Skip to main content

Full text of "The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon : a history of the early inhabitants of Britain down to the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity"

See other formats 


//■»A«y 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  Toronto 


http://www.archive.org/details/celtromansaxonhOOwrig 


r 


THE  CELT,  THE  ROMAN,  AND 

THE  SAXON: 

A   HISTORY    OF    THE    EARLY   INHABITANTS    OF 

BRITAIN, 

DOWN     TO     THE     CONVERSION     OF     THE     ANGLO-SAXONS 
TO    CHIJISTIANITV. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY    THE   ANCIENT  REMAINS   BROUGHT   TO  LIGHT  EV 
RECENT  RESEARCH. 


BY 

THOMAS   WRIGHT,  Esq., 

M.A.,    F.S.A.,    M.R.S.L., 
AND   COBBESPONDING    MEMBER   OF   THE    NATIONAL    INSTITUTE    OF   FBANCE 

(Acudemie  des  Inscrijtions  et  Belles  Lettre.'). 


WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS   ON   WOOD, 


FIFTH  EDITION. 


LONDON: 
KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER,  &  CO.  L^ 

TATERXOSTER  HOUSE,  CHARING  CROSS  ROAD. 
1892. 


»  2  5  8  2  4 


The  rights  of  translation  and  of  reproduction  are  reserved. 


TO 

THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE 

i^Ijc  (Sari  of  ^lotoijs 

THIS    VOLUME 

On    the    EARLIEll   HISTORY    OF    OUR   POREFATHERS 

IS  MOST   REijrECTFULLY   DEDICATED   HY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


There  is  hardly  a  corner  in  our  island  in  wliicli  the  spade 
or  the  plough  does  not,  from  time  to  time,  turn  up  relics  of 
its  earlier  inhabitants,  to  astonish  and  to  excite  the  curiosity 
of  the  observer,  who,  when  he  looks  to  an  ordinary  history 
of  England,  finds  that  the  period  to  which  such  remains  belong 
is  passed  over  with  so  little  notice,  that  he  is  left  with  no  more 
information  on  the  subject  of  his  research  than  he  possessed 
before  he  opened  the  book.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  popular 
history  of  what  is  termed  by  antiquaries  the  Primeval  Period, 
and  those  who  are  placed  in  the  position  just  mentioned,  if 
they  happen  not  to  possess  a  library  of  expensive  publications, 
or  to  have  the  opportunity  of  consulting  with  those  who  have 
made  archaeology  their  study,  are  at  present  obliged  to  remain 
satisfied  with  uncertain  conjectures,  and  are  thus  led,  in  the 
absence  of  the  requisite  elementary  knowledge,  to  form  theories 
of  their  own  which  are  far  removed  from  the  truth.  It  was 
in  the  wish  to  supply  a  want  tluis  very  extensively  felt  that 
the  following  volume  originated.  Its  object  is  to  give  a 
sketch  of  that  part  of  our  history  which  is  not  generally  treated 
of,  the  period  before  Britain  became  Christian  England — tlie  ^/-i 
pwiod,  indeed,  which,  in  the  absence  of  much  documentary  -^  '*^ 
evidence,  it  is  the  peculiar  province  of  the  anticiuary  to  illus-     't^» 

.1^7 


vi  PREFACE. 

trate.  Every  article  which,  as  just  stated,  is  turned  up  by  the 
spade  or  the  plough,  is  a  record  of  that  history,  and  it  is  by 
comparing  them  together,  and  subjecting  them  to  the  assay  of 
science,  that  we  make  them  tell  their  story.  I  have  attempted 
in  the  following  pages  to  show  what  light  the  still  imperfect 
discoveries  of  the  antiquary  have  thrown  npon  the  condition  of 
tliis  island,  during  centuries  which  present  little  more  tlian  a 
blank  in  our  ordinary  annals. 

Tlie  studies  of  the  antiquary  are  not  so  dry  or  so  useless  as 
many  have  been  led  to  suppose,  and  it  is  clear  that  this  is  be- 
ginning to  be  generally  understood  by  the  widely  increased 
popularity  which  they  have  gained  during  the  last  few  years. 
His  science,  however,  is  as  yet  but  very  imperfectly  developed,  but 
the  difficulties  which  stood  in  the  way  of  its  advance  are  now  in 
a  great  measure  cleared  away,  and  we  may  hope  that  it  is 
making  a  steady  and  satisfactory  progress.  The  great  obstacle 
with  which  the  student  has  had  to  contend  was,  the  want  of 
examples  brought  together  for  comparison,  which  led  him  con- 
tinually to  make  assumptions  that  had  no  foundation,  and  to 
appropriate  incorrectly,  the  consequences  of  which  are  visible  in 
almost  every  work  touching  on  the  primeval  antiquities  of 
Britain  that  has  appeared  until  the  last  few  years-  This  obstacle 
is  now  rapidly  giving  way  before  the  increasing  facility  of  com- 
municating knowledge,  the  formation  of  local  museums,  and  the 
greater  number  of  good  books  on  the  subject.  But  there  is 
another  danger  against  which  the  student  in  British  archaeology 
is  to  be  especially  warned  ;  the  old  scholars  failed  in  not  follow- 
ing a  sufficiently  strict  course  of  comparison  and  deduction ;  but 
some  of  the  new  ones  run  into  the  opposite  extreme  of  general- 
izing too  hastily,  and  they  thus  form  systems  specious  and 
attractive  in  appearance,  but  without  foundation  in  truth.  Such 
I  am  convinced  is  the  system  of  archaeological  periods  which  has 


PREFACE.  vii 

been  adopted  by  tlie  antiquaries  of  the  north,  and  which  a  vain 
attempt  has  been  made  to  introduce  into  this  country.  There  is 
something  we  may  perhaps  say  poetical,  certainly  imaginative,  in 
talking  of  an  age  of  stone,  or  an  age  of  bronze,  or  an  age  of 
iron,  but  such  divisions  have  no  meaning  in  history,  Avhich  can- 
not be  treated  as  a  physical  science,  and  its  objects  arranged  in 
genera  and  species.  We  have  to  do  with  races  of  mankind,  and 
we  can  only  arrange  the  objects  which  come  under  our  examina- 
tion according  to  the  peoples  to  whom  they  belonged,  and  as 
tliey  illustrate  their  manners  and  history.  In  fact,  the  divisions 
alluded  to  are  in  themselves,  I  believe,  incorrect,  and  so  far  is 
the  discovery  of  implements  of  stone,  or  of  bronze,  or  of  iron,  in 
themselves  a  proof  of  any  particular  age,  that  we  often  find  them 
together.  It  is  true  that  there  may  have  been  a  period  when 
society  was  in  so  barbarous  a  state,  that  sticks  or  stones  were 
the  oidy  implements  with  which  men  knew  how  to  furnish  them- 
selves ;  but  I  doubt  if  the  antiquary  has  yet  found  any  evidence 
of  such  a  period.  Stone  implements  are  certainly  found  with 
articles  of  metal,  and  it  may  fairly  be  doubted  if  the  stone  im- 
plements in  general,  found  either  in  these  islands  or  in  the  north, 
belong  to  a  period  antecedent,  or  much  antecedent,  to  that  in  Avliich 
metals  were  in  common  use.  In  the  early  period  to  which  the  pre- 
sent volume  refers,  intercommunication  was  slow  and  diflncult,  and 
an  individual  in  any  obscure  village  conld  not,  as  at  present,  send 
off  by  post  to  any  distant  town  and  get  immediately  the  material  he 
wanted  in  any  given  quantity.  It  Avas  thus  necessary  to  usf; 
such  materials  as  came  to  hand,  and  there  is  no  possible  reason 
why  one  man  should  not  possess  a  weapon  or  a  tool  formed  of 
stone,  while  his  richer  or  more  fortunate  contemporary  had  one 
of  iron  or  of  bronze.  This  latter  is  the  metal  fomid  almost  ex- 
clusively in  what  seem  to  be  the  earliest  sepulchral  interments ; 
but  we  are  not  sufKciently  acquainted  Avith  the  manners  and 
sentiments  of  the  people  to  whom  they  belonged,  to  say  that 


viii  PREFACE. 

tliere  was  not  3ome  particular  reasons  why  the  deceased  preferred 
articles  of  bronze  to  those  of  other  metals.  Perhaps  it  was 
looked  upon  as  more  precious.  What  was  the  origin  of  bronze 
but  the  attempt  to  harden  copper  in  countries  where  iron  was 
not  known,  or  could  not  be  procured  ?  it  is  a  mixed  metal,  and 
it  is  absurd  to  suppose  tliat  its  use  could  have  preceded  that  of 
iron  in  countries  where  the  latter  metal  was  abundant.  We 
must  also  bear  in  mind  that  iron  undergoes  ujuch  more  rapid 
decomposition ;  and  if  even  in  interments  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
period  we  very  often  find  scarcely  a  trace  reuiaining  of  what  we 
know  were  articles  composed  of  that  metal,  what  must  be  the 
case  with  regard  to  similar  interments  made  six  or  seven  hundred 
years  earlier,  or  possibly  at  a  still  more  remote  period  ? 

I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  make  these  observations,  be- 
cause it  will  be  seen,  that  in  the  following  manual  I  have  alto- 
gether discarded  this  vague  system  of  metallic  periods.  I  have 
treated  antiquities  simply  according  to  the  races  to  which  they 
belonged.  In  fact,  I  have  attempted  to  make  archaeology  walk 
hand-in-hand  with  history.* 

I  feel  conscious,  at  the  saniu  time,  that  my  attempt  must  be, 
in  many  respects,  an  imperfect  one,  and  that  I  have  good  reason 
for  appealing  to  the  indulgence  of  my  readers.  My  object  was 
to  supply  the  want  of  a  manual  of  British  archaeology,  where 
there  was  really  no  such  work  existing,  and  it  has  been  the 
occupation  of  leisure  moments  under  many  disadvantages.     If  it 

*  After  this  pi'eface  was  written,  I  delivered  at  the  meeting' of  the  British 
Association  a  Paper  on  this  subject  of  Primeval  Antiquities,  which  was 
printed  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society  of  London,  in 
which  I  had  examined  a  little  more  carefully  into  the  arguments  which 
had  been  for  and  against.  I  have  yielded  to  the  suggestion  of  friends  to 
give  this  paper,  slightly  revis-ed,  as  the  first  chapter  in  my  book  in  the  pre- 
sent edition. 


