Archaeological Worms
A little problem of natural history, about which a query was put forth by a correspondent, has, I am told, been settled by an archaeologist. A small cluster of stones was found in more than one excavated (Saxon) urn, but only in those that were upright. The explanation of the mystery was that a succession of worms had burrowed down to their home, presumably their winter home, and each had brought with it the two or three small gravel stones that seem to serve as pillows for the half- somnolent earth-worm. There is no doubt that worms are in the habit of carrying such pebbles into their burrows, but what may be the exact purpose of this furniture does not seem to be obvious. They are carried down, as an observer has recently made clear, in the forefront of what serves for the mouth of the worm, not in the digestive track. The curious discovery in the urns was fully discussed, I am told, in a lecture delivered in Newport, in the Isle of Wight, by Captain Danecourt, R.N., who had been investigating that fascinating topic in the natural history side of excavation.
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