Volume 1

The gentleman's magazine library : being a classified collection of the chief contents of The gentleman's magazine from 1731 to 1868. Romano-British remains / edited by George Laurence Gomme.

Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The gentleman's magazine library : being a classified collection of the chief contents of The gentleman's magazine from 1731 to 1868. Romano-British remains / edited by George Laurence Gomme. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    chased it. It is the figure of an old man ; the features and counte- nance are very expressive ; it appears to have a compassionate look, with its arms extended. It has a crown upon its head ornamented with pearls, and its vestment is inlaid with purple. The composition of this image appears to be copper, of considerable thickness, and washed with gold. It is about 8 or io inches in length, and remark- ably well-proportioned. It appears to me that it has been an object of adoration, and should imagine it must have lain in this obscure situation many hundred years in the ground. I will send it you soon to take a drawing of it; and, if any of your numerous readers can in- form me for what use or purpose this image has been made, it will be esteemed a favour. T. Mallison. Long Crendon—Brill—Boarstall. [1831, Part I.,pp. 580-582.] Crendon Park is the only one in the county of Buckingham mentioned in Domesday Book. It seems probable that the Con- queror’s followers appropriated to themselves the seats of the Saxon chiefs, as the latter had before fixed their abode in places, at a still earlier period the residence of the aboriginal inhabitants of distinguished rank. The names of Cony-gaer and El or Eld Burgh support this conjecture, which is further confirmed by the discovery of an ancient cemetery at Angle-Wav near Cop-Hill, north-east of the Church, on a conspicuous eminence, and near the supposed site of the Castle of the Giffards. This cemetery being casually opened in 1824, on making a new road, has been since more completely explored; and has presented some curious relics of Roman pottery, and proofs of various modes of burial at different periods in the same spot—many skeletons being found regularly interred, and near them abundant and satisfactory indications of cremation and urn burial; great quantities of ashes, scoriae, and semi-vitrified masses: together with vast numbers of fragments of urns and other vessels, bones of large quadrupeds, and of birds, promiscuously intermingled. It is remarkable, however, that, although no discovery has been hitherto made of interments here, which can be certainly identified with those which are usually assigned to the ancient Britons, the only metallic substances found amongst these deposits (besides the rings about to be described) have been small portions of two battle-axes or heads of spears, entirely corroded, so as even to render their shape doubtful. The accompanying representations will convey, more intelligibly than verbal description alone, the appearance of these relics; but it will excite regret that so little care was taken by the discoverers to preserve in their more perfect state these interesting memorials of ancient days.
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