the brick piers; but the rooms pertaining to the baths, which were once separated by solid walls, have their tessellated floors more or less sunk in the ground, as best suited the range of apartments to which they belonged. The floor of the bath-room, at the north-west angle, is 15 inches above the common level of the interior; the depth of the bath is 3 feet 9 inches; there being five steps of brick for descent to the same, and the walls of both being finished with a skirting of cement upon a core of brick. The floor of each is tessellated, formed of a hard white stone in small pieces, irregularly shapen, and laid, without attention to regularity or neatness, in a durable bed of concrete mortar, similar in composition to that with which all the interior walls, and also the unpaved floors, were covered. The chief ingredient is pulverised brick, overlaid with a thin lime-wash; and, in this instance, the adornment of painting was superadded, but it consists of nothing more than diagonal lines in spaces formed by vertical lines, a coarse performance by way of ornament. But the painted decorations of the walls which were destroyed, judging from the numerous well-finished fragments selected from among the ruins, must have been of a superior description. The colours retain their brilliancy, and the designs appear to have been of a highly enriched character.

"The plan of one of the baths resembles the letter D ; it is 9 feet wide, 6 feet 10 inches in length, to the lower step; the entire length, inside, having been 8 feet 5 inches, when the wall at the entrance was perfect. The three steps appear to have extended from side to side; these, with the walls, exhibit the same neat style of finish with cement already observed, the skirting being carried upon the ends of the steps up to the level of the floor over. The covering of the floor resembles that of the walls; but the whole was no sooner completed, as described, than an alteration in the arrangement of this underground part of the house was made, which well nigh destroyed its utility; indeed, it would seem to have been superseded by the adjoining bath, which encroached 27 inches upon its length, concealing, beneath

mass of rubble work, overlaid with a tessellated pavement, the original figure and dimensions, which were only ascertained by the removal of the intruding portion of the new bath, in pursuance of Mr. Neville's directions.

"The two baths, which entered into the arrangement as at first designed, are easily distinguishable from the subsequent work in this interesting portion of the remains, by their depth, and the steps for descent to them, the newer constructions having been raised to the level, or nearly so, of the principal floor. The whole of the tessellated work is of the same common kind, and perhaps there was not much difference of time in the construction, the necessity for superseding one of the baths appearing, it may have been, before the completion of the house. The provision made for the quick riddance of the waste water from the floor of the new bath is plainly seen, the greater portion of the floor being slightly lower than the rest, and so laid, as to conduct the water to the centre on one side, at which appears the aperture or drain, with the skirting well-formed and rounded off in order to facilitate the passage of the water. As the tessera would be more susceptible of injury at this place, a tile, 8 inches by 7, was laid in front of the aperture, the communication with the drain

being a flue-brick, 19 inches in length, and 4 inches square on the inside; the drain itself being 12 inches wide, with sides, bottom, and cover formed of tiles of the common kind. Against the opposite wall, and nearly facing the drain, a stone was inserted in the floor, 24 in. by 15 in., but its use is by no means certain.

Section of drain.

"That the bath first described was superseded by the one just noticed, becomes evident by the destruction of the drain connected therewith, in order to form the new branch, and to unite it with the main line on the outside of the wall, as shown in the accompanying plan. This is an excellent piece of construction, wholly of brick, and for some reason now unknown, instead of being carried in a straight line past the corner of the building, was returned at right angles just within the end wall, where its width is 23 inches, and the outlet 20 inches, the boundary wall being sloped away to avoid impediment. At the point, where the drain reenters the building, the wall over was carried upon an arch, which is one of the most curious features among the ruins, and remains in perfect preservation.

"A room beyond the baths, measuring between the walls 14 feet 10 inches by 13 feet, received the heated air in a connected line of flue on the four sides, and across the centre, in each direction, 1 foot 6 inches in depth from the floor, and 12 inches wide, floored and evenly coated on the sides with cement, like the walls, in which are formed vertical flues, 7 inches wide, and 4 deep, arranged as if designed to contribute heat to adjoining apartments. The means by which the supply was communicated from the chamber of the hypocaust do not appear, and the same observation applies to the mode in which the water was conducted to the interior.

It has been remarked that, excepting the baths which were sunk in the ground, a level line was observed in the floor throughout the house from the deepest sinking in the capacious chamber of the hypocaust, the height is 2 feet 7 inches, shown by the pillars of brick, the greater number of which are still standing; they are 8 inches square, raised in fourteen courses, with basements either of one or two courses 11 inches square. The pillars are thickly set, in order to sustain the tile floor of the room over, but of this only the ruins are to be found at the base. The furnace is at the outer end, the aperture between it and the heating chamber, passing through a solid wall, is 194 inches in width.

A more extended description would throw no light upon the perfect economy of the interior arrangement. It will be noticed on reference to the accompanying plan, that simply arranged apartments, in one portion of the building, now present a complicated and irregular appearance, owing to the exposure of foundations once concealed by tessellated floors; and no account can be given of the extensive wall, 3 feet 6 inches in thickness, adjoining one of nearly the same bulk at the angle of the outermost bath."

