The  exploration  was  completed  on  Nov.  8th  by  the
discovery  of  another  glass  vessel  and  a  smaU  drinking-
horn  like  the  others ;  a  silver-gilt  ornament  of  crescent
shape  about  six  inches  long,  one-and-an-eighth  inch  wide,
and  three-quarters  inch  thick ;  an  iron  spear,  about  ten
inches  long ;  and  lastly,  about  thirty  circular  tube-shaped
rings  of  ivory  about  an  inch  high,  the  ends  of  which  were
closed  by  ivory  discs  united  by  a  silver  pin,  probably
counters  for  a  game.  A  number  of  vertebrae  were  found
in  a  connected  line  in  the  general  direction  of  the  grave,
and  a  fragment  of  jaw-bone,  containing  one  tooth,  lay
at  the  eastern  end.  Apparently  the  body  lay  a  Uttle
south  of  east  and  north  of  west,  with  the  head  to-
wards the  east;  and  that  the  decorations  are  Scandi-
navian admits  of  Httle  doubt.  From  the  presence  of  so
much  treasure,  under  so  great  a  mound  of  earth,  its
owner  muse  have  been  a  man  of  note.  From  the  bronze
bucket,  which  was  used  in  Saxon  ships  of  war,  he  pos-
sibly was  one  of  those  hardy  pirates  who  ravaged  the


OPENING   QJT   A   TUMULU8   AT   TAPLOW.  335

coasts  and  rivers  of  Britain  when  the  Romans  had  deserted
them.  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
stretigthened  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  an-
other and  most  satisfactory  proof  of  how  difficult  it  is  to
distinguish  between,  or  argae  dogmatically  about,  definite
^'  ages  of  bronze  and  iron.'*  Whoever  the  chieftain  was,
he  lived  on  the  borderland  between  the  two.
