Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 1889 V24 Pages 104-117
Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 1889 V24 Pages 104-117 is in Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 1889 V24.
Notes on Bowl's Barrow [Map]. By Mr Cunnington.
Bowl's — Bole’s Barrow, or, as it is sometimes called, Bowlsbury, does not occupy a place in the early history of the county. The origin of the name is not known. Canon Jackson informs us that "it does not occur in Wilts, except in the case of ‘Don Bowle,’ of Idmiston, who was a learned man, and F.S.A.; but there is no information connecting him with property in the Heytesbury neighbourhood"; nor de the deeds in the possession of the present owner of the property, Lord Heytesbury, throw any light on the subject. It is called “Bowls Barrow” in Andrew and Dury’s large map of Wilts, date 1773, and this is probably the earliest printed notice of the name.
Like the other long barrows of the county, it is situate on very high ground, commanding a most extensive and characteristic view of this great chalk range. In consequence of the prominence of the position it is often chosen as a place of meeting for the hounds.
The first account of the barrow occurs in a letter addressed by Mr. Cunnington, F.S.A., to H. P. Wyndham, Esq., M.P. for Salisbury, dated Heytesbury, July 13th, 1801. Of this an abstract appears in “Ancient Wiltshire,” I., 87, as follows:— The length of this large tumulus is one hundred and fifty feet at the base; its width ninety-four feet (including the ditches on both sides) , and its elevation ten feet and a half, though it appears to the eye much higher; the broad end points towards the east. It was opened by Mr. Cunnington in 1801, and attended with much labour. He began by making a section of considerable width and length across the barrow, near the east end. The interior parts of the barrow were composed entirely of white marl stone to the depth of four feet and a half: this was succeeded by a ridge of large (sarsen) stones and flints, which extended wider as the men worked downwards. At the depth of ten feet and a half, which was the base of the barrow, was a floor of flints regularly laid, and on it the remains of several human bodies deposited in no regular order. It appeared, therefore, that they had been thrown together promiscuously, and a great pile of stones raised lengthways along the ‘centre of the barrow, over them. This pile (in form like the ridge of a house) was afterwards covered with marl excavated from the north and south sides of the barrow, the two ends being level with the plain.1 Although four men were employed for three days, they could not explore more than the space of about six feet by ten; yet in this small portion they found fourteen skulls, one of which appeared to have been cut in two by a sword. It is rather singular, that no fragments whatever of pottery, charred wood, or animal bones, were found in the course of the above operations.” “ At a subsequent period Mr. Cunnington made a second attempt on this tumulus by opening more ground both on the east as well as the west end; at the former he found the heads and horns of seven or more oxen; also a large cist close to the skeletons; but owing to the great height of the barrow, and the large stones continually rolling down upon the labourers, he was obliged to stop his operations.”
In 1864 excavations were again made by Dr. Thurnam, and an account of the results was published by him in the Journal of the Anthropological Society (I. 472, &c.). He found the remains of the skeletons as left by Mr. Cunnington more than sixty years previously, Four skulls were obtained tolerably perfect. Of these measurements are given in a table.1 There were also fragments of the skull of a girl of eight or ten years, and the jaw of a child; the Doctor found, altogether, traces of ten or eleven skeletons. There were many fragments of cleft skulls, and one of the more perfect skulls had been cleft with great violence on the left side. All were very dolichocephalous.
Note 1. These, with more than one hundred other skulls, from Wiltshire —— were sold, at Dr. Thurnam’s death, to the Cambridge Museum.
In 1885 a deep trench was cut on the south side of the barrow near the highest part. At a depth of about four feet there were layers of the black soapy earth; some of them in places nearly a foot in thickness, but soon thinning off and disappearing altogether. No traces of human handicraft were found, with the exception of a small oval pebble of variegated quartzite (not a Wiltshire stone) which had been used at both ends as a hammer (query, was not this "knapper" used in making the flint implements?) and a small rude flint knife. These, and the flint flakes mentioned below, are the only relics of man’s art hitherto found in this large and elaborately- constructed mound.
