The Bristol

Medico-Chirurgical Journal "

Scire est nescire, nisi id

me

Scire alius sciret

WINTER,

THE LONG

TWENTY-FIFTH

FOX

DELIVERED ON

1936.

IN

MEMORIAL THE

TUESDAY,

LECTURE:

UNIVERSITY OCTOBER

OF

20th,

BRISTOL

1936.

THE VICE-CHANCELLOR (Dr. T. LOVEDAY,

M.A., LL.D.)

in the Chair.*

BY

Dk. A.

Bulleid, F.S.A., ox

SOMERSET LAKE

*?

many among those present have known Dr. Fox intimately, evening may whether their acquaintance with him may date

am

here 0r

not

aware

back than the

it is with *

In

lence 0L-

how

this

farther

~v

VILLAGES.

pleasure

early eighties

of last

century;

I look back to the years 1881 to

the Lecturer the Vice-Chancellor reminded the that the Lecture had been founded in 1904 by his friends

introducing

Q

LIII.

No. 202.

Dr. A. Bulleid

188

1883, when

as

a

medical student I

was

permitted

to

in his

hospitality on several occasions. Fox's always kindly and cordial greeting so impressed a shy and nervous youth that it is still remembered with gratitude after the lapse of more than fifty years.

participate Dr.

THE

SOMERSET

LAKE

VILLAGES.

From the earliest ages man has had to consider the The invention of question of self preservation. primitive weapons, the production of fire, and the -

of

form of habitation factors towards this end. His first

provision were

caves,

natural

some

rock-shelters and

formations

not

were

pits,

important dwelling-places

were

or

where these

available,

booths

of

branches similar to the mia-mias of the Australian

aboriginal. Later, when he became more advanced, he sought the protection of water, and erected dwellings on islands, or on piles near the shores of lakes, river estuaries, and the sea. In Europe pile-dwellings were in use during the Stone and Bronze Ages, and to a less extent the Prehistoric Iron Age. By the time this method of house construction had been introduced to

the British Isles iron

was

in use, and

as

far

as

is known

lake-dwellings either in Great Britain or Ireland belonging purely to the stone and bronze periods similar to those discovered at the

in

present

time there

Switzerland.

been

adopted

This

are no

form of architecture

in Britain late in the

having

prehistoric

times

and admirers in memory of Edward Long Fox, M.D. (Oxon.), F.R-C.P*> many years Physician to the Royal Infirmary and Lecturer Medicine at Bristol University College, in the foundation of which The lecturer need not be a medical man, bu he took a leading part. must be resident in Bristol or the neighbourhood, or at least have been a student or a member of the teaching staff of Bristol Medica " School, and the subject of the lecture must be some subject connectet with medicine or the allied sciences."

for

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

189

continued into the historic, and there are records of lake strongholds in Scotland and Ireland being was

occupied

and

destroyed

even as

late

the seventeenth

as

century. Several references

lake-dwellings were made by Hippocrates about 400 B.C. habitations in the locality of the Black to

writers of the classics. mentions such

Sea. built

Later Herodotus describes the huts of fishermen the

over

Takhinos,

in

Roumelia,

lake-dwellings to the

Prasias,

now

Lake

where the custom of

appears to have continued

erecting uninterrupted

present day.1

The

fairly

in Lake

water

of

adoption

pile-dwellings

universal in all

parts

continent of Australia.

villages Guinea, Venice,"

of the

seems

to have been

world, except in the

Inhabited

pile-dwellings and visiting Borneo, New

may be seen when Central Africa, and Venezuela, i.e. to name a few of the places.

In these countries natives live

to-day

"

Little

much in the

same

way as did the lake-dwellers of Switzerland, centuries ago. The recognition of ancient pile-dwellings in Europe

dates back little

more

archaeology

was

antiquaries

were

than

a

century,

at

a

time when

not

considered

seriously,

few,

sometimes

looked

suspicion, and often treated People. The earliest recorded

as

peculiar

discovery

or

when

at

with

eccentric

in Switzerland

was

about 1829,2 in Scotland, 1812,3 and in Ireland public attention was first directed to crannog remains in 1839.4 No particular notice, however, was taken of these

early finds,

and it

was

not until the winter of 1853-545

that there was any decided advance or interest shown. The accidental discovery of pile-dwelling remains in

Lake Zurich opened a new era in the study of prehistoric

Dr. A. Bulleid

190

archaeology, and led to the finding of scores of similar throughout the length and breadth of Europe, including the British Isles. With reference to the

sites

?construction of ancient lacustrine habitations, in the vast majority of cases the foundation or understructure is the

investigation. But the examination of this has produced important results, and has been the means of showing us that many methods were adopted. Among the more are the three following :? notable Houses built on a platform raised on piles 1. only part

left for

a-bove the water. 2. 3.

wood,

The crannog or artificial island. The construction of rectangular basements of the sides of which were made of beams placed

horizontally in

a

one over

the

other, similar

to the timbers

Swiss chalet.

The first method is

typically that found in the They were generally deep water, and were made by sinking posts

Swiss and continental lakes. erected in

into the silt of the lake bed until the upper ends were brought to a level several feet above the

vertically

surface of the water. horizontal timbers

support

a

compact

On the

were

tops of these posts

mortised

or

and substantial

fixed

so

platform.

as

to

Upon

The rectangular upright posts were placed fairly close together, and as some of the villages were several acres in extent the number of piles on one site ran into thousands. It was this

floor

houses

calculated that at least

100,000 posts

were

erected.

the Robenhausen Settlement at

were

The second kind of

used.

the crannog, an island either wholly or in part artificial. Crannogs in in or constructed shallow water were usually swamps.

The

lake-dwelling

foundation

was

consisted

of

masses

of

PLATE

XIX

(From photograph by Arthur Bulleid, F.S.A). Bulleicl, F.S.A). Fig. Foundation of house built

1. on

the

log-hut principle.

if||l|i!P

Fig. 2. Arthur Bulleid, Model of lake dwelling made by Arthur Bulleid, F.S.A. F.S.A.

