a curious discovery was made, 21 ft. below the surface, of a huge piece of bone, portion of a femur of a large whale. Other portions of the same skeleton were found in the same house later. In an Appendix on the Insect 'Remains, Mr. Arthur Lyell observes that the furniture beetles, Anobium, would appear to have been a house-pest even in Roman times, remains being found in six instances at Silchester, and in three localities at Caerwent. Wooden furniture is very rarely found on either site. Nevertheless, these beetles suggests that furniture did exist in Romano-British times in England, apart from any written history or evidence that may exist on other sites. But it is possible that the beetles may have been in the woodwork of the houses. As a whole, the species are such as one might expect to find now. From both Caerwent and Silchester the earwig, Forficula, occurs, also pupæ of Diptera and Acari, whereas Silchester can alone boast of the ant and a larva of a moth. COCHWILLAN. Dr. Cochrane, in his most interesting and useful notice of Siamber Wen, in Arch. Camb., 1912, page 33, refers to Cochwillan, Carnarvonshire. He assigns the date of the erection of a part of the house to about A.D. 1360, when, according to J. E. in Arch. Camb., 1866, "Griffith ap Gwilym of Penrhyn gave Cochwillan to his second son Robert." In my paper on Cochwillan in Arch. Camb., 1896, I pointed out that it appeared a mistake had been made in assigning the event to this date, and that Robert does not seem to have come into the property till the fifteenth century. The data for this opinion are given in the paper. I venture to think that all the ancient work at Cochwillan belongs to this later period. I think the solar would have been situated behind the screen at the upper end of the Hall, and not at the lower end, over the buttery, as suggested by J. E. It would then have occupied a similar position to that assigned for this apartment by Dr. Cochrane at Siamber Wen and at Rathumney. The main axis of Cochwillan is east and west, and in this respect agrees with Siamber Wen. At Cochwillan, the south wall, east of the screens is modern. The building apparently extended southwards at this end, and may have had a single shallow transept, corresponding to one of those at Siamber Wen, and may have contained the stairs, as at Rathumney. 11th March, 1912. HAROLD HUGHES. CELT FOUND IN THE GOP CAVE, NEWMARKET, FLINTSHIRE. -The Celt, of which the enclosed is a photograph, was found by a friend of mine-Mr. J. H. Morris-in the Gop Cave, Newmarket, Flintshire. You will perhaps recollect that Professor Boyd Dawkins excavated here, and the results were published in Arch. Camb. some few years ago. It is 8 in. long, 34 in. wide, 12 in. thick MEREDITH J. HUGHES. Miscellanea THE IMPLEMENT-BEARING GRAVEL BEDS OF THE VALLEY OF THE LOWER TEST. - (Abstract of a Paper by W. Dale, Esq., F.S.A., read before the Society of Antiquaries, February 22, 1912). — Mr. Dale describes the gravel pits which occur near Ramsey and Dunbridge, and shows a large quantity of Palæolithic implements from the same. These implements are diverse in form and in the condition of their patination. The gravei is usually whitish in colour at the top, which is attributed to the action of the weather dissolving out the iron and depositing it lower down. Implements from this horizon are whitish in colour, while those at a lower depth are yellowish or brown, according to the colour of the gravel. At the base the implements usually have a double patination, caused by ferruginous matter being deposited more on one side than the other. Implements of various forms occur at all depths. At the Kimbridge pit there is a preponderance of the rough ovate implements to which the name of "Chelles" has been given, while at the Dunbridge pit there are found remarkably fine pointed implements, not water worn and with a white patina. Photographs of the sections are shown, and at Dunbridge, where the gravel rests on Bagshot sands and clays, it is suggested that the gravel may have been deposited under sub-glacial conditions. The condition of some of the implements seems to prove they were made on the spot, while others must have travelled far. PREHISTORIC MAN. STORY OF THE IPSWICH SKELETON. --Professor Arthur Keith, Conservator of the Royal College of Surgeons' Museum, in the first of his Hunterian lectures on the evolution of man, dealt chiefly with the antiquity of modern man. He stated that the remains of a human skeleton had recently been discovered beneath a stratum of undisturbed chalky boulder clay in a sandpit at Ipswich. The person to whom the skeleton belonged had clearly lived before the overlying strata were formed. Comparing the Ipswich skeleton with other ancient human remains which have been found in England, Professor Keith stated that the only one which could be compared in point of age was the Galley Hill man, whose remains were found in the 100-ft. terrace of the Thames Valley-the terrace being part of an ancient bed of the river. It has been pointed out that the 100-ft. terrace rests on the boulder clay; therefore the boulder-clay formation is older than the 100-ft. terrace, and that consequently the Ipswich skeleton belongs to a much earlier date than the Galley Hill man, who belonged to a very high flint civilisation. The flint instruments which have been found