The examination was renewed in June, 1886, by the writer, assisted by his brother, the late Mr. Henry Cunnington, whose acute powers of observation were of great service during the operations, and by whose kindness the conveyance to the barrow was daily provided. The work was carried on, by the aid of four men, for five days, in the face of much difficulty, the barrow consisting, as already stated, mainly of rubble and large stones; a great part of which, moreover, had been rendered very loose by the operations of former explorers. Mr. Akerman’s opinion, that the opening of such barrows “is at once tedious, irksome, and laborious,” was abundantly verified. Deep trenches, reaching to the natural chalk below, were dug to the total length of eighty-two feet.
Much information has been obtained as to the general history and conditions of the interments, but no works of art were found, except mere flint flakes. These mostly occurred, to the number of forty or fifty, on a space on the old turf about two feet square, within a few yards from the edge of the barrow, to the S.E. They were mostly quite small, and were so close together as to suggest that they were struck off on the spot, in the process of making some kind of flint implement or weapon. A very small quantity of wood ashes was found near these, covering a space of about eighteen inches square. On the floor of the barrow were the remains of the interments as left by the previous explorers, and here some interesting specimens were obtained. Carefully examining all the ground as we proceeded, we at length reached an undisturbed part, with the conical mound of flints and sarsen stones unbroken. Here there were three skulls, and numerous other bones, which had not previously been disturbed, but there was no exception, in this part of the barrow, to the condition of utter disorder in the interment, as above mentioned.
We obtained altogether six skulls, one very perfect; the rest, after much labour, were sufficiently restored to allow of measure- ment. There were fragments of ten or twelve others—the relics in all of a¢ least sixteen persons. The majority of these, there can be no doubt, were killed by severe cleavage of the skull. This cleavage must have been accomplished by means of a sharp edged implement, and with much force. The fractures pass sharply through thick parts of the bone, but do not usually continue in a straight line, such as would follow the blow of a sword. A flint celt, with its wedge-shaped edge, would probably be well suited to this fell purpose. It is curious to note that, with one exception, the blows were inflicted on the deft side of the cranium ; as was also the case in a skull found in this barrow, by Dr. Thurnam, in 1864. Hence we may safely draw the conclusion that these old Britons were a right-handed race. In one instance, at least, it appears that the victim had been beheaded, as a neck vertebra, found amongst the loose bones, had evidently been cut in two by some sharp instrument.
Only five thigh bones were found sufficiently perfect to afford a measurements from which to estimate the stature of the individuals. That they were decidedly short will be seen in the list hereafter given. The average height of the five persons thus obtained is 5ft. .07in. only. It is much to be regretted that so few long bones were found perfect.
It is very remarkable that, as far as can be ascertained, the bones obtained on this occasion are those of the male sex only. The remains of three young children were found, but their sex cannot be determined.1
Note 1. Dr. Thurnam mentions a skull of a girl of eight or nine years,
The individuals here interred were of various ages, an infant, children of 6 and of 12 years, several young men under 25 years, adults of various ages, and one or two of advanced age. It would appear as if the males of a small tribe had been sacrificed, young and old together.
Detailed List of Bones obtained from Bowl’s Barrow, June, 1886.
1. Cranium and mandible (best specimen). Age 20 to 25. Cephalic index, 72:0. Found in an upright position. Not cleft. It closely resembles in general form and proportions a skull obtained from this barrow, in 1864, by Dr. Thurnam (See engravings).1 It also exhibits distinct, though partial, synostosis of the interparietal suture.2
2. Calvarium. Cephalic index, 65.0. Found in an upright position. Cleft on left side—greater part of left temporal bone gone. Slightly gnawed by rodents. Coronal suture partially closed—also a portion of the sagittal.