PLATE

XX

"J

K

Fro. :>. Hurdle-work and

portions

-?

% y'vA

of square

*

.'

''

dwelling, Glastonbury

lake village village.

\S -\"

g* ^,Wfw?.w.y

Fig. 4. in length, Glastonbury lake village. Ladder, 6 ft. 10] in. in

191

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

timber, logs, and brushwood, stone and clay, together with heaps of peat, bracken, rush or reed placed on the bed of the lake

swamp surface until a circular island had been raised several feet above the general or

level of the water. Sometimes a gravel bank or small island was selected as a suitable site, and its area extended artificially to the required size. The diameter of a crannog varied considerably, but was of sufficient for the erection of one, two, or possibly three dwellings, with enough space around them for the area

comfort and

usually

safety

of the inhabitants.

surrounded with

mortised

beams, and

lake bed.

a

The island

was

framework of horizontal

a

strong palisade driven into the

helped to keep the structure together, the palisading also serving a second purpose as a protective wall. Piles were also driven through the foundation singly or in rows for strengthening purposes. The crannog, although met with on the Continent, is the type of structure found in the British Both of these

Isles. The third method of construction

the

log-hut variety of it principle is of special interest, apparently existed at the Somerset villages. (Figs. 1 and 3.) The occurrence of two rectangular frameworks, as

on

a

and the discarded remains of square habitations can only be explained on the supposition that they belonged to this Characteristic examples of lake-dwelling.

type

?f habitations with this kind of foundation have been uiet with in Lake

Paladru, in France, and in several

lakes in North Germany, all of which belonged

Prehistoric

Iron

to the

Age. Geology.

It is difficult to describe

prehistoric

people

and the

adequately geographical

the life of

a

condition of

Dr. A. Btjlleid

192 the

country they inhabited without

to the

brief reference

a

of the district.

geology locality

The

under consideration is that

Hills. Polden

This and

Wedmore, into

through which slowly pass. At of land

is divided

area

the

remote

period

these flat tracts

estuaries open to the Severn Sea, and by its sand-laden tidal waters at least as

were

submerged far inland

as a

Langport

and Taunton.

line drawn from Wells to

Some of this sand Parret

and

Axe, Brue and Parret

rivers

some

part of

Quantock Mendip by the smaller ridges, three low-lying valleys

Somerset situated between the

and Brue

was

estuaries, and in

formed

Glastonbury,

(Fig. 8, p. 198.) deposited on the

banks, now known sand-beds, similar to those

to

course

geologists

seen

floors of the

as

of time

the Burtle

present day at Quite a number of

at the

low water in the Bristol Channel.

separate Burtle sand banks have been located in various parts of the turbaries lying north and south of the Polden ridge. The sand is stratified, at some places has the appearance of being wind-blown, and contains myriads of sea-shells. These estuaries being tidal, the -

sand-banks

were

frequently exposed.

Torrential rains

gravel from adjoining hills, sweeping this down to the flats covered the sand with a layer of geological debris. This debris occasionally included and storms sometimes washed stones and

the

and the swollen rivers

bones of animals and fresh-water shells. the

These having

action of the floods

were escaped disintegrating deposited side by side, and subsequently covered by layers of marine-borne sand. Later in geological time the ground gradually rose, and the sand-banks at one time submerged became islands, probably inhabited by neolithic man, as on several of them worked flints have been found. This view is strengthened by the

193

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture recent

discovery

pottery in the peat

of neolithic

near

Meare. At the present day some of the smaller sandbanks are occupied by farmhouses and buildings, and several of the

Middlezoy,

larger

areas

by villages,

i.e.

Chedzoy,

and the Burtles.

The sequence of events, however, was not quite so simple as these notes imply, for parts of this district were

subject

to intermittent

the evidences of neolithic man,

lands, together with were covered by the Later still there

subsidences, and forest

sea. was

another

great and important

ceased,

When the downward movement of the land the present coast-line was defined, and the

whole

physical

the

sea

lessened the salt water in the estuarine hollows

on

the land

change.

of

the

locality was transformed. Other factors may have helped the formation of the coast-line, but they were probably of minor importance. As the coast-barrier developed and the inroads of fresh

enough

geography

side became for the

brackish, and ultimately

growth

of water

plants

and the

formation of peat. This, together with mud brought down by the rivers, in course of time filled the

depressions. of this

We thus arrive at of the

a

period

in the

history

when the levels of

county low-lying part land and water had become stabilized, the Stone Age passed, and the Age of Bronze had given place to the Prehistoric Iron Age. Let us try to visualize the condition of that part of the Brue

valley lying between Glastonbury and the The coast as it appeared somewhere about 250 B.C. Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll have always been revered and important landmarks, and when the first lake-dwellings were erected the space intervening between these hills was occupied by several shallow

Dr. A. Bulleid

194 These

meres. was

the

of water, of which Meare Pool were surrounded with morasses

areas

greater,

overgrown with reeds and rushes. This growth, as the ground became less marshy, gave place to thickets of willow and alder, and farther afield as the hills and

approached to forest trees, oak, ash, yew, birch, with undergrowth of maple, hazel, guelder

islands and rose

were

and hawthorn.

bedecked with

In

yellow

time the

summer

meres were

lilies, and their

and white water

crowfoot, yellow flags, and other margins by pond weeds. It was under such conditions and with these surroundings that settlers inhabited the Somerset swamps near Glastonbury and Meare in the Prehistoric Iron Age. water

Method Taken

of

Construction.

whole, the British lake-dwellings are small, artificial islands or crannogs accommodating one or

as

a

Out of the

two and at the most three houses.

300 and

more

recorded sites

approach in extent It is this villages.

none

the

Glastonbury and Meare community grouping of a number

that

of houses

special interest, villages analogous to although they It the Swiss, they differ from them structurally. that the Meare and villages appears Glastonbury started with a few isolated dwellings, probably built makes the Somerset settlements of

for

are

in the traditional

lake

and

of crannogs. In these islands were

manner

time the boundaries of and additional houses

erected,

joined (Fig. 5.)

