it were but perfect! Alas! it is not. This vase is 11 inches in height; it had originally four handles attached, but they are there no longer. The sea does not possess them. They are mine also, and lie in fragments grouped around the base of their lovely but dilapidated principal. This vase was dredged up twelve years ago. Its finder, who set but little store by it, stowed it away out of sight. When next brought to light it was covered with a saline efflorescence, and the handles had fallen off. In this condition it came into my possession. For ages before it was recovered, it had been partially buried in the mud, for the rim and part of the neck

are worn away.

A small Samian vase has lost its rim in a similar way. This one must have been washed out of its bed, and rolled hither and thither for some time before it was found, every particle of glaze having been scoured away.

The pateræ differ as widely in dimensions as they do in pattern; some are 10 and 12 inches in diameter, and not more than I inch in depth; while others, of the same breadth, exceed them in depth in the proportion of two to one. Others, again, are not more than 4 or 5 inches across; these are ornamented with ivy-leaf patterns in relievo.

One choice specimen is a patera 9 inches in diameter, by 1 inch in depth; a sixth of the whole is wanting. It is curiously ornamented with circular lines and geometrical figures, executed in green and white glaze; the latter colour has acquired a mother-ofpearl tint. In the centre is the representation of a Roman deity.

My rarest trophy is a bowl 16 inches across, and 4 inches in depth; it is flawless. In the centre is the maker's name as clear as though it had been impressed yesterday. The ornamentation consists of oblique markings enclosed within incised concentric lines. Many envy me this; its fellow has not yet been found.

The dredgermen never clean the "puddingpans," mistakenly imagining that collectors prize them because they have been rescued from the sea, and not for what they really are-relics of the Roman occupation of our sea-girt island.

Strange substances sometimes attach them

selves to the ware. Among the most plentiful are found the grotesque casts of serpulæ and various sea-worms. These are called-why, I cannot tell-" German writings." I trust our Teutonic kinsmen feel flattered by the compliment paid to their caligraphy. Algæ, sponges, and zoophytes also find settlements in and on the "pudding-pans." Not infrequently the oyster, for which the locality is justly famous, casts anchor, and lives, thrives, and fattens in the interior of a richly-chased vessel, which had been intended to grace the altar of a pagan divinity.

But I must say farewell to the pottery, which reminds one that the conquerors of the world once plied a peaceful craft, where now roll waves

So fit to form poetic theme,
That, in their majesty, they seem
The very home of poesy.

Ercavations at Silchester. (Second Notice.)

By W. H. ST. JOHN HOPE, M.A.

HE fine weather that has prevailed since I wrote my former communication on the excavations at Silchester has enabled the work to be carried forward in a satisfactory manner, both as regards the amount of excavation accomplished and the results obtained.

The ingathering of the crops having cleared the entire site within the walls, the thorough excavation of the large insula north of the forum has been proceeded with almost uninterruptedly. The large house occupying the north-east part of the insula, which was begun with somewhat disappointing results, has now been completely laid open, and proves to be a very interesting building. It follows in the main what must now be considered the typical plan of a large Romano-British house, a series of rooms opening out of corridors arranged round the three sides of an open court, with an outer series of small rooms occupying the lines of an external corridor. This house is bounded

on the north by an annex of some kind between it and the street, and on the east by another street at right angles to the other. On this side it has a corridor only, ending in a set of small rooms. The main range on the north has a long corridor, paved with at very perfect floor of red and white tessera in bands, out of which open, to the north, a series of rooms and passages, also paved with tesseræ. The third or west wing had its corridor paved with finer mosaic in black, white, and red, and the chief series of rooms ends on the south with a remarkable chamber of considerable area with walls in the form of a horseshoe. On the west side of these rooms

is a second series, some of them warmed by hypocausts.

In the large garden or open ground surrounding this ground on the west and south, a number of pits or filled-up wells were found. All these have been carefully cleared out and their contents examined. As might have been expected, they yielded various articles of domestic use-chiefly pottery of various kinds, though much broken.

In clearing out one of these pits a discovery of extraordinary interest was made. At a depth of between 6 and 7 feet an open brazier or iron gridiron came to light; beneath this was a large mass of other iron objectsupwards of fifty in number-including axes, hammers, chisels, gouges, adzes, a large anvil, files, plough-coulters, a long pair of tongs, and several curious articles of unknown use. But the most valuable object of all was a large carpenter's plane, the first that has been found in England, and one of the very few, indeed, that have been found in Europe. All these tools, though of iron, are in a most wonderful state of preservation, having rusted only where in contact, and the cutting edges are still quite as sharp as when the objects were placed in the pit. As only one other such discovery of Roman iron tools has hitherto been made, the importance of this second find is easily understood.

