Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 11.djvu/37

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ON THE ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION OF NATIONAL ANTIQUITIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

The accessions to the British collection during the past year have been very numerous, and they include many objects of more than ordinary interest. It is gratifying to be able to state that this department of the Museum has received presents from thirty-three donors, and that the number of additions by gift and purchase exceeds 1270, being more than double that in the previous year.

Two acquisitions demand special notice, both comprising antiquities of various periods. The first is the interesting collection of antiquities presented by Mr. Henry Drummond, M.P.; consisting of British, Roman, and Saxon remains found on Farley Heath,[1] in Surrey, among which are some British and Roman coins of great rarity and value. The other is the collection formed by the late Dr. Mantell, chiefly from Sussex, which was obtained by purchase. I shall notice the more remarkable objects contained in these two groups under the class to which they respectively belong.

Among the additions made to Primeval and Celtic antiquities, the following must be mentioned: an urn from a tumulus in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, presented by Sir Philip Egerton; which was discovered under circumstances stated in a previous volume of this Journal;[2] three urns found in a tumulus at Alfriston in Sussex;[3] several stone celts and British urns found in the same county, from the Mantell Collection,[4] including the curious ornamented clay ball described in a previous volume,[5] and an urn found at Felixstow in Suffolk.

To these may be added several objects found in Ireland;

  1. An interesting; account of these discoveries will be found in "A Record of Farley Heath, by Martin F. Tupper, Esq" Guildford, 1850. See also Arch. Journ., x. 166.
  2. Arch. Journ., iii. 157.
  3. Sussex Archæol. Collections, ii. 270.
  4. Vide Horsfield's History of Lewes.
  5. Arch. Journ. ix. 336.