There is

no

many of these

reliable

dwelling

guide by sites

fifty

which

were

of

extended ultimately they

until

to form collections of from

course

to

ninety

we can

occupied

at

huts.

tell how one

and

PLATE

XXI

GLASTONBURY LAKE VILLAGE.

? DWELLINGS

I PALISADING o 8

*

3J

*8

SCALE

44 IN

SO

m

FEET

ARTHUR

BULLEID MENS Cf DEL I908.

Fig. 5.

Plan of the tlie Glastonbury lake village, showing position of causeway,

dwelling-mounds

and

palisading.

PLATE

XXII

-?.

wm

Fio. (i. Fig. Circular stone hearth. he.art.il.

(Glastonbury.)

Fig. 7. Series of eleven

superimposed clay side.

hearths and stratified fire asli at left

(Meare.)

195

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

the

time, and

same

would be The

to

try

to estimate the

population

matter.

equally speculative Glastonbury dwellings cover an

about

and those at Meare about double this

2-J

acres,

As

area.

seen

represented by low circular grass to-day they mounds in pasture fields, the elevation of some being are

so

slight

by

that in

passing they

may not be

regard to the general Somerset villages, the first step With

a

recognized

the uninitiated.

substantial

under-structure

consisted of

layers

horizontally

011

raft

of

the

then

weighted layers of clay

was

was

or

timber, logs, of

surface

construction of the

down

the

This

brushwood

placed

the

This swamp. blocks of stone, by sufficient height had -

floor

was

made of

a

of

foundation.

or

until a rubble and been attained above the water level.

dwelling

making

The

beaten-down

actual

layer

of

clay. The floor surface was sometimes baked hard purposely, at other times covered with boards of split timber, but usually just the bare, unbaked clay Was used.

by driving a circular row of upright posts into the clay floor from twelve inches to fifteen inches apart, and afterwards filling the spaces with hurdle work and clay daub. The walls Were about six feet high, and the diameter of the huts varied from eighteen feet to twenty-seven feet. The roof rafters were supported at the lower end by the ^all and at the upper by a central post, and covered ^ith a thatching of reeds, rushes, or possibly heather. (Fig. 2.) The position of the entrance is shown by a break in the line of wall posts, and sometimes by a timber threshold and doorstep of stone slabs. Near the centre, the highest part of the floor and adjoining the central post, there was generally a hearth of baked The huts

were

made

196

Dr. A. Bulleid

clay

raised

hearths

few inches above the floor level.

a

The

usually circular, with moulded margin, occasionally paved with stone. (Fig. 6.) On account of the spongy condition of from eight feet to sixteen feet of peat underlying the dwellings, and also from the decay and compression of the were

and

the

under-structure, habit

unpleasant

of

huts

It

was

the

side of

one

the discomfort

the

be

of much

cause

place

the other

than

dwelling

an

can

but when the subsidence took

inconvenience, on

had

floors

gradually sinking.

realized that this in itself more

and

time, when the floor approached the water-level of the surrounding

swamp, it sometimes

entirely time,

was

doubled.

After

necessary to add fresh floor, and not

was a

new

hut.

This

was

a

a

new

hearth,

infrequently repeated from time

an

to

that in the

course of years a mound was built of floors and hearths. gradually up superimposed As many as ten floors lying one over the other have been found in one dwelling-site, and in another the so

superimposed hearths was thirteen. (Fig. 7.) greatest thickness of clay floors in one mound was nine feet at Glastonbury and six feet at Meare. Every scrap of material used in making the foundation had to be brought to the site from either the adjoining hills at Glastonbury or the raised grounds and Poldens number of

The

in the no

case

Many signs

of Meare.

of the of

a

accumulations

floors, especially at Meare, have shown dwelling apart from the hearth and of fire-ash

on

and

The

around it.

less these, surmise, substantial character, and possibly of conical shape like a wigwam. huts erected

over

we

were

of

a

Some time before the final abandonment of the

Meare

village

the swampy conditions had

so

changed

197

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture in the immediate

surroundings

of the site that

clay

floors were placed on the hard surface of the peat without the support of either a timber or brushwood This fact is of importance when under-structure. the

length of such a change

considering progress of sIoav.

Although at the

same

the two

time there

the in

villages are

for the

occupation, swamp is

a

were

generally

built and inhabited

several structural differences.

For instance, the Glastonbury village was surrounded with a palisade, the Meare habitations were apparently without this protection. At Glastonbury there was a to

causeway leading

a

landing-stage;

so

of the kind has been met with at Meare.

far

nothing

It

is, however, lost objects in and

the

discovery of discarded or around the dwellings that affords the best guide to the date of occupation, and the life and cultural attainments ?f the inhabitants.

We surmise there must have been

organization and control in villages of this size, and also a recognized system and division of labour. We have learnt that some of the houses were occupied by people carrying on a particular trade or Work; for instance, two dwellings are known to have been inhabited by metal workers, another by a maker ?f bone and antler implements, a third by a maker of considerable

pins and needles, and a

miller

of

or

a

According

a

fourth

was

either the abode of

dealer in mill-stones.

to

Ptolemy,

the

territory

of the

Belgae

extended from Bath and Ilchester in Somerset

Winchester

in

Hampshire,

to

and included these towns

within its area.6 Although some eighteenth-century ^aps of Somerset have The Belgse printed in the Neighbourhood of Meare Pool, the earlier maps of the "

county

are

therefore,

without

this

"

information.

be assumed that there

was

no

It

must,

traditional

Dr. A. Bulleid

198 reason

for its introduction at this

later innovation in the

vicinity

was

only

authority as far as we know for Belgic territory so far west, we are led

As there is

placing to

assume

due to the swampy ground causing a blank space in a suitable position for the

of the Pool

the map, and affording " The Belgse." words the

spot, but that the

no

that the two very decided British earthworks

FlG' 8. Fig. 8"

Neighbourhood

of

Glastonbury, showing positions

of lake

orkseartfrwo j?J0y* and earthwo villages and

199

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

bridging the Glastonbury peninsula, crossing the Polden Hills near Butleigh Wootton (both of which run nearly in line north and south with protecting ditches towards the

(Fig. 8),

at Ponters Ball

one

the other

east), the

constructed with the intention of

were

limiting

by people inhabiting the swamps grounds farther west. We know that

advance

Belgic

and raised

objects of Prehistoric Iron Age workmanship have been found in days gone by on the Polden ridge apart from those discovered more

some notable

recently led

the lake

at

villages,

and

we

therefore

are

to believe the above-mentioned earthworks

made

the

by

people inhabiting relations farming the

and their

hills. We will and

now

consider

some

were

these lake raised

lake

villages grounds and

village

discoveries

points of interest regarding the inhabitants. Human Remains.