PREFACE.  ix 

help  to  render  the  science  more  popular,  and  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  Englishmen  more  generally  to  the  memorials  of  the  past 
history  of  their  country,  my  object  will  be  fully  accomplished. 
Those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  subject  furtlier  must  study  the 
objects  themselves,  and  refer  to  some  of  the  larger  and  more  ex- 
pensive works  which  may  be  found  in  public  libraries.     To  place 
such  objects  and  works  within  the  reach  of  people  in  general  is 
the  chief  purpose  of  local  museums  and  societies.     A  great  mass 
of  valuable  material  for  the  illustration  of  the  anticjuities  of  the 
period  under  our  present  consideration,  will  be  found  scattered 
\  through  the  volumes  of  the  Archceologia  of  the  Society  of  Anti- 
Iquaries  of  Loudon;  but  the  unexperienced  antiquary  must  pay 
anore  attention  to  the  plates  than  to  the  descriptions.     The  best 
rallection  of  antiquarian  materials  we  possess  at  present  is  the 
bollectanea  Antiqua  by  Mr  Roach  Smith,  wtiich.  however,  is 
already  becoming  rare.     Many  good  papers  on  primeval  anti- 
(uities,  by  Mr  Roach  Smith  and  others,  Avill  also  be  found  in  the 
\'t>lumes  of  the  Journal  of  the  British  Archaeological  Associa- 
tion,  and    in    the   Archgeological  Journal  published   by  the 
Alchaeological  Institute.     Other  valuable  works  for  reference, 
bit  of  a  less  general  character,  will  be  pointed  out  in  the 
noies  to  the  following  pages, 

Tlie  value  of  a  work  on  antiquities  depends  much  on  its  pic- 
tori^  illustrations,  for  it  is  evident  that  descriptions  of  the 
objeis  without  engravings  would  be  very  vague  and  unsatisfac- 
tory.M  have  endeavoured  in  the  present  work  to  give  engravings 
of  su^i  objects  as  represent  the  classes,  or  peculiar  types,  with 
whicliJt  is  necessary  that  the  student  in  archaeology  shouhl  make 
himsell  acquainted.  In  doing  this,  I  have  to  acknowledge  the 
kind  a^l  ready  assistance  of  one  or  two  friends,  to  whom  the 
antiquaknism  of  this  country  owes  much  of  its  progress  at  the 
present  Viy  ;  and,  altho\igh  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  illus- 
trations \ere  engraved  expressly  for  this  work,  and  are  due  to 


X  PREFACE. 

the  skilful  pencil  of  Mr  Fairholt,  I  have  availed  myself  of  the 
otters  of  Dr  Bruce  of  Newcastle,  to  lend  me  some  of  the  cuts 
from  his  excellent  work  on  the  Eoman  Wall,  and  of  Mr  Eoach 
Smith,  who  similarly  placed  at  my  disposal  the  cnts  of  his  Collec- 
tanea, of  his  woi'k  on  the  antiquities  of  Eichborough,  Eeculver, 
and  Lymne,  and  of  his  still  more  recent  work  on  Eoman  London. 

A  new  edition  of  this  work  having  been  called  for,  I  have 
only  here  to  add  a  few  words  to  the  foregoing  remarks.  A 
volume  like  this,  cx)ntaining  so  many  facts  brought  together  from 
different  sources,  could  hardly  be  expected  to  be  free  from  errors. 
I  have  done  my  best  to  discover  and  correct  these  in  the  v.ew 
edition,  and  the  text  lias  not  only  been  revised  throughout,  bit 
many  additions  have  been  made,  chiefly  arising  out  of  discoverits 
made  since  the  appearance  of  the  former  edition,  and  amoig 
these  additions  are  a  considerable  number  of  new  illustrati/C; 


THOMAS  WEIGHT. 

Bgompton,  December,  1874, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

On  the  True  Assignation  of  the  Bronze  Weapons,  etc.,  supposed  to  indicate 
a  IJronze  Age  in  AVestern  and  Northern  Europe — Stone,  the  eai-liest 
known  material  used  for  Weapons — Th3  Stone  Age,  Bronze  Age,  and 
Iron  Age  of  tlie  Northern  Antiquaries 1 


CHAPTER  11. 

Ethnological  Views— Political  I\Iovenients  in  Gaul— Caesar's  first  and  second 
Invasions— Cassivellaunus — The  Britons,  as  described  by  Caesar,  Strabo, 
and  Diodorus — Cunobeline  and  his  Sons — Expedition  of  Claudius — 
Conquests  of  the  earlier  Propr?etors — (Jaract:icus — Cartismandua  and 
Venusius — Invasion  of  IMona — insurrection  of  Boadicea — War  with  the 
Brigantes — Campaigns  of  Agricohi — Total  Subjection  of  the  Island  to 
Rome — Enumeration  of  the  British  Tribes — Hibernia — Mannei-s  of  the 
Britons,  as  described  by  Ancient  Writers — The  Druids      .         .         .         .23 


CHAPTER  III. 

British  Antiquities  —  Barrows  —  Cromlechs,  and  Sepulchral  Chambers  — 
Circles  ;  Stonehenge — Other  Monuments  of  Stone — N'arious  descriptions 
of  British  Barrows — Their  contents — Pottery — Instruments  of  Stone — 
Instruments  of  Metal — Other  articles—  Their  value  as  illustrative  of 
History  —  The  British  Coinage  —  Earthworks,  and  supfwsed  sites  of 
Towns  and  Villages . 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Britain  at  the  beginning  of  the  Second  Century— Towns  eniunerated  by 
Ptolemy— Hadrian— The  Wall — LoUius  Urbicus  ;  the  Wall  of  Antoninus 
— Rebellion  of  the  Soldiery  in  Britain — Albinus  contends  for  the  Purple 
— Campaigns  of  Severus,  who  dies  at  Eburacum  (I'oiA) — The  Caledonians 
— Carausius  usurps  the  Purple— Allectus — Britain  restored  to  the  Em- 
pire by  Constantius — Constantine  the  Great— Revolt  of  Magnentius — 
The  Picts  and  Scots I'JQ; 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Y. 

PAGE 

A  Journey  through  Roman  Britain — Londinium — Great  Road  from  Londinium 
to  yegontium — A'erulamium  ;  Uricouium,  <fcc. — Direct  Northern  Road 
from  Londinium  ;  Diirobrivse,  Lindum,  Danum,  Eburacum,  Isurium— 
Passage  of  tlie  two  Walls— Stations  on  the  Wall — 13ranch  to  Luguballium 
and  Blatum  Bvilgium — Eastern  Road  ;  Camulodunum,  Camboricum — 
From  Londinium  to  Calleva — Branch  to  Corinium  and  Glevum  ;  Isca 
and  Maridunum — From  Glevum  by  Magna  to  Deva,  and  thence  through 
Coccium  to  the  North — Cross  Roads — Salinaj  and  other  Towns — The 
Western  Road,  from  Calleva  to  yorbiodunum,  Durnovaria,  and  Isca 
Uumnoniorum  —  Aquae  Solis — ^  The  trajectux  to  Wales,  and  the  Sarn 
Helen — The  Road  on  the  youthern  Coast ;  Yenta  Belgarum,  Clausentum, 
Portus  Magnus,  Regnum,  Anderida,  Portus  Lemanis        ....  145 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Rnman  Town  in  Britnin— Its  Walls,  Towers,  and  Gates — Materials,  and 
Modes  of  Construction — The  Houses — Their  Plan  and  Arrangement — 
The  Tessellated  Pavements  and  Frescoed  Walls — Method  of  Warming 
tlie  Houses  ;  the  Hypocausts — the  Baths — Windows  and  Roofs — Distri- 
bution of  the  Houses  in  Streets — Public  Buildings  ;  Temples,  Basilica^, 
Theatres,  Amphithearres  —  The  Suburbs  and  Biu'ial-places  —  Sanitary 
Arrangements  ;  Sewers,  Rubbish-pits — The  Language  of  Britain     .        '.   171 


CHAPTER  VTI. 

The  Cnuntrj' — Roman  Roads  and  their  Construction — 'Milliaria;  the  Roman 
Mile — Bridges — HoTnan  Villas;  Woodchester,  Bigiior,  &c. — Tessellated 
Pavements,  and  the  Subjects  represented  on  them—  Rustic  Villages- 
Agriculture  and  Farming — Country  Lite  ;  the  Chase — British  Dogs         .  221 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Manufactures  of  tl>e  RomaTis  in  Britain — Pottery— The  Upchurch  Ware — 
Dymchurch — The  Potteries  at  Durobrivfe — The  Samian  Ware — Romano- 
Salopian  Wares  —  Other  Varieties—  Terra-cottas  —  Roman  Glass —  Kim- 
lueridge  Coal  Manufacture  —  Mineral  Coal  —  Metals  —  The  Roman  Iron- 
works in  Britain  ;  Sussex,  the  Forest  of  Dean,  <bc. — Tin  and  Lead — 
Other  Metals — Bronze — The  Arts  ;  Sculpture — Medicine  ;  the  Oculists' 
,    Stamps — Trades  ;  a  Goldsmith's  Sign 25'J 


CHAPTER  IX 

Ethnological  Character  of  the  Roman  Population  of  Britain — Countries  from 
which  it  was  derived — The  Auxiliary  Troojjs — Names  and  Birthplaces 
of  Individuals— Traces  of  Languages  ;  Inscribed  Pottery;  the  Roundels 
found  at  Colchester — Debased  Latinity — Remains  of  the  British  Popu- 
lation         30(3 


CHAPTER  X. 

Rcligioiis  Worship  of  the  Romans  in  Britain — Roman  chief  Deities  ;  Jupiter, 
Mars,  Apollo,  Minerva,  Ceres,  cfcc. — The  eight  Deities— Lesser  Deities  ; 
Silvanus,  J<]sculapius — Grecian  and  Eastern  Deities ;  the  Tyrian  Her- 
cules, Mithras,  Serapis— The  Nymphs  and  Genii,  Fortune,  and  Deified 
Personifications — Deities  of  the  Auxiliary  Races  ;  the  Dete  Matres,  Vite- 
res,  or  Vitris,  Belatucadrus,  Cocidius,  Mogoutis,  &c.  — Did  Christianity 
prevail  or  exist  in  Roman  Britain  ? 313 


CONTEXTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  Xr. 

Modes  of  Sepulture  in  Roman  Britain — Cremation  and  Urn-Burial — Modes 
of  Interment — Burial  of  the  Body  entire— Sarcophagi — Coffins  of  Baked 
Clay,  Lead, .  and  Wood — Barrows — iSepulchral  Chambers — Inscriptions 
and  their  Sentiments — Various  Articles  deposited  with  the  Dead — 
Fulgor  Divom 3oT 


CHArTER  XII. 

