Fig, 5. — Bronze-mounted Blcket, North Luffenham (^) A HISTORY OF RUTLAND thirty-six inches), and over the hilt of the sword lay the iron boss {umbo) of a shield (see fig. 4). Near the left arm was a large variegated glass bead, while a small pair of bronze tweezers was found near the right shoulder. Slightly beyond the head, and to the south-west of it, I unearthed a bronze- mounted situ/a or bucket (see fig. 5), the wooden staves and bottom being singularly perfect when removed, though, owing to warping and shrinkage in the course of drying, it now presents a more dilapidated appearance. The ground under part of the grave had the appearance of a thin layer of indurated sandstone, bearing upon its surface a noticeable resemblance to the grain of wood, which, though it had itself entirely perished, had left its impression upon the surface on which it lay. Even if a coffin was not used as in the majority of Kentish graves, there w^ere appar- ently planks laid below (and probably above) the body in this instance, a mode of interment noticed also at Mildenhall, Suffolk. The single bead (not unlike fig. 7 on plate) was doubtless attached as a sword knot to the grip, as at Brighthampton, Oxfordshire,'^ and Ipswich ; and the presence of tweezers, but ab- sence of brooches, should also be observed. The small bucket with bronze hoops and handle is frequently found, either at the head or feet, and is supposed to have contained some food or drink- offering to the dead. It was evidently represented in graves of the poorer class by rough bowls of pottery like that already mentioned. Subsequent investigation rendered it probable that another urn, of the type commonly used as cineraries, also belonged to this grave, rendering still closer its resem- blance to that next to be described. A few days later another grave was reached, lying a few feet to the west of that previously described. The body was similarly disposed, with the head to the west. The weapons in this grave were of the same character as in the first, though differing slightly in form. The spear, however, lay on the right of the body, the sword resting diagonally on the breast, the hilt near the right arm and the point near the left knee. The shield-boss lay upon the sword, and a small iron knife was near the right hand. On the right (or south) side of the head was a bronze-mounted bucket, as well as an urn of elegant make 4^ in. high, displaying the protuberances and incised decoration characteristic of Anglo-Saxon fictile vessels. This urn was broken into small pieces by the weight of the superincumbent soil, though it retained its original form as it lay in its earthy matrix. Neither the urns nor the buckets appeared to contain anything but earth. A small pair of bronze tweezers, and what appears to have been the handle of a small iron implement, also accompanied this interment. The human remains from North Luffenham have been examined and reported on, and it was noticed that several of the clavicles were stained green by contact with the bronze brooches evidently worn on the shoulders.'^ The sword is occasionally the only weapon in a grave, and is at times found with a shield or spear ; but the two graves at Luffenham show that all three weapons were sometimes borne together, and this conclusion is hardly in accordance with the common view that the sword marked the thane or horseman, while the ceorl or foot-soldier carried only spear and shield. The shield, which was generally circular, about eighteen inches in diameter,
- jirci. xxxviii, pi. ii, figs, i, 8.
Ruf. Mag. ii (1906), 50. 100
