Note 217 — Chapter IX · CRANIA OF THE TUMULI.

Minute details, such as are given in the text, of the disposition of the arms and hands, are always open to some doubt. Unless where the cist is filled with earth, the bones must necessarily fall from their original position on the decay of the enveloping tissues; and when so filled, the earth has generally percolated into it long subsequent to the interment. Those who have frequently opened barrows must be well aware how difficult it is to ascertain with any certainty much more than the general relative position of the bones and skull.