has been supposed to be a fibula; the horns of the lunula have been more bent onwards, and converted into a loop of the chain. A chain with a wheel ornament and attached lunula, exactly resembling all these, is figured by Count Caylus, Recueil d'Antiquités, Suppl. vol. vii., Pl. xciv.; in the two following plates are chains and wheel-shaped ornaments, all found in Switzerland, and not considered in any other light by the Count than merely female ornaments of dress. With these was an armlet, terminating at each end in an ornament represented as flowers, but indisputably intended for serpents' heads; for, when analysed, all the parts correspond with those upon the heads of the serpents already mentioned. A pair of silver armlets, resembling this, were found at Castlethorpe, in the county of Bucks, about 1830. All these are coarsely executed, chiefly by the hammer and punch, not by sculpture. It is evident that the combination of the chain, the wheel-like ornament and lunula, and perhaps the serpent, was not confined to any locality, but in use in various places, and therefore probably not a mere ornament, but connected with some religious ceremony or feeling.

There is another gold chain, probably an armlet, in this collection, about seven inches long, to which a wheel-like ornament is permanently attached at both ends; there is not any lunula attached; a hollow bead is strung upon each loop.

The two fibule found within the vessel are precisely similar to each other: there is not anything in their form which, had they been found unconnected with any other objects, could have led even to a conjecture as to any peculiar appropriation of them to any person or society; as, however, these were found mixed with objects connected with the worship of three united divinities, or Genii, the threefold ornament at the side may have some symbolical reference to these personages. These two objects add another, to many well-known instances, of these large fibulæ being found in pairs.

Of the three spoons, forming part of this find, two are precisely similar; the handle of one of them is wholly, or partly modern; the form is oval, and well known to archaeologists; the third, having a circular bowl and straight handle, is much more rare; all have a small groove round the inside of the bowl, which is not usual, and the object of which is not apparent. They are small, too small perhaps for domestic purposes, and have generally been considered to have been appropriated to sacred purposes, to draw out from the acerra,

or usual store vessel, such small quantity of precious ointment,

or frankincense, as might be required. (See cuts, orig. size.)

The mirror is formed of a circular plate of silver, decorated on one side with concentric incised circles, and a leaf-like border surrounds the edge, which, having been only soldered on, has in a great degree been detached and lost. The mirror was found upon the saucepan, and has been supposed to be its cover. It may have been so, but it appears to be much too large for that purpose; it has all the usual form of Roman mirrors, and seems to have had some alloy mixed with the silver to adapt it for taking a polish. This has perhaps rendered it brittle, and it has been broken into several pieces; it has been repaired, not in a very graceful manner, by attaching to one side of it an ill-formed piece of silver.

One object only remains to be noticed, of little value in itself, but important as fixing the date of the objects with which it was found; it is one of the 280 denarii. It is of Antoninus Pius, struck in his second consulate, corresponding to the year 139 of our æra ; and, as this was the latest coin discovered, it may reasonably be concluded that these articles were all deposited in his reign, which terminated in 161, twenty-two years after the date of the latest discovered coin, or at least before the coins of his successor could have come into general circulation in this country.

Of the Deæ Matres, with whose religious rites and ceremonies these objects appear to be connected, nothing is to be learned from ancient authors; it is only from still-existing monuments, becoming the subject of investigation by archaeo

logists, that any reasonable, though imperfect conclusions can be formed as to the place which they held in the mythology of our ancestors. These monuments are votive offerings, or altars, and have been found chiefly in Spain, France, Germany, and England. Where sculptured figures accompany the inscriptions, three females are represented, and they are variously, and perhaps indifferently, denominated as Matres, Matronæ, Junones, &c. &c. To these titles names of places are very frequently added, it may therefore be concluded that these personages were the Genii, patron saints, presiding divinities over certain localities, whether districts, towns, or places of still smaller dimensions or importance. They may also be considered as beneficent personages, more to be approached with prayers for benefits to be conferred, or with thanks for blessings already received, than with addresses deprecating expected evil, or gratitude for evils averted. They are represented holding in their hands, or on their laps, fruit, flowers, or baskets of such cornucopiæ and other symbols of fertility and abundance, implying, as usual in mythological figures, the objects offered to them in propitiation of their favours, and also those which their votaries expected to receive by their mediation. The attendants, who are represented occasionally upon these monuments, are carrying some of the various objects offered to these tutelary divinities; and these are baskets of fruit or flowers, a bottle, evidently to contain some fluid; a pot to contain something less fluid. Now it is well known that flowers, fruit, milk, and honey, were the usual grateful offerings to rural divinities, and such therefore we may suppose to be indicated by the baskets, the jug, and the pot.

The three goddesses are generally represented seated upon a long seat, clothed in ample draperies, covering the whole person close up to the chin; and circular fibulæ appear to have been worn in front of the neck, or upon the shoulders; but the existing sculptures, or the drawings of them, are so imperfectly finished, or are so decayed, that the exact forms cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. Small chapels are said to have been erected to their honour, or for the celebration of their rites; and a small chamber re-opened at Ellenborough, in Cumberland, in the year 1766, is supposed to have been one of these chapels. It contained three niches, in which the statues of these divinities were supposed to

VOL. VIII.

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have been placed, not upon one seat, as they appear on sculptured monuments. The chapel was below the surface of the ground, in some degree corresponding with the grottos usually devoted to the service of rural divinities. (See Archæologia, vol. ii., p. 58.) For further information respecting these divinities it will be well to consult the Dissertation of the Abbé Banin (Hist. de l'Acad. Roy. des Inscriptions, Vol. vii., p. 34), and a paper by Mr. Roach Smith, in the Journal of the Archaeological Association.

The inscriptions which have been mentioned upon the objects in this collection cannot be explained with much certainty. All the known inscriptions referring to the Dea Matres have been upon altars or commemorative tablets, and are consequently dedicatory, affording little assistance to the elucidation of these, which are perhaps the only ones which have been made known as attached to objects of ornament or utility, which may be dedicatory, or only indicating proprietorship. The inscription on the handle of the vase is MATR. FAB. DVBIT. The name of Dubitatus occurs upon two inscriptions recorded by Gruter; it may read, therefore, MATRIBVS FABIVS DVBITATVS, dedicated to the Dea Matres, or to the use of their priestesses, by Fabius Dubitatus, or perhaps a female, Fabia Dubitata. Or it may be read, MATRIS FABIAE DVBITATÆ, declaring it to be the property of Fabia Dubitata, a priestess of the Dea Matres. It will be more conformable to the general nature of inscriptions to read it in the dedicatory form, and consider it as dedicated to the service of the divinities mentioned.

The inscription upon the ring, MATRVM. COCOAE, presents greater difficulties; COCOAE appears as one word, there is not any point, or mark of contraction to separate the letters into different words, or to encourage insertion. To no person, place, or office, do the indexes of Gruter or other authors apply such a name, nor any one sufficiently resembling it, to justify the conjectural emendation of a supposed error. The only course is to supply the marks of separation or contraction which, in ancient inscriptions, are frequently omitted, and endeavour to discover some plausible interpretation. It has been already stated that upon existing monuments relating to the Dea Matres, the names of places over which these divinities presided were frequently inserted; and as these objects now under- discussion were found in the north of England, it is reasonable to look out for some place