A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE Hills and on Gully Hill, Luton. Some occur in old pastures in the valleys, where the surface has never possibly been disturbed since Roman times. One such pasture with huts occurs in the second field on the west of Totternhoe church. The hut remains are often most difficult to see, and when they occur in flat pastures no eyes but those which are highly trained and experienced can detect the sites. Even on grassy hillsides these sites are very easily overlooked ; they are best seen in sunshine either early in the morning or late in the evening. Even the pathways used by the pre- historic inhabitants can under these conditions sometimes be made out. It is impossible to tell the age of a prehistoric hut without explor- ation. Externally it is a slight depression in the soil, about 12 feet in diameter. When on a hillside a slight drain-like depression in the direction of the bottom of the hill may sometimes be seen. This cutting was made by the hut dwellers for carrying away water in times of sudden flooding of the floor during heavy rain-storms, although provision was also often made against too much wet by a circular cutting round the hut. Several prehistoric huts in south Bedfordshire have been excavated. They were all of Celtic, iron age or Romano-British period. The original excavation of each was about 4 feet. When the floor was reached sometimes nothing was found. On one hut floor, near Messrs. Forders' works on Blows Downs, there was a flint scraper, a fragment of a British pot, a metatarsal bone of a horse and a number of flint flakes. On the floor of an adjoining hut an extended human skeleton was found. The original owner of the bones was a little over 5 ft. 10 in. high. The skull and chief part of the bones were unfortunately put into the lime kilns with chalk for lime. On this hut floor were seven flint flakes, part of a British pot and a block of iron pyrites. A hut, in the pasture already mentioned, on the west side of Tottern- hoe church, was uncovered by the late vicar, the Rev. S. A. Woolward, and a friend in 1899. On the floor of this hut were parts of two Roman mill-stones or querns, seven flint flakes, two spindle-whorls, two sharpen- ing stones or hones, pieces of stag's antler, three pieces of Roman pots and a piece of a thick Roman tile with the impression of the foot of a large dog. Outside the hut was a collection of thousands of shells of the common garden snail, Helix aspersa. These were used for pounding up and mixing with clay for Romano-British pots, as was shown by the pottery found close by. Sometimes there is no indication whatever above ground that a hut floor exists beneath. Such a floor was accidentally found at Buncer's farm, Caddington, in 1895. A small shallow hole had been dug in this field on its southern boundary. On looking into this hole a thin hori- zontal line of flint flakes was seen a foot below the surface. Altogether 1,142 flint flakes were exposed on a restricted level floor of earth, which was perhaps one half of the original number, as many flints had been lost in the digging of the test hole, some slipped into an adjoining pool of water, and others were taken to fill in the ruts of a road. In addition to the flakes there were two celts, four scrapers, one arrow-head, several 172
