EXPLORATION OF SOME "RED-HILLS" IN ESSEX, 173
These thick pieces are apparently portions of large vessels, some
at least cylindrical in form, and as much as twenty inches in
diameter, with the ware an inch or an inch and a-half in sub-
stance.2 The larger fragments found were very soft and fragile
whilst moist, and readily broke up on attempted removal from
the matrix. There is an appearance on some pieces of careful
smoothing of the clay on the inner side, but we saw no
indications of glazing on the Burnham specimens.
These coarse pot-shards constituted in some places quite
one-fourth of the whole mass of rubble excavated.
We often found portions of curious objects, which we
termed "T-pieces"; they were largely fragmentary, but one of
the most perfect found at Burnham is shown at B, Fig. 1. The
"shaft" had apparently been much longer, but had been broken
off.
Wedge-shaped bricks of the same kind of clay also occurred
not uncommonly; two are figured at C and D, Fig. 1.
A small number of fragments of a harder and better kind of
pottery were picked out of the mass of debris; it is of the kind
commonly called Romano-British. Specimens from the Bower
Hall Farm, Red Hill, East Mersea, are pictured in Fig. 3, post.
They formed a very small percentage of the rude pottery
fragments. Some of it is apparently wheel-turned.
Two small fragments of Samian ware occurred at Burnham; 
we found no trace of it in any other Red-hill. At the
time we considered them accidental, and fancied that they might
have been carried down from the surface by the burrowing of
rabbits, or by rain-wash.
Our next experiences of Red-hills explored in any careful
way, were during our summer vacations in Mersea. One very
considerable "hill" was found on Bower Hall Farm, East
Mersea. This mound is situate on the saltings bordering the
Pyefleet Channel, outside the sea-wall (it is marked on the 6in.
Ordnance Map, "Sheet 47, N.W, East Mersea," very near the
B.M., 13-5.). The Red-hill is partly cut through by the Pyefleet,
so causing a natural section, which exhibits the characteristic
features of such remains excellently—the usual pottery is seen
sticking out from the exposed burnt earth. Plate xxix.
2 I am much indebted to Mr. Henry Whitehead, the Assistant in the Museum, for
making measurements and arranging the specimens for exhibition.