February 1st we commenced re-opening the barrow [Map] [Kenslow Knoll Barrow 1 [Map]] upon Kenslow Knoll, which was formerly investigated by Mr. William Bateman, in 1821, when it appears that the primary interment was discovered, and besides it, some other relics which indicated that there might still remain additional deposits in that part of the barrow that was not then disturbed. By taking a wide trench through the middle of the barrow from the outer edge, it became apparent that its convexity had chiefly been preserved by a border of large limestones placed with great regularity on the surface of the natural soil. On clearing the area within them, many pieces of calcined flint and animal bones were picked up; also a splinter from a stone celt, a round piece of slaty sandstone which had been burnt, and a crescent-shaped ornament of bone having two perforations: the latter is precisely like one found at the prior opening, and gives the idea of a large canine tooth of a wolf split down the middle, being convex on one surface and level on the other, although in reality it is cut out of solid bone, and has been carefully polished all over.

February 2nd. - The trenching of the barrow was continued, disclosing, near the centre, a depression below the natural level, which had contained the deposits formerly exhumed. In the course of the day pieces of three different urns were observed, one of coarse material and workmanship, another having been a neatly ornamented drinking cup, and lastly of a kiln-baked vessel of brick-red colour that had been made upon the wheel, and which must be therefore much more modem than the two former. There were also found three more of the bone crescents, part of a large ring of inferior jet or Kimmeridge coal, a small spatula of bone, probably used in the fabrication of pottery; a few instruments of flint, human and animal bones, both burnt and unbumt, and a tine from a stag's horn which has been roughly cut round, most probably with a flint saw.

February 3rd. - The excavation of the grave cut in the rock, which contained the previously discovered interments, was commenced: the rubbish being cleared out, we found some portions of the skeleton which had evidently lain undisturbed; with them was a small and neat bronze dagger, 3 inches long, with the three rivets by which the handle was attached, remaining. A little above these we found an iron knife of the shape and size usually deposited with Anglo-Saxon interments, which had most likely been thrown in unobserved when the grave was refilled in 1821. About the same place was a bone pin with a perforated head. By digging in the outer parts of the barrow, another bone crescent and several good instruments of flint were found.

February 10th. - A small barrow in the Cross Flatts' plantation was re-opened. Its sepulchral character was first ascertained in 1827, by a labourer engaged in making holes for planting, who found the skeleton of a young person, accompanied by an iron knife. On the present occasion no more interments were found, but in turning over the earth, the following articles were met with: - part of a large stag's horn, a celt of basaltic stone, some pieces of hand-mills, flints, and fragments of red pottery. On looking over the bones of the skeleton before disinterred, it was found that two of the lumbar vertebrae were attached together by an abnormal growth of osseous substance.

On the 27th of March, was opened a low flat barrow, called Sharp Low [Map], situated on the summit of a hill to the left of the road to Dovedale, from the New Inns toll-bar. In no part did the elevation exceed 18 inches. In the first place, an excavation was made from the south side to the centre; it was then continued at right angles to the west; in each of these cuttings was found a skeleton; and in the middle of the barrow was a stone, beneath which lay the horn of a bull, accompanied by another bone. The body in the south trench, first discovered, was apparently that of a young person, and was laid upon its right side in a contracted position, without the least protection or accompaniment by cist or weapon. The other in the western cutting was equally unprotected, but was accompanied by an iron knife of the usual form, which lay at the left side of the skeleton, which, from the impression retained by the rust on the knife, must have been swathed in fine woollen cloth. It is worthy of remark that this body, although evidently interred at a comparatively late epoch, was laid on the left side in the contracted posture so uniformly observed by the earlier Celtic population. In illustration of this remark, it may be stated, that we do not remember having previously met with an instance of an interment of the iron period, otherwise than at full length; nor, on the other hand, have we seen any skeleton accompanied by relics of the earlier ages, fully extended. In the vicinity of the latter skeleton were a few animal bones, and two pieces of well baked earthenware; but the usual layer of rats' bones was absent.

March 30th. - Another barrow about a mile from the preceding, and very much resembling it in every respect but the height, was opened: it was about four feet in elevation at the thickest part, and appeared perfect and undisturbed; yet by digging it proved the contrary, as the bones of two skeletons were found in a heap upon the level of the ground, lower than which no one had penetrated since the mound was formed. Around the bones were many fragments of iron which had been broken and left as worthless by former excavators, they appear to have been principally nails or rivets, and buckles; one piece of larger size is evidently part of a flat ring or disk, which has been riveted upon wood, the grain being very visible on one side. - These have probably been the metal fittings of a shield.