Domestic  Life  among  the  Romans  in  Britain  as  Illustrated  by  their  Remains 
— Dress  and  Personal  Ornaments — The  Toilette — The  Household  ;  Fur- 
niture and  Utensils — Female  Occupations— Cutlery  —  Styli — Scales  — 
Ornamental  Articles— AVeapons,  &c.     .        .  ....  301 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Roman  Province — Its  Divisions  and  Officers — The  Military  Force — 
Centurial  and  other  Inscriptions — Towns  and  their  Municipal  Constitu 
tion — The  Coinage- -Roman  Coins  relating  to  Britain — Spurious  Coin- 
age— Different  methods  of  Hoarding  Money 416 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

Declining  State  of  the  Roman  Empire  after  the  age  of  Julian — Theodosius 
sent  to  Bi'itain — Revolt  and  Career  of  Maximvis — Stilicho — Marcus  and 
Gratian  revolt  in  Britain — The  Usurper  Constantine— -Honorius — Britain 
independent  of  the  Empire  and  harassed  by  the  Northern  Barbarians — 
The  Britons  receive  assistance  from  Rome  —  The  last  Roman  Legion 
withdrawn— The  Angles  and  Saxons  come  in — The  Angles  settle  in 
Northumbria — The  Jutes  in  Kent — Hengest  and  Horea— iEUa  in  Sussex 
— Cerdic  arrives  in  Hampshire — Essex  and  the  Angles — Mission  of  St 
Augustine  and  Conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  Christianity        .        .  440 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Anglo-Saxon  Antiquities — Barrows  or  Graves,  and  the  general  Character  of 
their  Contents — Arms^Personal  Ornaments  ;  Fibulae,  &c. — Anglo-Saxon 
Jewellery  —  Pottery  —  Glass— O'i.^sr    ilJes  found    in    the   Barrows 
Bowls,  Buckets,  &c. — Coins — Early  Anglo-Saxon  Coinage         .        .        .  405 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Anglo-Saxon  Settlement — Division  of  the  Land — Population  of  the  Country 
and  of  t-he  Towns — Continuance  of  the  Roman  Municipalities — Traces 
of  Municipal  Privileges  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Towns ;  Canterbury, 
Rochester,  Dover,  Exeter,  London 605 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Celtic  Establishments — Strath-Cluyd,  Cornwall,  "Wales — Early  Sepulchral  In- 

scrijDtions  found  in  the  two  latter  Countries 525 

Appendix  I. — The  Itineraries  and  Lists  of  Towns  : 

Itinerary  of  Antoninus 531 

Itinerary  of  Richard  of  Cirencester 533 

The  Ravenna  List  of  Towns 536 

Appendix  II.— Roman  Potters'  Marks  541 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 


KOMAN   BRITISH    POTTERY ♦•^  f«ce  Title 

3iAP   OF   BRITAIN    UNDER   TUP.    ROMANS       .  .  to  (uce  Apueiidix 

STONEHENGE,    FROM    THE    W.N.W ^^  ^'^^-^  P^^S^  SO 

RU1N6    OF    THE    GATE    AT    LYMNE  .  .  .  .  „.  k?^ 

PART    OF    THE    WALLS    OF    A    TOWN  .  .  . 

FOUNDATIONS    OF   ROMAN    HOUSES    AT    ALDBOKOUGH 

THE    PROCESS    OF    FRESCO-PAINTING    .... 

HYPOCAUST    IN    THE    ROMAN   VILLA   AT    WOODCHESTEK 

CORNER     OF     THE     CRYPTOPORTICUS,    ROMAN     VILLA     AT 

BIGNOR  .  . 

TESSELLATED    PAVEMENTS    AT    WROXETER,  NO.    1 

„  „  „  NO.    2     V 

ROMAN      POTTERY     FROM    CASTOR     AND     THE    UPCHURCH 

MARSHES      

CASTOR,  NORTH AMPTONsriRS  {Ddrobflvce) 

ROMAN   POTTERY    KILN,    AT    SIBSON 

ROMAN    potter's    KILN    AT    CASTOR    {Burohnvo) 

GROUP    OF    SAMIAN    WARE    FOUND    IN    ENGLAND  . 

ROMAN    TOMBS  

ANGLO-SAXON    WEAPONS,    ETC 

ANGLO-SAXON   FIBULA 

ANGLO-SAXON    JEWELLERY 


ISO 

192 
i?')3 
2;i6 

2i3 
241) 
250 

260 
2()3 
203 
207 
273 
303 
470 
478 
48G 


THE  BRITON'S. 


CHAPTER  I. 

On  the  True  Af=signation  of  the  Bronze  Weapons,  etc.,  supposed  to  indicate 
a  Bronze  Age  in  "Western  and  Northern  Europe — Stone,  the  earliest 
known  material  used  for  "Weapons — The  Stone  Age,  Bronze  Age,  and 
Iron  Age  of  the  Northern  Antiquaries, 

Within  a  few  years  there  has  come  into  existence,  I  will 
not  say  a  new  science,  but  certainly  a  new  and  very  extraordi- 
nary field  for  scientific  inquiry.  Not  long  ago,  antiquaries 
limited  their  knowledge  of  the  remains  of  human  industry  in 
this  part  of  the  world  to  a  few  generations,  at  most,  before  the 
(late  when  we  are  made  acquainted  with  its  inhabitants  by  the 
Roman  historians,  and  everybody  was  satisfied  with  the  biblical 
account,  that  mankind  had  existed  upon  this  earth  somewhat 
more  than  six  thousand  years.  It  is  but  recently  that  we  were 
all  surprised  by  the  announcement  that  flint  implements,  which 
had  evidently  been  formed  by  man's  hand,  had  been  found  in 
the  geological  formation  known  by  the  name  of  drift.  As  soon 
as  this  discovery  became  an  accepted  fact,  and  more  general 
attention  was  called  to  the  subject,  it  was  discovered  that  these 
fiint  implements,  instead  of  being  rare  (as  we  might  perhaps 
have  expected),  were,  in  many  parts  where  the  drift  was  exam- 
ined, so  abundant  as  to  imply  the  evidence  of  a  considerable 
population  at  a  period  of  course  preceding  the  formation  of  the 
(h"ift  itself.  These  implements  present  a  great  uniformity  in 
shape,  and  to  some  degree  in  size, — at  all  events  there  are  only 
two  or  three  varieties, — and  it  is  remarkable  that,  while  the 
fossil  bones  of  various  animals  are  found  in  the  same  drift,  there 
lias  been  as  yet  no  authentic  discovery  of  Innnan  bones ;  yet 
tnere  ajjpears  to  be  no  room  for  doubt  that  these  implements 

B 


2  THE  BRITOXS.  [ciiAr.  i. 

are  really  the  work  of  man.  Of  course,  according  to  the  opin- 
ions of  geologists  on  tlie  age  of  the  drift,  this  discovery  would 
carry  back  the  existence  of  man  on  earth  to  an  immense  dis- 
tance beyond  tlic  biblical  date,  and  it  leaves  ns  for  speculation 
and  theory  a  period  of  far  greater  extent  than  the  whole 
liistorical  period. 

The  question  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  became  thus  an  attract- 
ive, and  even  an  exciting,  study.  It  happened  that  tlie  nortli- 
crn — the  Scandinavian — antiquaries,  wliose  peculiar  fault,  if 
any,  is  a  spirit  of  too  hasty  generalising,  had  already  started  an 
ingenious  theory  in  relation  to  these  pre-historic  times,  accord- 
ing to  wdiich  tliese  were  divided  into  three  periods  or  ages, 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  stone  age,  bronze  age,  and  iron 
age.  During  the  first  of  these  periods,  it  is  supposed  th.at 
metal  was  unknown  to  man,  and  that  stone  was  the  best 
material  he  had  for  the  manufacture  of  weapons  or  of  other 
implements  for  cutting  or  hammering ;  the  second  was  cliarac- 
terised  by  the  use  of  bronze  as  the  only  metal;  in  the  tliird, 
bronze  had  been  superseded  for  these  purposes  by  iron.  Tliis 
system  of  periods  Avas  eagerly  embraced  by  the  new  scliool  of 
pre-historic  antiquaries,  who  have  even  refined  upon  it  and 
divided  at  least  the  first  two  periods  into  subdivisions. 

It  is  this  dark  and  mysterious  pre-historic  penod  whicli 
lias  furnished  tlie  subject  treated  in  a  handsome  volume  pub- 
lished by  Sir  John  Lubbock,*  Avhich  treats  successively  on 
the  system  of  periods  or  ages  just  mentioned,  on  th^  tumuli  of 
the  pre-historic  times,  on  the  lake-habitations,  shell-mounds, 
and  caves,  on  the  more  general  subject  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man 
himself,  and  on  the  manners  of  modern  savages,  which  the 
author  employs  very  judiciously  to  illustrate  those  of  the  savages 
of  pre-historic  ages,  for  absolute  savages  at  all  times  bear  a 
certain  resemblance  to  one  another.  I  will  only  add,  as  to  the 
book  itself,  that  it  is  a  well-w^'itten  and  well-arranged  work, 
characterised  equally  by  purity  of  language  and  by  its  singidar 
clearness  and  perspicuity,  while  it  presents  a  view  of  the  whole 
subject  which  surprises  us  by  its  comprehensiveness,  without 
wearying  us  with  what  too  often  constitutes  comprehensiveness, 
a  close  dry  mass  of  enumerations  of  facts.  I  take  Sir  John 
Lubbock's  work  only  from  one  point  of  view — so  far  as  its 
talented  author  treats  of  the  system  of  periods — a  system  which 

*  '  Prehistoric  Times,  as  illustrated  by  Ancient  Remains,  and  the  Mau- 
H'Ts  and  Customs  of  Modern  Savages. '  By  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart., 
F.R.S.  8vj.     AVilliams  and  Norgate.     I860. 


CHAP.  I.]  TPIE  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN.  3 

it  is  tolerably  well  known  that  I,  in  common  with  antiquaries 
of  some  eminence  in  their  science,  reject  altogether,  and  look 
upon  as  a  mere  delusion,  and  some  parts  of  the  first  chapters 
of  my  friend's  book  are  aimed  at  me  ;  that  is,  they  are  directed 
against  opinions  which  I  have  expressed  and  which  are  here 
rightly  put  into  my  mouth,  and  I  am  glad  of  the  opportunity 
of  explaining  my  reasons  rather  more  fully.  It  will  be  undei*- 
stood  by  everybody  that  whatever  strictures  I  have  to  make 
are  directed,  not  against  Sir  John  Lubbock's  writings,  but 
against  the  opinions  of  the  school  of  pre-historic  archaeologists 
ivhich  he  has  adopted,  and  which  are  here  stated  more  fairly 
and  distinctly  than  in  any  othcx  Avork  with  which  I  ant 
acquainted. 

