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The Antiquary need but seldom concern itself with the appointment of new bishops; but the nomination, by the Marquis of Salisbury, of the Rev. Prebendary Festing to the See of St. Albans calls for a passing word of comment. There is every reason to believe that the appointment is an excellent one all round; but it is also an appointment that should specially commend itself to true archæologists, and to all who really appreciate ecclesiology. Bishop Festing is undoubtedly a man of culture and intellectual refinement, and he would as soon think of blackening his face to reduce it to one dead level of

colour, as to lend his sanction to the deliberate obliteration of national history as written in sculptured stone. The lamentable and irreparable mischief that Lord Grimthorpe, in his ignorant arrogance, has already done to the fabric of St. Albans Abbey can never be undone; but there are still many parts that require defending from the restless energy of the lay abbot, and the new bishop's friends declare that he is well able to hold his own. de

It is pleasant to learn that an unexpected hindrance has arisen to prevent, or at all events to check, the grimthorping of the church of Chapel-en-le-Frith. It is now contended, with apparently much reason, that the sum of £2,000, left by the late Mr. Samuel Needham upon trust "towards repairing, renewing, or restoring the fabric of the parish church," cannot be used for the purposes of demolition. The vicar has publicly said of the old part of the church: 'Nothing under heaven will ever induce me to alter my determination to pull the chancel down; down it shall come at all costs, down it shall come !" Is the vicar, then, going to carry out his miserable policy of destruction out of his own pocket? This objection has been formally raised by a parishioner, and counsel's opinion is now being taken.

The parish church of Kiffig, county Carmarthen, has several good and interesting features, the most prominent of which is the massive fifteenth-century tower. The building is sadly dilapidated, and an appeal is now

being made by the vicar (Rev. O. J. Thomas) for funds for its repair. Our readers may rest assured that no claim of this kind will find a place in the Antiquary, save under conditions that satisfy us that no mere detestable "restoration" is being projected. In this case the guarantee for good and necessary work being done is beyond reproach, for the church has been inspected by Mr. Thackeray Turner, Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the services of Mr. Henry Prothero as architect have been secured on the advice of that excellent association.

Notes of the Month (Foreign).

THE last number of the Annals of Northern Archæology and History, issued by the Royal Northern Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen, contains an interesting paper by Dr. Ingvald Undset, the well-known Norwegian archæologist, upon the early Iron Age in Norway. Reference is first made to the bronze kettles with three ears, of which no less than sixteen have been found in Norwegian barrows, but only one in Sweden-at the ancient tradingplace Birka, on the Lake Mälar, near Stockholm-and none in Denmark. Characteristically, too, in Norway twelve were found on the west coast, and only four in Eastern Norway, and all these not far from the coast. These kettles date from the seventh and eighth centuries. Dr. Undset is of opinion, contrary to the general scientific belief, that these vessels were imported from Great Britain, and were made by the Celts, in support of which he refers to a few similar ones and fragments found in this country. That so few have been found in this country is ascribed to the circumstance that these realms were already at that period practically Christianized, so that the custom of burying such objects with the dead had almost ceased. Moreover, some of the ears of the kettles exhibit enamelling, an art practised by the Celts from remote times, and in which they were very skilled. Other objects from this age found in Norway also show traces of enamel. The author is convinced that the pagan Norsemen never knew such a

delicate art. The paper is accompanied by some beautifully coloured plates, drawn by Prof. Magnus Petersen, of Copenhagen, showing excellent proof of the perfection of the enamelling upon these Celtic vessels. Dr. Undset finally refers to other objects from this age found in Norway, which he also considers imported; and as their date can be fixed, they afford a good material for the chronological determination of this age in Norway, of which so many remains exist. * * *

As a supplement to this paper may be considered another by the same author, published in the last Proceedings of the Norwegian Society of Science. In this he expresses the belief that the finer kind of sword-hilts from the early Iron Age found in Norway, with inlaid silver and bronze, were also made abroad, just as it has been shown by the late Dr. Lorange, of the Bergen Museum, that the sword blades, too, found in barrows from this age are of foreign make. This Dr. Lorange fully proved by cleaning a number of blades, when the names, initials, or marks of well-known sword-forgers in Northern France and the ancient Franconia came to light. This work, by the way, also contains beautiful illustrations of these blades. Dr. Undset shows a sword-hilt inlaid with silver and bronze found in Northern Hungary, the exact prototype of one found in the valley, Gudbrandsdalen, in the heart of Norway. The Hungarian find, too, shows the same peculiar shamrock - shaped ornamentation which is so characteristic of Norwegian buckles, etc., from this age. It has, however, been difficult to prove their foreign origin, as most other countries were Christianized whilst Norway was still pagan, so that in these the burial custom referred to had ceased. This would further seem to show that Denmark and Sweden became Christianized long before Norway.

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The Norwegian Storthing has increased the grant to the Association for the Preservation of Norwegian Archæological Remains from £120 to £150 a year. The society has The society has restored a number of ancient churches, remains, etc., of late years.

