. The Victoria history of the county of Devon;. Natural history. Fic. I lA.—Flint Knife from Cairn No. I, Fernworthy cairn, nor were there any of the larger-sized urns or remains of same for containing a cinerary mterment. This absence of bone may seem surprising, but when it is remembered that the roots of the furze, etc., penetrated down to the lowest depths of the cairn, it is not difficult to realize that these plants grow- ing for an unknown period had assimilated, and thus entirely removed, any signs of phosphatic matter. The vase was evidently placed in the bottom of the pit on the ' ca
. The Victoria history of the county of Devon;. Natural history. Fic. I lA.—Flint Knife from Cairn No. I, Fernworthy cairn, nor were there any of the larger-sized urns or remains of same for containing a cinerary mterment. This absence of bone may seem surprising, but when it is remembered that the roots of the furze, etc., penetrated down to the lowest depths of the cairn, it is not difficult to realize that these plants grow- ing for an unknown period had assimilated, and thus entirely removed, any signs of phosphatic matter. The vase was evidently placed in the bottom of the pit on the ' calm' or sub-soil, and some of the cairn stones were roughly built around it, two flat stones forming the cover of this rude receptacle. The bronze object was found lying on the upper cover. Although no bone ashes were recognized, the Explora- tion Committee had no hesitation in considering this to be an interment after incineration, for wood charcoal was dis- covered in the bottom of the pit. The dress-fastener or button may have been deposited in the cairn alone, or it may have been attached to the dress, and the whole placed therein with the ashes of the dead, the vase, the bronze object, and the flint knife at the time of interment. This most interesting and important exploration settles the period of the interment as that of the period of culture known as the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. The bronze object above the vase, and the flint knife below, links the Stone and Early Metal Ages in a most satisfactory manner, and in addition to this there is the decoration on the vase and the evidence of the dress-fastener.' The vase contained fine soil, which gave distinct traces of phosphoric acid, and may have contained food, but the shape suggests a class of vessels known as drinking cups or beakers which, regarded as a class, is considered by some eminent authorities to be the oldest Bronze Age ceramic in Great Britain. The dimensions of the Fernworthy vase are as follows
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