Decorated Bowl, Langholm

This bowl was found in a cist in 1860. Cists are box shaped graves made of stone slabs set at an edge. A small food container with a broad rim and narrow base and decorated with incised lines, this type of decoration may have come from the Mediterranean. It is often found in areas which were attractive to settlers and traders. There are two parallel lines around the lip with tooth combed impressions and a false relief around the main body. The band at the widest section has a series of eight small loops. The museum holds the following extract from  the diary of James Little who discovered the bowl in 1860:   EXTRACT FROM JAMES LITTLE'S DIARY (transcription supplied by Mrs Anne Little,October 2001):   Carlesgill, 30 May 1860   The day before yesterday James Knox, ploughing the fields before Mr Graham's house loosened a large flat stone - which with some difficulty he removed. On seeing it yesterday morning, I perceived that it was not a stone from any of our hill sides, but apparently from Byken; as people do not usually carry big stones a couple of miles, without purpose, I asked James, what was beneath the stone "nothing but clean gravel"   Wishing to see if the gravel had been disturbed, after breakfast, the Boys Mr Brown and I carried a couple of spades to the place, and after a few minutes digging laid bare what I fancy antiquarians wd call a stone coffin - big flat stones set on edge, 3'9" long by 2.2 wide; removing the gravel we found numerous pieces of charred bone, and a little more removing of gravel, we laid bare An Urn, of a coarse terra cotta figured all round outside, inside fine sand, & earth, had taken the place, of what I doubt not, had been the ashes of a Roman General!!! who had become defunct, in the Roman Camp on the top of the hill overlooking the place. The urn was got out entire, but exposure to the air, & drying, has revealed some cracks & small piece has come out.