NOTES ON A BONE OBJECT. 89
six feet deep in peat. This latter is in the collection of Mr. J. W.
Bodger, of Peterborough, and I am indebted to him for kindly
lending me this object, so that I have been able to compare and
photograph it (fig. 12).
At first sight, these skates may seem to have some affinity to
the Braintree implement and its fellows, but they are clearly to
be distinguished from this class by the highly-polished under
Fig. io.—four pierced bone objects of the romaxo-british period
found in london. a.—three hinges (?). b.—flute or whistle.
surface, while the absence of the scooped cut, apart from any
other consideration, is sufficient to exclude them from the
series.
Bone skates are well known, and many examples have been
found in London, most plentifully in the neighbourhood of
Moorfields. The length of time over which their use extended
has not been ascertained, although it has been claimed that
bone skates date from Roman and even earlier times. So far as