3. Calvarium (distorted)—bone but little decayed. Cephalic index, 72.0. Slight depression across the skull, behind the coronoid suture, as if produced by bandage in infancy. Slightly gnawed by rodents. Cleft in orbit of left eye. Sutures, except frontal, not closed.
4. Large portion of calvarium with left orbit. Cephalic index, 66.6. Found in an upright position. Extensive cleavage of left side of skull. Traces of depression behind the coronoid. Slightly gnawed. Sutures, except frontal, quite open.
5. Large part of calvarium—the upper part (bowl-shaped) had been cleft off, and was perfect when found. A marked depression across the skull, behind the coronoid. Gnawed by rodents. Sutures open.
6. Upper part of a skull, cleft by a blow inflicted above the eyes. Thin. Coronal and sagittal sutures open.
List continues. Total sixty-eight fragments.
Note 1. For the use of the woodcuts of Dr. Thurnam’s specimen (now in the Cambridge Museum) the Society is indebted to the Anthropological Society of Great Britain, by the kindness of F. W. Rudler, Esq.
Note 2. The late Dr. Thurnam read a paper at the meeting of the British Association, at Bath, September, 1864, “On Synostosis of the Cranial Bones, especially of the parietals, regarded as a Race character in one class of Ancient British and in African Skulls.” He observes of the Ancient British skulls from the chambered and other Zong barrows of the Stone Period that the general form is elongated or dolichocephalous, aud that they are strikingly distinguished from the brachy- cephalous skulls from the circular barrows of the Bronze Period not only by their general form, but also by their greater tendency to early and premature obliteration of the sutures. The long form of the skull and the premature obliteration of the sutures appear to be coincident phenomena, not standing to each other in the relation of cause and effect, though they are probably both of them characteristic of the races."—Nat. Hist. Rev., No. xviii., April, 1865. These views are fully considered in the above-mentioned paper, and are illustrated by a table of measurements and by engravings of crania from various countries, including woodcuts of a skull from Bowl's Barrow.
As pointed out by Mr. Storer Bennet, the teeth in several instances are remarkably worn down by use. This is noticeable even in the upper bicuspid tooth of a child of about 12 years of age, which, though not fully developed, already bears marks of wear on the masticating surface. The surfaces of some of the worn teeth, from this barrow, slope at an angle of 45°; in a few cases (old persons) the angle isevenhigher. The oblique and cupped condition of these teeth fully corresponds with a description given by Dr. Thurnam in the following passage from “Crania Britannica,” Speaking of human teeth from a chambered long barrow at Uley, Gloucestershire [Map], he says:—"The worn surfaces of the teeth are not flat and horizontal, but slope away obliquely .... The lower teeth are much worn on the outer, and the upper on their inner edges. The condition is altogether such as we must attribute to a rude people subsisting in great measure on the products of the chase and other animal food—ill-provided with implements for its division, and bestowing little care on its preparation—rather than to an agricultural tribe living chiefly on corn and fruits. In Anglo-Saxon crania, though the crowns of the teeth are much reduced by attrition, the worn surfaces are for the most part remarkably horizontal," There are instances, such as the skull from Winterbourne Stoke long barrow, which Dr. Thurnam describes as having the teeth “all present, beautifully white, and with scarcely a trace of erosion on their crowns.” He further says:— "It is probably that of a young chief whose diet principally consisted of milk and flesh, which Cesar tells us was in his time still the food of the Britons of the interior.”1 But it must be noted that this was “the skull of a young chief," to whose honour, it is supposed, the barrow was raised. Very different would be the circumstances of the unfortunates—the dependants or slaves, who were slaughtered at the burial of the great chiefs. “As in the case of the victims from Bowl’s Barrow, and in the instance from Uley, as cited above, the people generally must have been subject to great hardships, and their food was probably of the coarsest kind.
Note 1. Memoirs Anthrop. Soc., Lond., I., 144.