The land close to the brink of the section, and extending over a considerable portion of the mound, was occupied by growing corn, and hence its dimensions can only be approximately stated. The proprietors, Messrs. W. and J. Bierma, obligingly accompanied us, and one of them assured me it could not be less than from three to four hundred yards in diameter. Its greatest height above the water in the canal was 18 feet, but of course the level of the canal water is considerably lower than that of high tide in the open sea. The commercially valuable stuff commenced some 3 or 4 feet below the surface, and continued without interruption to within a few feet of the canal water. It was in this intermediate portion that the relics were found: but their exact position, especially that of the smaller objects, was seldom determined, as it was generally after the stuff had become partially broken up during transport that they were found. The stuff _in situ_ was distinctly stratified, forming layers of various thicknesses, from a finger breadth up to 3 or 4 inches, or sometimes more, which in some instances could be continuously traced for long distances. Sometimes they shelved out altogether, and others commenced. Here, a bed of fibrinous matter, in which quantities of the partly decomposed fibres of flax could be readily recognisable; there, a thickish deposit of a brownish glutinous stuff like peat. Charcoal and ashes permeated the whole, and showed themselves sometimes as distinct layers. Clay and sand were also largely mixed with these deposits, and occasionally assumed the form of distinct and separate beds. Having so far satisfied ourselves as to the structural arrangements of the mound, and the disposition of its contents, we walked up to the church, which is but a short distance from the workings. This small edifice is surrounded by a burying ground, and among the gravestones are some ancient-looking ones. Mr. Battaerd informed me that it dates as far back as the eleventh century. It is calculated that there are altogether about 150 of these mounds in West Friesland alone, and that of these about the half have been more or less examined, some being now entirely cleared away. They are also to be found in the province of Gröningen and some other parts of Holland. Dr. Dirks states that the town of Leeuwarden is built over two terp-mounds;[67] and Dr. Pleyte informed me that he has reason to believe that the town of Leyden also reposes on similar deposits. RELICS (=Fig. 100=).--The relics of human industry collected from the _terpen_ are very varied and numerous. Of these the following notes and illustrations, taken chiefly from the large assortment in the Leeuwarden Museum, will serve to convey some general idea of the social economy which prevailed among the occupiers of these singular settlements, as well as of the period in which they flourished.