Some objects defy archaeologists to understand their function. Two gold rod-like fragments from the Kerivoa hoard, Côtes-du-Nord, and one from Plouarzel, Finistère (Briard, 1965, fig. 21, 2), are the only gold objects on the Continent with broadened terminals similar to the ‘neck-ring’ from Arlon, Belgium. Three similar rings in copper exist in Britain. These six objects, their function, and their relationship to other prehistoric objects, form the nucleus of this article.

The two Kerivoa fragments (pl. XVI, B), with rod-like body and broadened ends, fit together to form a complete object like that from Arlon. They were a part of the Kerivoa hoard which also contained three gold lunulae with a fragment of sheet gold broken into four pieces. These were found near Bourbriac, Côte-du-Nord, France, in 1932, surrounded by a dark mass, which has been interpreted as a disintegrated wooden box. The fragments with broadened terminals and their association with lunulae are critical to this paper.

This short paper describes the remains of prehistoric settlements, chambered tombs, a promontory fort, a prehistoric defensive wall, a rectilinear field system, and other field systems on marginal land at St David's Head. Antiquarians and archaeologists have known of these remains for over two centuries, but it is only through modern surveying techniques and aerial photography that their true nature can be appreciated. The defensive wall and associated rectilinear field system could have originated from the 2nd millennium BC through to the 1st millennium BC. Other field systems and settlements are likely to be of later prehistoric or Romano-British origin. Elements of the field systems have influenced and are preserved in the modern ‘Pembrokeshire’ landscape which borders the headland.

Long-handled combs, predominantly made of antler — although some are of bone or perhaps whalebone — and traditionally associated with weaving, have been thought to be an almost exclusively British phenomenon (Hodson 1964, 103). They are first found in middle or later Bronze Age contexts, but are more usually associated with the Iron Age and go out of use in the later 1st century AD. Although dating of these tools is imprecise, on some sites such as Glastonbury (Bullied & Gray 1911) and Maiden Castle (Wheeler 1943, 298) one can say that the earlier ones are plain and later ones decorated, often with dot and circle and linear patterns. However evidence from Danebury shows the reverse to be the case (Cunliffe & Poole 1991). The combs measure between 80 to 222 mm with an average length of 150 mm. They are mostly dentated only at one end, although some are double-ended. There are usually between 8 and 13 teeth and at the other end the shape of the butts can be plain or they may have squared or rounded ends with or without perforations.

Anna Roes (1963) drew attention to a comb from the Frisian terps in the Netherlands (fig. 1, no. 1), housed in the Fries Museum, Leeuwarden. She considered that it may well have been imported from Britain. The comb is undecorated but polished. Its length is 141 mm and width at teeth 37 mm and at the butt end 18 mm. The comb is very concave at the dentated end. There had originally been 12 teeth of which only one outer tooth remained and this is worn on its inner side. Recently two further combs have been found in the Netherlands on two domestic sites of the pre-Roman Iron Age (sites 15.04 and 16.59). Both were excavated by A. Abbink from the Institute of Prehistory of the University of Leiden in 1989 and 1990 respectively (Abbink 1989; 1991).

It is now close upon twenty-five years since the first flints from beneath the Red Crag of Suffolk—and claimed to have been flaked by man—were placed before the scientific world. During the period of time which has elapsed since 1907, a great deal of careful excavation, carried out by means of generous financial support given by the Royal Society, the Percy Sladen Fund, the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, the Field Museum of Chicago and other Institutions, has been undertaken, and in consequence, a very considerable body of knowledge regarding the archaeological, and other contents of the Suffolk Bone Bed, has been accumulated.

I propose, therefore, to take as the subject of my Presidential Address, “The Culture of Pliocene Man;” to place before you the evidence which makes it possible to use such a title in describing the sub-Red Crag artefacts, and to draw your attention to certain remarkable facts and conclusions relating to these specimens which must now be faced and considered. But it is necessary, first of all, to give a brief account of the Red Crag and the Suffolk Bone Bed (sometimes also called the Detritus Bed or the Nodule Bed) which underlies it, and in which the relics of man have been found.

The fragmentary assemblage was analysed by various techniques, mostly based on pétrographie methods, the results of which are summarised. The analyses generated data which are applicable to on-site spatial and chronological problems, in addition to those concerning characterisation and provenance study.

Macroscopic examination of pottery from each individual scatter and ceramic spot finds was undertaken to establish the extent of variation within these apparently discrete spreads of material. This information was enhanced by data from microscopic techniques. The colour, surface treatment, size and temper of inclusions and any other observable fabric characteristics were recorded from the hand specimen. Surface and fabric traits were identified with the aid of a binocular microscope and colour readings were taken with reference to Munsell Soil Colour Charts. One sample from each scatter or spot find was refired, with the exception of SF182 and SF184 (both consisted of one small sherd, and were therefore only available for thin sectioning.

It has been my privilege to work under Prof. Man at Cambridge, and discuss with him the problems of the relation between Quaternary Man and the Ice Age. His ideas have been ably expressed in the Presidential Address that he gave to the Society. One point, however, it seemed to me was rather passed over lightly, and that is the correlation of the results obtained in England with those found abroad. Dr. Marr suggested in his paper that the time was not yet ripe for such a correlation, and that it was as yet dangerous. Yet the results obtained by Prof. Marr and Mr. Moir are so definite and far-reaching that the writer feels that an attempted correlation is necessary to avoid the danger of a too great insularity of thought. The results obtained abroad may be grouped under two heads;—

(1) Those showing positive results

(2) Those showing negative results

Abroad, and especially in France, not only have there been a number of gifted amateurs engaged in the study of prehistory, but further, owing to the generosity of the Prince of Monaco, there have been a number of distinguished specialists who have been devoting their whole energies to the elucidation of various problems.

