FIG. 54. Mediaeval stone coffins. A. From Wellesbourne churchyard, Warwickshire (Bloxam’s _Mon. Archit._). There is a hole in the bottom of the coffin, as in the prehistoric specimen from Gristhorpe (Fig. 55 B). An almost exact replica of this coffin may be seen in the Guildhall Museum, London, associated with a thirteenth century lid bearing a foliated cross. B. From Eynesford church, Kent. This specimen has a raised head-rest. ]
found, covered with a lid of undoubted Saxon workmanship, proving that there had been a re-adaptation. We note, in passing, that the stone coffin must be carefully distinguished from those hog-backed or coped stones which were employed as grave covers in early Christian times, and to which Mr Romilly Allen assigned a Saxon or Scandinavian origin[667]. With respect to the wooden coffin, commonly adjudged as of Christian design, there is occasionally some difficulty. At Colchester, wooden coffins have been found associated with leaden ones,
FIG. 55. A. Prehistoric coffin, formed of a hollowed oak trunk, found in a barrow at Gristhorpe, near Scarborough. The bark is still adhering to the timber. A hole (3´´ × 1´´) has been cut in the bottom of the coffin. The relics indicated that the grave probably belonged to the Bronze Age. (After T. Wright.)
B. Roman coffin of baked clay, Aldborough, Yorkshire. (After T. Wright.) The shapes of such coffins are rather variable. ]
FIG. 56. Roman coffin of lead, found at Colchester. Length 4´ 3´´; depth, exclusive of lid, 9½´´; width at head 15´´, at foot 11´´. The lid has overlapping edges. The decoration consists of scallop shells, concentric rings, and lines of beaded ornament. ]
and have been taken to indicate a Christian element among the population. In connection with the leaden coffins were found Roman coins, mainly, of the Constantine group, so that the burials were of late date. Yet, although there were probably many converts in that part of England by the time of the Diocletian persecution, A.D. 303, Mr Guy Maynard, who records the discoveries, admits that there is little corroborative evidence of the Christian character of the graves[668]. Looked at from either standpoint, the association of coffins and coins seems to show a period of transition.