The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884Various
History
The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884
Various
Archaeology -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
On Wednesday, at Brownslade, their first halting-place, through the
kindness of the Hon. Colonel Lambton, a raised tumulus, which had long
been suspected to be a barrow, was opened, and at a distance of little
more than 2 ft. below the turf a variety of human bones were brought to
light, and, amongst others, the skeleton of a very tall man, which was
laid bare before the eyes of the assembled congress, the rough stones
which had covered the bones being carefully removed. As the body lay
exactly east and west, it was surmised that it must be that of a
Christian; and, if so, then it clearly must be of post-Roman date. This
supposition was confirmed by the discovery of some crosses and other
emblems of Christianity being found among the bones in the neighbouring
graves, which were grouped thickly around. In some of these the bones
were thrown in apparently at random, and others were found in a crawling
posture, so that in all probability the cemetery had been used for
heathen interments before the Christians made use of it. At a short
distance to the north were seen the _débris_ of what was thought, from
its orientation, to have been a chapel or church, though the masonry
showed marks of Roman mortar and handiwork. Between the church and the
above-mentioned tumulus the surface of the ground is very uneven, rising
every here and there into hillocks, and it was thought probable that
further excavations, if carried out, would probably reveal here the
existence of an early British village. At Brownslade Mr. E. Laws and Mr.
Loftus Brock and the Dean of St. David’s acted as interpreters and
guides. The dean also accompanied the party to the next halting-place,
the church of Castle Martin, a miniature reproduction in some respects
of St. David’s Cathedral. Here the dean drew the attention of the
congress to the south porch, in which were the remains of what certainly
looks like a rood-loft, though why a rood-loft should be introduced into
a porch it is not easy to determine. The Norman font, the tall slim
tower, and other features of the church were much admired. The visitors
also inspected the old vicarage, adjoining the church, now inhabited as
a cottage. In it they saw a pillar of apparently Norman date, and having
on its capital grotesque sculptures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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