A HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE all the Teutonic areas, and this expanding foot seems to be a specially English feature. Round the neck of the skeleton was a string of twenty or more beads, some being annular specimens of dark blue glass, and one (described as glass) was evidently of crystal ; four were of amber, roughly shaped like a spindle-whorl ; one consisted of a pierced garnet disc, and the rest were of opaque glass of various colours. Near the beads were several pieces of tubular bronze, such as have been found elsewhere on necklaces ; and on the chest were fragments of a clasp, apparently of the type sometimes found at the wrist, to fasten a bracelet. An iron buckle at the waist evidently belonged to a leathern girdle, and there were also two key-shaped objects of bronze which are usually called chatelaines or girdle-hangers, and may have been worn as a symbol, just as keys were carried by Roman matrons. A spindle-whorl of Kimmeridge shale completed the list from this burial, which agrees closely with several in the Anglian districts, and may be regarded as typical of the richer class. It will not be necessary to describe the graves individually, but the next deserves special mention. Of the skeleton, nothing remained but the teeth * of a child, but from their position it was clear that the body had been buried unburnt, or possibly after partial cremation, as a small vase near the teeth showed traces of intense heat. In the position of the shoulder was a small gilded bronze brooch of a form most unusual in England, but allied to certain German specimens, and near it lay four beads, including Roman melon- shaped specimens of turquoise glass. The partial burning suggested here finds parallels in the same cemetery and elsewhere in England. Two Stapen- hill burials one in a triple grave and the other that of a body with the head west-north-west were surrounded by a ring of charcoal, 7 and in the former case the bones that remained showed evident traces of fire, while in two other graves were lumps of iron that had been subjected to great heat. Though in some cases decayed wood may have been mistaken for charcoal (which is often found in graves), there is positive evidence at Stapenhill of a practice that may well represent a compromise between the pagan and Christian ritual. It is most improbable that the bulk of unburnt burials are those of Christian Anglo-Saxons, but it is fairly certain that no convert was cremated at that period ; and in view of Christian relics in the adjoining county of Derby it is possible that a ceremonial burning of the dead was retained, in deference to pagan traditions, for some time after inhumation had been introduced. The transition may be further illustrated by the unburnt graves at Stapenhill that have not the Christian orientation, but the question cannot be settled without further evidence. The direction of the Stapenhill interments without grave-furniture is by no means uniform ; and weapons were found in others, a spear or lance-head, when present, being on the right of the skull ; and in one case a shield lay on the left arm, the iron boss and handle being preserved, as well as several rivets, that showed the ' war-board ' to have been f in. thick. The knife, which was commonly carried by both sexes for use at meals, was frequently found in this cemetery, but its position was not constant. A few rude vases of pottery were found either near the A similar case at Wyaston : V.C.H. Derb. i, 269 ; Bateman, Ten Tears' Diggings, 1 8 8. 7 For examples in Derbyshire see f.C.H. Derb. , 274.