About the centre of the barrow were two large limestones, covering an oval cist, sunk down about three feet through the easily removed upper beds of the limestone rock; in which depository were calcined bones, forming the original interment; with them was a very neatly ornamented food vase, which, owing to the grave being full of large stones, had long been crushed - it is now repaired, all the pieces having been carefully gathered up - there was also a piece of stag's horn inside the grave, but no implements or weapons whatever.

On the 3rd of April, a most beautiful and genial day, was opened a barrow of apparently large size, situate in a clump of trees crowning an eminence on the Derbyshire side of the Dove, near Thorpe Cloud. The depth of factitious material in this mound was inconsiderable, a natural elevation having been chosen for its site; nevertheless, about the middle was a rock grave which increased the depth to about two feet. In this was the skeleton of a man, lying in the usual flexed position, on the left side, amidst myriads of water rats' bones, but destitute of either instruments or pottery: slightly higher were the bones of another skeleton which had been partially disturbed, moat likely when the trees were planted. With the latter remains were found some neatly ornamented pieces of a vase of thin Celtic ware.

On the 6th of May was opened a small barrow at the summit of a rocky-hill, near Ecton mine, called by the natives "The Comp." One side of the mound was formed by a natural elevation of rock, the other consisted of large stones piled up against it in such a manner as to leave a hollow place in the centre, which served as a cist for the original interments which had never been disturbed. These comprised the calcined remains of an adult, accompanied by a perforated bone pin and spearhead of flint, which had both passed the fire; and secondly, the unburnt skeleton of a very young child, which lay at the bottom of a cavity immediately beneath the ashes of its parent, as we may reasonably suppose them to be.

June the 9th we opened the second of three large barrows at Booth Low, the first of which had been excavated not long before by a resident in the neighbourhood, who discovered a deposit of calcined human bones near the centre of the tumulus, unaccompanied by any urn or instrument. Each of the barrows is about forty yards ill circumference, and eight feet high: that under consideration is nearest the village of Longnor [Note. Booth Low Barrow 1 [Map]]. One successful section through the middle shewed that the funeral rites had been performed upon the spot, the body having been reduced to ashes on the natural level of the ground, the remains were then gathered into a heap and covered with a layer of clay, above which a large fire of oak timber was made, the remains of which, in the shape of large pieces of charcoal, perfectly exhibiting the characteristic grain of oak, were then covered up with successive layers of tempered earth, mixed with a few stones, by which means the mound was formed. A few chippings of flint and a small piece of stag's horn were noticed in the course of the excavation.

On the 23rd of June we made an unsuccessful examination of the third barrow at Booth Low, situated near the last [Note. Either Booth Low Barrow 2 [Map] or Booth Low Barrow 3 [Map]]. With the exception of a few pieces of charcoal, there were no indications of interment observed during the progress of a very large cutting through the centre, which was extended to a slight depression below the natural surface, making the entire depth from the top of the mound rather more than eight feet.

On the same day was opened a smaller barrow at Low Bent, situated on low ground about half-a-mile from the last. Near the centre was a deposit of calcined human bones, placed on the level of the natural soil, and surrounded by an irregular circle of sandstone boulders; accompanied by a piece of stag's horn worked into an oval shape, three good spear points, and two rather indefinite instruments of flint, all which had been submitted to intense heat, probably from having accompanied the remains of their owner on the funeral pile. The flints have acquired a glazed appearance from the fusion of their surfaces. At a short distance from this interment the ground appearing to have been cut out and refilled with stones, we removed them to the depth of 18 inches, when we found a second deposit of burnt human bones placed amongst the stones, without any article or weapon whatever. The ground still shewing proofs of its having been disturbed, the work was resumed, until about two feet more of stone and earth being thrown out, we had the satisfaction of arriving at the solid floor of the grave, on which lay another heap of calcined bones, with one solitary bead of jet amongst them, of very primitive form, being only a rough piece perforated. The entire depth, from the apex of the mound to the bottom of the grave, was about five feet, three feet being below the natural surface.

On the 5th July, a barrow called Round Low [Map], near Harborough Rocks [Map], on Hopton Moor, was opened; but, owing to the labours of former excavators, we met with but little success, all the middle of the barrow having been removed. Yet sufficient traces of the original interment remained to determine its character. The deposit appears to have consisted of calcined bones, accompanied by a few inferior flints, enclosed within a coarse urn.

On the 6th of July the remainder of a mutilated barrow near Tissington, called Crake Low [Map], were explored, attention having been directed towards it by human bones being dug up by persons destroying the mound for the sake of the limestone to be found in it. Upon making a section across the presumed centre of the barrow, which had long sinqe been levelled with the ground, we met with two interments which had escaped the general ruin; but which, owing to their nearness to the surface, were in an advanced state of decay. They consisted of the skeleton of a young person, accompanied by two calcined flints; and a deposit of burnt human bones, with one burnt flint, both placed within a rough cist formed of limestones set on edge; between the two was a small vase of coarse clay, 5½ inches high, perfectly devoid of ornament.