The total recorded finds of human remains

at

Glastonbury are forty, and at Meare, exploration has gone, twenty. These include five mfants buried by inhumation under dwelling floors, so

fi^e

complete

Crania

skulls and ten

far

incomplete.

as

the

If these

represent fifteen of the inhabitants of the

ullages

it may be asked what happened to the limbs and bodies of these people, for they were not discovered. T^o of the skulls, after decapitation, had evidently

been

0rie

turned

had

upside-down, double-edged

and when in this

position

spear thrust through the foramen magnum, at the same time notching and the first vertebra. In the second skull the Weapon had been forced through the base in front of

fracturing

a

Dr. A. Bulleld

200

complete skulls show cuts and signs of having undergone rough treatment, and one has an old bone injury which had healed. (Fig. 9.) human other remains discovered are a the Among femur which has been purposely perforated, parts of the foramen.

All the

two cremated

bodies, and

occipital is much an

a

central

perforation.

and

it

be

mentioned

may singularly free from

that

the

an

This

polished from use, and was Without going into details and

worn

amulet.

ments, "

bone with

circular disc cut from

a

object probably measure-

skulls

are

variation, and that they all

(mesaticephalic) section of the inhabitants of Britain."7 They are undoubtedly of good type, for when the late Sir W. Boyd Dawkins happened to be examining one of them he remarked Excellent ! Might have been an Abbot or a to me : Bishop." belong

to the oval-headed

"

Burial.

Judging from the Prehistoric Iron Age cemeteries found at Aylesford in Kent, and at other places in the eastern counties of England, we should expect to find the

kind of cremation burials in the

locality graves Glastonbury villages. were made with care, and evidently with

same

of Meare and referred to

lake

The

respect for the departed, as well as for the carrying out of the customary routine and ceremony As no cemetery has been discovered then in vogue. up to now in connection with either of the villages, much

be said

nothing

can

burial.

We do

positively regarding

the form of

know, however, that the ashes of

a

body were found outside the palisading at Glastonbury, but whether this was due to an accident ceremonial observance cannot be or signifies some definitely stated.

cremated

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

With reference under the

dwelling

201

to the inhumation burials of infants

floors which

occur

at both

villages,

this may have some superstitious meaning similar to that in Northern India and other parts of the world. When a child dies it is usually buried under the '

threshold of the house, in the belief that

as

the

parents

tread daily over the grave its soul will be reborn in the family. Children are buried, not cremated. Their souls do not pass into the ether with the smoke of the pyre, but remain on earth to be reincarnated in the

household."8 The Cause

of

Ending

the

or

the

Villages.

When

writing about the human remains found at Glastonbury village the late Prof. Sir W. Boyd Dawkins stated that the lake village was stormed, and that the inhabitants were massacred, some being decapitated and the heads carried on spears before they were thrown into the morass outside the palisades," and concludes that the village had been sacked and the population either killed or driven away at some period shortly before the Roman conquest of Britain."9 At Meare human remains are being found under "

"

very similar conditions, but Was

occupied

also find that the site

well down into the Roman

the time the above Was

we

labouring

under

the human remains

opinion a

was

mistaken

period.

At

given the Professor impression that all

belonged to one date, and were discovered scattered about on the latest surface-level ?f the village, whereas in only one or two instances Was this the case. There is also no evidence of a general burning of the dwellings in either village. Bearing ?u this point, we consider it very unlikely that the.

202

Dr. A. Bulleid

twenty-two human finds discovered in the timber substructure at

Glastonbury could have belonged to final sacking of the village, because many of them were covered by clay floors which had certainly never been disturbed. Again, a tibia, the ends of which had been gnawed by a dog, found on the inhabitants at

a

second floor of

a

cranium

belong

on

hut, and

a

the fourth floor of

to this date.

The

the remains found in the

young adult dwelling could not

portion of a

same

morass

a

argument applies

outside the

to

palisading

;

for instance, a cranium discovered two-and-a-half feet below the surface of the peat and an occipital bone five

feet

down

individuals who

ending

of the

hardly have been parts of killed during such an unfortunate

could were

village

as

the Professor

suggests.

That gruesome happenings did take place from time to time is likely if we may judge from the number,

distribution, and condition of some of the human bones found. It is also clear that dogs were able to get at human bodies and bring the bones into the dwellings to eat.

However, the

ending of the villages will, in our opinion, be found in geographical changes in the level of the country, or of the adjacent sea coast, making the sites unsafe, rather than a tragic extermination

cause

of the

by the hand of

to find that other sites

were

It is interesting discontinued for similar man.

reasons; for instance, the settlement of Schussenried had no signs of destruction by fire or sword, and it is

supposed that owing to the growth of peat it was voluntarily abandoned by the inhabitants. The ending described by the late Sir W. Boyd Dawkins, although more dramatic, is not substantiated by the latest evidence obtained during the explorations at Meare.

203

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture Who

were

the

Inhabitants ?