Another pit has also yielded very interesting results. Its lower portion was square in form, and lined with courses of thick oak boarding, dovetailed together in a very singular manner. So sound was the wood that before filling up the well two of the

courses were carefully removed, to be, if possible, preserved and set up in the museum. At the bottom of the well lay the fragments of the wooden bucket and great part of its iron handle.

By the time this meets the eyes of the readers of the Antiquary all the excavations will probably have been filled in, and the ground restored to cultivation. The work of the present year, as will be seen when the full account of it is submitted to the Society of Antiquaries, has yielded results of the greatest importance, which cannot fail to increase the knowledge of our much-despised Romano-British antiquities. That the excavations, too, have roused public interest is shown by the number of people who have visited Silchester, and by the contributions to the Excavation Fund, which will, however, need considerably augmenting to allow operations to be resumed on a similar scale next year.

Proceedings and Publications of Archæological Societies.

[Though the Editor takes the responsibility for the form in which these notes appear, they are all specially contributed to the "Antiquary," and are, in the first instance, supplied by accredited correspondents of the different districts.]

The second volume of the second series of ARCHÆOLOGIA, published by the Society of Antiquaries, has volume of 314 pages, and is excellently illustrated. just been issued to the Fellows. It is a fine quarto The articles are, Recent Researches in Barrows, in Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire," etc., by Rev. W. Greenwell, F.R.S.; on a "Sculptured Cross at Kelloe, Durham," by Rev. J. T. Fowler, F.S.A.; on an "Astrolabe Planisphere of English Make," by the Worshipful Chancellor Ferguson; on the "Sculptured Doorways of the Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey," by W. H. St. John Hope, F.S.A.; "Roger of Salisbury, first Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1244-1247," by Rev. Canon Church, F.S.A.; "The Kalendar and Rite used by the Catholics since the time of Elizabeth," by Rev. John Morris, S.J., F.S.A.; on a "MS. List of Officers of the London Trained Bands in 1643," by Hon. H. A. Dillon, sec. S.A.; on a "Newly-discovered Manuscript containing Statutes compiled by Dean Colet for the Government of the Chantry Priests and other Clergy in St. Paul's Cathedral," by Rev. W. Sparrow Simpson, D.D.; on a "Bas-relief Symbolizing Music in the Cathedral Church of Rimini," by J. G. Walker, F.S.A. ; a "Revised History of the Column of Phocas in the Roman Forum," by F. M.

may fairly claim to be an archæological subject, for the seals were mostly determined upon after careful antiquarian inquiry. The first thirty pages of this number are devoted to annotated extracts from the gaol files of Montgomeryshire, that illustrate the nonconformity or recusancy of the county from 1662 to 1675. These pages are contributed by Mr. R. Williams, F.R.H.S., who proposes to continue the work. The same gentleman gives an amusing illustration of Montgomeryshire dialect. There is a brief posthumous paper on the Saxon earthworks of the district by the late Mr. H. H. Lines, who is well known to the readers of the Antiquary. A dry genealogical paper on the recent pedigrees of Pughe, of Cwmllowi, by Rev. G. R. GouldPughe, might well have been omitted. "Mytton of Garth and 66 Royal Alliances of Powys-Land" are papers of a very different calibre and of some true value. The inscribed "Garregllwyd Stone, Aberhafesp," is described by Rev. W. Scott Owen; so high an authority as Professor Hubner considers it to be of early Christian date. Materials for the "History of Welshpool" and the "History of the Parish of Verny," are continued. Mr. Stephen W. Williams writes well on the Cistercian Abbey of Cwmhir. A bronze matrix, found at Loppington, Salop, is described and illustrated; its use is at present problematical.

The

The

The LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY visited Wilmslow on September 20. old Registers, beginning from November, 1558, were inspected at the rectory. One of the old farm servants, now in his eighty-seventh year, pointed out trees planted in the rectory ground by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone and Mr. Powys (the latter afterwards Bishop of Sodor and Man) in 1829. They were fellowstudents under the then rector of Wilmslow, the Rev. John Mathias Turner, who afterwards succeeded Reginald Heber as Bishop of Calcutta. The members afterwards proceeded to the old parish church of St. Bartholomew, where an interesting paper was read by Mr. J. Holme Nicholson, M. A., giving an account of the early history of the manor and church. Rev. J. H. Wade offered explanations of the present architectural features of the chancel, and Mr. George Esdaile exhibited a rubbing of the Booth-Venables brass, which lies in front of the altar. This represents Sir Robert de Booth, who died in 1459-1460, and his wife, Douce Venables, who was married as a childbride at the early age of nine years old. The brass edging containing the legend round four sides has become detached, and should be carefully replaced. It is a fact (probably unique in history) that two brothers of the gallant knight here commemorated, successively became Archbishop of York, one of them holding the Great Seal as Lord Chancellor. The ancient crypt, which lies immediately below the altar, had been cleared out, and members descended to inspect the old sedilia therein.

