Section I Tumuli 1788. On the 15th of March, 1788, a farmer, who occupied the land on Middleton Moor, known as the Garratt Piece, having occasion to burn some lime upon that ground, dug for the purpose into a tumulus [Map] [Garratts Piece Barrow [Map]], or lowe, there situate.

He began his work on the outer edge of the barrow, clearing it away as he proceeded, to the level of the natural surface. On reaching the centre, he found, lying immediately under the usual depression of the summit of the barrow, and placed upon the level of the ground, a skeleton, whose extremities were towards the east and west; near the point of the shoulder was a very extraordinary ornament of copper neatly enamelled with various colours, red being the most predominant; it is circular, and has a hook in the form of a serpent's head, probably for suspension. In addition to this, part of another ornament of similar workmanship; part of the iron umbo of a shield and a shallow basin of thin brass, much broken and crushed, were found abont the same place. (For a similar basin see Archæologia, vol. xviii, page 80.) The design visible upon the circular and enamelled ornament is precisely similar to an illuminated capital Q in the Saxon manuscript entitled, 'Textus Sancti Cuthberti,' a production of the seventh century, formerly preserved in the cathedral of Durham, but now in the Cottonian library, (Nero, D. 4.) There is a good engraving of it in Astle's 'Origin of Writing,' plate 14, a. This interesting barrow was reopened by Mr. William Bateman (age 1), on the 19th of June, 1826, but was found to have been entirely rifled on the occasion above described.

Section I Tumuli 1843. September 27th, 1843, a barrow, called Ringham Lowe [Map], on Middleton Moor, was reopened. It was first examined by the late Mr. William Bateman in 1821, who found only the fragments of two urns and a piece of charcoal; one of the urns was of fine black ware, the other very coarse and of a grayish colour. The second investigation did not prove much more interesting than the first; the particulars are as follows: in the centre were the remains of a fire which had burnt upon the surface of the ground, before the construction of the mound; there remained pieces of charred wood, either oak or ash, near three inches in diameter. About the same place some more fragments of the above-mentioned urns were found; also numerous chippings of flint; but no bones, either human or animal, were seen. Near the surface of the tumulus a carefully-chipped instrument of flint was picked up, on refilling the excavation.

Section I Tumuli 1844. On the 30th of July, 1844, was re-examined a barrow [Map] upon the Oldham Farm, Middleton, which was unsuccessfully opened by Mr. William Bateman, on the 18th of May, 1825, nor was this second investigation much more interesting, as the barrow proved in most respects the same as the one on Ringham Lowe [Map], which is within half a mile of the one in question. There were the remains of a large fire visible in the centre of this mound, upon the level of the undisturbed soil, where were also some pieces of sandstone and some quartz pebbles, neither of which are to be found in the neighbourhood. The only articles of human origin were several pieces of kneaded clay, partially hardened by the fire, and a broken piece of coarse pottery of very hard texture.

Ten Years' Digging 1848. The large barrow upon Middleton Moor, called Gib Hill [Map], situated about 350 yards west from the circular temple of Arborlow [Map], and connected with it by a serpentine ridge of earth, had been previously examined by the late Mr. William Bateman, in 1824, without much success. From the analogy borne by Arborlow and its satellite, Gib Hill, to the plan of Abury with its avenue of stones terminating in a lesser circle on the Hak Pen range of hills, no less than by the remarkable similarity of the names, I had ever reckoned this tumulus to be of more than common importance, under the supposition that a successful excavation of it might yield some approximate data respecting the obscure period of the foundation of the neighbouring circle.

Owing to the large size of the mound, our operations extended over several days, the result of each being noticed diary-wise as at once the most simple and intelligible arrangement.

Kenslow Barrow. 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.

Hurdlow. On the afternoon we re-opened the barrow on Cronkstone Hill [Map] (the next eminence), which was examined by Mr. William Bateman, in 1825 (Vestiges, p. 33). A short distance east from the centre was a large irregularly shaped grave in the rock, the bottom of which was upwards of five feet below the apex of the mound, within it lay the skeleton of a full sized person who had suffered from a morbid enlargement of the head of the right humerus; as usual, in the early interments, he lay in a contracted posture, with a circular instrument of flint near the head, and surrounded by rats' bones. A few inches above this skeleton was a deposit of calcined human bones, apparently interred at the same time as it. There may probably be other interments in the mound, which is about 20 yards diameter.

Middleton. On the 24th of October, we opened a large trench in the barrow [Larks Low Barrow [Map]] at Larkslow, near Middleton by Youlgrave, which was first examined by Mr. William Bateman, in 1825, when amongst other things were found a cinerary urn, containing burnt bones, and an "incense cup." It appeared by our excavation, that the centre of the barrow had been surrounded by large masses of chert, within which circle the interment had been deposited. We discovered the calcined bones which had been emptied out of the urn at the former opening, and a few pieces of an unburnt skeleton. From a very careful examination of the former, we find them to consist of the remains of a full-grown person, and an infant, with whom had been calcined a few small instruments of flint, a bone pin, and a tooth of some large animal. It is probable that the critical examination of all deposits of burnt bones would lead to much curious information respecting the statistics of suttee, and infanticide, both which abominations we are unwillingly compelled, by accumulated evidence to believe were practised in Pagan Britain.