With the present incomplete state of our knowledge it is impossible to say definitely who the people were,

they acquired the artistic skill with they undoubtedly endowed. The whole question of the Celts, their origin, migrations, and expansion is such a difficult and controversial subject or

how,

where

or

which

were

that the

more

to venture

an

we

consider it the less inclined

opinion.

of Caesar to

coming

we

are

It is known that before the

Britain the

peoples

the two

on

sides of the Channel were friendly, and that considerable intercourse and exchange was taking place between

them,

also

that

the

British

against the Roman aggression.

late Sir W. at

the

assisted The

opinion

Veneti of the

Boyd Dawkins was that the skulls found Glastonbury belonged to the inhabitants, and that

they

were

Iberians; but the obvious questions arise,

Were the skulls

actually

they

by them from elsewhere

obtained

those of

village folk, ?

or were

The late

Henri Hubert10 thought that after the settlement of the Goidels in the British Isles, whom he associates with the people of the Bronze Age, there were three

Celtic colonizations of Britain, namely the Picts,

Nitons

and

Belgse, arriving

at intervals in this order.

The Picts, the earliest, were pastoral folk, these were followed by the Britons, who were agriculturists,

aiid then much later came the Belgse. He writes : Is it to the Belgse or to the Britons that we must "

ascribe the building of these curious structures ? i.e. the Somerset lake in a footnote villages. Further, he them the I to should ascribe says, Belgse." This "

?pinion is not acceptable, and for this reason : If the last Celtic invaders, the occupied territory in

Southern

V?L- LIII.

Belgse,

Britain No. 202.

as

far west

as

the eastern half of

204

Dr. A. Bulleid

Somerset, the earthworks that have been mentioned as existing at Ponters Ball, near Glastonbury, and on

the Poldens

but

were

who

by people

not made

clearly

opposed them.

by

the

Belgse,

(See map

on

page 198.) An excavation

produced of

through the vallum and ditch at by the writer some years ago following information. Some fragments

Ball made

Ponters

the

pottery obtained from the old turf line under the

vallum

considered

were

to be of Bronze

lowest but

as

Iron

of the ditch

part

the late Sir Hercules Read Pieces of pottery from the like lake

were

fragments did not show any distinctive ornament the pottery could not be dated

Age

second

ascribe it to the

villages,

place

that of the

period,

With

But

certainty.

the mark to

nearer

nevertheless it would it under M.

Hubert's

Britons, rather than

to

Belgse.

regard

to

the

pottery found

that ornamented with incised

able to state that the nearest

are

village pottery,

the

with absolute be

Age

by

date.

at

the lake

patterns,

approach

we

to it in

technique and design is to be found in the ceramics of Brittany, and in our opinion it is possible the lake village people were Celtic migrants from that part of Gaul, and

a

the central

branch of that

parts

of

great Celtic advance from

Europe. Weapons.

The inhabitants

apparently adept slingers, sling stones and clay sling must have been in constant

were

from the number of

and

judging pellets discovered,

the

use.

At Meare suitable stones

gravel

bed

as

were

yet unlocated,

from some Glastonbury this

procured

but at

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

205

evidently difficult to obtain, and the baked clay pellet was preferred. (Fig. 11.) Collections of several hundred sling stones are frequently met with either in or near the dwellings, and were always ready and close at hand in case of emergency. The people also possessed iron daggers, swords and spears. A very fine Iron Age bronze sword-sheath was recently found by peat cutters in the locality of Meare. Their armour, consisting of shields and helmets, has been found in other parts of Britain. The only indication of the latter at the lake villages is a little bronze pig or wild boar, which was probably used as a crest surmounting a helmet, and a distinguishing badge of preheraldic days. ammunition

was

Sanitation. If the houses had

an

open space in the roof where

the rafters joined the central post ventilation would be satisfactory, but on the other hand smoke may

have escaped only through the

the

There is

eaves.

dwellings

had

nothing

windows.

so

The

entrance

or

under

far to indicate if the hut

entrance

was

generally wide, and some of the houses must have had doors, because an iron key or latch lifter and also a stone with a pivot-hole were among the objects

discovered.

It is possible that hurdlework doors afforded protection in some instances. At Glastonbury discarded and broken objects Were thrown over the palisading into the swamp. Meare no general tilting-place for rubbish has as yet been met with. The surface of the dwelling floors ^ere apparently seldom touched, the accumulations as

fire ash from the hearths, bones of animals they ate, ^ell

as

glass

beads and any other lost

objects

were

206 all

Dr. A. Bulleid trodden

sometimes

in.

This

stratified

resulted in

black

a

compact and

layer spread

from

over

to six inches.

the The

floor, varying depth removal of household refuse was not systematic the undertaken, upon principle that any little addition in

one

helped to raise the level of the dwelling floor: this was important and labour-saving where all the structural materials had to be brought from a distance to the site, and outweighed the evils such accumulations may have created. On the other hand, layers of charcoal and

peat ash may have had a beneficial effect as deodorant, and a primitive attempt at sanitation.

a

Dress. As

fragment of material has been discovered, we largely guided by what is known of ancient Gaulish costume. The weaving of textile fabrics was undoubtedly carried on at the villages, for parts of at least two primitive looms have been found, as well as the accessories used during weaving. For instance, baked clay loom weights are numerous, also bone bobbins, combs for carding wool, as well as bronze no

have to be

and bone needles for

sewing.

everywhere, showing the women were continually occupied in making thread for weaving and sewing. The spindle and whorl were Spindle

still in

use

whorls abound

in Scotland and the islands until

years ago, and in

Jugoslavia

present day. lake

sixty

used at the

the fabrics manufactured at the

With

regard to villages, some

widely

are

some

of them

were

probably

not

unlike

the Scottish tartan, which is of very ancient originJudging from the delicate make of some of the bronze fibulae11

discovered,

we

presume

these

safety-pinS

PLATE

r%

XXIII

r

?

k

Fio. 9. Fig. Skulls from

Glastonbury

lake

village.

PLATE

Fig.

XXIV

10.

Butcher's blot-k, block, 3 ft.

high.

Fig. The Fig. Baked

11.

clay sling pellet, l.t in. long. 1^

12.

Glastonbury about 444? in.

bronze bowl, diameter.

207

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

fastening correspondingly fine materials clothing. Toggle like cloak fasteners made of antler have been dug up as well as bone dress

were used for

of

-

attachments. Toilet.?Near Wooden box

of

dwelling pieces

one

finely-made

a

discovered with its contents.

were

had been the valued

of

possession

a

lady

It

who was,

no

doubt, particular about her appearance. The box contained a bronze mirror,12 a pair of tweezers, two wood

pins, and

some

black

far distant from these

colouring

was

a

faceted

haematite from which red colouring rubbed.