remarkably fine sculptured monuments, one of Robertus Shiers, of Slyfield, 1668, and the other of Sir Thomas More, of Polesden, 1735. The former residence of Madame D'Arblay (née Fanny Burney) was visited, and a most interesting paper read by the owner, Mr. Thomas Bensfield, giving a full account of the connection with Surrey of the talented authoress of "Evelina" and "Camilla." Slyfield Manor was very fully described by Mr. Ralph Nevill, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A.; and the carved brickwork, fine oak staircase, and exquisite moulded ceilings, were the subjects of much interest and admiration. In Stoke D'Abernon Church, which is a thirteenth-century edifice, is the celebrated brass to Sir John D'Abernon, 1277, said to be the oldest in England. Mr. Mill Stephenson, the secretary of the society, read a paper on the sacred building, drawing special attention to the groined roof -sixteenth-century chantry of Sir John NorburyJacobean pulpit, and remarkable brasses. The Rev. F. P. Phillips permitted the company to inspect his unrivalled collection of Morlands, and after dining together the company dispersed at Leatherhead.

The LELAND CLUB'S sixth annual London and Home Counties Excursion took place at the end of September. At Maldon, Essex, the famous triangular tower of All Saints' Church was examined, as well as the library, near the ancient tower of St. Peter's Church, founded by Dr. Plum in 1704. At Bedford the "Lelanders were received by the Mayor, Dr. Coombs, and other members of the Corporation, and were conducted to the ancient churches and the other objects of historic and archæological interest in the borough town, the Bunyan Museum and chapel, and the fine old library of Bedford, being the most interesting and attractive. The fine Norman church of Elstow, and the famous tower standing apart from it, and said to be part of the destroyed monastery, of which nothing remains but the chapter-house, were afterwards visited, and the drive continued to the residence of General Mills, where John Howard, the philanthropist, formerly lived. On Friday, the last day, by permission of Mr. R. Bloxam, the club visited the grand hall of Eltham Palace, and the walls and other remains within the palace gardens, and afterwards drove to Greenwich Park, vid Blackheath. Here the famous tumuli or barrows near the observatory were pointed out by Mr. Wright, F.S.A., the hon. secretary of the Leland Club, who read a short paper on their supposed Anglo-Saxon or Danish origin. Mr. Wright regretted that relics so ancient and so near the metropolis should be suffered to perish almost unknown, in spite of the researches of such antiquaries as Lambarde, Douglas, and Ackerman.

On September 27 the CLIFTON ANTIQUARIAN CLUB made an excursion into North Wilts, under the guidance of their president, Bishop Clifford, when they visited the monastic remains at Malmesbury and Lacock. A paper was read in the Abbey Church at Malmesbury by Mr. Thomas S. Pope, in which he gave a brief history of the building, and called attention to some of its leading architectural features. In the magnificent south porch-perhaps the finest Norman doorway in England-a discussion took place over the details of the sculptured groups of subjects from the

