a
spear-head of ii-on, nine inches and a half in length; and by the side, another of very unusual
form and size, shaped like a bayonet, but with four sides or cutting edges. This highly acuminated
spear-head, one of the majares lancece of Tacitus*, measures sixteen inches and a half in
length by two in greatest width. There were also the iron handle and pointed boss of a shield,
and the three circular bronze studs with which the thin wooden shield had been ornamented,
and which have been abeady referred to.
The skull is that of a man from fifty to sirfy years of age. It is of more than medium thickness
and density, measuring at the tubers of the parietals about four-tenths, and at those of the
frontal bones, five-tenths of an inch in thickness. The weight of the skull, including the lower
jaw, reduced doubtless by the character of the soil in which it had been interred, is 26^ ozs. Av.
The capacity is indicated by 76 ozs. of sand, which may be taken as representing a brain of the
weight of 50^ ozs. Av. The general form is ovoid, without any striking peculiarity or excess of
development in any one direction, except the posterior. The frontal region, somewhat narrow,
rises with a uniform though receding sweep and moderate elevation to the coronal suture,
which is nearly or quite as high as any part of the parietal region; the centre of which, viewed
from the front, presents a considerable elevation along the vertex. The occipital region is full
and broad. The temporal fossae and squamous and mastoid processes are of medium size. The
inner parts of the superciliary regions, corresponding to the frontal sinuses, are unusually full,
and form a prominent boss, projecting considerably above the nose. The nasal bones, the
terminal parts of which have been broken off, project somewhat abruptly, and exhibit a tendency
to the recurved form: the opening of the nostrils is nine-tenths of an inch in width. The orbits
are of medium size, and of an outline approaching the quadrangular: the malar bones are full,
rough and prominent, a character attaching especially to the zygomatic arches. The superior
masdllaries are deeply impressed in front, and have the alveolar borders very fully developed, for
the support of teeth of more than average size. The portions embraced between the canines—
pre-maxillaries—are somewhat flattened, though prominent and slightly prognathic; which, with
the projecting roots of the canines, give an angular and animal character, not common in Anglo-
Saxon crania, though often observed in those of the ancient British class. The bony palate is
deep, large and rugged, and has a flat, rather than an arched outline in front. The lower jaw, of
medium size, is not remarkable either for depth or thickness; its ascending process forms a
somewhat obtuse angle rnth the body of the bone : this is still better seen than in the Plate,
when the jaw is i^laced on a flat surface, and contrasted with the nearly rectangular jaws of the
crania from Arras, Kennet, and several other of our British series. The teeth are all in place;
they are much encrusted with tartar, and the enamel of some exhibits deep cracks. There is no
appearance of caries. The crowns are worn down to a remarkable degree; the erosion being very
much more obvious on the inner edges of the upper and the outer edges of the lower teeth. In
the upper molars, the erosion extends to the very fangs. In Anglo-Saxon skulls, the wear of the
teeth is generally more uniform, so as to present a nearly flat surface. The following are the
measurements of this cranium:—
* " Rari gladiis aut majoribus lancéis utuntur."—Tacitus, Germ. c. 6.
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