less than three inches and a half in diameter, a quarter of an inch thick at the edges, and three quarters of an inch thick at the centre, all of gold, and weighing between six and seven ounces. It is covered with ornaments of filigree work, in concentric circles, and is set with garnets and with pale blue stones. The acus or pin on the back is also ornamented and set

12. Plain Fibula, from Kingston Down.

with garnets. It was found high on the breast, near the right shoulder. Other examples of the circular gold fibula will be seen in the Faussett collection, and they are met with in almost every collection of Anglo-Saxon remains from the Kentish barrows. Fibula of plainer forms are also of common occurrence, sometimes consisting of a mere circle of bronze, like the example here figured.

Other jewellery, such as rings, bracelets, necklaces of beads, pendants to

13. Ear-rings, from Sibertswold.

the neck and ears, &c., are found in
abundance, and in a great variety of
form. The ear-rings are very diver-
sified in form, but they often consist
of a plain ring with one or two beads
on it.
Gold coins are sometimes
fitted up as pendent ornaments.
The most common material of beads

is glass or variegated clay, the latter made with great skill, and often ex

hibiting pleasing patterns. It belonged to a class of manufacture which

14. Beads in variegated clay.

has continued to exist in this country down to a recent period. Another com

mon material of beads was amber, and we sometimes find small lumps of amber which have been merely perforated, in

order to be attached to the person by a string. It must be observed that we sometimes find a string of beads round the neck of a man, and other circumstances shew that there were Saxon exquisites who were vain enough of their

personal adornments. It is, however, a very usual thing to find one

or more beads of amber near the neck in cases where there can be no doubt that the deceased was a man; but this circumstance is explained by a widely prevailing superstition in the middle ages, that amber carried on the person was a protection against the influence of evil spirits. Large

15. Hair-pins, from Sibertswold.

hair pins, usually of bone or bronze,
and more or less ornamented, are gene-
rally found near the heads of skeletons
of females, in such a position as leads
us to conclude that the Saxon ladies
bound up
their hair behind in a manner

similar to that which prevailed among the Romans.

The interments of the Anglo-Saxon ladies are generally accompanied with a number of articles of utility, as well as of ornament. By a lady's side, we usually find the remains, more or less perfect, of a bunch of

domestic implements, somewhat resembling the article brought into fashion a few years ago, under the name of a châtelaine. To these were hung,

16. Tweezers, from Kingston Down.

among other articles, small tweezers, intended for the eradication of superfluous hairs, which are so common, that it is evident that the practice of depilation prevailed generally among the Anglo-Saxon ladies. Other instruments have evidently served for ear-picks and tooth-picks. The tweezers so closely resemble those found on Roman sites, that we can hardly doubt that it was from the Romans the Anglo-Saxons originally derived them. The cut given as an example is represented here of its natural size. The next figure (17) represents examples of what are believed to have been ear-picks, tooth-picks, &c., as they were found attached to the châtelaine in a grave at Sibertswold. Combs also are found very

17. Chatelaine, from Kingston Down.

frequently, not only in the graves of women, but in those of men, a proof that the latter, which in fact was the case among all the branches of the Teutonic race, paid great attention to their hair. Those which are preserved are usually of bone, and they are, as at present, sometimes single, and sometimes double. The first of the examples here given, is one of the least ornamental character.

18. Comb, from Kingston Down.

The second (No. 19) is curious on account of the two guards for the protection of its teeth from damage when not in use. It is more than pro

19. Comb, from Kingston Down.

bable, that in many of the

graves in which little is found, there were originally combs and other articles of wood, a material which of course has perished long ago, even where it existed in much greater masses. It appears that there was often attached to the châtelaine,

or suspended by the side of it, a bag of some kind, containing other articles used by the ladies, for we frequently find on the spot where it has lain a heap of small articles, which are at times tolerably preserved, but in others the iron is so much oxidized, as to present a mere confused mass of fragments. In these groups, which differ much, both in the number and in the character of the articles which compose them, we usually find one or more small knives, and a pair of scissors. The Anglo Saxon scissors of this early period, resemble in form the shears of modern times, though we have found one or two examples of scissors formed like those now in use. We have also pins, and needles, and keys, and other small articles, which I will not now attempt to enumerate. I will mention, however, that you find in the Faussett collection a curious example of a supposed fork, found in one of the graves on Kingston Down. It is represented in the next figure. It constitutes another example of the necessity for careful and extensive comparison before we hazard opinions on the purposes of many of the objects found in the Anglo-Saxon graves. I have been convinced, by Mr. Roach Smith, that the object in question is not a fork, but a totally different thing,-in fact that it is part of the metal tag at the end of the belt. The forked part fitted in between two small plates of metal, forming the two sides, and the small knob remained as the termination of the belt. The construction of this object appears to have been borrowed from the Romans, for among several examples in Mr. Smith's peculiarly rich Museum, one which is in a very perfect condition was found with Roman remains, and others have a medieval character. A fork, however, has

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20. Tag of a belt, and other articles, from Kingston Down.

actually been found in one of the early Saxon graves on Harnham Hill, near Salisbury; and the museum of Lord Londesborough possesses a very curious Anglo-Saxon fork of a later date (the ninth century.) These examples have been supposed to disprove the commonly received opinion that forks were not used in eating at table before the sixteenth century; but I think it more than probable that these single examples of forks furnished from Anglo-Saxon times, as well as others which are mentioned incidentally at a somewhat later period of the middle ages, were not used for eating, but merely for serving out of the dish some articles of food which could not be so conveniently served with any other implement. The other figures (2, 3, 4) in the cut No. 20, are supposed to be parts of a small lock or fastening to a box. Mr. Faussett found several examples of an object

21. Bolt, from Kingston Down.

which is represented in the annexed figure, and which, from its general appearance, seems to have been an internal bolt of a box. Another kind of implement, of which, though there are some varieties, the one represented in the figure (No. 22) is a common form, is also found frequently, and can only at present be explained by supposing it to be a key. These were perhaps used to fasten or unfasten internal bolts in boxes like those just mentioned.

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