On the 18th of May, we commenced by opening a barrow [Probably Ecton Barrow 1 [Map]] on a hill near the celebrated Ecton Mine, called Hanging Bank. The tumulus is about 20 yards diameter, 4 feet high, and concave in the centre like a bowl. In the middle was found a deposit of calcined human bones, with those of the water-rat in abundance, close to which lay part of the skeleton of an adult, the other part of which had been removed as recorded by Plot, in his History of Staffordshire, 1686 folio, page 330.- "In digging open a Lowe on Ecton Hill, near Warslow, in this county, there were found mens' bones, as I was told, of an extraordinary size, which were preserved for some time, by one Rev. Mr. Hamilton, Vicar of Alstonefield." The burnt bones had also been disturbed at the same time. Both interments lay on the natural surface, unprotected by any cist; the calcined bones were accompanied by a large bone pin, upwards of 5 inches long, two spear points, and two arrow heads of flint, all of which had passed through the fire. A piece of stag's horn was found in another part of the mound.

May 20th, opened a barrow about 30 yards diameter, on Arbor Hill [Arbor Hill Barrow [Map]], near Throwley Hall. Proceeding towards the middle from the south side, through very compact earth, to ihe depth of from three to four feet, in which were bits of charcoal and chippings of flint, we found the ground on the right hand side of the cutting, about the centre of the tumulus, to be more open and stony, and intermixed with rats' bones: following these indications, a cist was soon discovered, constructed of flat slabs of limestone, six of which placed edgeways in a rectangular form served for the basement, whilst above them the sides of the structure were continued by a neat wall, terminating with large flat stones which covered all in. On removing a portion of the wall, the contents, consisting of burnt human bones, amongst which was a flint arrow point, were found covered with fine earth which had penetrated in the course of ages. Adjoining the eastern end of this cist was erected a smaller one, composed of three flat and two rounded stones, so securely covered over that no earth had penetrated through the joints; this also contained burnt bones. The ground on the west side of the trench appearing loose also, we directed our attention that way, and found two more interments of a different character, namely: - two entire skeletons which lay in a contracted position very near to each other; one of them, a young person, had a slender arrow head of flint. A few more human bones and an iron spike about 3 inches long which had been inserted into wood, were found in another part of the tumulus.

May 23rd, opened another barrow situated a few hundred yards from the last, and measuring about 20 yards across, but found nothing of any importance; much vegetable earth having a dark appearance like ashes or charcoal, was intermixed with the soil in alternate layers; and one chipping of flint was found.

Waterfall Low, a large tumulus [Waterfall Low [Map]] on an eminence overlooking the village of Waterfall, was opened on the 10th of June. It is a very conspicuous object, being 20 yards diameter and 9 feet high. We began by cutting across the centre through a mixture of earth and stone; at the north end of the trench was a thick stratum of red earth, which had evidently been burnt, under it the barrow was composed of loose stone, intermingled with pieces of human bone, stags' horns, rats' bones, and in some places with dark coloured earth containing charcoal. Near the middle, about eight feet from the surface, was a cavity three feet long and eighteen inches wide, cut in the rock to a further depth of between one and two feet; although this was plainly the grave, it contained only a few fragments of bone, having evidently been examined by barrow diggers of a former age. A large part of the centre of the barrow was turned over, with no more successful result than the finding of horses' teeth and chippings of flint.

Round Low [Map], near Deepdale, was partially investigated on the evenings of the 15th and 16th of June; one-half of the mound being under tillage, could not be explored. It is situated near one opened in 1846, and is of no great elevation, though about 30 yards across. In digging through the midst, we found a few scattered bones, some of which were calcined, a few instruments of flint, a piece of a fine urn, a few animal teeth, a piece of fused lead, and a number of pebbles and sandstone boulders not indigenous to the soil. The remaining half of the barrow has since been excavated without success.

June 17th, we opened another barrow at Deepdale, called Top Field Low, which had been previously much disturbed, so that we found nothing but some burnt bones, pieces of pottery, and flint flakes.

