Fig. 433.
Fig. 434.
Fig. 435.
The inference to be drawn from this curious discovery is, that the grave was that of a Saxon of high rank, who had been buried in his full dress, and that the cavity had been specially cut out in the floor of the rock grave to admit of the helmet being worn as when he was living. No remains of a shield were noticed, nor were any other remains found in the locality, which was carefully dug over for the purpose.
Fig. 436.
Enamelled discs, or pendants, such as I have just spoken of (see [fig. 435]), have been occasionally found in other localities, as will have been noticed in the course of the last few pages. The use of these curious objects is very obscure, and I am not aware that any very particular attention has been paid to them. Portions of these were found in the Benty Grange barrow ([fig. 430]), along with the Saxon helmet. A very perfect example was found in a barrow on Middleton Moor, Derbyshire, in 1788,[56] where it was found lying near the shoulder. In the same barrow was a portion of another enamelled ornament, the iron umbone of a shield, and a thin vessel of bronze—described as like a shallow basin—which probably formed a portion of a helmet. These two interesting relics are here engraved (figs. 436 and [437]). The first of these will be seen to bear a striking resemblance to the Barlaston example ([fig. 435]), and the second, in form, to be very similar to the next example ([fig. 438]), from the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. Some precisely similar objects—similar in design and in size to figs. [435] and [436]—were found at Chesterton. Of the four of these objects there found, two are precisely alike, and had hooks for suspension in the same manner as is shown on [fig. 435]; the other two have no hooks, and are of a different pattern of enamelling. Other examples have been brought to light in different localities, but these will be sufficient for my present purpose.