The archæology and prehistoric annals of Scotland

by Sir Daniel Wilson

This is perhaps the most important characteristic of the last Pagan era which the tumuli reveal to us; while we discover from them also the remarkable fact, that in the sepulchral rites accorded to the most honoured dead, not only the warrior's weapons, but even his chariot and horses, were sometimes interred beside him, not improbably with the idea that they might still suffice for his use in the strange Elysium whither the thoughts of survivors followed their departed chief. The horns of the deer, and other remains of the spoils of the chase, are frequently found in the older tumuli, with also occasionally the skeleton of the dog lying beside that of the hunter. But it is only in this last period when we have reason to believe the Teutonic colonists had brought with them to the British Isles many new arts and customs, that we clearly trace the remains of the horse, or find the relics of the war-chariot among the contents of the tomb, or beside the urn.

The researches of the geologist establish beyond doubt that the wild horse was a native of the British Islands prior to their occupation by the earliest Allophylian colonists, and even prove the existence of several species. "The best authenticated associations of bones of the extremities, with jaws and teeth, clearly indicate that the fossil-horse had a larger head than the domesticated races; resembling in this respect the wild horses of Asia described by Pallas."[501] A smaller species of Equus, the Asinus fossilis, is also found in the more recent or diluvial formations, along with existing as well as extinct species. Professor Owen remarks,—"From the peculiar and well marked specific distinction of the primogenial or slender-legged horses, (Hippotherium,) which ranged from Central Europe to the then rising chain of the Himalayan Mountains, it is most probable that they would have been as little available for the service of civilized man as is the zebra or the wild ass of the present day; and we can as little infer the docility of the later or pliocene species, Equus plicidens, and Equus fossilis, the only ones hitherto detected in Britain, from any characters deducible from their known fossil remains. There are many specimens, however, that cannot be satisfactorily distinguished from the corresponding parts of the existing species, Equus caballus, which, with the wild ass, may be the sole existing survivors of the numerous representatives of the genus Equus in the Europæo Asiatic continent."[502] Whether any of the fossil species existed at the period of earliest colonization in Britain is still open to question; but the occasional discovery of teeth and bones of the horse, along with the culinary debris of the Scottish weems and other primitive dwellings, seems to indicate its existence here among the British Fauna prior to its domestication and training for the Caledonian war-chariot.

A very curious discovery of the tomb of a British charioteer, with the skeleton of his horse, was made in the year 1829, in the neighbourhood of Ballindalloch, a small post-town in the county of Moray. It is thus communicated in a letter to the secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland:—"A labourer in digging for moor-stones here, a few weeks since, on a moor about a mile from Ballindalloch, found at a depth of above a foot from the surface, a quantity of bones, among which appear to have been a human skeleton, and also the skull and bones of a horse. The whole had been covered up, to my great regret, before I heard of it; but the labourer tells me that there were a quantity of rings and bits of iron, one of them like a great hoop: but all completely rusted. I have been fortunate enough to get hold of what I take to be the bridle [bit] of the horse, two bronze rings, joined by a double link of iron, and also some bronze rings which may have belonged to its harness. There were also some bits of wood, oak I find it to be from a fragment I have; but it was all too much decayed to tell what it had been."[503] The letter is accompanied with a sketch of what is described as "a curious little iron cup found in the grave." It is shewn in the annexed woodcut, and will be at once recognised by the archæologist as the umbo which formed the centre of the shield, and received and protected the hand of its wearer. The fragments of oak found along with it may have also included part of the shield, as well as portions of the war-chariot. Scarcely a doubt can be entertained that in this discovery we have one of the rare examples of the tomb of a British chief, with his arms and his chariot and steed laid beside him,—a piece of wild barbarian pomp which puts all the modern "boast of heraldry" to shame. A bridle-bit in the Museum of the Scottish Antiquaries, which answers closely to the above description, was found in 1822, along with the remains of the horse and rider, about two feet below the surface, in levelling May Street, in the New Town of Largs; and was accordingly assumed as a relic of the celebrated battle fought there with the Norwegian king, Haco, in 1263.[504] It consists of two plain bronze rings, measuring each three and three-quarter inches in diameter, and united by a double link of iron.