I  am  by  no  means  inclined  to  impugn  hastily  the  general 
conclusions  at  which  men  of  science  seem  now  arriving  upon 
the  great  question  of  the  antiquity  of  man — it  is  a  subject  in 
regard  to  which  I  look  forward  with  anxious  interest  to  the 
increase  of  our  knowledge,  certain  that  the  ultimate  result  must 
be  truth.  Magna  ed  Veritas,  et  pi'covalebit.  But  L  complain  of 
the  treatment  which  the  science  of  archaeology  has  hitherto 
received  at  their  hands.  There  was  a  cry  some  time  ago — and 
nobody  joined  in  it  more  heartily  than  myself — that  a  close 
alliance  should  exist  between  archiEology  and  geology  ;  but  this 
was  to  have  been  a  fair  and  equal  alliance,  in  which  the  geolo- 
gist should  accept  the  conclusions  of  archaeology  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  archaeologist  is  expected  to  receive  the  opinions 
of  the  geologist.  Instead  of  this,  the  geologist  seems  to  have 
considered  that  the  Science  he  had  thus  to  give  his  hand  to  is  a 
vague  and  uncertain  one, — he  has  created  a  sort  of  archaeology 
of  his  own,  made  in  the  first  place  to  suit  his  own  theories,  and 
he  takes  only  the  advice  of  those  who  will  give  him  an  opinion 
which  is  in  accordance  with  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  this  is 
often  quite  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  archaeological  science. 
Archaeology,  as  a  science,  has  now  reached  too  high  a  position 
to  be  treated  with  so  little  respect.  But  let  us  go  on  to  tlu 
more  especial  subject  now  before  me. 

Sir  John  Lubbock  alleges  that  '  Mr  Wright  sees  nothing  in 
Great  Britain  which  can  be  referred  to  ante-Roman  tunes'  (p.  35); 
and  u])on  this  he  remarks  (p.  36),  'But  if  we  are  to  refer 
not  only  the  bronze  implements,  but  also  those  of  stone,  to  the 
Roman  period,  what  implements,  we  may  ask,  does  Mr  Wright 
;«.  suppose  were  used  by  the  ancient  Britons  before  the  arrival  of 
Caesar?      It  would  be  more  reasonable  to  deny  the  existence  of 


4  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  r. 

ancient  Britons  at  once,  than  thus  to  deprive  them,  as  it  were, 
of  all  means ^ of  obtaining  subsistence.'  What  I  have  said  on 
this  subject  must  have  been  strangely  misunderstood,  or  I  may 
have  explained  myself  badly ;  for  1  am  entirely  unconscious  of 
having  ever  uttered  an  opinion  which  could  bear  the  interpret- 
ation here  given  to  it.  I  have  said,  and  I  still  say,  that  [  do  .^ 
not  believe  we  have  many — perhaps  any — monuments  of  im- 
portance much  older  than  the  Roman  period,  and  that  such 
ancient  remains  as  are  supposed  to  be  older  than  the  Eoman 
period  bear  no  characteristics  which  would  enable  us  to  ascribe  - 
them  to  any  particular  date.  I  have  never  pretended  to  deprive 
the  Britons  of  the  use  of  stone, — it  would  not  be  in  my  power  ; 
but  I  say  that  stone  was  also  in  use  for  the  same  purpose  in 
Roman  and  Saxon  times,  and  that  the  mere  presence  of  a  stone 
implement  does  not  prove  that  the  deposit  was  British  any  more 
than  Roman.  Stone,  of  various  kinds,  is  a  very  ready  and 
convenient  material  for  purposes  such  as  the  stone  implements 
of  antiquity  evidently  served,  and  it  is  found  in  use  in  Western 
Europe  even  in  the  middle  ages.  Stone  implements  have  often 
been  found  on  Roman  sites  in  this  island  ;  they  have  been  found 
in  Saxon  graves  in  Kent,  and  I  have  myself  found  flint  flakes^' 
evidently  placed  there  by  the  hand  of  man,  in  Saxon  graves  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  perfectly  resembling  those  of  which  the 
o-eoloo'ists  have  talked  so  much  of  late.  The  Abbe  Cochet 
found  similar  flint  flakes  in  Roman  graves  in  Normandy,  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they  were  placed  there  inten- 
tionally. 

Sir  John,  indeed,  acknowledges  that  implements  in  stone 
were  in  use  in  Roman  times,  but  it  was  not  so  nnich  a.ditter- 
ence  between  the  poor  and  the  rich,  as  he  puts  it  (the  structure  ^ 
of  society  was  altogether  different  from  that  of  modern  times), 
as  between  ditterent  localities.  It  would  be  very  wrong  to  sup- 
pose that  the  social  condition  of  Britain  under  the  Romans  was 
uniform  in  cultivation  and  condition  throughout  the  province. 
There  were  no  doubt  '  savages  '  in  wild  and  retired  parts  of 
the  island,  as  there  have  been  in  much  more  r6cent  times,  and 
communication  between  distant  localities,  except  on  the  lines  oi 
the  great  roads,  was  slow  and  precarious.  People  must  thus 
have  been  frequently  exposed  to  the  inconvenience  of  falling 
short  of  metals,  which,  moreover,  were  probably  always  expens- 
ive, and  then  they  would  be  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  stones, 
the  use  of  which  would  thus  be  habitual.     People,  under  this 


CHAP.  I.J      IMPLEMENTS  OF  STONE  AND  BRONZE.  6 

state  of  society,  could  not  2:0  to  obtain  tlieir  flint  implements  at 
distant  manufactories,  but  must  either  have  made  them  individu- 
ally for  themselves,  or,  at  the  most,  there  may  have  been  a  man 
ill  each  villao-e  or  rural  district  who  was  more  skilful  in  making' 
them  than  his  neighbours,  and  supplied  them  to  those  who  were 
able  or  willing  to  purchase.  In  this  manner  there  must  have 
been,  throuohout  the  land,  at  the  same  time,  a  vast  variety  in 
the  form  and  style  of  flint  implements,  according  to  local  taste 
or  individual  caprice,  so  that  it  would  be  absurd  to  consider 
difterence  of  form  and  character  as  a  proof  of  difference  of  date. 
In  primitive  times  diversity,  and  not  uniformity,  was  usually 
the  rule,  and  sometimes  this  diflerence  of  form  and  design  be- 
came almost  a  family  distinction.  Among  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
long  after  they  had  risen  above  the  character  of  savages,  the 
different  tribes  were  distinguished  by  different  forms  of  personal 
ornaments,  and  we  know  that  in  much  later  times  the  clans  of 
the  Scottish  highbinders  have  been  similarly  distinguished  by 
the  patterns  of  their  plaids. 

But,  enough  of  stone  for  the  present — let  us  proceed  to 
bronze,  which  forms  the  grand  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  of  this 
system  of  periods.  We  may,  perhaps,  consider  as  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  objects  of  bronze  the  swords,  because  they 
present  a  'greater  number  of  peculiarities  of  form  than  any  of 
the  other  classes,  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  their 
discovery  seem  at  a  first  glance  of  the  subject  to  suggest  more 
difficulty  in  identifying  them  with  the  Romans  ;  I  shall,  there- 
fore, take  them  as  the  special  object  of  investigation,  but  the 
arguments  I  shall  use  with  regard  to  them  apply  with  still  more 
force  to  the  other  objects  made  of  the  same  metal.  I  give  four 
examples  of  tliese  swords  in  the  cut  No.  1,  three  of  which  are 
taken  from  Sir  John  Lubbock's  '  Pre-historic  Times,'  as  the 
readiest  and  most  convenient  book  to  quote.  It  will  be  seen 
that  there  are  here  three  forms  of  blades,  of  which  figs.  2  and  3 
are  what  are  commonly  called  leaf-shaped,  the  blade  of  fig.  1 
tapers  from  the  hilt  to  the  point,  while  the  two  edges  of  the 
blade  in  fig.  4  are  nearly  parallel.  They  are  all  distinguished 
i)y  the  peculiarity  of  being  ribbed.  The  swords,  as  will  be 
seen,  present  two  descriptions  of  handler,  which  were  either  of 
the  same  material  as  the  blade  and  rivetted  to  it,  or  of  material 
of  a  more  perishable  nature,  and  attached  to  the  blades  in  the 
same  manner  as  our  old  knife-handles.  These  swords,  it  must 
be  agreed,  do  not  present  any  varieties  of  forms  which  might  be 


THE  BRITONS. 


[ciiAr.  I, 


No.  1.  Examples  of  Bronze  Swords. 

supposed  to  have  ovig-iiiated  among-  different  peoples  nnar- 
quainted  with  one  another,  but  they  are  perfectly  identical  in 
character,  yet  they  have  been  found  in  almost  all  parts  of 
Europe.  Of  the  four  examples  here  g-iven,  jSTo,  1  was  found  in 
the  valley  of  the  Somme  in  Prance ;  3,  in  the  lake  of  Neuf- 
ohatel  in  Switzerland ;  3,  in  Sweden  •  and  4,  in  some  part  of 
Scandinavia,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  the  exact  locality.*  No 
one  could  doubt  for  a  moment  the  identity  in  form  of  the 
handles  of  figs.  1,  2,  and  4. 

Sir  John  asserts  that  '  bronze  weapons  are  never  found  asso- 
ciated with  coins,  pottery,  or  other  relics  of  Roman  origin  ; ' 
he  then  proceeds  to  quote  a  statement  of  mine  to  the  effect  that 
on  all  the  sites  of  ruined  Eoman  towns  these  other  objects  are 
found  scattered  about  rather  abundantly ;  and  he  adds  some- 
what triumphantly,  '  We  may  assume,  then,  on  the  authority  of 
Mr  Wright  himself,  that,  if  all  these  bronze  arms  were  really  of 
Eoman  origin,  many  of  them  would  have  been  found  from  time 
to  time  in  conjunction  with  other  Eoman  remains.'  I  can 
admit  of  no  such  assumption  as  arising  from  the  facts  I  have 
stated ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged,  to  say  that  this  remark 
only  shows  that  my  friend,  in  common  Avitli  the  advocates  of 
this  system  of  periods  generally,  is  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  the  archaeological  conditions  of  the  question.  The  reason 
we  do  not  find  bronze  swords  under  the  circumstances  which  he 

*  In  the  noble  museum  of  my  friend  Mr  Joseph  Maj^er.  in  Liverpco!, 
there  is  one  of  these  leaf-shaped,  bronze  swords,  which  was  found  in  Hun- 
gaiy ;  it  came  from  the  collection  of  the  late  Count  .Pulszty. 