A further discovery of two skeletons and a very small plain rase, which was placed at the head of one of them, was made by some labourers opening a stone quarry near the edge of the mound in December, 1850. The vase and part of the skulls are preserved at Lomberdale House [Map].

July 10th we opened a small mound on the summit of a hill called Brownedge, near Church Stemdale; it was raised about two feet above the natural level, and covered a grave three feet deep cut in the sandstone rock. The grave was filled, and the barrow was entirely constructed with stones mostly of grit, but with the addition of a few pieces of limestone, which must have been carried a mile or two to the place. Having removed these materials to within six inches of the bottom of the grave, without meeting with anything more important than rats' bones, we were much annoyed by the appearance of a considerable quantity of water, which effectually prevented any view of the floor of the grave, or the objects there deposited, and rendered it necessary for us to fish for the expected treasure. The interment had been by inhumation, and, owing to the wet, very few traces of the skeleton remained, and these were in great decay. The body was accompanied by a small and elegantly ornamented drinking cup, 6¾ inches high, which from the circumstance above named was recovered in a very dilapidated condition; a conical stud of jet with the usual double perforation, and two flints, one of them an arrow point.

On the 13th of July we re-opened the large barrow at End Low [Map], which was first attempted in 1843, without our finding the primary interment. Our researches this time resulted in the discovery of the remains of the original occupant, which were, after the expenditure of much labour, found in a cist cut down in the rock to the depth of six feet beneath the natural surface, and upwards of ten feet from the top of the barrow. The skeleton was that of a finely proportioned man, rather above the middle size, and was in good preservation, with the exception of the head, which was decayed at the left side, from contact with the floor of the grave. The bones lay apparently without much regularity, which was attribute able to the settling down of the stones upon the body during the process of decay. At a small distance from them was a bronze dagger and spear head of flint, of a grey colour. The grave was bounded on three sides by rock, and the remaining one was walled up to a level with them with loose limestones. The skull is engraved in the Crania Britannica, and is described by the learned writer as "a well-formed head, presenting very clearly the conformation of the true ancient British cranium, of which it may be regarded as belonging to the typical scries." The femur measures 18.8 inches.

There are two barrows in the valley adjoining a hill near Hartington called Casking Low, which are commonly called Moneystones. The largest [Map] [Moneystones Barrow 1 [Map]] has been nearly removed, for the sake of the limestone it contained, and has been further rifled by treasure-seekers allured by the attractive name. On this account our researches on the 15th of July proved unavailing, as we found nothing but fragments of human skeletons and bits of flint. The smaller barrow [Map] [Moneystones Barrow 2 [Map]] is in the same field, about one hundred yards from the other, measures about six yards across, and is surrounded by a circle of large limestones, whose grey and lichen-covered surfaces, rising above the turf, present a venerable and old-world appearance. Near the surface, about the centre, we found a skeleton having no implements. Somewhat lower down the earth at first sight appeared to be quite undisturbed; but on closer examination we detected particles of charcoal, and consequently proceeded till, at the depth of about a yard, we discovered two more skeletons, lying in the usual contracted posture upon the top of the natural rock. They were both much decayed, and had each but one spear head of flint, though they were surrounded by a slight sprinkling of chippings of the same material.

On the 17th of July we broke ground in a fresh district, by opening a barrow near Longstone called Blake Low [Map], which had been a good deal mutilated by the removal of stone. Nevertheless we found the interment in the centre to be quite undisturbed, though the remains of about six individuals in a rude cist close by were in a state of the utmost disorder. These were accompanied by four neat instruments of flint, and the remains of a curiously-decorated urn. The preservation of the central deposit was owing to the body having been laid in a grave cut in the rock to the depth of two feet. The skeleton was that of a very young woman, or rather of a girl, and lay on the left side, with the knees drawn up. At the head was a drinking cup, rather more globular in form than usual, 7½ inches high, the upper part ornamented by parallel grooves; and along with the skeleton were the bones of an infant, with the tine of a stag's antler. The grave was filled up to the level of the natural soil with limestone, amongst which was as large an accumulation pf the bones of the water-vole as we have seen in any barrow.

On the 25th of July we opened another barrow, at no great distance from the last, situated on a more elevated point of the "Edge." Its mutilated appearance gave rise to no very sanguine expectations of success, and we were, therefore, neither surprised nor disappointed by finding, on examination, that the mound had been thoroughly rifled. There were some very large limestones placed on edge for a considerable length in the centre of the barrow, but whether they had been portions of cists that had been removed by former excavators, or not, is uncertain. In all parts of our diggings we observed scattered pieces of bone pertaining to skeletons, both human and animal; amongst the latter were those of the horse, ox, hog, dog, water rat, and a few specimens of the beaks of birds. The only manufactured remains were two small pieces of a drinking cup, and a circular flint which has been calcined.