June 19th, we opened another barrow at Deepdale, in the immediate vicinity of the others. The field in which it is situated is called Burnet's Low, the prefix being derived from a late occupier of the land. The mound was 17 yards across, and having no great elevation it promised an easy task; but having dug to the depth of two feet, we arrived at the side of a very large grave, about six feet wide, cut at least three feet deep in the rock; it was filled with stones without any earth, except what had been washed in during the lapse of ages. We cleared it out for the distance of ten feet from the southern end, without meeting with the other extremity, which time would not allow of our doing. The sides were cut down perpendicularly, and were blackened by charcoal. On the west side within the grave, was a skeleton, deposited on the left side with the head to the south, and the knees drawn up; under the shoulders of which was a well preserved bronze dagger, with three rivets for the purpose of fastening the semilunar handle, which had imparted a green tint to the bones with which it had been in contact. The earth above was mixed with pebbles and bouldered pieces of sandstone, and in it we found an arrow point of flint

June 21st, opened a barrow between Deepdale and the village of Grindon, called Mouse Low [Map], fourteen yards diameter and not more than two feet high; the lower part composed of stiff clayey soil, plentifully interspersed with small pebbles; in the centre was a cist constructed of three large flat stones, the fourth side being left open; it was paved with very thin slabs of blue limestone, and contained the skeleton of a very large and strongly built man resting on his left side in the usual contracted posture, near whose head was a peculiarly elegant and well finished drinking cup, 8¼ inches high, inside of which were two implements cut from the ribs of a large animal (compare with those found with a similar interment at Green Low [Possibly Green Low Barrow [Map] but may be a different Green Low], in April, 1845, Vestiges page 60), a spear head, and two beautiful barbed arrows of white flint; outside the cup were two more arrows of the same kind. The skull is very large, and is remarkable from the presence of a frontal suture, although by no means that of a young man; the teeth are in fine preservation; and the skull is of the platy-cephalic variety, occasionally found amongst Celtic crania. In other parts of the mound numerous pieces of human bone, stag's horn, and a neat circular ended flint, were found. And as far as our trench extended, which would be about five yards, it exposed a row of large boulders of hard red grit, laid on the surface of the natural soil in a direction coincident with the longest side of the cist; the smaller limestones near these were almost turned to lime from the effect of heat, and were mixed with burnt bones and charcoal.

On the 24th of June, a small barrow called Green Low, situated in the same field as the large barrow at Castern, opened in July, 1846; was opened by cutting three parallel trenches through it. In the middle cut were no perceptible traces of human remains, but several articles of different periods were found in it» as a small celt of green hone slate, a round ended flint, a piece of coarse pottery, and a very perfect harp shaped bronze fibula, of a type with good reason considered as Roman. These articles were to all appearance of casual occurrence, not having been deposited with any interment, or even in connection with each other. In another of the cuttings, near the edge of the moundy we found the skeleton of a child, with a flint arrow point. In the remaining trench, another juvenile skeleton, much decayed, was discovered. In the course of the day, pieces of stags' horns, animals' teeth, rats' bones, numerous pebbles, and some flints were found.

June 29th, a barrow was discovered at Bincliff, near Wetton, that had escaped previous observation from having been nearly levelled by agricultural operations, although it still retained its circular form and regular curvature. On examination, human remains, mixed with bones of the water rat, were found about a foot from the surface. The ground in the midst of the barrow appeared to have been dug out to the depth of four feet and filled in again, with the addition of stones and charcoal; but no interment was found.

July 1st, examined the site of a barrow, near Winkhill, called Martin's Low [Map], which had been some time removed; where we found only a spear point of grey flint. We observed, as a rather remarkable circumstance, that, after making a hole to the depth of a foot, the earth appeared perfectly dry, notwithstanding the abundance of rain that had fallen; whilst, on sinking a little lower, the excavation suddenly filled with water, although the barrow is placed on the highest point of the land.

July 3rd, excavated a barrow upon Grindon Moor [Map], close to one much larger called Hurst Low [Map]. This one, though apparently of considerable elevation, promised an easy task, but, after cutting from the edge to the centre to the depth of six feet, through clay of various colours, intermixed with stones, until, in the middle of the tumulus, we came to a space filled with stones without any admixture whatever except charcoal, we gave up the search without finding more than half of the upper stone of a quern or hand-mill of grit. It is, however, possible that the interment may remain in some part of the barrow yet unexplored.

July 4th, spent another unsuccessfiil day at Grindon in opening another barrow, eighteen yards in diameter, by two trenches, each two feet deep, intersecting the centre. In all parts were scattered pieces of human bone, some calcined pieces of earthenware, and flints.

