In 10 James I. the Court heard the cause of Sir Samuel Sands against Arthur Robinson, Thomas Smith, Henry Weare, Phillip Monckton, Robt. Stephenson and others, and decided in favour of the Plaintiff ordering the Defendants to submit to a Commission to be nominated by both sides and at equal charges, to set out the two oxgangs.

An Inquisition was afterwards made at Howden by Thomas Potts esquire, Marmaduke Machell gentleman, and Henry Ackroyde gentleman, Commissioners of the King, William Thornton of Alisby gentleman, Robert Pindsley of Latham yeoman, William Wilsh, Richard Wittington, Roger Lighton of Bromflete, gentleman, William Erratt of Flaxfleet, yeoman, William Batman of Beilbye, yeoman, Robert Clarke of Seaton, George Estrigge of Evernoyley (?), Thomas Hadlesey of Skelton, gentleman, Edward Erratt of Howden, yeoman, William Johnson and William Ayre.

The writ attached is dated 29 Nov 11 James I., and directed to Thomas Potts Esquire, Marmaduke Machell gentleman, Henry Ackroyde gentleman, and James Beste gentleman.

FI

VOL. XIX,

NOTE ON A BRITISH CHARIOT-BURIAL AT

HUNMANBY, IN EAST YORKSHIRE.

BY T. SHEPPARD, F.G.S.,

Curator Municipal Museums, Hull.

IN May last, during the process of excavating clay for brick-making in a pit close to Hunmanby station, a landslip occurred which exposed some articles of bronze. The writer was acquainted with the circumstance, and immediately went to Hunmanby, where, with the assistance of Mr. C. G. Danford, of Reighton, and of Mr. Parker, the owner of the pit, excavations were made, resulting in the discovery of a British chariot-burial.

From a geological point of view the exposure in the brick pit is of some interest, and consists of a section in the glacial series, at a height of about 300 feet above the level of the sea. In the lower part of the pit is an exceedingly tough dark-coloured boulder clay or "till," crowded with far-travelled erratics, some (particularly the limestones of the Carboniferous period) being beautifully polished and striated. About five feet of this deposit are exposed. Immediately above it are about four feet of finely-laminated grey stoneless clay, evidently of lacustrine origin, excellent for brick-making. This is followed by six feet of fine marly sand, mostly evenly bedded, and, at the top of the section, about six feet of rough ferrugincus gravel, which is fairly compact. As might be assumed from the nature and relative positions of the different strata, small landslips occasionally take place, the upper gravels sliding down on the clays beneath.

The objects exposed by the recent landslip were a bronze bridlebit, and fragments of a thin bronze plate.

Attention was first paid to the slipped mass of gravel. This was carefully examined, and yielded the iron hoop of a chariot wheel, though it was in several fragments. The hoop is slightly over an inch in width, but on account of its oxidised state it is not possible to ascertain the exact original thickness of the iron. The rim appears to have been turned inwards on each side. Sand and small pebbles have adhered to the tyre. From the specimens obtained the diameter of the wheel was calculated to have been nearly three feet. Portions of the iron hoops for the naves were also secured. These appeared to be of thicker material, and, if complete, would be six or seven inches across, Obvious traces of wood were found adhering to the

iron of both the large and small hoops, but nothing was present to indicate how many spokes existed, nor, indeed, was there evidence of spokes at all. One or two curved pieces of iron were also found.

After being satisfied that there were no further relics amongst the slipped material, attention was devoted to the grave, which was well shown in section at the top of the pit, the disturbed portion being readily distinguished from the naturally bedded gravel at its sides, particularly as a thin layer or "pan" of iron lined the grave. This "pan" owes its existence to the disintegration of iron, of which metal quite a large quantity must have occurred amongst the objects interred.

The burial was situated under a slight mound, or tumulus, now almost levelled as a result of agricultural operations, though some of the workmen remembered it when it was much more conspicuous than it is to-day. The grave was basin-shaped, and the sides curved inwards. It was 11 feet 6 inches across the top, and 3 feet 6 inches deep (measured from the original land level) in the middle. The floor of the excavation was not horizontal, but was five or six inches deeper at one end than at the other. The infilling consisted largely of sand, with occasional sandstone, etc., pebbles. This material, partly from the quantity of iron it contained, and partly no doubt from the decayed organic material, was exceedingly compact and difficult to work. Towards the bottom of the grave was a quantity of greyish material, with the peculiar "greasy" feeling so characteristic in places of this nature.

