terminals. Some feet further to the west were the fragments of an olive- coloured glass cup (fig. 2), of a type fairly common in Kent, having bands of hollow claw-like projections round the body which widens towards the mouth.
Towards the west end of the grave lay in a very crushed condition a large bucket or tub which must have been placed over the thighs of the deceased warrior. It was 2 feet in diameter with an iron frame and bronze covering, and contained the remains of two glass tumblers 1 1 inches high and 4 inches wide at the mouth, similar in size and colour to the specimen already mentioned. In it were also two large drinking-horns (fig. 5), terminating in an exceptionally fine example of the Teutonic bird-ornament (fig. 5b) ; and one of a smaller size, all with bronze and silver-gilt mounts of excellent workmanship. Two other silver rims were included, which seem to have belonged to barrel-shaped cups of thin wood such as have been found in south-east England, at Croydon, Surrey ; Broomfield, Essex ; and Faversham, Kent. The rims in all these cases are very much alike, but the Taplow and Faversham specimens are peculiar in having rather solid mounts in the form of a human head placed at intervals across the fragile gilt band (fig. 53) ; while the more usual representation of the human features is seen in repousse on the triangular mounts round the opening of the horns (fig. 4).
North-west of the large bucket and on a somewhat higher level was a long iron spearhead 26 inches long, pointing west. This was originally barbed, and belongs to the so-called ' angon ' type, and found more commonly in Belgium and the north of France. Near this was another bucket, similar to that in the south-east corner of the grave ; and along the western end several minor objects were met with, including another glass tumbler, the fourth, and a drinking-horn ; a second spear- head of the ordinary socketed kind, a silver-gilt ornament of crescent shape, and about thirty cylinders of bone, about an inch in height, the ends closed by discs united by a silver pin. These last were doubtless meant for use in some game resembling draughts, and may be compared with several of horses' teeth in the Gibbs collection from the King's Field, Faversham.
All the objects enumerated were more or less crushed between stout planks which had been placed both above and below the body ; and herein lies one of many resemblances to the interment at Broomfield, Essex.[1]The similarity in the direction of the two graves has already been noticed, and in both cases the body was apparently laid with the head at the east end. In both graves also a large bowl or tub, placed midway between the longer sides, contained two horns, two glass vessels, and two wooden cups. Both sword and spear were on the north side of either interment, and shield-boss or bosses in the north-east corner. In the middle of the south side both had a circular bowl standing on a tall foot, and at either end of this side one or two buckets. Such a series of coincidences must be more than accidental, and goes far towards connecting
- ↑ V.C.H. Essex, i. 326.
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