rudely-chipped paleolithic flints used by the earliest human inhabitants of Britain. Above them, as the river alluvium accumulated, in the present surface soil, quaint British pottery and long celts or axes of finely-chipped and polished stone indicate the gradual advancement of mankind in the arts that led to civilisation, and also tell that the hunting palæolithic nomad had either himself developed, or had been replaced and driven westward by a superior neolithic race.

"Again, in front of Taplow Court, at the angle of the hill, the slopes still bear the name of the "Bury Fields," showing that there the British Celts had their beorg, or fortified hill-top, and the rich dark soil contains fragments of pottery and artificially formed flakes of flint. When the ancient Norman church that once stood there was removed to its present more central position in the village, the traces of the old ditch and vallum which formed this British stronghold were exposed. The very pond which, just below it, formed its only source of water supply, is said by local tradition to have been that in which heathen Saxons were baptized by St. Birinus. The very name of the village goes back into early history. Taplow or Tap-hlowe, is but the "mound on the hill top," and in the heart of the old Norman churchyard the mound still stands. It was an old occupation-site, and possibly a holy one in the earliest days. Celt and Romano-Briton certainly lived there: and early Christendom consequently placed its church there. Such survivals are common. Puttenham Church on the slopes of the Hog's-back, near Guildford, stands on a Celtic burial-place; and the great temple of Avebury, in Wiltshire, now contains within its precincts the Christian church of St. James. Pope Gregory rightly recognised the value of old associations when he directed the missionaries he sent to the faroff land of Britain not to destroy British temples or holy places, " so that while the nation sees that those very same fanes belonging to it are not destroyed, it may sincerely renounce its error, and, discovering and adoring the true God, the inhabitants may assemble together within places which they have been usually accustomed to frequent." Hence the old Norse Viking who, using the silent highway of the Thames in search of plunder, must have died down by Maidenhead, found his resting-place there. On the commanding height overlooking the shallows where his ship was beached, his men found a place lofty enough for their leader and rich even then in memories; and so, with many a wild chant, he and his treasures were placed beneath the "hloewe" of Taplow to remain even until now. They raised a tomb worthy of their leader and his wealth. The mound is

240 ft. in circumference and about 15 ft. high; and on its summit are the dead remains of an ancient yew tree, whose knotted trunk is nearly 6 ft. thick, and whose age may certainly be estimated at possibly 600 years.

"All archeologists must feel that they owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Grenfell, lord of the manor of Taplow, and to the Rev. Mr. Whately, vicar of the parish, for their freely-accorded permission to ascertain the real meaning of the ancient mound; and still more to Mr. J. Rutland, secretary of the Berks Archæological Society, for personally undertaking the laborious task of superintending and carrying out the excavation. It was felt very desirable to disturb the form and character of the tumulus as little as possible, so that it might be eventually restored to its former external condition; and, irrespective of the enormous weight of the old yew tree, which rendered its removal extremely difficult, it was decided that, if possible, it should remain undisturbed. But the results have very fully repaid the care taken, and probably no richer or more instructive discovery has been made in the south of England than that which is now in progress. A line having been traced due north and south on the surface, a cutting 6 ft. wide was made about 4 ft. above the ground level on the south side of the mound until it reached the foot of the tree, and thence a shaft was sunk downward and underneath the root and united with a second vertical shaft sunk on its north side. The earthen material throughout the whole of the excavation was very loose and friable, and showed traces of the way in which it had been piled up. It was composed of the natural red sandy gravel of the surface, mixed and intercalated with black earthy matter; and throughout it contained fragments of bones and teeth of horse, pig, and ox, and broken pieces of British and Romano-British pottery. One fragment of Samian ware, at a depth of 16 ft., showed that Roman vessels had been brought there; and some pieces of coarse brown ware had their surface pinched up into rough knobs similar to those designated "grape cups" by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in his "History of Wiltshire." Flakes of flint and used "scrapers" were also numerous, but there were no decidedly human bones. All this pointed but to one conclusion-that, whatever the tumulus was erected for, it was post-Roman.

"At about 20 feet from the top of the barrow its sepulchral character became at last clear. In the dark brown earth were uncovered lines of gold; and these, on being carefully removed, proved to be the remains of gold fringe, about an inch wide. They lay as

if forming the edge of a garment extending diagonally downward from the shoulder across the body. But all doubt as to the nature of the interment was set at rest by finding close to this a magnificent gold fibula, weighing about four ounces. In length about four inches, as rich in colour as if just manufactured, enamelled and most richly chased with Scandinavian ornamentation, it seemed to have suffered little by its long entombment. Just below it was the owner's iron sword, heavily rusted in the sheath, and so friable as to break into fragments when it was removed; and near to this latter were two other gold fibulæ, smaller in size than the shoulder brooch, but equally beautiful, in one of which was a fragment of stamped leather. From the impression in a fragment of decayed wood which enclosed this, it seemed as if the upper garment had been composed of woven woollen fibre, gathered round the waist by a leather belt fastened by two buckles, and over all an upper gold-fringed cloak or tunicle, fastened on the shoulder by the heavy brooch of gold. On the right of the sword were the remains of an iron knife, probably the 'sceax.' There were scarcely any traces of bone. The scarce fragments were very friable and broken; but from the presence of numerous decayed fragments it seemed as if the entire body, clad in its royal robes, had been covered over by broad planks of wood. Over the middle of the interment was a large pile of archæological treasure. Underneath was the heavy wood-lined and bronze-plated circular shield, resting on which were two drinking-horns, the small ends of which were encased in gilded bronze, and the mouths encircled by embossed rings of silver. Remains of armillæ, or bracelets, silver-rimmed and of bronze, with deeply serrated edges, lay near; and on the north-west side of the shield were the relics of a wooden bucket, encased with richly-stamped bronze. Mingled with these were the fragments of at least two vessels of thin, greenish glass, ornamented with parallel horizontal lines, similar to modern 'Venetian' glass, and decorated with broad, projecting spikes of glass. Such vessels are known to be relics of Saxon times. Mr. Llewellin Jewitt pictures them, and their forms are well known; but the fragments of these at Taplow certainly show a larger and richer variety than those which have been hitherto found. The largest was certainly four inches wide at the mouth and eleven inches high. There was yet another vase of a similar character close to the large gold fibula; but all these were in fragments, and so friable were the remains that it was impossible, even with the utmost care, to remove them otherwise than piecemeal. It is probable, too, that, judging