CHAP,  i]  BRONZE  AND  IRON  SWORDS.  7 

insists  U])Ou,  is  :i  vory  simple  one,  easily  explained,  and  applies 
to  iron  swords  ecpially  with  bronze  swords.  The  Uonians  did 
not  bnry  their  weapons  with  tlie  dead,  and  they  took  g-reat  care 
of  them,  espeeially  of,  the  sword,  while  alive.  Even  in  the  last 
strugg-les  of  the  empire,  when  the  Romans  must  sometimes  have 
been  obUu'ed  to  leave  their  Aveapons  behind  them,  the  barbarians, ^ 
amon^-  whom  we  know  that  a  sword  was  an  object  of  inestiin- 
able  value,  took  veiy  <i,-ood  care  to  carry  them  away.  The  con- 
si'(pr.'nce  of  this  is  that  a  Roman  sword  m  iron  is  one  of  the 
r.irest  objects  of  antiquarian  discovery.  I  remember,  within 
my  own  observation,  hardly  a  single  instance  of  one  haviiiu' 
b(;en  found  in  Roman  Britain,  and  not  above  two  swords  sup- 
])osed  to  have  been  found  here,  and  it  is  my  impression  that  tlie 
bronze  handle  of  one  of  the  latter  presented  a  considerable  re- 
semblance, in  its  style  of  ornarr.ent,  to  those  of  some  of  the 
i)ronze  swords  found  in  Scandinavia.  Duruig  the  whole  of  our 
excavations  at  Wroxeter,  which  have  tilled  a  considerable  musevun 
Avith  articles  of  Roman  fabrication,  we  have  never  met  with  the 
smallest  fragment  of  a  Rouuui  sword,  nor  do  [  remember  a 
single  instance  of  such  a  Hud  on  any  site  of  a  Roman  town  or 
villa  in  this  island.  In  one  or  two  cases  in  the  West  of  Eng- 
land, as  in  the  very  remarkable  discoveries  at  Hod  Hill  in 
Dorsetshire,*  bundles  of  unfinished  iron  blades,  which  looked 
like  swords,  have  been  discovered  under  circumstances  which 
appeared  to  me  to  show  that  they  had  been  government  stores 
on  their  way  to  some  imperial  manufactory  where  the  finish  was 
to  be  given  to  them  ;  other  antiquaries  thought  they  were  not 
swords  at  all,  and  I  think  they  may  be  right ;  but  it  is  a  very 
remarkable  circumstance  that  among  the  Roman  antiquities 
found  at  Hod  Hill  there  was  one  undoubted  iron  sword-blade, 
aiid  this  was  in  eveiy  I'cspect  an  exact  copy  of  one  of  the  swords 
in  bronze,  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  a  proof  beyond  doubt 
that  the  latter  were  at  that  time  well  known. f  This  Roman 
sword-blade  is  represented  in  the  cut  annexed  (No.  2),  and  will 
be  seen  to  possess  fhe  characteristic  leaf-shape,  with  the  ribs, 
and  the  holes  for  the  rivets,  by  .vliich  the  handle  was  fixed  on. 

*  See  Roach  Sinith's  'Collectanea  Antiqua,'  vol.  vi.  p.  1. 

t  I  may  remark  that,  to  my  kiio\vled<;e,  one  or  two  examples  have  been 
f(juii(l  in  this  island  of  the  so-called  '  celt '  cast  in  iron,  instead  of  bronze, 
but  of  course  the  casting-  in  bronze  was  the  easier  process.  It  is  a  proof, 
however,  that,  when  these  implements  were  made,  iron  and  bronze  were 
both  in  use.  In  my  friend  Mr  Roach  Smith's  museum,  now  in  the  British 
jNIuseum,  there  was  a  remarkable  Roman  spear-head,  of  the  bronze  tijpe^ 
but  ii  iron  ;  it  \\  is  found  in  the  Sommc  at  Abbeville. 


THE  BRITONS.  [ciiai-.  i. 


No.  2.  Blade  of  a  Roman  Sword. 

The  fact  of  no  Koman  swords  in  iron  l)eing  found,  woidd  be 
rather  in  favour  of  the  bronze  swords  being-  Eoman.  Again, 
Sir  John  Lubbock  gives  as  one  of  his  arguments  against  me  the 
fact  tliat  the  bronze  and  iron  swords  and  other  implements  are 
not  found  mixed  together  in  the  same  locality.  It  seems  to 
me  that  this  is  exactly  what  we  might  expect,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  swords.  These,  as  I  have  just  observed,  were 
valuable  articles,  and  were  probably,  at  least  in  the  provinces, 
in  the  possession  of  few  individuals,  except  the  military.  The 
inhabitants  of  a  lacustrine  village,  for  instance,  were  not  likely 
to  be  in  possession  of  a  sword,  unless  they  had  stolen  it,  and 
whence  would  they  steal  it  ?  From  some  soldier  belonging  to 
the  nearest  military  post.  I  am  sure  that  Sir  John  Lubbock 
will  allow  that  it  has  never  been  the  custom  to  arm  any  corps 
of  troops  with  a  variety  of  weapons — if  their  swords  were  bronze, 
they  were  all  bronze^  if  iron,  all  iron.  The  discovery,  therefore, 
of  weapons  in  any  particular  place  would  only  necessarily  show 
that  it  was  the  weapon  with  which  the  detachment  of  Roman 
troops  stationed  in  that  neighbourhood — or,  at  least,  nearest  to 
it — were  armed.  But  I  think  that  it  is  stated  rather  rashly 
that  bronze  swords  are  not  found  with  iron  swords ;  for  in  the 
very  rare  instances  of  the  discovery  of  Roman  iron  swords  found 
in  Britain,  in,  I  believe,  almost  a  majority  of  cases,  they  have 
been  found  associated  with  bronze  swords.  A  few  years  ago  a 
Roman  sword  in  a  bronze  scabbard,  the  blade  appearing  from 
the  rust  to  be  of  iron,  was  dredged  up  from  the  Thames,  along 
with  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the  well-known  bronze  leaf-shaped 
sword,  and  a  large  stone  celt,  all  which  were  in  the  museum  of 
the  late  Lord  Londesborough  ;  *  and  a  similar  iron  sword  in  a 
bronze  scabbard  was  found  together  with  a  bronze  sword  in  the 
river  below  Lincoln,  at  a  spot  where  a  bronze  circular  shield  had 
previously  been  found. t  The  discovery,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
of  a  mass  of  bronze  implements,  with  no  mixture  of  iron,  leads 

*  The  iron  sword  is  eng^raved  and  described  in  Iloach  Smith's  '  Collec- 
tanea Antiqua,'  vol.  iii.  p.  67. 
t  Roach  Smith,  ib.  p.  68. 


CHAP.  I.]  SWORDS  OF  BRONZE  AND  IRON.  9 

only  to  the  conclusion  that  they  had  formed  the  stock-in-trade 
of  some  dealer  in  bronze  implements,  or  that  they  had  been  a 
consignment  of  such  articles  lost  on  the  way.  But  of  this  I 
shall  say  more. 

I  must,  however,  state  g-enerally  that  the  archaeological  fact  is 
that,  instead  of  our  7Lot  finding  the  bronze  swords  in  juxta- 
position with  Roman  remains,  in  every  case  where  they  have 
l)een  found  in  Britain  or  Gaul,  where  the  details  of  the  dis- 
covery have  been  carefully  observed,  it  has  occurred  under 
circumstances  which  lead  to  the  strongest  presumption  of  their 
being  Roman.  A.  bronze  sword,  of  the  usual  leaf-shaped  type, 
is  stated  to  have  been  found  at  the  Roman  station  of  Ardoch 
in  Scotland,  on  the  wall  of  Antoninus,  and  there  appears  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  statement.*  But,  to  come 
farther  south,  it  is  well  known  to  the  archaeologist  that  the  great 
treasury  of  the  antiquities  of  Roman  London — and  of  mediaeval 
London  also — is  the  mud  of  the  river  Thames,  and  within  the 
limits  of  the  town  I  believe  that  no  object  has  been  found  that 
could  claim  an  earlier  date  than  Roman.  This  is  just  the  place 
where  objects  of  all  kinds  would  be  deposited  by  accidents,  such 
as  boats  upsetting  in  the  transit,  people  falling  in  and  being 
drowned,  and  the  dropping  into  the  water  of  objects  of  various 
kinds  which  would  sink  by  their  weight.  Now  swords  have 
been  found  in  the  Thames  at  London,  and  I  should  imderrate 
the  number  in  saying  a  few,  but  they  were  nearly  all  of  bronze, 
and  leaf-shaped  in  form,  which  might  almost  be  taken  to  show 
that  this  bronze  sword  was  most  in  fashion  among  the  Romans 
in  London.  Certain  it  is,  that  my  friend  Mr  Roach  Smith, 
who  has  examined  these  Roman  antiquities  of  London  more 
extensively  and  deeply  than  anybody  else,  and  whom  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  I  regard  as  the  first  authority  on  the 
antiquities  of  the  Roman  period  in  England  or  even  on  the 
continent,  is  convinced,  equally  with  me,  that  the  bronze  swords 
are  of  Roman  manufacture  or  origin. f  Discoveries  of  the  axes, 
chisels,  and  other  implements  of  bronze,  have  been  much  more 
frequent,  and  in  positions  wdiich  speak  still  more  strongly  of 
their  Roman  character.  Thomas  Hearne,  who  first  called 
attention  to  these  objects  more  than  a  century  ago,  took  it  for 

*  Stuart's  '  Caledonia  Antiqua,'  second  edit.  pi.  v.,  ^vhere  this  sword 
is  en<rraved.  I  make  the  remark,  because  Sir  John  Lubbock  expresses  a 
doubt  upon  it  : — '  Yet  Mr  Wright  himself  has  only  been  able  to  give  me 
one  doubtful  instance  of  this  kind'  {p.  12). 

f  See,  for  ^ome  remarks  on  this  subject,  his  '  Catalogue  of  London  Anti- 
quities,' p.  80. 


10  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  i. 

o-ranted  that  they  wore  Roman,  l)ut  he  unfortunately  gave  it  as 
liis  opinion  that  they  represented  the  Roman  celtis  (a  technical 
/  word  for  a  sort  of  chisel),  and,  in  tlic  low  ebb  at  which  arch;i3o- 
log'ical  knowledge  has  stood  from  his  time  down  to  the  present 
generation,  antiquaries  seem  to  liaA'e  blindly  fallen  into  the  mis- 
take that  the  name  celt  {cdtis)  was  e([uivalent  to  Celtic,  and 
that  it  meant  that  they  belonged  to  the  ancient  Britons.  In 
this  blunder  solely,  I  believe,  originated  the  notion  that  these 
'  celts  '  are  not  Roman. 