July 5th, began upon the first barrow on Musden Low [Map], near Calton, originally about twenty-seven yards diameter, but mutilated at one side. We made two excavations intersecting each other about the former centre of the mound, and reached the natural surface at the depth of about four feet from the summit, where lay a skeleton completely embedded in rats' bones. It is singular that this body, which had been buried in an entire state, had been partially blackened by the action of a fire kindled close by, for the purpose of burning another corpse, whose ashes were deposited near the same place; some of the rats' bones were charred in the same way, thus proving that a very long time had elapsed between the two interments, as the rats must have resorted for many generations to the place before any considerable quantity of their remains could have accumulated previous to their becoming blackened by the fire. Several pieces of fused lead had been gathered up with the deposit of burnt bones. Some pretty good instruments of calcined flint, and pieces of three urns, ranging apparently from the Celtic to the Romano-British period, were found in indeterminate positions.

July 18th, investigated a second barrow [Map] on Musden Hill, about a hundred yards from that opened on the 10th inst.; we cut two transverse sections through the centre, where a few burnt hones were found. More to the east was a skeleton with the head to the outside of the barrow, near it was a lump of flint devoid of form; and above and around it were fragments of two globular narrow-necked urns, ornamented with a few projections upon the shouliers, which had contained burnt bones. These are of the kind attributed to some of the Saxon tribes, many examples having been found in various cemeteries in this country, as well as on the Elbe, by the late Mr. Kemble. Below the calcined bones that had filled these urns was a thin layer of gravel, which had been exposed to heat sufficient to melt the small particles of lead ore usually found in it. Many pieces of flint were picked up in this part of the barrow, and part of a medieval pitcher, with vertical streaks of green glaze, was observed. None of the intererments had been protected by cists.

20th of July, opened a large tumulus in a narrow valley by the river Manifold, between Castern [Map] and Throwley [Map], called Cow Close Lea. The mountainous scenery through which the river winds its serpentine course (whence the name) is most picturesque, the hills, on the Throwley side especially, rising to a great height. On account of the barrows in this district being for the most part on the tops of the hills, this one had been previously overlooked by us. The search was commenced by a section through the midst of the barrow, which, to the depth of four feet was composed of boulders from the bed of the river; next was a layer of clay and soil mixed with stone, a foot in thickness; below this was sand like the bed of the river, into which we dug for two feet without perceiving any mixture, as would probably have been the case had it been before disturbed: and as the remains of human bones, and those of the rat which we found, were confined to the level of the clay, we took advantage of the hole made by digging in the sand, to remove by undermining, a very large stone from the centre of the barrow, by the side of which were piled several smaller ones.

No trace of interment was observed near these stones, which lay within a foot of the surface. Confining the depth of the cutting to the level of the clay, we discovered at the side a skeleton and a few burnt bones; pursuing the same direction about five feet further, we found another skeleton, lying on its left side in a contracted posture, having with it burnt bones, a round-ended instrument and a pebble, both of flint. An arrow-head and some chippings of flints were found in other parts of the mound, and the earth on being turned over, emitted an odour so fragrant as to cause us to look about more than once to see whether there were not many flowers close by.

Longlow [Map], near Wetton, opened on the 22nd of July, being encompassed by mineral hillocks, much like barrows in form, had also been overlooked by us, but had been disturbed by miners digging in the centre to find a shaft, they having mistaken it for what is locally termed a "groove hillock," i.e., a mound composed of earth and stone accumulated by sinking mines for lead. Having ascertained that there was no interment remaining in that part of the barrow disturbed by the miners, we directed our search to the west side, where we found a skeleton wanting the head surrounded by rats' bones, which lay in a stratum of small stones and gravel, about two feet beneath the surface. The barrow was composed of loose stones to the depth of seven feet, amongst which were fragmentary bones both human and animal; but neither the primary interment nor the interesting nature of this tumulus were discovered on the present occasion.

On the same day we opened two more barrows in land near Stanton, called Thor's Wood [Probably Thor's Wood Barrow [Map]], or Back-of-the-Low. The first was 14 yards across, and two feet high, wholly composed of earth intermixed with charcoal and flakes of flint. No interment was discovered by two cuttings which crossed each other in the centre of the tumulus.

The second barrow, about a hundred yards from the last, appeared to have been disturbed before. It is about 28 yards diameter and of considerable elevation, not however wholly artificial, a protruding rock having been rendered available as a nucleus by the mound builders, who added flat stones and clayey earth to complete the tumulus. Beneath many of the stones that happened to lie hollow, we observed a limey efflorescence, amongst which were innumerable snail-shells, both certain indications of the great antiquity of the mound. The natural level was found at rather more than three feet below the turf, with no better result than the discovery of one human tooth, and a few bits of bone.