from the number of the bronze and iron fragments, some of them may be found to form portions of a helmet or of body armour; but this is at present merely conjecture. Over the wooden plank that undoubtedly protected these relics-for it was found completely enclosing and covering them-was placed the spear, which in this case had the point towards the west, and, moreover, had a barbed point, with a very long iron socket. As at present so few fragments of bone have been found, it is almost impossible to define accurately the race to whom the mighty dead' belonged, or the date of the interment. Apparently the body lay a little south of east and north of west, with the head towards the east; and that the decorations are Scandinavian admits of little doubt. From the presence of so much treasure, under so great a mound of earth, it would seem that its owner must have been a man of note. From the bronze bucket, which was used in Saxon ships of war, he probably was one of those hardy pirates who ravaged the coasts and rivers of Britain when the Romans had deserted them. And, lastly, he was a Pagan-a Viking, possibly, of the Northern seas-who left his Scandinavian home some 1,300 years ago. He was brought up from the pleasant Thames valley on the shoulders of his men, and buried on the site of the old Celtic village, amid the wild chants of his brave sea-dogs, and, as became him, after was hal to his memory. There is much to be learnt from the discovery, as well as interesting relics to be treasured. Gold ornaments of exquisite workmanship are placed with bronze armour and with iron arms. The underside of the shield was strengthened with a ring of iron, as was also the bottom of the bucket. With gold for decoration, bronze for defence, and iron for offence, the discovery affords another and most satisfactory proof of how difficult it is to distinguish between, or argue dogmatically about, definite ages of bronze and iron.' Whoever the chieftain was, he lived on the border-land between the two.

"The excavation has already taken many days, and is not yet completed. The nature of the soil renders the shoring it up essential for the safety of the workmen; and even now, with all the care that has been taken, the ancient yew-tree has sunk into the shaft. But the labour has been well repaid by the richness and variety of the discovery so far, even if no other treasures reward Mr. Rutland's labours. He has had the valuable advice and assistance of Dr. J. Stevens (of Reading), and of Mr. W. Money, F.S.A. (of Newbury), in the excavation; and large numbers of persons, including the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, from Clieveden, have inspected the

very valuable and interesting relics. It is impossible at present to do other than theorise on the date of the interment. The facts of the discovery give food for theories; but only careful examination can furnish hypotheses. But, so far, all things tend to the belief that the remains are Norse or Scandinavian. From the quantity of bronze armour, it would point to an early date, when that metal was more commonly used for defensive purposes than iron. The later Anglo-Saxon was more of an iron-using man, and his armour of metal plates or rings sewed on a leather or woollen fabric, resembled in character that of the Norman soldiers of William. Certainly he must have belonged to that great Northern Teutonic race of which the Danes, the Saxons, the Angles, and the Normans themselves were all offshoots. The decoration of the gold fibulæ is certainly Scandinavian; and the bronze bucket may well be that of a Norseman's ship of war. Even the barbed spear partakes rather of the nature of a harpoon than of a javelin; and its position, with the point towards the feet of the dead, is singular. So complete an example of the method of interment of these early invaders of Britain has probably never been found in the southern counties of England. It will be interesting to see what conclusion Mr. Rutland and those who are working with him will come to as soon as they have found time to arrange and place in order the mass of relics that has been so strangely brought to light."

Mr. James Rutland, the hon. secretary of the Berkshire Archæological Society, having completed the excavation of the tumulus, has furnished the following details of the relics discovered :

"After four days' work the indication of an interment was the finding, at a depth of 20 ft. from the top of the mound, a quantity of gold fringe, in. and 14 in. wide, lying in an oblique direction across the grave. The fringe was about two yards in length, and doubtless formed the embroidery to a cloak or mantle which was fastened at the shoulder by a large gold fibula or buckle, of exquisite design and workmanship, and jewelled with garnets, which lay close to the fringe. It is in the most perfect state of preservation, measures four inches by two, and weighs four ounces. This brooch-buckle is of the cross or Tau-shaped form, and Mr. Wright, in Celt, Roman, and Saxon,' considers the round buckle as peculiar to the Jutes, and the crossshaped to the Engle. About 20 in. from it were two smaller gold buckles, measuring 4 in. by in., and of similar workmanship.

"Towards the centre of the grave, the dimensions of which were 12 ft. by 8 ft., were an iron double-edged sword, 30 in. long and