Bible which decorate the upper portion of the outer arch. The porch is beautifully engraven in vol. vi. of Vetusta Monumenta, and is fully described by Professor Cockerell in his work on Wells Cathedral. Bishop Clifford and others doubted the correctness of some of Professor Cockerell's identifications, and suggested others which seemed more probable. The very archaic-looking figures of the Apostles on the north and south walls of the porch are probably relics of the Saxon Church, and if so, are amongst the oldest ecclesiastical sculptures in England. They have a decidedly Byzantine look, and resemble some of the ninth or early tenth century work in the most ancient churches of France and Germany. As King Athelstan is known to have been a great benefactor to the Abbey, it is possible that these sculptures may date from his era, A.D. 925-940. After a visit to the fine fifteenth-century market cross, and the remains of St. John's Hospital (Norman work rebuilt in the fifteenth century), the members returned by rail to Chippenham, and drove thence to the very picturesque village of Lacock. At the Abbey they were received by the owner, Mr. C. H. Talbot, who read a short paper on its history, and then conducted the party round the monastic buildings now incorporated in his residence. With the exception of the church, of which only the wall remains, Lacock still presents one of the most perfect remaining examples of conventual arrangement, though the various buildings were much altered after they came into the possession of Sir W. Sherrington in the sixteenth century. Some of this early Renaissance work is of great interest and beauty, especially the octagonal tower, which contains the muniment room, where, among other treasures, is preserved the original copy of Magna Charta sent by Henry III. to the foundress, Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as sheriff of the county. She founded the Abbey for Augustinian canonesses in 1232, and was made abbess shortly afterwards. A brief visit was then made to the parish church, dedicated by St. Cyriack, where the monuments and church plate, including a fine pre-Reformation ciborium, were looked at. Talbot called attention to an architectural puzzle, a figure of a man smoking a pipe, which appeared to be not later in date than Henry VIII., say about A.D. 1520. The effigy, which does not seem to have been in any way altered or restored, appears on the north side of the exterior of the church, between the clerestory windows. It has been suggested that smoking, in some form, may have been indulged in before the introduction of tobacco from America, but if so we should certainly have evidence of the practice in the writings of Shakespeare and others. There is said to be a pipe in Somersetshire with the name of the owner, John Hunt, and the date 1561. Tobacco is supposed to have been introduced into France by Nicot, in 1560, and into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1586.

:

Mr.

The following is the programme of the winter session of the BRADFORD HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY for 1890-91 November, "Commons' Rights and the Preservation of Moors and Commons," by Right Hon. G. Shaw-Lefevre, M.P.; December 12, "Roman Roads in Yorkshire," by Mr. Percival Ross; January 9, "The Pilgrimage of Grace and its Local Adherents" (2nd part), by Mr. John Lister, M.A.;

February 13, "Old Bradford Records," by Mr. W. Cudworth; March 13, "Notes on some Old Local Families and Institutions," by Mr. T. T. Empsall; and April 10, "The Growth of a House," by Mr. W. Hoffman Wood.

The third quarterly number of FOLK-LORE, in which is incorporated the defunct Archæological Review and the Folk-Lore Journal, affords continued evidence of the activity of the Folk-Lore Society. It contains "English and Scotch Fairy Tales," collected by Andrew Lang; a continuation of "Magic Songs of the Finns," by Hon. J. Abercromby; the "Riddles of Solomon in the Rabbinic Literature," by S. Schechter; "Notes on Chinese Folk-Lore," by J. H. Stewart Lockhart; "Report on the Campbell MSS. at Edin burgh," by Alfred Butt; "Recent Research in Com. parative Religion," by Joseph Jacobs; and also the report of the annual meeting of the Folk-Lore Society, correspondence, miscellaneous notes, and reviews. But the most practical and useful paper of this issue is one from the pen of Miss C. Burne, entitled "The Collection of English Folk-Lore." Our own experience in different parts of the country entirely confirms this lady's conclusions that the time for summarizing on English folk-lore, or for merely counting the gain, has not yet come, for much that is unpublished, or but poorly noted, yet remains to be collected. The writer of this notice has obtained three quite different versions of children's Clementing songs, when they go apple-begging on St. Clement's Day, from three adjacent parishes in South Staffordshire-a custom to which Miss Burne here alludes. He has also noticed village enmity and nicknames in the three hamlets of a small parish not numbering 400 inhabitants, which is another characteristic of country-folk noted in this paper. Moreover, he has had the strangest varieties of ghost, and particularly witch stories, poured into his ears in Somersetshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. Some of these more lately told remain firmly in his mind, others have altogether, or in part, evaporated. Yet he has never been a folk-lorist from lack of time and instruction. A paper such as this of Miss Burne's should be widely circulated; it would probably fire not a few, who have the knack of "getting on" with the poor, into becoming collectors, or at least imparting the information they have gleaned to those capable of using it well and producing it.

The fourth number of the second volume of the journal of the GYPSY LORE SOCIETY is as interesting and comprehensive as ever. Its contents are: "Gypsy Acrobats in Ancient Africa," by Bu Bacchar; "Tinkers and their Talk," by John Sampson; "Love Forecasts and Love Charms among the Tent Gypsies of Transylvania," by Dr. H. von Wlislocki; "Notes on the Gypsies of South-Eastern Moravia," by Professor Rudolf von Sowa; "Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts," by David MacRitchie; "Notes on the Gypsies of Poland and Lithuania," by Vladislaw Komel de Zilhirski; a continuation of the "Slovak Gypsy Vocabulary,” and reviews, notes and queries.

The report of the HARLEIAN SOCIETY for 1890, which has just reached us, gives evidence of the satisfactory