Tweezers

have been found As

no

were

in

use

at various

discovered,

like those found

ftiore than

that

likely

Not

piece of red

matter had been

generally,

parts

combs with the teeth set

substance.

for several

of the excavations.

horizontally

have been

Roman sites, it is of the so-called weaving

some

on

combs may have been used for dressing the hair. (Fig. 15.) This suggestion is strengthened by the fact

that these are

implements dwelling-sites

few

least

one

or

two

very numerous, and there that have not produced at

are

specimens.

Personal Ornaments.?From the earliest times there has been a fascination for decorating the body with At the lake villages many of the ornaments.

^habitants

Necklaces, 0r

jet.

Others

double string

a?curately a

coloured,

possessors of glass bead sometimes one of amber

proud

preferred a necklet consisting of a small perforated pieces of bone,

of

cut and ornamented with incised circles,

^he glass beads Were of

the

were

which included

colours, many of them yellow paste, others blue, green or purple were

sometimes

of various

ornamented

sPirals.13 Bracelets of bronze

or

with

Kimmeridge

inset shale

white were

Dr. A. Bulleid

208 worn

the

on

and

arms

bronze

rings

on

the

fingers. Amulets and charms

probably suspended

These took the form of

tusk,

a

or

were

also

from the neck

from

were

safety-pin. perforated dogs' teeth, a boar's

disc cut from

perforated

and

popular,

or

a

a

human skull.

Small, circular discs made of tin ornamented with swastika from

a

design brooch

also

were or

worn

the neck.

often

charms

as

suspended

Solid bronze also

torques,

at highly ornamented, period, but they are rare, and so far the villages not produced a specimen, although they have found in or near this locality. were

Games

and

A small thin stone slab lines incised

on

squares like known, but crosses.

a

one

a

worn

this have been

Pastimes. was

having crossed

found

side, forming

a

series of

miniature chess board.

Its

use

thirty is not

game, such as noughts and A wooden draughtsman, made of oak, is

suggests

some

among the objects found. On several occasions small, circular, flattened pebbles averaging one inch in

diameter, smooth and polished from met with

on

the

use, have been

dwelling-floors.' They

are

frequently

singly, but sometimes in groups of twelve, nineteen, or twenty-three. One group was associated found

with bone dice and These stones

were

a

dice-box,14 also made of bone.

presumably

used

as

counters in

some

game. With reference to the

dice, as they are brick shaped only four sides are numbered, namely 3, 4, 5 and 6. One die has

6

on

two

accident, regrettable fact,

just

an

Of course, this may be but nevertheless it is a highlyand may, perhaps, lower the sides.

209

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture that has

high opinion

always

been held of British

morality. Cock spurs have been discovered on more than one occasion, and the 1935 excavations produced three From this

specimens.

indulged

in

there

was

having

deduce that the inhabitants

cock-fighting. Trade

Trade

we

and

Occupations.

probably carried on by barter, but British coinage of tin, one of these coins

was a

At

been found.

later date Roman coins

a

appear to have been in circulation. Iron bars were also used as currency, they were of recognized different sizes and denominations. A tin weight has been

discovered,

and from this

the

people must have had some form of scales. The Glastonbury tin height in its present condition is 1,962 grains, and allowing for its corroded state, it may have represented half a Roman libra of 5,050 grains. Such weights we assume

have been found with late Celtic remains in other parts of

England. Agriculture.?Some of the inhabitants, or their relations, were farmers, cultivating the raised grounds and hills in the locality. They owned sheep, goats, ?attle, pigs, and horses. Sheep must have been quite numerous, and of

Glastonbury

dug

up.

two

or

more

site the bones of about

Goats

were

less

common.

4,000 sheep Next to

the bones of cattle (Bos

Proportion

of animal

At

breeds.

longifrons) formed remains. Pig bones

the were

sheep

the

largest were fairly

The horses were slender limbed, of a type best represented by the Exmoor pony, and were

Numerous.

Undoubtedly brought

to the

The growing of wheat,

villages barley

for food. and

beans

was

210

Dr. A. Bulleid

carried

extensively, specially wheat and beans. These have been met with frequently on the dwelling floors at both villages. In one hut a dish, upside down, covered a small heap of grain, and a quantity of the cereal was also lying on the floor around it, presumably on

the contents of

place full of

grain evidently part

they

dwelling

of the contents of

have not been

due to

a

a

At another wheelbarrows

boat

a

chemical

trench,

narrow

capsized

although outwardly perfect,

of carbon

masses

four

area

obtained from

were

the swamp. The cereals, small

overturned vessel.

an

outside the

are

in

just

charcoal?no life remains; the condition is probably

or

burnt,

about

change brought

by bacterial

action. Another

problem

has

been, why

I suppose Ireland for centuries, but

ebony-black

?

bog-oak as

far

has endeavoured to find out the colour. mention

The

bog

Encyciopcedia -

oak.

is the oak

has been

as

we

cause

devoted much

wish

to

valuable

of

one

change of even

I would like it known that it

University, that we now know change is the presence of iron examination

up in

no

Britannica does not

is due to the kindness of Dr. 0. C. M.

