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II.—On a Hoard of Bronze Objects found in Wilburton Fen, near Ely. By JOHN EVANS, Esq., D.G.L., LL.B., F.B.S. Bead April 20, 3882. BY the kind permission of Mr. Oliver Claude Pell, of Wilburton Manor, near Ely, I am enabled to exhibit to the Society an exceedingly interesting and extensive hoard of ancient bronze objects recently found in Wilburton Een. I am indebted to Mr. Pell for the following particulars as to the manner and the place in which the discovery was made. The hoard was found in the month of January of the present year (1882), in Wilburton Rush Een, in the county of Cambridge; the exact spot being about 800 yards due south of Mingay Farm, on the catch- water drain, and just six miles south-west of Ely Cathedral. The objects were resting on the clay, at a depth of from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches below the surface of the black peat earth, and were found by a man while " gripping " or cutting a deep narrow grip across the ground, in order to let off superfluous water. The whole of the articles lay within a space of about 6 feet by 3 feet, and they were for the most part dug out under the immediate supervision of Mr. Pell. A second careful examination of the spot brought to light a few small spear-heads and some minor articles, which are included in the list which follows. Wilburton Rush Pen, in which the " find " was made, forms part of the large circle of fen or marsh-land surrounding the " highlands " of the parishes of Wilburton, Haddenham, Sutton, Witcham, Mepal, Coveney, Witchford, Ely, Thetford, and Stretham, composing the original and true Isle of Ely. In a map in Dugdale's History of Embanking this district is shown as under water, and at the time of the Conquest it proved an impassable barrier to the Normans. It was at Aldreth, about two miles west of the spot where this hoard was discovered, that the Normans were so often foiled in making a floating causeway in order to effect an entrance into the isle. The old bed of the river Ouse is about three- quarters of a mile from the scene of the discovery, and an old watercourse Hoard of Bronze Objects found in Wilburton Fen. 107 running into it passes within 200 yards of the spot, which is in fact at almost the lowest part of the fen. In old times these fens were constantly flooded by the inland waters on their way to the sea; but in the time of the Commonwealth a new channel, 100 feet wide, from Earith to Littleport, was cut and embanked, and sluices were con- structed. In later times the water has been pumped by engines into embanked drains leading to the sea, and the area of the fens, which was at one time covered with soft black peat to a depth of 10 or 12 feet, and frequently some feet below the level of the water, has now been effectually drained. The peaty mass in drying shrank to not more than a quarter of its original thickness, and so dry did it hecome that a practice arose of burning or setting fire to the reclaimed land with the view of increasing its productive power ; and in a hot summer the peaty soil when once on fire would continue to smoulder for months. Although pro- hibited by Act of Parliament, the practice continued, and there are persons still alive who remember the particular field of seventeen acres ia which these bronze objects lay, having been in a blaze from one end to the other. It is to this burning of the soil that the injured and partially fused condition of many of the instruments in the deposit is probably to be attributed. Before proceeding to examine in detail the various forms present in the hoard, and the peculiarities which they exhibit, it will be well to give a general list of the objects, classified to a certain extent under the prevailing types. BRONZE OBJECTS FOUND IN "WILBURTON EEN. Looped palstave -------- 1 Socketed celts ------._ 2 Tanged chisel (broken) ------ l Small knife or dagger -------1 Swords (broken) - - - - - - -11 Scabbard-ends .-.--_.. 4 Spear-heads of various forms— For the most part whole - - - - 87 } Much broken 28 / Ferrules, long - - - - - - 6 do. with spheroidal ends - - 3 Carried forward - - 144 P2 108 Hoard of Bronze Objects found in Wilburton Fen. Brought forward - - 144 Annular buttons --------3 Hollow rings ..---...4 Solid rings ---------4 Various objects -..-----7 Melted metal ..-.--_- 1 163 I now proceed to describe more minutely the various articles comprised in this hoard, and in doing so shall refer for illustration where practicable to my Ancient Bronze Implements. Looped Palstave.—The only specimen of this tool or weapon is 6 inches long, and closely resembles my fig. 83; it expands, however, more at the edge, which is If inch wide. Socketed Celts.—Of these there were two. One is 3f inches long, with a slight double moulding round the expanding square mouth, not so broad as that on fig. 116. There are narrow vertical ribs running down inside the socket, two or three on each of the four sides. The other celt is of a rare form, 4 inches long, and like fig. 157, but with a better defined beaded moulding round the mouth, which is nearly square. The loop is broad and stout. It is shown on the scale of ij linear measure in PI. V. fig. 8. Tanged Chisel.—The blade only of a small example, If inch long, was found in the subsequent examination of the spot. It is like that of fig. 192* in character, but wider in proportion. Knife or Dagger.—This solitary example is much the same in character as fig. 263, but instead of a rivet-hole it exhibits a semicircular notch in the centre of the base. It is 4^ inches long. Swords.—The whole of these have been broken into pieces, probably in old times, and some of the fragments have suffered from the action of fire. Seven of the weapons have been reconstituted from the fragments in a more or less complete manner, and their length appears to have been from 23 to 24 inches. They are of the leaf-shaped form, and in general character resemble fig. 342. They all seem to have been provided with a central slot in the hilt-plate, and seven have had holes or slots for a single rivet in each wing at the base of the blade. In the remaining four, provision is made for two rivets in each wing. Archaeologia. Vol.XLVni.Pl.V. Section through A. B BRONZE OBJECTS FROM WILBURTON FEN, NEAR ELY. shjxL by the Society (rfZArUi/jioaries ofLonxioro, 1883. Hoard of Bronze Objects found hi Wilburton Fen. 109 Several of the rivets have remained in place, but there are no traces of the horn or wood of which, probably, the hilts were made. Scabbard-ends.—Of these only one is in good condition. Indeed but for a slight injury at the mouth this fine specimen is perfect. It is identical in character with that shown in fig. 364, and is 13| inches long. There is a small cylindrical projection at the tip, but I can see no traces of the usual diminutive hole for a rivet to secure the non-metallic part of the scabbard. The other three scabbard-ends are represented by fragments, but are of the same character. In two, the small rivet-hole is visible. Spear-heads.— Of these there were about 115 in all, but owing to the broken condition of some of them their number cannot accurately be ascertained. The great majority of them, some 92 in number, are of the ordinary leaf-shaped form, showing the conical socket for the shaft running down the middle of the blade, and with a rivet-hole running through the socket in the same plane as the blade. In one instance of a lance-head, 3f inches long, there is a hole only on one side of the socket. The general type is that of figs. 384-386, and the length of different specimens of the ordinary form ranges from 3^ to 11 inches. The edges of some of the blades are slightly fluted. In one spear-head, 7^ inches long, the base of the blade is slightly truncated, so that it projects at right angles from the socket nearly J inch on either side. On five of the spear-heads there are small ribs running down each side of the conical projection on the blade, as in fig. 383. On one remarkably fine specimen, 13| inches long, the blade is worked in steps like that from Pulbourn, Cam- bridge." It is represented in PI. V. fig. 1. In ten others there is a peculiarity which has not, I think, been previously noticed. It is that, instead of the socket for the shaft appearing as a conical projection along the blade, the surface of the blade is evenly rounded so as to show a pointed oval in section (PI. V. figs. 2a, 2b). In five the section is more lozenge-shaped, there being an angular ridge running along the blade. The spear- heads of this class are from 6^ to 12 inches long, and as a rule their edges are fluted. In a ridged specimen of this kind there are two round holes like those in fig. 416, but rather nearer the base of the blade, which is somewhat truncated where it joins the socket.

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