THE WORK OF A BRONZE AGE ARTIST

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 102, 27 October 1934, Page 25

THE WORK OF A BRONZE AGE ARTIST

A sculpture in clay of a frog made by a Bronze f. go artist about 3000 years ago is one of a number of remarkable discoveries made as the result of excavations during recent weeks at the long barrow called Giant's Hill, at Skondleby, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire, on the property of Mr. \V. D. Gainsford, of Somersby, says the "NewsChronicle."

Tho (Into of t!ic barrow is about 2000 8.C., and the excavations continue and ond those begun in the summer of 1933. The work has been carried- out by Mr. C. W. Phillips, with tho assistance of .Mr. A. H. A. Hogg. This1 year tho burrow itself has been excavated, along with as much of its surrounding ditch as was necessary to make sure of its size- and whether it went right round tho barrow, or was discontinuous at tho ends. As far as the construction of the barrow is concerned it has been proved that the builders mado use of a slight, natural elongated knoll running along the contour of tho hill. Tho barrow proved to be ISOft long, 70ft, wide at the cast end, and (50ft wide at the west end. The cast end was originally .supported by a revetment of trunks of trees split into halves and placed flat face inwards. The butts of 'these pieces of wood wore placed .in a trench which has an arc form plan with the convexity towards tho main mass of the barrow. This timber revetment has decayed, but it is still possible to trace tho holes in which the balks of wood were placed. Along cacli side of tho barrow ran a line of posts set in the solid chalk. The average distance between the posts was 4ft Gin. At the east end of the two linos of posts where it met the ef.d of the timber. revetment was an extra largo post.

In the ditch round the east end of the barrow wore found traces of temporary

settlements by people of the early Bronze Ago (2000-1500 8.C.), the late Bronze Age (1000-7 SO 8.C.), . and the early Iron Age (500-100 8.C.).

A considerable quantity of good "beaker" waro was found in the early Bronze Age hearth, and the notable find in the late Bronzo Age site was a curious clay figure of an animal which seems to be intended to represent a frog or toad. This object is almost without parallel in England at that .period so far as present knowledge goes. ; In (ho middle of the barrow, at a point about 60ft from the east end, the original burials have been found. They consist; as far as can be mado out at present, of the remains of seven persons, one of whom was a young child. Two of these burials aro in a contracted position and woro clearly put in as bodies. The others consist; of a number of disjointed human remains representing in all probabilit}', in accordance with the Neolithic custom, the bones of members of the family who had died at earlier dates thnn tire persons represented by tho contracted burials. , Their bodies had been allowed to skeletonise arid their bones collected and put on one side until they could be put in a long barrow and so given final sepulture by these early peoples. Much Neolithic pottery has been found, but- mostly in fragments which had been trodden small by the builders of the barrow in ancient times. By a piece of good fortune, however, the greater part of a, fine bowl was found intact in the side of the barrow, Where it had been thrown In1-casually as rubbish with the, chalk' rubble of which the barrow is made.

Human remains Were removed and sent to tho Royal College of Surgeons for examination, and the rest of the material and a plan of tho site is to be on exhibition at the British Museum.