Edwin George Jarvis

“ The splendid shield of the Viking at Caenby must have been of this class, or probably a buckler of parade. It is unfortunately too much decayed to enable us to affirm that it is of the favourite material, of the period, the lime wood, as in Beowulf—"the shield, the yellow linden wood." A fragment of the bronze rim remains, once doubtless brightly burnished, in accordance with the description in the same poem of the "ample shield, yellow rimmed,"—"the very hard margins of the ample shields"—"the war rims, the bright shield wood." ”

“ Worsaae observes, the majority of the tumuli of the "Iron-period," hitherto examined in Denmark, are distinguished by the circumstance that they contain, not only the remains of the warrior but those of his horse. He cites several instances in which, not only the bones of both have been disinterred, but the stirrups, bridle-bits, in one case described as a "chain-bit," in another as covered with thin silver plates; remarkable ornaments for harness have also been found: with these had been deposited the sword, spear, or axe, all of iron. ”

“ After working for some time, our curiosity was stimulated by meeting with some appearance of burnt soil and stones, but our ardour was quickly damped by finding small pieces of coal amongst the debris. ”

“ It is more especially in the eastern districts of Yorkshire, and in Lincolnshire, so frequently the scene of conflict with the Danes, and ultimately occupied by numerous Danish colonists, that ancient remains peculiar to them may be expected. Much valuable information may be anticipated from recent investigations under the auspices of the "Yorkshire Antiquarian Club," guided by the zeal and intelligence of Dr. Thurnam and Professor Phillips. Many curious facts have likewise been adduced from Lincolnshire, amongst which the discovery at Caenby, now recorded, is perhaps the most interesting. ”

“ A few instances of the discovery of remains of the horse in British tumuli might be cited, and some antiquaries have supposed them to be merely vestiges of the funeral feast, the horse having been indubitably used for food in ancient times. Even in the Confessionale of Egbert, Archbishop of York (A.D. 735—766) , its use is not forbidden. "Caro equina non est prohibita, etsi multi gentes earn comedere nolunt." ”

“ The remains of a wooden shield appeared, which had been of unusually large dimensions; it had an iron rim, and numerous bronze bosses, one of them measuring 41/2 inches diameter. The chariot wheels were small, measuring 2 feet 8 inches diameter. The corpse had been placed resting on the shield, and interred without cremation. [8] At Shefford, Mr. Inskip found the bones of a horse with burnt human remains, and objects of silver and iron. ”