At the November Meeting last year I gave an account of some Bronze Age cooking places situated along the River Thet above East Harling. (Proc. P.S.E.A., Vol. VI, pt. IV, p.365). On continuing the exploration lower down the river, I came upon the peculiar mound known as Micklemoor Hill, West Harling. This is an isolated mound of glacial gravel in the middle of a long stretch of alluvium on the south side of the river, and is one mile S.W. by W. of East Harling Church. It is about 300 yards long, 150 yards wide and 25 ft. high, and is 100 yards from the river bank with its longer axis parallel to the river at this point, i.e., east and west. The Hill is grass-covered and given over, to rabbits, with the exception of the S.-E. corner, which, besides having been dug for sand and gravel, has on the top an eighteenth century ice-house surrounded by a few pines and firs.

Further excavations on Floor 85, at the end of July, 1922, increased the total area of this important floor, carefully dug over and examined, to 109 square yards. Previous observations have been confirmed and a further series of implements recovered, including engraved pieces of flint crust and pieces bearing incised lines, similar in character, though of minor importance, to those described in the “Proceedings,” Vol. 3, p. 434 and 548.

Dr. R. V. Favell again co-operated and the work was principally concentrated upon the S., SE., and E. sides of the previous excavation.

Upon the S. side Floor A was absent, Floors B and C well marked, though Floor C proved to be thin in places and towards the termination of the dig showed signs of giving out, whereas Floor B was becoming thicker. The sterile layer separating B from C, latterly became so thin that the B floor in places was resting immediately upon the red sand layer and almost indistinguishable from Floor C, except by the most careful observation.

This site lies in the parish of Little Somborne, Hants, to the west of Turnpike Copse and just south of the Stockbridge-Winchester road. The ground rises steeply from the road to form a ridge about 300 O.D. and then gradually sinks towards Fox Heath Copse. Just below the crest of this ridge, the plough brings to the surface many large blocks of flint where a stratum outcrops. These blocks are the raw material from which the tools were made and the picks found were probably used to extract them. Large rough flakes are very numerous. Many of them show trimmed butts. This site extends for about 2 acres, and in this area are found picks, choppers, large cores, hammer stones, anvil stones, borers, end scrapers, and rarely a large horseshoe scraper, but no arrow heads or polished axes. The tools are patinated a blue-white or blue-grey; but the quality of the flint is so bad, there are so many quartz, chertz and calcedonic inclusions, that the patination is often patchy and unequal and sometimes varies in colour in different parts of the same flake scar. There is not much lustre. Iron staining and at times iron incrustation, found chiefly on the aretes, is very marked and there are numerous quicksilver spots of polish. The edges of these tools are sharp and show very little signs of use. What signs there are may be due to accidental damage by the plough.

Ever since large amounts of Bell Beaker complex pottery were first discovered within megalithic graves in north-western France, the Bell Beaker has been tightly tied to the ‘megalithic phenomenon’. However, the fact of construction of these various kinds of megalithic monument during the Middle to Late Neolithic pre-dates the users of Bell Beakers. While this is a case of the re-use of older funerary monuments, it is assumed that Bell Beaker funerary practices witness a shift from Neolithic collective burial to individual inhumation. For a long time finds from the megalithic graves have constituted our main source of information on the Bell Beaker complex in north-western France. However, these ‘artificial caves’ have biased our understanding of the Bell Beaker complex and, in particular, of its funerary practices. The re-assessment of old finds and recent large-scale excavations have brought to light a large number of new sites, revealing a greater diversity in Bell Beaker funerary practices in the region than had been perceived previously. In the first part, we set the broader picture, stating what we know or can say about funerary practices during the Recent and Late Neolithic (3350–2550 bc), before the beginning of the Bell Beaker phenomenon. We then discuss the different Bell Beaker burial practices (2550–1950 bc), their chronological and regional variabilities, and, above all, the research biases that might have affected their understanding.

This paper concerns the architecture of formal burials from the La Tène period in north-western Gaul and southern Britain. The research focuses on the shape and dimensions of sepulchral pits containing inhumed or burnt human remains, on the different materials used for the internal elements, and the external constructions and structures covering, framing, or marking the burials. The study of these data exposes the preferred choices in the funerary architecture of Gallic and British communities during the last five centuries bc. The results reveal different regional funerary groups within three main cross-Channel zones according to the architectural elements of the graves and the main treatments of the body. The distinct characteristics of these groups highlight their common features and relationships with neighbouring areas of the Continental and Atlantic zones.

When the Saxons from the mainland of Europe sailed up the Thames around the middle of the 5th century A.D. to lay the foundation-stone for the Anglo-Saxon Empire, they brought with them a signum sacre which has been handed down to us as the decoration of an urn from the burial-ground at Lackford in Suffolk. This consists of the figure of a horse, against which at the rear is a swastika (fig, 1, 1). Already at that time this sign had clearly a long history—a similar combination, closely related in style, is known to us from the first half of the last millennium B.C.; at that time it represented the Northern idea of the movement or journey of the ‘divine’ sun (fig. 1, 2), which idea has been brought down to us in plastic form from more than five hundred years earlier in the sun-chariot from Trundholm on Zealand.