September 6th, opened a barrow at Dale, in the same township as the preceding, about a mile from Calton Moor House [Map]. It is irregular in form, being 13 yards diameter from North to South, and 16 from East to West; the height about three feet, and the components flat stones and earth. On the natural surface lay two skeletons in a line, one at the feet of the other, which presented a mode of sepulture different to any yet found in our researches, from having been intentionally subjected to the action of fire upon the spot, in such a manner as to preserve the bones in their natural order, entire and unwarped by the heat. They were surrounded by charcoal and earth, to which a red colour had been imparted by the operation, themselves exhibiting a curious variety of tints from the same cause. All deposits of burnt bones previously found by us have been strictly calcined, and reduced to fragments by the process, and have generally been gathered into a heap, or placed within an urn, so that here we find an exception to the rule perfectly inexplicable - we may observe that the bones are evidently those of different sexes. Portions of human skull and some teeth found near the burnt skeletons, indicate that a former interment was displaced to make way for the new comers. No implements were found with them, but chips of flint, and one piece of primitive earthenware occurred near the top of the barrow.

Stimulated by the want of success attending former excavations, we determined to make one more effort to disclose the primary interment in the large barrow at Steep Low [Map]. To effect this purpose, two men were constantly employed for a fortnight at the end of September and beginning of October, to penetrate to the centre, which, to a certain extent, they succeeded in doing; but owing to the immense accumulation of stone, it was found impossible to clear a passage more than three feet wide at the natural surface, consequently affording but a very slight chance of our hitting upon so small an object as an interment in an area so large as that covered by the mound. Charcoal in profusion, and a few calcined bones were observed at the bottom - higher in the tumulus, amongst the large stones, was the skull of an ox - and on the natural soil we picked up a small brass coin of Tetricus the elder, which had probably slipped from near the top of the barrow, through the interstices of the stones, although it appears from the patina to have been some time buried deeper than those formerly discovered near the top. Close to the surface, beneath the foundation of a stone fence which had been built across the hill, the writer picked up an iron spear-head, which had doubtless been deposited with the remains disinterred in 1845 (Vestiges p. 76), but which being under the wall, not at that time taken down, escaped observation. We have since received an iron arrow-head, an article of great rarity in tumuli, that was picked up by a looker-on when we first opened the barrow; it is devoid of socket, though otherwise well-shaped, and must have been secured in a slit cut in the arrow.

20th of October, we examined the site of a barrow which had been removed from an eminence near the last, but the whole having been destroyed, we found nothing but imperfect bones and one piece of stag's horn.

21st of October, we made another attempt to find an interment in this barrow [Hurst Low Barrow [Map]], which was unsuccessfully opened on the 3rd of July. Having previously examined the middle by a trench from one side, we made a cutting through the opposite and hitherto undisturbed side, and on approaching the termination of the former diggings, found two large sandstones, foreign to the soil, one of which was about three feet square by one foot thick; the other was of a round form. Our section exhibited strata of variously coloured clay, whicli underneath the stones was greenish blue, unlike any other part. An arrow-head, and a rude instrument of yellow flint were picked up, but no interment was found, although we observed charcoal mingled with the clay.

28th of December, we opened a barrow called Over Low [Map], placed on the side of a hill, on the summit of which are some earthworks, near the village of Stanton. The tumulus, about 28 yards diameter, is composed of small sandstones and sand; near the middle were two contracted skeletons, very much decayed, lying within a yard of each other: a few flat stones placed on edge, so as to form a sort of cist, were placed round one of them, which was also accompanied by a few mean implements of flint, and one piece of thick coarse pottery.

29th of December, a barrow [Ribden Low Barrow [Map]] was opened between the villages of Cotton and Cauldon, called Ribden Low, about 30 yards diameter. In cutting through the centre, we found a large flat stone covering a rudely walled cist, built upon the natural surface, about three feet from the top of the barrow, containing a much decayed skeleton, which reposed in the usual flexed position, on its left side, accompanied by a remarkably beautiful spear-head of flint, and some other pieces of the same material, all of which had been slightly burnt; at the feet was a human skull much decayed. The ground continuing to sink by the side of the cist, we were led to another interment, which consisted of a deposit of calcined bones, placed in a hole dug two feet lower in the natural soil, and paved with flat stones. Amongst the bones were found three large instruments, and three barbed arrow-heads of flint, remains of about five bone implements, some of which appear to have been modelling or netting tools; others pointed at each end are perforated through the middle. They are all in bad preservation, owing to their having been calcined along with the corpse of the owner. The barrow was thickly strewn with burnt bones, fragments of pottery, and rats' bones.; and two very small pieces of bronze, slightly ornamented, were found near the capstone of the cist.