On carefully examining the section, it was seen that traces of bronze occurred. Some of this material was in very thin plates, and too far decayed to bear touching, and some was in the form of a beading or tube cut horizontally, about a quarter of an inch wide. After several hours' work it was seen that lying on the bottom of the grave was a large shield of wood, apparently oak, ornamented on the upper surface with exceedingly thin plates of bronze, and with a border formed of more substantial material-a strip of bronze, about onesixteenth of an inch in thickness, and three-quarters of an inch in width. This had been carefully hammered over into a U-section, into which the edge of the wood shield was clearly fitted. This bronze strip was fastened to the wood by means of small bronze rivets, about a quarter of an inch long, exactly the thickness and shape of an ordinary household pin-head. Unfortunately the greater portion of this shield had fallen with the landslip, and with the exception of a few pieces of bronze, forming the border, not any of it was recovered; nor is this to be wondered at, as even in that portion examined in position both the wood and the thin ornamental plates were so fragile

and decayed, that they would not bear touching. As much as could be possibly moved was taken away, though this was only accomplished by also removing the soil upon which it rested. The portion of the shield remaining was nearly two feet long, almost straight-sided, except towards the ends, where the edges curved round, from which it would appear that the complete shield was straight-sided, with rounded ends, and quite likely resembled in shape the well-known enamelled bronze shield from the Thames at Battersea, figured as frontispiece to the recently-issued "Guide to the Antiquities of the Early Iron Age" in the British Museum. The Battersea shield, which is of the same period as that of Hunmanby, is about 30 inches long and 13 inches. wide. At Hunmanby, however, it was obvious that the whole of the shield had not been covered with bronze, but was ornamented with thin plates, riveted on to the wood. Where the bronze had not entirely disappeared it was seen to be ornamented with the scroll-work in repoussé, so characteristic of the late Celtic period. Small pieces of this remained, and were carefully removed, whilst in other places the rivets alone indicated where the bronze covering had been.

Across one end of the shield were the remains of a flattened tube of thin bronze, of which little more than the cast remained the metal having almost entirely disappeared. This was traced for about six inches, and may have been the remains of the thin end of a bronze scabbard, or of a spear-most probably the latter, as no other signs of a sword were visible.

Near the edge of the shield, and a few inches above it, were two curved pieces of iron of doubtful use-possibly part of the chariotas well as various other pieces of that metal. Amongst the latter were two rivet-like pieces of iron (i.e. small bars with "heads" at the ends) with the wood still adhering to the sides, evidently used in connection with the construction of the chariot. These and many other evidences of the vehicle itself having been buried, are of importance, as according to some authorities a "chariot-burial" sometimes means that only the wheels and horse-trappings were buried with the warrior.

As might be expected from the nature of the subsoil, bones were very few indeed. Immediately below the tyre of the wheel presently to be described, however, were a fragment of bone and parts of two teeth of a horse, in an advanced state of decay, but apparently good evidence of the animal having been buried with the chariot.

Perhaps one of the most interesting finds, however, was the iron tyre of the second wheel, the upper portion of which was found in position about a foot from the bottom of the grave. It was soon found that the wheel had collapsed, the lower portion being flattened

out on the bottom of the excavation. The position of the iron demonstrated that the wheel, and presumably the chariot also, had been buried in its normal standing position, and that as the wood decayed the tyre gradually subsided under the weight of the earth. above. Had the wheels alone been buried, even in a standing position, the soil would gradually have taken the place of the decaying wood, and the tyre would have been found complete. Between the two crushed portions of this iron rim were found the remains of the smaller ring of iron which surrounded the nave of the wheel.

The bridle-bit of bronze' found in the first instance (Fig. 1) is very similar in type to the specimen from Arras, now in the York Museum, which is figured and described by the Rev. Edward William Stillingfleet, in the "Account of the Opening of Some Barrows on the Wolds of Yorkshire."2 The Hunmanby bridle-bit, however, is rather larger, and is more delicate in design. The two rings forming the bit are made of bronze, they are 2 inches in diameter, and the -shaped piece is 2 inches in length.

There is also a thin lenticular piece of plain bronze, measuring about 3 inches by 2 inches, which is polished on the convex side. At its edge there still remains a rivet, in position, from which it would appear that it has been fastened to something. The use of this is doubtful; it is possibly a portion of a bronze hand-mirror, metal mirrors having been found with chariot-burials of this period elsewhere. The precise original position of this object cannot be ascertained, as, together with many smaller fragments, it was found in the slipped earth. From the same material also a portion of a large bronze ring (Fig. 2) was secured. This at first was thought to be part of a second bit (as bits generally occur in pairs in chariot-burials), but from the way it thickens towards its broken extremities it has evidently been for some other purpose. Where broken there are traces of iron, which have the appearance of being part of something to which the ring was attached. A smaller ring of bronze (Fig. 3), thickened in two places, was found in the grave near the tyre. It is probably part of the harness, and somewhat resembles the bronze ring attached to the upper part of the linch-pin, shown in Fig. 2 of Plate 4 of Stillingfleet's

In Canon Greenwell's paper on Early Iron Age Burials in Yorkshire, just issued (Archæologia, vol. lx., pp. 251-322), a postscript is added relating to the Hunmanby burial. In this, referring to the bridle-bit, Canon Greenwell writes: "It is stated to be made of bronze, but is, no doubt, like many others which have occurred elsewhere, of iron, bronzecoated." In this, however, Canon Greenwell is mistaken. The Hunmanby

bridle-bit is broken in more than one place, and unquestionably is bronze to the core.

2 Memoirs illustrative of the History and Antiquities of the City and County of York (Proceedings of the Archæological Institute (York vol.), 1846, pp. 26-40). The figures there given are reproduced in Canon Greenwell's paper just referred to, and in the recently issued Victoria History of Yorkshire, vol. i.