A HISTORY OF KENT bronze balance and nineteen weights, chiefly in the form of Roman imperial coins. Similar discoveries have been made at Gilton and Ozingell, and are noticed elsewhere. In another grave were small bronze rivets with the worm of the screw still apparent ; and elsewhere were ring-brooches, two lobed beakers of brown glass, a jug of black pottery, and a fine jewelled buckle with triangular plate covered by interlaced filigree (as pi. ii. fig. 7) ; also a bowl on trivet in a soldier's grave, and on a woman's skeleton gold braid of the kind mentioned above but round the skull, and a gold bracteate of the same type as before. More than one characteristic sword-pommel of the cocked- hat shape was found, and chief among the brooches is a long square- headed specimen, gilt and set with garnets, almost identical with one found in the Prankish cemetery of Herpes, in the Charente. Mr. John Brent was no doubt right in supposing that certain types of the brooch, with garnet cell-work covering the entire front, signified a comparatively early date ; and comparison with some in the tomb of Childeric (d. 481) suggests the beginning of the sixth century. One grave containing such a brooch had the head at the east end, but nearly all in this cemetery were in the opposite direction, as usual in Kent. The following year saw the conclusion of the work, 272 graves having been opened. A second grave was found containing draughtsmen or counters, and two dice ; fifteen of the total number of about forty had a pair of holes in the flat side that have earned them the curious name of pulley-beads, but were much more probably for fixing the bone to the lathe-centre for turning. Similar specimens have been found in Norfolk (Broome and Castle Acre) and Sussex (Alfriston). Unopened oysters suggest that it was the custom to place food in the grave, and in one grave as many as eighty clench-bolts were found which had perfor- ated wood about three inches thick : similarly thick coffins were noticed at Kingston and elsewhere. Oblong bronze plates^ from a belt in grave 233 give a very fair representation of the quadruped used at this time as a decorative motive in Anglo-Saxon art, but it needs a practised eye to discern its limbs on some of the bracteates. A jewelled pyramid (as pi. i. fig. 7) occurred with a sword and sheath in one grave as at Broomfield, Essex." A summary of the excavations shows that about one grave in ten contained a sword, one quarter of the total containing weapons, and one-third of these graves contained swords. While there are certain signs of early date, two sceattas' found together suggest that the cemetery continued in use after 600, as these coins are not considered earlier than the seventh century. With small square-headed brooches, bird and button brooches, and silver earrings from Sarre, comes also a handsome specimen of silver- > Figured in Arch. Cant. vii. 313. ' V.C.H. Essex, i. 320, where references are given, s Figured by Rev. Daniel Haigh, Arch. Cant. viii. 171. 360