* * * Last year a highly-important archæological discovery was made in Sweden-viz., that in

a large cave situated on the uninhabited Great Carl's Island, off the island of Gothland, far out in the Baltic, were found remains of cave-dwellers and their contemporaneous animals. This is the first trace of cavedwellers ever found in Scandinavia. With the praiseworthy zeal of the Swedish scientific authorities, all entry into the cave was at once prevented and a body of eminent savants despatched to excave it. The latter have collected sixty cases of prehistoric remains, now in the hands of the Academy of Archæology, to be thoroughly examined, whilst further research is to be carried on this summer.

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Several finds of interest have recently been made in Sweden. Thus in the island of Gothland an ancient burial-place has been discovered. Numerous burialchambers of limestone slabs were found containing human bones, and smaller ones holding an urn with ashes in it. A dagger and a pair of tongs of iron, a lock and some buttons of bronze, were also dug up, as well as two heavy gold chains. At Rödön, in Northern Sweden, four large bronze buckles have been found, whilst in a graveyard near Norrköping a hitherto unknown runic stone has been discovered. This district was once celebrated for these, but some years ago many were recklessly destroyed in the building of a church. Finally, at Mosiön, 151 Cufic silver coins and a silver ornament have been found, and in the province of Blekinge 32 large silver coins dating from 1536 to 1555. Many bear the effigy of Emperor Charles V., and all are foreign. The celebrated St. Birgitha Church at Vadstena is to be restored. It was once one of the most famous in the North. Prof. Hildebrand, the well-known antiquarian, calls attention to the numerous and handsome churches in the little island of Gothland. He has visited fifty-five within 225 miles. They all date from the early Gothic era.

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In Denmark a Viking ship has been found in the Kolding Lake of considerable dimensions, and at Hobro a barrow has been excavated containing a burial-chamber of heavy stones 17 inches long and 14 inches wide. In the wall facing the entrance is a stone

covered niche, 3 inches high and wide, not yet opened. In the bottom of the chamber lay three flint spears, two flint arrow-heads, two amber pearls, fragments of pottery, and some charcoal. The find dates from the Stone Age. Recently a similar barrow was excavated near the spot. The ruins of the once-famous castle, Hald, have been excavated. It appears to date from the early mediæval age, the tower, etc., greatly resembling the Castle of Coucy, in France, built in 1220. A runic stone, formerly forming the threshold, has been inserted in the wall of Kolind Church. It is 6 feet high, 4 wide, and thick. The runes, which run in four straight lines, are from 5 to 11 inches in height, and fairly defined. The correct translation is: "Toste Osveds, master craftsman, raised this stone to (in memory of) Tove, his brother, who died in Eastern parts." * * *

In the Courrier de l'Art, M. Edmond Durig hello gives the results of his excavations in Galilea, during which he has come upon some very ancient and uninjured Phoenician graves. They are very important, as they show the mode of burial of the Phoenicians, and by having yielded a rich harvest of ornaments, amulets, and scarabe, as well as a great number of terra-cotta figures represent ing artisans. By the side of the bodies were always found a number of vessels, which had

contained viands and drink.

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From Saida comes the news of the lamentable destruction of an ancient Sidonic royal grave. A large number of graves had been discovered with well-preserved sarcophagi, with the regal one in question. The sarcophagi were conveyed to the museum at Constantinople, but the one of the king, being cut in the rock, had, of course, to be left, and now it seems that it has been destroyed by a mercenary nursery gardener, upon whose land it was situated. This is the more to be regretted, as the director of the famous Constantinople Museum, Hamid Bey, the wellknown lover of antique art, and who has done so much to rescue archæological treasures in the East, would have purchased the land, and had it preserved.

From Roumania we hear that near Bordei has been discovered a Roman sarcophagus

in stone, well preserved, with inscriptions, which seem to refer it to Piscicula, one of Trajan's lieutenants.

In Germany excavations have been made at Novesium, a fortified camp on the confines of the ancient Roman Empire, mentioned by Tacitus, between Cologne and Xanten. Here have been found the foundations of two Roman buildings, a very fine pavement in mosaic, the bases of some gigantic columns, forming a peristyle in Roman Doric; the Prætorium, with a Questorium to the northwest, 75 mètres wide by 100 long; a small forum, 29 mètres square, with pilasters; votive stones dedicated to Roman matrons, capitals of columns, richly ornamented, etc. The walls are 250 mètres thick, and have been uncovered to the depth of 4 mètres beneath the soil.

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In the neighbourhood of Trikkala, in Thessaly, have been found the foundations of an ancient Christian temple, several stela, some ancient coins, and a great number of vases, amongst which are some painted, and ten large pithoi. At Olympia a dedicatory inscription of the Roman period has been found. Both at Perkezi and at the Piræus tombs have been recently discovered, most of the latter, which are both inscribed and sculptured, belonging to foreigners of the Roman period. * *

The four gigantic stone lions, of good workmanship, recently discovered by Dr. Humann, director of the museum at Berlin, in the excavations he is now superintending at now superintending at Pirindich, near Smyrna, weigh each of them over two hundredweight.

A New Museum for Rome. By REV. JOSEPH HIRST.