Davis has

know

of this

always

dug

wood

time

and

the

Davis, of this

reason

in the and

peat

for the

peat.

thought samples,

Dr.

the and I

to

him for his express my and very interesting contribution to the indebtedness to

work.

push plough for tilling the ground, and spades, the handle-tops of which are exactly similar in shape and size to those in use at the present day. No change has taken place in this respect for 2,000 years. The people also and iron hooks sickles.15 possessed reaping The inhabitants used

a

wooden

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

211

Diet. A

great deal of time and the

fishing, hunting,

must have been devoted to

diet

consisted

flesh, fowl,

of

fish,

of

killing

for food purposes. Regarding the

the

of

birds, but mainly

people, milk,

the

foods and

cereals,

fruit. Fish.?These included roach, trout, perch, pike, and shad. They were probably caught with nets, lead net-sinkers having been found. With many reference to the nets, it is uncertain if they were made with wool thread or flax. Wool they had in plenty,

but flax has

not been discovered, although it was one of the earliest cultivated plants. It has been frequently

found in Swiss lake-dwelling sites, even those of the Stone Age. No fish-hook has been discovered at the Somerset villages. We know that later, during the monastic

quantities of fish, including pike and

contained

meres

Meare Pool and the other smaller

period,

eels. domesticated

Flesh.?The

animals, sheep, goat,

cattle, and pig, have been mentioned. (Fig. 10.) are represented by red deer, roe The lastdeer, wild boar, otter, and beaver.

The wild animals named

must

have

been

fairly

list of wild animals is rather it

be

must

not

a

raised

they

remembered

suitable

habitat

and

a

that for

The

common.

meagre one, the swamps many, and on

in the

peninsulas grounds easily trapped, and

were

but were

the

neighbourhood

would

be

soon

exterminated.

Fowl.?Some met

thirty varieties with; naturally the bones of

abundant.

of birds have been water fowl

The list also includes the

are

pelican,

most

bones

Dr. A. Bulleid

212

of both old and young birds, showing they bred in this country at that time. The nearest place where

pelicans

can

Danube. crane,

be

now

seen

eagle, goshawk,

of the

locality

bones

discovered

and kite.

These

bird

Other

is in the

are

were

swan,

probably

killed

by slinging. Cereals.?Wheat, barley, and beans. Bread has been found charred in the form of small, flat cakes,

The meal somewhat like the modern penny bun. must have contained a considerable quantity of grit

powdered stone. Although the milling stones were generally made of old red sandstone, and other hard gritty stone, one at least was of lias, which is a It is probable soft stone and easily ground away. that grain and beans were sometimes roasted as an aid to milling, and also for storage purposes'. Grain has been treated in this way in Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, and the Isles down to a comparatively recent date. Professor Heer thinks that barley found in the Swiss lake dwellings must have undergone this and

treatment.

We learn from other

time of David16

parched

corn

"

Shobi, Machir,

and

pulse

for David."

also to be found in the classics of

sources

that in the

and Barzillai

brought

References

regarding

the

are

parching

grain.17 Fruit.?So

far

disappointing list, dewberry, sloe and

the

wild

they

fruits

include

form the

rather

a

blackberry,

hazel nut.

What the inhabitants did with the sloe is not known, but in one place the

greater part of a wheelbarrow obtained immediately outside

full of sloe stones the

was

palisades.

Manufactures.

Pottery.?Pottery-making was carried on extensively, and was probably undertaken by the women,

213

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

spinning. With few exceptions pots were handmade, the rare examples of wheelturned vessels were unornamented, and possibly imported. Among primitive peoples in all parts of the world the making of pottery falls to the lot of the

as was

the

weaving

and

the

The

women.

routine appears to be carried out the natives in the Congo region of

same

whether it is

by

Africa

the North American

or

by

method is the worked

Indians, and the

village inhabitants The operative, after

the lake

as

2,000 years ago.

some

making

same

flat, circular disc for the base, moulds

a

between her hands long rope-shaped rolls of clay, these are placed near the margin of the base, and then one over

built

spiral form until the vessel is required height and shape. After welding together the outer and inner surfaces are

the other in

to the

the rolls

smoothed and burnished with

a

bone tool

or

other

implement. At the lake

large proportion

of the

pots incised, geometric designs. (Fig. 13.) It was customary to ornament the bases as well as the sides of vessels, and the (one in seven)

villages

are

a

ornamented with

doing this work have been found. Among these are pieces of pointed antler for drawing lines and making dot-like depressions, stamps for making circles, an antler implement for producing double lines and a cordon at the same time, and a modelling tool of antler of similar shape to a box-wood tool sold at the present day. On

implements

used

some

certain

pots

in

and

marks

made

dots in

line

were

by a roulette, a small, wheel-shaped implement cogged edge. At least three varieties of this Were in use. Bone burnishing tools are also among ^he potter's instruments discovered. Although the pottery was not wheel turned, some kind of

with

a

-

Dr. A. Bulleid

214

revolving table was apparently used when making Bone implements were girth grooves and lines. also used for moulding the rims and lips of pots. Some of these tools Celtic remains at

obtained with other

were

Wookey

Hole

late

Mr. H. E. Balch,

by

F.S.A. Metal Work and were

of a

metal workers.

occupied by

the remains of

Smelting.?At least This

two was

dwellings by

shown

furnaces, pieces of crucibles, fragments

bronze, and bronze dross. A tuyere of baked clay, funnel-shaped object which received the wooden

nose

of the bellows and conducted the air blast to the

furnace, were

also

was

dug

also smelted.

imported

in

bar

up.

bronze, tin and lead

Besides

(Fig. 12.) shape from

Iron

country ready for the smith, but

slag

have been discovered

appear that the the metal from

people iron

certain where the lead

was

were

came

Mendips

presumably

parts of the

lamps of iron villages it would capable of producing as

the

do

We

ore.

ores

from the

at

was

other

know for

not

from, but presume the and tin from Cornwall.

may have been procured from the Brendon Hill mines, or from Priddy and the Nettlebridge

Iron

ore

Valley on Mendip. The last-named locality is not unlikely, as fireclay was apparently obtained there by the village people, the nearest beds of which are to be found at Nettlebridge associated with the outcrop of coal are or

not two

seams.

numerous, stones

but

have

The tools used in metal work include saveral

been obtained

marks, and numbers of whetstones, have lines and

grinding

depressions

made

files.

One

showing casting some

of which

by sharpening

or

metal tools.

Glass.?The undertaken

by

making some

of

of the

glass

beads

was

probably

inhabitants, but whether

PLATE

Fig. Somerset lake

XXV

13.

village pottery. pottery,

PLATE

XXVI

Bow. Ethelbert Home, F.S.A.) (Photograph by Very Rev. Dow.

