imitive
peoples, we may wonder at the amount of labour they must have expended
on the construction of these giant mounds. Picks made of deer's horns
and pointed staves enabled them to loosen the earth which was then
collected in baskets and thrown on the rising heap. Countless toilers
and many years must have been needed to produce such wonderful memorials
of their industry.

[Illustration: PLAN OF A TUMULUS]

With better tools we will proceed to dig into these mounds and discover
what they contain. First we notice an encircling trench and mound
surrounding the barrow, the purpose of which is supposed to have been to
keep the dead person in the tomb, and prevent it from injuring the
living. After much digging in the centre of the barrow we find a single
stone chamber, entered by a passage underneath the higher and wider end
of the mound. Sometimes the chamber is divided into three parts, the
centre one being covered by a dome, formed by the overlapping of the
stones in the upper parts of the walls. The passage leading to the
centre chamber is also built with large stones erected with much care
and skill. The contents of these long barrows are not so interesting, or
numerous, as those contained in the round barrows. The skeletons are
usually found in irregular positions, and few weapons or ornaments
accompany the buried bones. Derbyshire possesses many barrows; wherever
in a place-name the suffix _low_ occurs, derived from the Anglo-Saxon
_hlow_, signifying a small hill or mound, a barrow is generally to be
found. The long barrow is usually about 200 feet in length, 40 feet
wide, and 8 to 12 feet high. They run east and west, frequently
north-east by south-west, the principal interment being usually at the
eastern and higher end. The bodies are often found in a cist or box made
of large stones, and several were buried in one mound, generally on the
south and east sides, so that they might lie in the sun. This practice
may have been connected with sun-worship; and the same idea prevailed in
modern times, when the south side of the churchyard was considered the
favoured portion, and criminals and suicides were relegated to the
colder north side.

[Illustration: PLAN OF TUMULUS CALLED WAYLAND SMITH'S CAVE, BERKSHIRE]

The position of the bodies varied, but usually they were buried in a
crouching position, with knees bent and head drawn towards the knees.
This was probably the natural position which a man would assume wh