Let  lis  now  cross  the  Channel  to  our  neighbours,  and  see 
what  is  the  case  in  Gaul.  Prance  has  undoubtedly  produced  by 
fai'  the  ablest,  the  soundest,  and  the  most  judicious  antiquaries 
of  modern  times;  and  I  believe  that  they  have  all  regarded  the 
bronze  swords,  equally  with  the  other  bronze  implements,  as 
Roman.  I  will  c|uote  the  authority  of  Monsieur  de  Caumont, 
to  which  I  am  sure  that  nobody  who  knows  anything  of  archpe- 
ology  will  object.  In  his  Conrs  cV /hitiqniU'iH  Moniunentales,  De 
Caumont,  in  speaking  of  these  so-called  '  celts,'  says,  '  But  we 
tind  also  very  frequently  these  bronze  axes  in  places  covered 
with  Roman  ruins  ;  I  have  acquired  the  certainty  of  this  by  my 
own  observations  and  by  the  information  I  have  collected  in  my 
travels.'  *  Again,  the  same  distinguished  scholar,  in  speaking 
of  the  bronze  swords,  after  noticing  the  opinion  of  a  previous 
writer  who  thought  that  the  Gauls  had  derived  the  use  of  these 
swords  from  the  Greeks,  goes  on  to  say,  '  At  all  events,  I  must 
not  conceal  from  you  the  fact  that  the  bronze  swords  have  been 
found  sometimes  along  with  objects  of  Roman  manufacture, 
which  would  seem  to  annoinice  a  ditierent  origin.'  f 

I  Avill  go  back  a  little  farther  among  the  antiquaries  of 
France  to  produce  not  only  opinions,  but  facts,  such  as  I  think 
ought  to  set  the  whole  question  at  rest.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  flourished  the  able  antiquary  Antoine  Mon- 

)gez,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  members  of  the  Institute  of 
France,  a  man  distinguished  for  his  science  and  learning,  and 
for  his  judicious  use  of  them.  On  the  16th  of  Prairial,  an  9 
(for  we  are  still  in  the  days  of  the  Republic),  according  to  our 
reckoning  the  5th  of  June,  1801,  the  '  citoyen '  Mongez  read  at 

*  Mais  on  trouve  aussi  tris  fvtquemment  des  Laches  en  bronze  dans  des 
emplacements  converts  de  mines  Romaines  ;  j'en  ai  acquis  la  certitude  par 
moi-meme  et  par  les  renseij^nements  que  j'ai  recueillis  dans  mes  voyages. — 
Be  Caumont^  Cours  cV AHtiqnitds  Monument ales^  torn.  i.  p.  232. 

\  Toutefois  je  ne  dois  pas  vous  laisser  ignorer  que  les  epees  en  bronze 
ont  ete  trouvees  parfois  avec  des  objets  de  fabrique  Komaine,  ce  qui  paroi- 
trait  annoncer  une  autre  origiue. — Ih.^  p.  239. 


CHAP.  I.]  BiiO.XZE  SWORDS  IX  FRANCE.  11 

tlie  Institute,  bcTore  ^vhat  was  then  called  the  Class  of  Litera- 
ture and  It'ine  Arts,  but  which  is  now  represented  by  tlie 
Academie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles  Lettres,  a  memoir  on  an 
ancient  bronze  sword,  which  had  been  found  with  the  skeleton 
of  a  man  and  hoi'se,  in  a  turbary  {tonrbiere)  near  Corbie,  at 
Hailly,  in  the  valley  of  the  Albert,  a  tributary  of  the  Somme. 
In  this  memoir,  which  is  published  in  the  volume  of  the  papers 
read  before  the  class,*  this  sword  is  described,  and  hg'ured  in 
an  engTaving ;  it  is  the  sword  represented  in  fig.  1,  in  our  cut 
No.  1,  and  is  entirely  of  bronze,  blade  and  handle.  The  object 
of  Mongez  was  chietiy  to  analyse  the  bronze  of  which  this  sword 
Avas  made ;  but  he  also  enters  into  the  question  of  what  manu- 
facture it  might  be,  and,  after  careful  discussion,  he  arrives  at 
the  conclusion  that  these  bronze  swords  were  all  lloman.  On 
the  Sth  Frimaire,  an  10  of  the  Republic,  or  the  29th  of  No- 
vember, 1 801,  in  our  reckoning,  M.  Mongez  read  another  paper 
en  three  bronze  swords  which  had  been  recently  found  near 
Abbeville,  and  which  resembled  the  other  so  closely  that  he 
thought  it  unnecessary  to  have  them  engraved. f  Mongez  re- 
considered the  question,  and  again  pronounced  them  Roman — 
je  les  crols  liomabies. 

After  Mongez  had  read  his  Memoires  on  the  bronze  swords 
before  the  Institute,  his  opinion  received  a  singularly  remark- 
able confirmation  in  a  more  exact  and  complete  account  of  the 
«?ircumstances  of  the  discoveries,  which  he  obtained  from  a  very 
zealous  and  able  antiquary  of  Abbeville,  M.  Traulle.  The 
bronze  sword,  as  just  stated,  was  found  in  the  turbary  at  Heilly 
along  with  the  skeletons  of  a  man  and  a  hoi'se,  and  by  the 
sword  were  four  brass  coins  of  the  Emperor  Caracalla,  who,  as 
is  well  known,  reigned  from  a.d.  311  to  217. +  This  sword, 
therefore,  was  that  of  a  Roman  cavalry  soldier,  not  older,  and 
perhaps  a  little  later,  than  this  reign,  who  had  sunk  in  the  bog 
to  which  the  turbary  had  succeeded.  The  history  of  two  of  the 
other  swords,  found  in  a  turbary  at  Pequigny,  near  Abbeville, 
was,  if  anything,  still  more  curious.  A  large  boat  was  found, 
which  had  evidently  sunk,  and  in  it  Avere  several  skeletons. 
One  of  these  had  on  his  head  a  bronze  casque,  or  helmet,  accom- 
panied witli  the  remains  of  the  other  accoutrements  of  a  soldier. 
Tlie  bronze  sword  lay  by  his  side,  and  with  it  some  Roman 
coins,  some  of  Avhich,  if  not  all,  were  middle  brass  of  the  Em- 
peror Maxentius,  who   reigned  from  306  to  312.  §     Another 

*  'Memoires  de  I'lnstitut  Nationalc  des  Science  et  Arts.' — Litterature 
el  Beaux  Arts,  torn.  v.  p.  187. 

t  lb.,  p.  49G.  :;:  lb.,  note  on  p.  193.  §  lb.,  note  on  p.  501. 


12  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  i. 

similar  sword  was  found  in  tlie  turbary  outside  the  boat,  whicli 
would  appear  to  have  been  sunk  in  a  skirmish  after  some  of  its 
(;rew  had  been  killed  in  it.  We  learn  here  that  Roman  soldiers, 
in  the  wars  and  troubles  which  agitated  Gaul  in  the  third  and 
fourth  centuries  after  Christ,  were  armed  with  these  bronze 
swords,  which  some  have  so  in(2;eniouslv  supposed  to  have  been 
brought  into  this  island  by  the  Phoenicians,  some  seventeen  or 
eighteen  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era.  From  the 
time  of  Mongez,  the  French  antiquaries  have  generally  regarded 
the  bronze  swords  as  Roman. 

I  have  thus  crept  on  from  one  little,  though  significant,  fact 
to  another,  until  it  seems  to  me  tolerably  clear  that  they  all 
point  to  one  conclusion,  that  the  bronze  swords  found  so  often 
in  different  parts  of  western  and  northern  Europe  are  Roman  ; 
that  is,  that  they  were  all  either  of  Roman  manufacture,  or,  at 
the  least,  copied  from  Roman  models.  1  consider  that  this 
evidence  is  sufficiently  strong,  but  still  it  will  be  worthy  of 
inquiry,  whether  it  be  confirmed  by  pictorial  delineations  on 
Roman  monuments.  I  have  no  doubt  that  with  a  little  labour 
we  might  bring  together  a  mass  of  corroborative  evidence  of 
this  description  which  would  be  quite  irresistible,  but  I  regret 
to  say  that  pressing  engagements  of  a  ditterent  character  will 
not  at  present  allow  me  to  undertake  that  labour  myself  to  its 
full  extent.  I  think,  however,  that  I  can  produce  a  few  very 
satisfactory  examples  of  it — and  I  will  oidy  take  them  in  two 
classes  of  such  monuments. 

First,  as  to  the  sculptures  on  stone,  the  figure  of  a  Roman 
soldier,  generally  on  horseback,  is  a  common  adjunct  to  sepul- 
chral inscriptions  found  in  the  Roman  cemeteries.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  soldier  usually  has  his  sw^ord  by  his  side  in  its 
sheath,  and  although  the  shape  of  the  sheath  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  they  did  hold  blades  of  the  diflerent  known  forms 
of  the  bronze  swords,  yet  we  cannot  insist  upon  it.  If  the 
sheath  were  made  of  the  form  of  the  blade  of  a  leaf-shaped 
sword,  of  course  the  blade  could  not  be  draw^n  out ;  it  is  there- 
fore represented  in  one  uniform  shape,  distinguished  only  from 
any  ordinary  scabbard  by  being  short.  However,  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  I  have  seen  one  or  two  of  these  sculptures  in  which 
the  Roman  soldier  held  the  sword  drawn,  and  in  which  it  w^as 
clearly  leaf-shaped  ;  but  I  cannot  at  this  moment  put  my  hands 
upon  them.  If  any  one,  however,  will  take  the  trouble  to  look 
over  the  plates  of  that  readiest  of  all  books  of  reference,  the 
pere  Montfaucon's  Aiitlqidte  E.rpHqnea,  he  must,  I  think,  be 
convinced  of  the  absurditv  of  denying  that  these  swords  are 


CHAP.  I.] 


ROMAN  SWORDS. 


13 


Roman.  In  the  sculptures  on  the  arch  of  Constantine  at  Rome, 
al)out  contemporary  with  the  bronze  swords  found  near  Abbe- 
ville, and  described  by  Mongez,  the  Roman  soldiers  are  evidently 
armed  with  the  leaf-shaped  swords,  as  well  as  with  the  other 
forms  shown  in  our  cut  No.  1,  a  circumstance  which  brings 
into  immediate  relation  the  forms  and  the  metal.* 

But  I  will  g-o  farther  from  Italy,  and  give  examples  from  an 
important  work  very  recently  printed, — I  mean  the  Exploration 
sclentlfique  de  l" Alger'ie,  published  at  the  expense  of  the  French 
government, — which  are  represented  on  Roman  monuments  in 
another  part  of  the  w^orld.  In  the  archaeological  part,  the  work 
of  M.  Delamare,  engravings  are  given  of  a  number  of  Roman 

monuments  of 
various  kinds 
found  at  the  town 
of  Constantine  in 
the  province  of 
Algeria,  the  Ro- 
man Constantina, 
representing  the 
still  older  Numid- 
ian  town  of  Cirta. 
Most  of  these 
sculptures  are 
rather  rude,  and 
belong  probably 
to  the  time  of  the 
emperor  from 
whom  the  town 
took  its  second 
name.  On  one 
of  them, t  we  have 
a  re})resentation 
in  sculpture  of 
the  accoutrements  of  a  soldier,  with  the  figure  of  a  sword  on 

*  I  will  merely  refer  to  this  great  work,  torn.  iv.  plate  vii.  fig.  3,  for  a 
Roman  soldier  from  a  sculpture  at  Narbonne,  with  the  leaf-shaped  sword 
by  his  side ;  to  pi.  xxiv.,  where  there  are  several  of  our  swords  a  little 
varied  in  ornament ;  to  pi.  lii.,  representing  a  combat  in  which  the  Romans 
have  their  swords  in  their  scabbards,  but  the  handles  seem  clearly  to  re- 
present the  scroll-formed  ornament  represented  in  our  cut  No.  1 ;  to  pi. 
^Ixix.  and  Ixx.,  where  the  swords  are  the  same  represented  in  our  cut, 
though  not  leaf-shaped ;  and  to  the  Supplement,  tom.  iv.  pl.  xv.  and  pi. 
XXX.  In  the  work  itself,  tom.  iv.  pl.  xiii.,  the  Etruscan  soldiers  are  repre- 
sented as  armed  with  the  leaf-shaped  sword.  In  fact,  it  was  the  Italian 
swnrd,  derived,  no  doubt,  from  the  Greeks. 

