Some

mosses, and in 1802, a massive gold ring, weighing 1 ounces, was found near Holme.* But the most important discovery remains to be noticed. In 1840, upwards of 9,000 coins, a number of bars of silver, armlets, broken rings, &c., were found enclosed in a leaden chest near the track of the Roman road from Coccium (Walton) to Cambodunum; which is now well known to numismatists as the "Cuerdale Find." The coins were all minted between A. D. 815 and A. D. 930, and consequently "the treasure must have been buried during the first half of the tenth century." of these coins were Arabic or Kufic; about 1000 were French; others were minted in North Italy; 2,800 belonged to the Anglo-Saxon Kings, of which 860 were of the reign of Alfred; 3,000 were of a peculiar character, bearing the inscriptions Siefredus Rex, Sievert Rex, Crut Rex, Alfden Rex, and Sitric Comes. All these are the names of "mighty Scandinavian chiefs, who in the ninth and tenth centuries, ravaged the western lands," but Cnut's were the most numerous, numbering in all about 2000 pieces. The Sitric, here mentioned, fell in battle in England about A. D. 900; Alfden perished at Wednesfield, in A. D. 910; Sigfrid ravaged the English coasts in A. D. 897; and Cnut was a son of the first Danish monarch, who is said to have fallen in battle somewhere on the coasts of Britain. It has been remarked that no similar coins have been found anywhere else in England, except a few of Cnut's at Harkirke, near Crosby, in Lancashire; and hence the conjecture seems reasonable, that the "Cuerdale Find" formed a portion of Anlaf's treasure, which his followers abandoned and buried during their hasty retreat to the ships stationed in the estuaries of the Ribble, the Mersey, and the Wyre. Dane's House may possibly have formed Anlaf's head-quarters, either before the battle or after his defeat, and hence its name; for the " ship-fleet " destroyed by Athelstan's forces, as stated in the Saxon Chronicle, would probably be those left at the mouth of the Humber; since, he is represented by some historians as passing through Beverley on his return from the field of battle; or it may have been at the mouth of the Wyre, where human bones have been found, and where local traditions place the scene of a conflict with the Danes at the prows of their vessels.

But the evidence in favor of BURNLEY is not yet exhausted, for the name itself must not be overlooked in estimating the probabilities. The

* See Appendix. + Worsaæ's Danes in England, p. 49.

river Brun, as we have seen, traverses the locality where tradition says the battle took place, and it has given its designation to Burnley from a period beyond the reach of history. In some old charters, the name of the town is spoken of as Brumley; others give it as Brunley; and so it continued to be named until about the middle of the last century. William of Malmsbury, and Ingulf of Croyland, speak of the conflict as the battle of Brunford; and the ford across the Brun, near Burnley, which lies at the foot of the long declivity on which Saxifield is situated, had given the name of Heysandford to the property of Sir Oliver de Stansfeud, in the reign of Edward the First. Geffrei Gaimar gives the variation Burnwest, which is almost preserved entire in Burnwains, the name of a farm in the neighbourhood; and the Wendune, or Wendun, as Thorpe writes it, of Simeon of Durham, is well-nigh identical in sound with Swinden, which we have seen is the name of a valley, and also of a mountain stream of some considerable magnitude which intersects the line of fortifications.

The transition from Brunford to Brumley, Brunley, Brunanley, and Brunanburh, appears to me so natural and consistent as to place it beyond reasonable doubt, that they can only indicate the same locality; and taking this similarity of name in connection with all that has been previously advanced, I am of opinion that the claims of Burnley have been fully sustained, and that it may now be considered as very nearly a certainty that the slopes of SAXONFIELD witnessed the crowning incidents of the memorable BATTLES OF THE BRUN.

APPENDIX.

ON SOME FUNEREAL URNS FOUND AT CATLOW, &c., &c.

The remains of antiquity are not uncommon in this district, for in addition to the Roman Coins found at Castercliff, it may be mentioned that others have been met with at Emmot, Wheatly Lane, and Mereclough. A tumulus which was opened near Law House, Cliviger, in 1763, is said to have contained a kistvaen and a skeleton; another in the vicinity contained a rude earthenware urn, partially filled with calcined bones. In 1766, a glass vessel was found at Overtown, near Towneley, filled with brasses of Constantine and Licinius; and in 1773, two enamelled fibulæ of copper were found on the moor above Holme. Some years ago, Mr. Spencer, of Halifax, opened a portion of the tumulus on Twist Hill, when an earthenware urn was found of a similar character to that found near Law House. Mr. Richard Shaw, about the same time, discovered a portion

of what he conceived to be the neck of a jug, when excavating one of the small tumuli on Worsthorn Moor, but he has unfortunately lost the specimen. The most interesting discovery, however, was made at Catlow stone-quarry in March, 1854, when two or three earthenware urns were met with a little below the surface, when clearing for the flag-stone rock. The urns when perfect, measured about 14 inches in depth, and 9 inches in diameter at the mouth, with a considerable swelling at the centre, as represented in Fig. A of the accompanying plate. They are formed of very coarse earthenware, unglazed, and are very slightly baked. The outer and inner surfaces are of a brown colour, and are considerably harder than the inner substance of the pottery, which appears of a much darker hue, as if it had been saturated with some liquid. The clay has apparently been mixed with straw, small portions of quartz, and rough sand; and is on the whole not very dissimilar to the coarse red earthenware still manufactured at Causeway Side, in Cliviger. This pottery has existed from a very remote period, and the character of the workmanship, even now, affords sufficient proof that rude material and construction are not always indicative of extreme antiquity. In general appearance, all these urns are not unlike that found in the Isle of Wight, which is figured, No. 28, Plate xiv, in Akerman's Archaeological Index, as Anglo-Saxon, but is described, page 132, with a doubt as to whether it does not in reality belong to the Celtic period. The urns contained large quantities of calcined bones, pieces of charcoal, and soft dark earth. Most of the bones are supposed to be human, but are mixed with others belonging to the horse, and some of the lesser animals. A rude piece of flint was found amongst the bones, but from its decayed state, it is not easy to determine whether it has been an arrow-head, or a small celt. Two ivory bodkins were also found at the same time, which are represented of the full size in Figures B and C; they are exceedingly friable, either from age or from having been subjected to the action of fire before being deposited in the urns. The ornamental work on the outside of the urns found both at Catlow and at Extwistle, is precisely similar, and has been formed by very rude means; all the streaks and punctures are coarse and irregular, nor do they appear to have been formed by any instrument less primitive than the point of a stick. The urns, when found, were very much broken by the workmen, who were more intent upon finding treasure than careful to preserve these memorials of antiquity. That most perfect is in the possession of Captain Sagar, of Southfield, and the other has been presented by him to the museum of the Burnley Church of England Literary Institution, and is at present under the care of George Smirthwaite, Esq., Surgeon, who has kindly permitted me the free use of his collection in illustration of this account. Mr. Mayer, of Liverpool, considers these urns to belong to the British period, and there can scarcely exist any doubt as to the correctness of his opinion.