Independently of the great interest which justly attaches to the British war-chariot, as an evidence of skill and of considerable progress in civilisation, the horse furniture which usually accompanies it furnishes one of the most illustrative class of relics of the artistic skill of the period. Among these the bridle-bits have most frequently attracted attention. The examples found in Scotland differ in no very remarkable degree from those with which the archæologists both of England and Ireland are familiar. They consist generally of two large bronze rings, united by two or sometimes three links of the same metal. They are frequently highly ornamented, and the marks of later repair observable on many of them suffice to shew the great value attached to them. The beautiful example figured here, was found about the year 1785, in the bottom of a deep moss at the east end of Birrenswork Hill, Dumfriesshire, a locality rich in the remains of Roman and British arts, and where the traces both of Roman and native intrenchments are still visible. The outer diameter of the rings of the bridle-bit measures two and seven-tenth inches, and the ornamental appendages projecting into each ring still retain considerable traces of the red and blue enamel with which they have been filled. It must have been made for a small horse, as the centre piece measures somewhat less than two inches within the perforated loops. It appears to have been long in use. The large rings are much worn, and have been ingeniously repaired by rivetting a new piece to each. The small loops or eyes also attaching them to the bit have had a fresh coating of metal superadded where they were partially worn through.

Bronze Bridle-bit. Annandale.

A remarkable discovery of ornaments, bronze rings, bridle-bits, and other portions of horse furniture was made in a moss at Middleby, Annandale, in the year 1737. The whole of these were secured by the zealous Scottish antiquary, Sir John Clerk, and are still preserved, along with numerous other objects collected by him, at Penicuick House. The bridle-bits, though plainer than the one figured above, are of the same type, and one of them corresponds to it in the want of uniformity of the two rings, which is probably to be accounted for from their being designed for a pair of charioteer's horses, the more ornamental ring being designed for the outside, where it would be most exposed to view. The duplicate of this appears, from a note in the handwriting of Sir John Clerk attached to the example still preserved at Penicuick House, to have been presented by him to Mr. Roger Gale. Drawings of the principal objects of this valuable collection were forwarded to the Society of Antiquaries of London at the time of their discovery, by Sir John Clerk, and are still preserved.[505] One or two of the most remarkable objects found at Annandale are figured here from the originals at Penicuick House. They are nearly identical in type with the collection of antiquities found within the extensive intrenchments at Stanwick, on the estate of the Duke of Northumberland, and since presented by His Grace to the British Museum. Some of the principal objects are engraved in the York volume of the Archæological Institute, the Stanwick relics having been exhibited during the Congress of 1846. Another discovery of nearly similar character was made at Polden Hill, Somersetshire, in 1800.[506] These also have been secured for the British Museum, and correspond with the Annandale bridle-bit, figured above, in the beauty of their enamel as well as in the form and ornamental details of many of the articles. The great beauty of these objects and the amount of decoration expended on the horse furniture, prove at once the high state of the arts at the period to which they belong, and also the wealth and luxury of the people, which enabled them to lavish such costly ornamentation even on their harness and the furnishings of their war-chariots. No account is known to have been preserved of the circumstances attending the interesting discovery at Middleby, but the place where they were found precludes the idea of their having belonged to a sepulchral deposit. By far the most ample notice we possess of one of the latter, affording a valuable illustration of the precise use of the objects of antiquity described above, as well as of the rites and customs of their owners, occurs in an account of the opening of some barrows on the Wolds of Yorkshire, communicated to the Archæological Institute by the Rev. E. W. Stillingfleet, Vicar of South Cave, in that county. The following account of the contents of one of these, which proved to be the sepulchre of a British charioteer, is abridged from Mr. Stillingfleet's interesting narrative.