168 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , 1944-45.

2. AN UNUSUAL CINERARY URN PROM DROUGHDOOL, NEAR DUNRAGIT, . n JanuarI y 194 e Departmenr Granth 5M f o t f Agriculturo t r Scotlanefo d informe Museue dth m that sherd turne d digginn i s ha p du gdraia t Droughdoolna , near Dunragit, sendin same th t ega tim e specimen sherds. These wer unusuao es l tha I asket Granr dM suspen o t t d diggin e sitth e t tilga I lcoul dowo dg n ni person—it was snowing at the time—which he kindly did. With the approach of warmer weather I repaire, Dunragio dt t wit Eoir hM n Mac White graduata , e studen Departmenty m n i t .

Cinerar fron yur m Droughdool (hypothetical reconstruction

The sherd beed sha n founridgw sandf lo dcrese o a th jusf yo n t o tsoi l some 25 feet above O.D., less than one-third mile north of the estuary of Piltanton Burn. Ther Departmene eth build ha tguardian' a t s cottage trence a Th r .hfo drain, jus t rightcottagee wescu th f td o tthroug ha , diggere buriale th hth d san , had broken the urn. Portions had already been brought to the Department's office with bits of burnt bone. By sifting the spoil heap beside the spot, we found a few more sherds and bits of bone and a flint scraper. There was no sign of any cist, nor did examination of the walls of the trench, which was still open, disclose any additional features or sherds.

NOTES. 169

Thdisplayen eur d unusual characters t unfortunatelbu , s veryi y imperfect. The clay being badly fired, the fragments were in a very friable state, and portions must have been totally destroye e diggerstoole th th f o sy db . What survives does not suffice for a reliable reconstruction of the whole vessel. Enough of the base survived to show that it was about 5| inches in diameter and f inch thick. Unhappily, none of the surviving fragments of the waUs join on to the bit of base. Th shapees i lowen ur d r e likpar th inverte n ef a to d cone slightly curve rised dan s for somewhat over 6 inches to a sharp shoulder ^ inch wide which is encircled by an applied moulding and surmounted by a bulging neck at least 1 f inch long. Onl yfragmena uppee th f ro t par f thio t s bulg s preserveei shoo dt w thae th t "neck" was about If inch long and that it did not then terminate in a finished a groov n i r concavityrimt o e bu , e margith , f whico n s crumblehha d away. But the sherds collected do include two fragments of an undoubted rim. These fragments e techniquth texturn n i ,i f d theio eean r decoration, agree perfectly indubitable wit th rese f hth o t y connected sherdsforn i nothine mt ar bu , g more nor less tha e "overhanginnth g rimtypicaa f o " l Cinerar thaf o tn familyyUr . These segment sizr sfo e woul quitn i t dfi e weh1 vessele witt i th rese d hf th o tan , has been reconstructed in fig. 1 on the assumption that they did so fit, with the reservation that no actual join could be effected, so that the interval between neck and rim is quite unknown. On this assumption the urn must have stood between 10-| and 11J inches high, but only about 8|- inches of this height is directly attested by connected sherds. (PL XVII, 1.) composes i Th n e coarseur th f do e clay e Bronzusuath n i l e Age, comprising large angular grits, which has fired black, but the surface inside and out is covered with a layer of somewhat finer clay which burned brownish red externally and brow blaco nt k outside inside t eveth n Bu no .e ther dirte ear y brown blotches notably on the neck. The body is decorated with a net of criss-cross scorings, very negligently executed with a rather-blunt implement. Oblique jabs with a similar tool adorn the shoulder, while rather deeper jabs form a herring-bone pattern alon mouldinge gth nece decorateTh s ki . d wit bando htw alternatinf so g filled triangles separated bordered ,an d below (bu t above)no t horizontay b , l lines. The wide rim'e collath f so r overhang bear ssimilaa r pattern, whil s flatteneeit d ornamentes i p li d with oblique jabs crossin anothere gloweon e Th re . parth f o t couln ur d larga pas ornatd r esfo an e versio typa f no FooeE d Vessel—a dis- tinctively Hibernian type represented, however, in by a specimen from the rather early urnfield of Brackmont MiU. Another specimen, albeit consider- ably smaUer (about 5 inches high), was found with other urns in an irregular oval "cist" under a small cairn on the farm of Cairngaan, Kirkmaiden Parish, Wigtownshire. Fro engravine mth Archaeologicale th gn i Historicald an Collections of Ayrshire and , vol. v. (1885), p. 45, fig. 45, the decoration of this little vessel resemble dirregularle ourth n si y score t pattern bodyde ne th jabbe e n ,th o d herring-bones on the shoulder, and the erect triangles on the neck. But it bore addition i n horizontal cord impressions outsidee t onlth no n t ,als yo bu ,o inside the rim, as do some Irish Food Vessels of type E and that from Brackmont Mill. In any case the applied moulding is unusual in this class and looks forward rather pie-cruse th o t t ornamen Highlanf o t d potterIroe nAg y than backward Skaro st a Encrustee th Bra d ean d Urns coursf O superpositioe . eth sucn no hFooa d Vessel derivativ e collath f ero appropriat e Englisth o et h famil f Overhanginyo m gRi Urns is an unique example of hybridization (assuming the collar really did once join on). This unique vase once more emphasize individuae sth l blendin traditionf go s that could occur on the populous territory of the Sands. In the spoil 170 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1944-45.

heap fro draie m th unearthee nw dthica k irregular flint, probably derived from pebblea , wit hmaximua m lengt f whico s bee-f$f d ho h ha en inchn e roughlon , y trimmed by the removal of five little flakes to a rather steep scraper-edge. The implement show evidenco sn f exposureo need fir o et t hav ean d no e formed part buriae oth f l deposit. The Departmen f Agriculturo t r Scotlanefo d has kindlyo t donaten ur e dth e Museumth , whic s particularlhi y indebte e Department'th o dt s office then o r ' spot for notifying the find and for help in recovering the relics. Emeritus Professor Alexande s verha y w kindlLo r y examine e cremateth d d remains with results reported below. V. GOBDON CHILDB, Director Museum.the of