N June 1, in the cloisters of S. Maria degli Angeli, designed by Michael Angelo, where a hundred columns contrast finely with the beautiful cypresses he is said to have planted in the court, a new museum for antiquities at Rome was formally opened by the Minister Boselli and the Syndic Armellini, and entrance given to the public. The chief collections already placed in order are the bronzes recently discovered, and various objects brought to light during the works about the Tiber. Later on a rich collection of ancient inscriptions will be set up in order in the wings of the cloister, and one wing has been set apart for the mural paintings discovered in the garden of the Farnesina. Eventually all the antiques from the Tiberine, the Palatine, and Kircherian Museums will be brought together in this new museum at Diocletian's Baths.

In the first room now open to the public are gathered a wonderful series of stucco ornaments, which formed one of the vaults of the painted house unearthed at the Farnesina, during the alterations made by the municipality for the new quay erected to prevent all overflow of the Tiber. Here also can be seen some fine marble urns, sculptured with festoons of flowers and fruit, which were discovered in the tomb of C. Sulpicius Platorinus, at a short distance from Ponte Sisto. Here we must also observe the elegant bust of a child and statue of a woman, found in the same tomb, and a statue of the Emperor Tiberius, which has to be put together from fragments.

In the second room are the two large bronze statues, one representing a boxer and the other representing a wrestler, which were discovered in digging the foundations for the new National Theatre near the Colonna Gardens. Three caryatides of archaic style, sculptured in basalt, from the ancient Palatine collection, can also be seen here.

In the third room is the splendid bronze statue of Bacchus, found in the bed of the Tiber, where rises now the central pier of the Garibaldi Bridge. Close to it is a bronze double-headed goose found in the Tiber near

the Marmorata, and a head, found also in dragging the river, supposed to be an imperial portrait. Here also are placed some fragments of statues of the Emperors, which adorned the Valentinian Bridge, now the Ponte Sisto. Close to the statue of Bacchus is the fragment of the statue of a youth, in basalt, executed in the best taste.

In the fourth room are the stuccoes of other two vaults of the house of the Farnesina, so arranged that their ornaments can be studied in every minute particular, for they bear comparison with the finest reliefs of the famous Aretine ware.

In the fifth room is to be seen the fine marble statue of Bacchus from Hadrian's Villa: a Greek statue of excellent workmanship from Nero's Villa at Subiaco; several stela with marble portraits from a sanctuary of Hercules, discovered near the Porta Portese; and, lastly, a cinerary urn with reliefs

which relate to the simple jus connubii, and is a unique example among military diplomas where the clause is added regarding immunities.

But amongst the most important recent discoveries in Rome is a fine series of terminal cippi, found on the banks of the Tiber, near the newly populated Prati di Castello. Eight of the fourteen bear inscriptions; while seven of the eight belong to the boundary made by Augustus in 747 (A.U.C.), and one records that of Trajan in 101 (A.D.). These cippi, having been found in situ on a length of about 100 mètres, enable us to ascertain on a good portion of the right bank of the Tiber the work carried out by Augustus for the protection of the rights of the State.

(recently illustrated by Countess Lovatelli), The Canvas Coat of Sir Hugh

found in the columbaria of the slaves and freedmen of the house of the Statilii on the Esquiline. Some fine glass urns and objects in the same material, displayed in a large case, come from the same place.

In an off-room is exhibited the Hermaphrodite statue discovered in digging the foundations of the Constanzi Theatre.

Meanwhile, all the objects that may henceforth be discovered in Rome will belong to this new central museum. Already we have the announcement of a fresh Etruscan find on the Esquiline, namely, a fragment of a vase of red Aretine ware of great delicacy and elegance. It represents the figure in profile of a winged and semi-nude woman with a harp. In Via Cavour has also been found a square plate of glass, of some importance for the history of this manufacture, since it bears in the middle the impression, made while molten, of a double branch of olive bearing a berry, of elegant design; and Visconti believes that this sunken figure was destined to be filled in with enamel or colour.

Professor Barnabei announces the discovery in the bed of the Tiber, near the Palatine Bridge, of a rare military diploma, which he judges to belong to the first years of the reign of Trajan. It comes opportunely to increase the number of the rare series of diplomas

Willoughby.

By THE HON. HAROLD DILLON.

NE of the least obtrusive and yet most interesting objects at the Tudor Exhibition was the so-called "canvas coat of Sir Hugh Willoughby." It was so described by the noble owner, but a little examination of the garment at once showed that we have in it a specimen of the now unfortunately tooseldom-met-with "jack stuffed with horne," as similar protections were described in the fifteenth-century inventory of the effects of Sir John Fastolfe, printed with explanatory notes in Archæologia, vol. xxi.

Of this class of defensive garment it may be interesting to note a few particulars as to construction and appearance, before proceeding to describe the example in the exhibition. Metal armour as used in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had many drawbacks, and we find numerous contrivances suggested and employed to meet these inconveniences. It was expensive, it was heavy, and it much impeded the free action of the body and limbs. Perhaps one of the chief reasons for its cost was the fact that though English iron and English steel nowadays are terms

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