The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1924-08-01
ART TREASURES IN
OLD BURIAL SPOT


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At Bidford-on-Aton, q Saxon burial
ground dating from the pre-C Christian
era Of England has been discovered.
The cemetery lies on the north bank
Of the Avon. and In this ground 214
buriais are recorded. They include
people Of all ages and both sexes.
principally young. Tho plumber Of
really old people Is small. The bodies
were extended. facing generally north;
the interments were regular and
methodIcai. and usually from two feet
SIX inches to three feet from the sur
face.
Notwithstanding their burial Of T.
400 years many Of = skeletons are
splendidly preserved. Henri Picard
writes In the Cincinnati Enquirer. In
two instances practically every bone
Is present. The skulls and teeth are
remarkable-the former dolichocepha-
lie in character. and the latter show
Ing almost an entire absence Of carries.
The teeth usually closed edge to edge,
and By the middle aged showed ex.
cessive signs Of erosion from the
coarse and gritty food which formed
their diet. Often the tissues were
w0rn down to the nerve chambers,
where a dentine OF repair as hard as
enamel was formed simultaneously to
protect the nutrient organ.
In almost every instance the ar
rangement Of the teeth was perfectly
symmetrical, without the crowding
and the narrowing Of the Jaws, the
product OF our modern civilization.
The chins and jaws were well devel-
oped. and the remains showed our an
cestors to have been splendid spect-
mems Of manhood.
The men were buried with their
spears. lances and long knives or dag
gers lying by their sides, and on the
left breast was an iron jumbo which
originally protected the shield. With
the woman was generally found her
jewelry. bronze brooche4 beautiful
necklaces and food pot on her right
hand with a small food knife. The
necklaces discovered were numerous,
consisting of blue, red, white and
green glass beads or Of pieces Of am
Der. some Of great size, with often q
large crystal pendant, or q few Ro-
man coins or paste beads with ZOO
morphic designs.
The bronze brooches, many Of great
size, were typical Of pre- 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 gilded
saucer-shaped brooches, with q variety
OF designs, as the star and sun with
rays patterns. and numerous complex
zoomorphic forms, all showing q west
Saxon origin. There are two perfect.
large brooches with a Swastika pat
tern, evidently Of Eastern origin. Il
10 regarded as an emblem Of the sun,
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, a pendant Of Q
beavers tooth, suggesting that the
animal then frequented tho River
Avon, One glorious. massive square
headed brooch is a unique example Of
the art of this people. whom we have
regarded as primitive. It Is Ave and
quarter inches in length. ornaments
ed with maze Of wonderful deaign
and highly gilded. and Is as bright
and perfect as on the day It was
buried 1.4O0 years ago.
Two extraordinary pendantlike or
naments Of unusual pattern are Of ex-
ceptional interest. One represents two
intertwined snakes with open mouths;
the other, circular In form, shows
twenty snakes arranged within the
circle. with open mouths pointing to
the periphery, and bodies intertwined.
with tails pointing to the center. It
is most unusual to see the natural
snake form represented. although the
serpentine z6omorphic ornament II
quite common. {