in the boulder clay (the ice sheet caught them up from the land surface on which it formed) and in the mid-glacial sands, which lie beneath the boulder clay, and in which the Ipswich skeleton was partly embedded, are of a more primitive type. Professor Keith is of opinion that there can be no doubt that the skeleton is that of a man. His height is estimated at 5 ft. 10 in. In teeth, in skull-form, and in the leading features of the skeleton, the Ipswich man does not differ in build of body from the men of to-day. The lecturer expressed the opinion that perhaps too much attention had been directed to the skull. It was very probable that the tibia, being so closely associated with the human manner of walking, would serve to distinguish various stages in man's evolution. The shin of the Ipswich tibia was unlike any form yet seen. In place of a sharp shin there was a flat surface. The significance of this feature was not known; it certainly did not represent a pathological condition, but was evidently due to a peculiarity in the gait of the individual. It was likely to prove a sure character of the Ipswich race, and represent a stage in evolution. From the Standard. DE LACY'S LORDSHIP IN DENBIGHSHIRE. - The following transcript is communicated by the Rev. G. C. Chambres. He states that it is probably one of many similar charters issued to the original settlers, but that the only other one with which he is acquainted belongs to the Heaton family of Plas Heaton, Denbighshire. The parchment is about 9 in. by 8 in., and still retains some of the brittle greyishyellow wax of the original seal, though all traces of the impression have vanished. It has been marked, possibly by some visiting herald, with two small ermine spots. The present owner is Mr. H. C. Chambres, of Eastham. "A Toutz ceux qui ceste escrit verront ou orront. Henry de Lacy, Counte de Nicole et Conestable de Cestre, Seygnur de Roos et de Reweyknol(?) salutz en deu. Sachiez nous auer done et graunte et par ceste nostre presente chartre conferme a Johan de la Chambre nostre Chaumberlein pour soun homage et pour son seruice deus charues de terre ou les apurtenaunces en Lewenny qi contient vt foitz vint acres par la perche de vint peez. A auer et tenir a lauantdit Johan et ses heirs de son cors lealment engendrez fraunchment quitement et peisiblement et oue toute manere aysement. Cest a sauer housbote et Haybote en le boys de Lewenny par viue de nos foresters Cest a sauer del boys de Garthsnodyok de qes a la torre Madok Abaignon et comune de pasture a toute manere de bestes parmy tut lan en le boys auaundit de deuz les deuises auauntdiz apurtenant a taunt de tenement en mesme la ville et quite de pannage a tous ses pors de sa propre mirine de nous et de nous heirs par seruice de Chivalrie dont les ditz charues de terre font le fee de Chivaler et fesaunt a nous et nos heirs la suite a nostre Court de Dunbegh de trois semeins en trois semeins. E la garde de nostre Chastel de Dunbgh en tens de guere. Cest a sauer chesqun au tant com guere serra vt jours a deux chiuaus.. vertz ou sesse jours a vn chiual couertz le quel qe nous ou nos heirs meutz vodrons tut a lour coustages E rendunt a nous et a nos heirs vn maile par an pour chesquen bouee a la seint michel pour la garde de nostre chastel auant dit en tens de pees. E nous et nos heirs a lauantdit Johan et ses heirs de son cors lealment engendrez lauauntdit tenement pour les seruices auauntdit garantons et quiterons et def[enderons au]xi pleinement come nostre Seygnur le Roy et ses heirs nos tenemenz en celes parties a nous et nos heirs garauntissent aquitent et defendent E si lauauntdit Johan mureusse(?) saunz heir de son cors lealment engendrez tut lauauntdit tenement oue tutes les apourtenaunces sauns counteredit de nul homme a nous ou a nos heirs enterement reuertera. En temoinance de quels choses nous auons mis nostre seal a cest presente Chartre. A ces temoines. Sire Robert le fiz Roger. Sire Roger de Trumpington. Sire William le Vauasour. Sire William de Stoppham. Chiualers, Kenewrek Abllawar [?] Bledyn Vaghan. Madok Gogh et autres." THE following is the Report for the year 1911 of the Pembrokeshire Association for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments: Lawhaden Castle. - A good deal of the ivy has been destroyed by lighting fires around the roots during the dry weather, and it is hoped to do more during the coming year. The north wall along the edge of the moat, which is considerably undermined, is being underpinned in the worst places, and a dungeon under one of the towers has been cleared out. Such young trees as remain in the walls should again be cut, and fallen trees inside the Castle and moat should be cleared away. It is hoped that the Association Committee will soon be able to publish a ground plan of this Castle. Castell Coch. - Your Committee obtained an estimate for the work required to be done to this building, and decided to do the most urgent part of it-viz., rebuilding the jamb of the doorway of the north side and securing the cracked window arch on the south side. A good deal more remains to be done, and it is hoped that funds may be forthcoming to complete the work during the summer inonths. Carew Castle.- Nothing further has been done by the owner towards these repairs. Trehowell Ogam. - This stone has been removed to Glandwr graveyard. |