Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-05-28
ART TREASURES nv
OLD BURIAL SPOr
Discoveries Date From En-,
fish Pre-Christian Era

AT bluIoru-on-AVon, a Saxon hnr;,,
ground dating from the pre-Cbrist,"'
era of England has been discoros"ia
The cemetery lies on the north bo.,
of the Avon, and in this ground o,a
burials are recorded. They inolr.
people of all ages and both sovs'
principally young. The numhor
really old people is small. The hoa,.
were extended, facing generally nortt
the interments were regular ~,
methodical, ana usually from two tn aa
six inches to three feet from tbo CIV
face.
Notwithstanding their burial of
400 years many of the skeletons ~.
splendidly preserved, Henri Picard
writes in the Cincinnati ENQUIRER ~
two instances practically every how
is present. The skulls and teeth
remarkable-the former dolicbocorh
lie in character. and the latter Show
ing almost an entire absence of caro,
The teeth usually closed edge to oass
and by the middle aged showed -
cessive signs of erosion from n.
coarse and gritty food which formal
their diet. Often the Tissues wo,.
worn down to the nerve chambon
where a dentine of repair as har5 -
enamel was formed simultaneous II
protect the nutrient organ.
In almost every instance tb4 %,
rangement of the teeth was perfoctr
symmetrical, without the crowdna
and the narrowing of the laws ha
product of our modern Civilization
The chins and jaws were well dpvo.
oped, and the remains showed our an.
cestors to have been splendid SnAc.
mems of manhood.
The men were buried with tbo,
spears, lances and long knives or doo.
gers lying by their sides, and on tba
left breast was an iron jumbo which
originally protected the shield. With
the woman was generally found hpr
Jewelry, bronze brooches, beautiM
necklaces and food pot on her rgbt
hand with small food knife Ts
necklaces discovered were numerous
consisting of blue, red, white and
green glass beads or of pieces of an.
Der, some of great size, with often
large crystal pendant, or a few Re
man coins or paste beads with ZOO
morphic designs.
The bronze brooches, many of great
size, were typical of pref Christian An
glo-SaXon art many were large and
varied in shape. from the plain square,
headed brooches, attributed to about
the year A. D. 500, to the beautiful
and highly ornamented heavily glded
saucer-shaped brooches, with variety
of designs, as the star and sun with
rays patterns, and numerous complex
zoomorphic forms, all showing west
Saxon origin. There are two perfect
large brooches with a Swastka pat
tern, evidently of Eastern origin II
is regarded as an emblem of the sum-
sacred in many parts of the world
from the earliest times.
There are pretty bronze and silver
finger rings, polished jewels, quite
modern in appearance, q pendant Of a
beavers tooth, suggesting that the
animal then frequented the River
Avon. One glorious, massive square
headed brooch is a unique example Of
the art of this people, whom we have
regarded as primitive. 1t is five and
a quarter inches in length ornament
ed with a maze of wonderful design
and highly gilded, and is as brlsns
and perfect as on the day it was
buried 1,400 years ago.
Two extraordinary pendantlike Of
naments of unusual pattern are OF ez'
ceptional interest. One represents Two
intertwined snakes with open NOUNS
the other, circular in form, SHOWS
twenty snakes arranged within IH'
circle, with open mouths pointing y
the periphery, and bodies intertWlhe4
with tails pointing to the center II
is most unusual to see the natuI"
snake form represented, although u'
serpentine zoomorphic ornament
quite common.