+  Ilepi'esented  in  plate  156,  fig.  3,  of  the  work  in  question. 


/ 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 

No.  3.    Roman  Swords  from  Algeria. 


14 


THE  BHITOXS. 


[chap.  I. 


eacli  side — the  swords  are  represented  in  oar  cut  No.  3,  figs.  1 
and  2.  Another  sculptured  monument,  found  also  at  Con- 
stantine,*  contains  several  fig-ures  of  swords,  one  of  which  I 
give  in  the  same  cut,  fig*.  3.  One  of  these  swords  is  distinctly 
Ieaf-sha):)ed,  and  they  are  all  characterised,  as  clearly  as  such 
things  are  usually  drawn  in  these  rude  Eoman  sculptm-es,  by 
the  ribs  which  are  found  on  the  bronze  swords.  The  handles 
are  cleai'ly  intended  to  be  represented  as  fastened  on  in  the 
same  way  as  those  of  the  bronze  swords,  and  fig.  3  is  no  doubt 
intended  to  represent  the  same  termination  of  the  hilt  as  is 
shown  in  figs.  1,  2,  and  4,  of  our  cut  No,  1.  In  the  other  two, 
this  termination  is  replaced  by  a  ball,  but  the  rest  of  the 
liaiulles  are  quite  identical. 

I  will  next  proceed  to  a  class  of  monuments  of,  if  possible, 
still  greater  importance  in  the  discussion  of  our  subject,  the 
llonian  coinage.  The  coins  of  what  are  called  by  numismatists 
the  consular  series,  are  remarkable  for  the  interesting  illustra- 
tions they  give  us  of  Roman  costume  and  Eoman  manners,  and 
are,  on  that  account,  well  worthy  of  the  study  of  the  antiquary. 
Examples  of  swords  are  found  on  coins  of  the  Servilia,  Carisia, 
Plfetoria,  I'erentia,  and  jMinutia  families,  which  evidently  repre- 
sent the  ordinary  forms  of  the  bronze  swords  which  we  are 
discussing.  I  give  as  an  example  a  well-known  coin  of  the 
Servilia  geus.-\  The  obverse  represents  the  head  of  the  goddess 
Flora,  with  the  inscription  flora  .  pkimvs,  meaning  that  in 
giving  the  Eloralia 
that  year,  the  mem- 
ber of  this  family  in 
whose  honour  the 
coin  was  struck,  and 
whose  name  is  given 
on   the    reverse    as 

C  .  SEllVEIL  .  C  .  F.  ;  ^'^-  *•  <^om  of  C.  Servilius. 

i.e.,  Cains  Servilius,  the  son  of  Cains,  stood  first.  On  this 
reverse  we  see  two  military  figures,  standing  face  to  face,  with 
drawn  swords,  and  these  plaiidy  have  the  same  ribbed  leaf-shaped 
blades  which  are  represented  in  our  cut  No.  1,  The  man  in 
whose  honour  this  coin  was  struck  was  a  contemporary  of  Julius 
Caesar.  The  second  example  of  these  coins  I  give  belongs  to  the 
Minucia  family,  and  to  a  member  of  that  family  named  in  the 


*  lb.,  plate  128,  figs.  7  and  8. 

t  It  is  ccjpied  from  a  beautiful  example  of  the  coin  in  the  cabinet  of  my 
friend  Mr  C.  Roach  Smith. 


CHAP.  I.J 


BRONZE  SPEAR- HE  ADS. 


iO 


No.  5.  Coiji  of  Quintus  Thcrmus. 


inscription  Q  .  theum  . 
MF,  C^uintus  Therm  us, 
the  son  of  Marcus.* 
Three  men  are  here  en- 
aaued  in  combat,  one 
apparently  a  Roman  proy 
tectmg-  a  fallen  com- 
rade    ao-ainst     his     foe, 


whose  differeune  of  costume  probably  denotes  a  foreigner. f 
The  swords  of  t!.e  two  Romans  are  evidently  identical  in  form 
with  that  represented  by  fig.  4,  in  our  cut  No.  1 .  Thus  an 
examination  of  this  best  of  all  evidence,  the  coinage,  leaves  us 
no  room  for  doubting  that  the  characteristic  sword  of  republican 
Rome  was  actually  this  same  sword  to  which  the  pre-historic 
archaeologists  have  been  ascribing  such  a  remote  date  in  our 
islands. 

In  these  coins  we  trace,  curiously  enough, 
all  the  forms  of  weapons  of  bronze  found  in 
this  country.  The  spear-heads,  drawn  small, 
are  like  spear-heads  in  general,  but  nobody 
doubts  that  the  Roman  spear-head  Avas  made 
of  bronze.  We  trace  here  the  fii'-ures  of  the 
ro\md  bronze  shields  formed  of  concentric 
circles,  which  the  pre-historic  antiquaries 
ascribe  to  the  Britons  of  the  ante-Roman 
])eriod,  and  of  which  a  good  example  is  seen 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  soldiers  holding 
the  leaf-shaped  swords,  in  our  cut  No.  4  ; 
and  in^some  examples  the  concentric  circles 
are  more  numerous,  and  resemble  still  more 
closely  those  found  in  l^ritain. /•  But  there 
is  another  object  on  which  the  light  thrown 
by  these  coins  is  still  more  remarkable.  A 
curious  broad-bladed  dagger,  of  bronze,  is 
not  unfrequently  fount!  in  early  barrows  in  ^"^^  ^-  ^^"ze  Dagger. 
this  country,  the  blade  ribbed,  and  evidently  belonging  to  the 
same  period  as  the  bronze  swords.  I  give,  from  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  an  example  found  in  Ireland  (cut  No.  G),  which  will 

*  It  is  here  engraved  from  a  coin  in  the  Briti.sh  INIuscuin. 

t  Juhus  Cfiisar  made  his  first  cauipaign  under  Marcus  Minucius  Ther- 
nm.s,  and  fought  with  distinction  at  the  taking  of  Mytelene,  on  which 
occasion  he  saved  the  life  of  a  Roman  citizen,  and  received  from  Therm  us 
a  civic  crown  as  his  reward.  It  is  understood  that  this  act  of  Cy^sar  is 
commemorated  in  this  coin  of  Quintus  Thermus,  the  sou  of  Marcus. 


^ 


THE  BRITONS.  Fchap.  t. 

afford  a  general  idea  of  the  form  of  tliese  dagg-ers,  \vhicli  used 
to  be  called  British.  I  was  always  inclined  to  ascribe  them  to 
rather  an  early  date  ;  that  is,  to  a  period  very  little  before 
Cajsar's  time,  or  at  least  early  under  the  Eoman  domina- 
tion, not  because  I  thought  they  could  not  be  Roman, 
but  because,  as  the  Eomans  did  not  bury  their  arms  with 
the  dead,^  it  seemed  reasonable  enougli  to  suppose  that 
barrows  in  which  they  are  found  are  older  than  the  final 
and  entire  establishment  of  Roman  customs  and  laws.  ]^ut 
the  Roman  consular  coins,  on  which  daggers  identical 
in  character,  broad-bladed  and  ribbed,  and  with  the  same 
handles,  occur  -  frequently.  I  give  in  cut  No.  7,  a  very 
curious  example.''^  It  is  a  coin  of  Junius  Brutus,  who  slew 
Julius  Caesar.     On  the  obverse  we  have  the  name  l  .  plaet  . 

CEST ;  i.e.,  Lucius  Plse- 
torius  Cestianus,  one  of 
the  officers  of  Brutus,  by 
whose  order  the  coin  was 
struck,  and  who  gives  to 
his  chief  the  title  brvt  . 
IMP;  2.^.,  Brutus  iinpera- 
No.  7.  Coin  of  Brutus.  ^^r.     On  tlic  rcvcrsc,  we 

see  the  terrible  emblems,  the  plleus  or  cap  of  liberty  in  the 
middle,  two  daggers,  and  the  word  eid  .  mak',  Ekhis  (the 
archaic  form  of  Idus)  MartlcB,  the  day  on  which  the  deed  was 
done.  We  see  at  a  glance  that  the  dagger  with  which  Caesar 
was  slain  was  identical  in  every  particular  with  those  found  in 
the  tumuli  of  Britain  which- some  antiquaries  are  now  ascribing 
to  the  remote  age  of  Phoenician  colonies  1 

Thus  we  see  that  the  bronze  swords,  the  bronze  sliields,  the 
bronze  spears,  the  bronze  daggers,  which  liave  been  found  in 
Britain,  are  all  Roman  in  character.  The  so-called  'celts,' 
chisels,  etc.,  bear  the  same  character  with  the  weapons,  and  are 
sometimes  found  with  them,  and  probably  continued  in  use 
later.  It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  not  a  bit  of  bronze  which 
has  been  found  in  the  British  islands  belongs  to  an  older  date 
than  that  at  which  Caesar  wrote  that  the  Britons  obtained  their 
bronze  from  abroad,  meaning,  of  course,  from  Gaul,  (Bre  ntuntur 
importato.  In  fact,  these  objects  in  bronze  were  Roman  in  cha- 
racter, and  in  their  primary  origin. 

And  who  has  ever  brought  forward  any  evidence  to  show 
that  the  Romans  did  not  use  bronze  for  their  weapons?     Pliny 

*  Enffravod  from  one  in  tho  British  Museum. 