Fig. Part of basket

or

Fig. Antler

14.

cradle, Meare lake village.

15.

weaving comb,

5 in.

long. lonj.

16. Fig. 10.

Dug-out Dug-out boat, 17 ft. long.

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture the

215

imported in bulk or was actually produced in the villages is not quite certain. Nevertheless a piece of glass slag was discovered, also a crucible with glass adhering to it, which imply working in glass. Some of the beads were inlaid with spirals and waved lines of white paste, and the range of colours through various shades of yellow, green, blue and purple denote not only skill but considerable knowledge in manufacturing chemicals to produce such fascinating results. The beads are of different shapes, some are in the form of rings, others tubular, and a few approach the spherical. The tubular are the more numerous at glass

was

Me are. and,

Carpentry

Turnery.?The

carpentry

tools

include small iron saws, gouges, adzes, awls, and billhooks ; iron nails, rivets, bolts, and wood mallets come

under this

edged

chisels of several widths

was

heading

as

ascertained from the cuts

timber when

accessories.

were

Straight-

also used

remaining

this fact

;

pieces

on

of

mortise holes?for instance the

making (Fig. 4.) Some kind of primitive

ladder.

turning tubs,

The

Were

highly

designs. a

some

with

modern

worked

for

of the tubs cut from the solid

ornamented with incised and burnt-in

Other tubs

together

was

bowls, wheel-hubs, and spokes.

cups,

outer surface of

lathe

were

stave

made,

some

fitted

dowels, others with plain edges like

barrel

and

kept

hoops.

in

place

with

bronze

A considerable amount of time must have been spent in the making of handles for tools, some of which Were ornamented with

knobs, and also the making of

the framework of looms.

branch

of

carpentry.

Boat

making

As the boats

was

were

another

cut from

Dr. A. Bulleid

216

the

solid

trunk, this would

tree

labour

much time and

but

only

not

mean

considerable amount

a

planning. The boat found near the Glastonbury lake village was nearly eighteen feet in length (Fig, 16.), and another more recently discovered on Shapwick Moor, near Meare, twentyof

and

thought

feet.

one

Basket another

of

Making.?Basket making industry carried on at

osiers

was

the

villages. carefullydesigned examples have been met with. (Fig. 14.) On one dwelling-floor, near the hearth, pieces of were found containing moss; from a long basket its shape we presume it may have been part of a

well-made

several

of

Portions

and

cradle. Bone

and

needles

bone

Antler:

Workers.

The

making pins apparently occupied

and

of the

pieces of bone and several broken and unfinished pins were of

time

found in

one

of

handles

knives

numerous

as

dwelling-floor. Another man skilled in making the and other implements, as well

position belonged to a

house as

inhabitant,

one

on

a

antler tools.

Milling. Milling was another very important occupation. Out of the forty dwelling sites explored One at Meare twenty-two had no milling stones.

dwelling produced others

twenty and

as

many

twenty-four, respectively.

as

seventeen

and two It would

appear from this that there were houses inhabited either by the manufacturers of millstones or that milling was carried out on a large scale for the Two kinds of mills were rotary mill or quern and the

community. circular The

former, the

numerous

at

more

advanced

Glastonbury.

employed,

the

saddle-shaped.

type,

was

more

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture It is

hoped

217

that these notes and remarks will of the

idea of the life and

give people

occupations villages 2,000 years ago. This chapter of prehistoric Britain, as interpreted, is far from complete, many pages have been lost, and time has nearly obliterated the few lines remaining on others. Still, as the exploration of the lake villages

some

inhabiting the

proceed we obtained and

Somerset lake

trust some

additional

information

of the gaps made

may

be

good.

references 1

Prehistoric Times, Williams and Norgate,

p. 182, 1913.

by Lord Avebury, seventh edition.

2 Lake Dwellings of Switzerland, p. 10, by Ferdinand Keller, translated by John Edward Lee. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1866. 3

Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings, p. 17, bjr Dr. Robert Munro.

David Douglas, Edinburgh, 4

Lake Dwellings

Figgis

&

1882.

of Ireland,

Co., Dublin,

p.

23, by W. G. Wood-Martin.

Hodges,

1886.

5

Lake Dwellings of Switzerland, p. 10, by Ferdinand Keller.

6

Coins

the Ancient Britons, p. 39, by Sir John Evans, also the Invasions of Julius Coesar, p. 232, by T. Rice The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1907.

of

Ancient Britain and

Holmes. 7

The Glastonbury Lake Village, vol. ii., p. 681,

The

Glastonbury

Antiquarian Society,

8

The Golden Bough, by Sir James Frazer.

9

The

10

Glastonbury

by

Bulleid and Gray.

1917.

Lake Village, vol. ii., p. 678.

The Rise of the Celts, by M. Henri Hubert, p. 212. Trubner & Co., London, 1934.

Trench,

Kegan Paul,

11

Fibulae?La Tene Type: The Glastonbury Lake Village, vol. i., British Museum, Early Iron Age Guide, pp. 51-53, ^4-95; Munro's Lake Dwellings of Europe, p. 291; Keller's Lake Dwellings of Sivitzerland, 1866, plate lxix.

PP-

183?203;

12

Mirrors

:

Museum, Early

The Glastonbury Lake Village, vol. i., p. 220 Age Guide, 1925, pp. 121-123.

:

British

Iron

1 3

Beads : The Glastonbury Lake Village, vol. ii., pp. 354-359 ; ritish Museum, Early Iron Age Guide, p. 120 ; Wood-Martin, Lake

dwellings

of Ireland, 1886,

p.

122, plate

xxvii.

The Long Fox Memorial Lecture

218 11

Dice and

Dice

Box:

The

Glastonbury Lake Village, vol. ii.,

p. 407. 13

Ikon Tools

Munro's

:

The

Glastonbury

Lake

Lake Village, vol. ii., pp. 360-392 ; p. 289; Wood-Martin, Lake

Dwellings of Europe, Diuellings of Ireland, p. 67, plate xiii. 16

2 Samuel xvii. 27-29.

1 7

Virgil, Georgics 1,

267.