On the 29th of August we opened another barrow, near the last, situated on a part of the hill still more elevated. Externally it has the appearance of a cairn or tumulus solely composed of stone, which in fact it was, so far as artificial means had been employed, but in the middle the rock rose above the natural level, and caused the tumulus to appear of greater extent than it really was. In the centre was an irregularly shaped rock grave, about three feet deep, lined with flat stones placed edge-way, and covered with four or five large slabs laid over it without much regularity. It contained a deposit of calcined bones, evidently of an adult, with bits of stags' horn intermixed, laid in a heap near the middle of the grave, which was the chief interment; in one comer was the decayed skeleton of a child of tender age, around which were numerous rats' bones; and in the opposite corner were two vases of different shapes, something like those found at Arborlow, (Vestiges, p. 65,) which yet stood upright in their original position, and contained nothing but fine mould; casually were found some cows' teeth, two hoofs of deer, and a bit of flint. Having cleared out the grave, a triangular hole, measuring about a foot each way, was found to have been sunk at one side to the depth of 18 inches. As we found nothing in it but a few fragments of bone, it is possible that it was originally made to receive the vases, and was abandoned because too small to hold them conveniently; or it might have had some connection with a prior interment, as we found a portion of the cranium of another subject just outside the lining stones of the grave.

The analogy between the Arborlow deposit and the present is very remarkable the interment in each being by cremation each accompanied by two vessels, and the vessels in each case being of relatively distinct forms, that is to say, a highly ornamented one, with an opening wide in proportion to the height, and a plainer one in which this peculiarity is not seen.

On the 10th of November we commenced excavating a barrow in a plantation near Kenslow Wood, called Rusden Low [Map], where a skeleton was found by the planters in May 1828. Being situated on a natural rising of the land it had been quite overlooked till the previous day, when it was noticed whilst shooting. The first step was to cut as near the centre as possible, and the result was the discovery of a skeleton, lying on its left side, with the knees drawn up, in a slight depression in the rock which was very near the surface. The lower extremities were quite undisturbed, although the upper part of the body had been much injured at a former period, perhaps by the planters. In the course of the day we found the relics described below, none of which occupied any well-defined position in connection with the skeleton, though they were not far from it. It will be seen that they are of various ages, commencing with a neat spear point of flint burnt white, and a tine of stag's horn, found near the feet of the body; and a flint arrow near where the head should have been. Outside the depression in which the body lay was part of a very neatly made comb, composed of several pieces of bone rivetted between two strong ribs of the same with iron pins: it had been furnished with teeth on both sides, which were nearly all broken away. The blade of a clasp knife of iron, apparently very ancient, as it is completely oxydized through the substance of the metal; and a small brass coin of Constantius Chlorus, reverse Victoriae Laetae Princ Perp.; teeth of animals, and pieces of Romano-British pottery were found throughout the cutting, which, with the comb, knife, and coin have probably been deposited with a much later interment than that which we found.

November 11th we continued the examination without success until near dark when we found a long grave in the rock parallel with the depression occupied by the former skeleton, and not more than a yard from it. It was eighteen inches deep, and covered with large stones; in it lay the skeleton of a young female, as usual on the left side, in a contracted posture. Before the face were indications of the skeleton of a very young child, and a highly-ornamented drinking cup of red clay, which lay crushed upon its side with the mouth towards the feet of the skeleton: it contained one broken instrument of flint. It was evident that the grave had been occupied by a previous tenant, whose bones, together with the remains of another drinking cup beautifully decorated, and a bit of stages horn, had been collected and placed under one of the large stones that covered the grave. This had clearly been done at the time when the female was buried. Owing to the lateness of the hour at which this interment was found, we were obliged to clear out the grave by candlelight, and thinking that something further might be discovered by day, we resumed the search on the 13th of November, but found only one rude flint arrow point in the grave; and a piece of a sandstone quern in refilling the excavation. There were many rats' bones in some parts of the mound, but not in the profusion sometimes met with.

On the 16th of November we opened a small barrow [Map] [Meadow Place Barrow [Map]] in a field on Meadow-place Farm, called Greenstor Meadow, close to the Conksbury road-side. The land having long been under tillage may account for the flatness of the barrow, and for the little success that attended our researches, which were rewarded by a few scattered articles only, there being no perfect interment found, although we detected remains of two human bodies, one of them calcined. There were also bones of rats, the tibia of a cow, a few instruments of flint, and a good specimen of a spear of the most primitive description, made from a large splinter of dense animal bone, nicely ground or rubbed to a point. It measures seven inches in length, and illustrates the account of Tacitus wherein he describes the more barbarous German hordes as using bone points to their weapons, owing to their ignorance of metal.