The miscellaneous relics brought to light during the examination of the extensive remains described in the foregoing narrative, were of a less interesting and valuable character than those, which on previous occasions had repaid Mr. Neville's well-directed investigation of the sites occupied by the Roman colonists of ICIANI, and its vicinity. Mr. J. Lane Oldham, who has fully participated on such occasions in the zealous interest with which these researches have been prosecuted by Mr. Neville, and who closely watched the progress and details of the late excavation, has supplied

VOL. VIII.

F

the following account of the relics and coins found amongst the debris of the Hadstock villa.

Of fictilia, the customary assemblage of fragments of the various kinds of ware, "Samian," and Romano-British, were disinterred; two urns were found in a perfect state; they were olla of dark-coloured ware, and of forms frequently occurring amongst remains of the Roman period. One fragment of the finer ware bore the potter's impress,―ROPPVS. FE. In the list of marks occurring on "Samian" found on the site of the Royal Exchange, London, and now preserved in the Museum of the Corporation of London, as described by Mr. Thompson in his interesting "Descriptive Catalogue," two specimens are noticed, marked-ROIPVS F. and there is also this impress-OF RO...1 The reading

ware

Roipus may possibly be attributed to the stamp being indistinctly impressed. Mr. Roach Smith, in his "Collectanea Antiqua," has given-ROPPVS. FE. from Samian discovered in London, as on the fragment at Hadstock. He gives likewise ROPVSI. FE.2

Several flue-tiles were found, some having square, and others circular apertures at the sides for the diffusion of heat. Examples with the circular perforation have been noticed, found at Kaer Sws, co. Montgomery, and amongst Roman remains in East Cheap, London, decribed by the late Mr. Kempe. In the last instance there are two such lateral apertures on each of the opposite sides of the tile.

Of objects formed of metal may be enumerated,-a plain bronze ring, a portion of a chain, a pair of tweezers, or volsellæ, with a ring passed through the end of them, probably for the attachment of some other little implements, as in another pair, in Mr. Neville's museum, found at Chesterford, the same purpose is effected by a loop of small wire. (See woodcuts given in the Journal, vol. v., p. 236.) There was also found a bronze key, and a large bronze buckle, which, although discovered so nearly connected with relics of Roman times, may be of questionable date.

Of iron, the only objects deserving of mention are a

1 Descriptive Catalogue of Antiquities found in the Excavations at the New Royal Exchange, preserved in the Museum of the Corporation of London. With Introductory Observations by William Tite, Esq., F.S.A. 8vo. Lond., 1848.

2 Collectanea Antiqua, Vol. I., p. 154. 1848.

3 Camden's Brit. ed. Gough, 1804, Vol. III., pl. ix., p. 164.

4 Archaeologia, Vol. XXIV., pl. xlv.

knife and a key. A comb was found, formed of bone, and resembling those previously in Mr. Neville's collection, found at Chesterford. Three pins of bone, in a perfect state, and several broken pins. A profuse variety of examples of the bone acus, of all sizes and fashions, have been repeatedly found in the excavations directed by Mr. Neville.

Numerous fragments of Roman glass were produced. The remains of animals were met with, as usually the case in such excavations, in large quantities.

The coins discovered, about twenty in number, comprised a third brass of Gallienus (A.D. 253 to 268) Obv. a galeated head to the R.-GALLIENVS AVG. Rev. a centaur,-APPOLINI CONS. AVG. In the exergue, Z.

Third brass of Constantine the Great, struck at Treves. Rev. Two Victories holding a flag, inscribed-VOT. P. R. Legend, VICTORIA LÆTE. PRINC. PERP. In the exergue,

S. T. R. Amongst the others, generally in bad condition, are coins of Victorinus, Allectus, Constantine, and Valentinian.

NOTICES OF A REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF ORNAMENTS OF THE ROMAN PERIOD, CONNECTED WITH THE WORSHIP OF THE DEÆ MATRES, AND RECENTLY PURCHASED FOR THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

THE objects to which the following observations relate compose a small collection of antiquities discovered, about the beginning of this century, in the county of Durham, or in some adjoining district. The exact locality was cautiously concealed, that they might not be claimed from the discoverer by the lord of the manor, or perhaps from the lord himself by the Lords of the Treasury, under the provisions of the law of treasure trove. They are said to have been hawked about privately, till they were ultimately purchased by a silversmith in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who unfortunately parted with some portion of them before they were seen by Mr. Brumell, who immediately purchased all that remained in the silversmith's possession; and archaeologists are much indebted to that gentleman for keeping

1 It is stated in Hodgson's Hist. of Northumberland, vol. iii., App., p. 440, that they were found somewhere in that county, N.E. of Backworth, and brought to Newcastle

in 1811.