CHAP.  I.]     SWORDS  AMONG  THE  GAULS  AND  ROMAXS.     17 

tells  us  that,  in  the  treaty  which  concluded  the  war  between 
Porsena  and  the  Romans  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins, 
that  is,  about  five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  it  was  expressly 
stipulated  that  the  Romans  thenceforth  should  use  iron  for  no- 
thing  but  ao-ricultural  purposes.*  Our  acquaintance  with  the 
condition  of  that  time  is  not  sufficiently  minute  to  enable  us  to 
judge  Avhat  was  the  cause  or  the  object  of  this  stipulation,  but  i.|. 
seems  clear  that  swords  were  not  made  of  iron,  and  they  must 
therefore  have  be^n  made  of  bronze.  This  stipulation  coiivtinued 
in  force  during  some  three  centuries,  and  it  was  only  after  the 
second  Punic  war,  we  are  told,  that  the  Romans  began  to  adopt 
the  form  and  material  of  the  sword  as  it  was  in  use  among  the 
Spaniards.  Polybius  tells  a  curious  anecdote  relating  to  the 
gi'eat  victory  obtained  by  the  Romans  over  the  Gauls  during  the 
consulate  of  Cains  Flaminius,  a  little  more  than  two  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  He  informs  us  that  the  Gauls  were  armed 
with  long  pointless  swords,  which  they  used  only  in  striking  the 
enemy,  while  the  Romans  used  short,  stiff",  pointed  swords,  with 
wliich  they  stabbed  at  the  face  and  person.  When  the  Gauls 
struck  hard,  the  blade  of  the  sword  became  so  much  bent  that 
the  soldier  had  to  straighten  it  with  his  foot  before  he  could . 
strike  another  blow.  The  Roman  officers,  having  observed  this, 
directed  the  soldiers  to  close  upon  the  ranks  of  the  Gauls,  and 
thrust  vigorously  at  their  bodies  and  faces,  before  the  latter  had 
time  to  recover  the  use  of  their  swords,  and  by  this  manoeuvre 
the  great  inequality  of  numbers  was  partly  compensated.!  We 
cannot  doubt,  from  this  description,  that  the  swords  of  the  Gauls 
were  made  of  iron,  and  that  their  liability  to  bend  arose  from 
the  circumstance  that  that  people  did  not  yet  possess  the  art  of 
tempering  it;  Avhile  the  account  of  the  Roman  swords  answers 
exactly  to  the  short  pointed  bronze  weapons  of  which  we  are 
speaking.  We  have  a  rather  similar  anecdote,  of  a  later  date, 
which  brings  us  nearer  home.  Tacitus  tells  us  that,  in  the  great 
battle  in  which  Agricola  defeated  the  Caledonians  under  Gal-, 
gacus,  the  Britons  were  armed  with  immense  swords,  that  is,  of 
course,  long  ones,  and  small  bucklers  ;  while  the  Roman  auxili- 
aries, consisting  of  three  cohorts  of  Batavi  and  tw'o  of  Tungri. 
who  were  chiefly  put  forward  in  the  engagement,  were  armed 
with  short  pointed  swords  {mncrone>i).    The  result  was  the  same 

*  In  fcjedere  quod  expulsis  regibus  populo  Romano  dedit  Porsena  noiiii- 
iiatim  comprehensum  inveninms,  ne  ferro  nisi  in  agricultura  uterentur. — 
riiny,  '  Hist.  Nat.,'  lib.  xxxiv.  c.  39. 

+  Polybii  Histor.,  lib.  ii.  c.  33. 

C 


18       ,  THE  BRITOX?.  [chap,  i, 

;is  that  just  described :  the  Roman  auxiliaries  closed  upon  the 
Caledonii,  who,  unprepared  for  this  to  them  new  mode  of  fight - 

,  ing-,  were  defeated  witii  great  slaughter.*  These  anecdotes  point 
very  distinctly  to  the  bronze  swords  of  which  we  are  speaking. 
We  Site  thus  tracing  the  use  of  bronze  swords  very  near  to  the 
time,  or  ..quite  to  the  time,  when  the  leaf-shape  and  otlier  forms 
nfe  seen  on  the  consular  coins,  so  that  we  are  quite  justified  in 
supposing  that  those  represented  swords  of  bronze.  1  know 
nothing'  in  the  Latin  classical  writers  contradictory  to  this  view 

~ni'  the  subject.  Even  Yirgil,  the  fashionable  court  poet,  and  the 
least  likely  of  any  to  give  evidence  on  my  side  of  the  question, 
was  certainly  well  aware  of  the  use  of  bronze  in  the  manufacture 
of  arms.  Tiie  armour  was  of  bronze — that  of  Mazentius  was 
triple  in  thickness  ('are  cavum  trijylici,'  jEj/.,  x.  784),  like  the 
triple  bronze  which  surrounded  the  breast  of  the  brave  man  in 
Horace  (' ^s  triplex  circa  pectus  erat,^  Carm.,  lib,  i.  od.  3) ;  the 

'  helmet  was  of  bronze  C"  6ere  cap^it  ftdgens^  jEil,  x.  869);  the 
shield  was  of  bronze  {'  arei  clypei^  j^ri.,  xii.  541,  and  '  cei^ea 
scuta,'  j3^n.,  x.  313);  the  battle-axe  was  of  bronze  {'  et  (srotam. 
quatiens  Tarpeia  securim,'  jEh.,  xi.  656).  In  one  instance,  Virgil 
speaks  even  of  bronze  swords, — 

'  iErataeque  micant  peltee,  micat  aereus  ensis.' — JEn.^  \\\.  743. 

It  is  true,  that  these  bronze  swords  are  put  into  the  hands  of  a 
people  foreign  to  Italy,  but  it  is  not  stated  that  they  were  pecu- 
liar to  that  people.  Virgil,  further,  uses  the  word  as  for  arms 
generally.  ^Eneas,  describing  his  flight  from  Ti'oy,  with  his 
father  on  his  shoulder,  says, — 

'  Genitorque  per  umbram 
Pro-spiciens,  "Nate,"  exclamat,  "  f uge,  nate  ;  propinquant, — 
Ardentes  clypeos  atque  oera  micantia  cei'no."  ' — ^n.^  ii.  734. 

More  than  once  Virgil  uses  the  word  ceratus  as  a  general  epithet 

for  troops  (seeJSn.,  vii.  703,  and  ix.  463) ;  in  the  latter  passage, 

the 'bronze-armed  battalions'  are  described  as  marching  into 

battle, — 

'  Turnu.s  in  anna  viros,  anni.s  circunidatus  ipse, 
Suscitat,  ajiatasque  acies  in  prailia  cogit 
Quisque  suas.' 

Eor  the  spear,  we  might  quote  Ovid's  hasta  ceraicB  ctispidis 
(Metam.,  v.  9),  or  the  line  of  Tibullus  (lib.  i.  eleg.  xi.  1.  25), — 

'  At  novis  serata,  Lares,  depellite  tela.' 
In  fact,  when  the  Roman  thought  of  arms  and  accoutrements  of 

*  Taciti  Agricola,  c.  35. 


CHAP.  I.]  BRONZE  WEAPONS.  19 

war,  cES,  or  bronze,  appears  to  have  been  the  metal^  which' came 
vippermost  to  his  mind. 

I  confess  that  I  see  little  weight  in  the  argument  which  has 
been  drawn  from  the  secondary  use  of  the  word/t'/Twrn  as  syno- 
nymous with  (jladlus  or  ensis,  a  sword.  It  can  only  prove  that 
tliere  were  swords  made  of  iron  among  the  Romans  at  the  time  ' 
when  tlie  word  was  thus  used ;  probably  the  swoixl  of  iron  was 
then  considered  the  more  fashionable — the  moie  aristocratic.  'At 
all  events,  it  woidd  be  becoming  more  distinctive.  Iron  was  then 
the  newest,  and  probably  the  most  esteemed,  material.  We  must 
not  forget  that,  as  we  have  just  seen,  on  one  hand  the  word  a-'i 
was  used  for  arms  in  general,  not  for  a  particular  arnftr'and 
therefore,  when  iron  was  employed  for  swords,  it  would  be  more 
distinctive  of  the  particular  weapon  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  > 
hand,  from  the  time  when  money  had  begun  to  be  coined  among 
the  Romans,  6es,  as  the  material  of  which  it  was  made,  was  ustd 
in  a  secondary  sense  to  signify  money. 

When  Sir  John  Lubbock  (p.  35)  says  that  I '  lay  much  stress 
on  the  fact  that  the  bronze  weapons  have  generally  been  found 
near  Roman  stations  and  Roman  roads,'  he  has  applied  to  the  / 
weapons  what  I  had  said  of  a  rather  different  object.  During 
ages  Avhen  travelling  was  neither  quick  nor  safe,  and  people 
seldom  took  long  journeys  unnecessarily,  they  had  to  depend 
for  many  even  of  the  necessaries  of  life  upon  men  who  carried  ^ 
them  round  for  sale  periodically,  and  a  multitude  of  people  gained 
their  living  as  itinerant  traders  and  manufacturers.  It  was  a 
practice  general  throughout  the  middle  ages,  no  doubt  derived 
from  the  Romans,  and  the  very  utility  of  such  -dealers  formed 
their  protection  against  injury  and  interruption.  We  find  abund- 
ant traces  of  this  practice,  curiously  enough,  in  relation  to  the 
bronze  swords  and  hatchets.  These  consist  in  discoveries  of 
deposits,  usually  of  an  earthen  vessel  for  uielting  bronze,  of 
which  there  is  sometimes  a  residuum  at  the  bottom,  of  moulds 
for  casting  the  implements,  and  generally  of  some  broken  swords 
or  other  bronze  implements,  no  doubt  intended  to  be  melted 
down  for  metal,  and  of  similar  articles  entire,  constituting  stock 
in  trade.  Now  my  remark  was,  that  these  tools  and  stock  of 
itinerant  bronze  manufacturers  are  almost  always  found  near  a 
Roman  road,  or  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  Roman  station,  and 
that  therefore  we  are  justified  in  considering  them  as  Roman 
subjects,  who  had  travell6d  along  the  Roman  roads,  and  rested 
at  those  spots  for  personal  or  local  reasons  which  are  unknown 
to  us.    Discoveries  of  sucl/cleposits  have  been  very  numerous  in 


2C  THE  BRITOX>?.  [chap,  l 

Britain,  Gaul,  Swilzerlcind,  and  Germany.  1  am  not  nware  if 
they  have  been  found  on  the  other  confines  of  the  empire.  One 
of  these,  consisting-  of  a  quantity  of  bronze  celts,  both  entire  and 
broken,  was  found  near  the  foot  of  the  Wrekin  in  Shropshire, 
not  far  from  the  gTeat  Roman  road,  the  Watlingstreet ;  another, 
anionu;  which  there  were  fragments  of  a  bronze  sword,  at  Sit- 
tingbonrne,  on  the  Kentish  portion  of  the  Watlingstreet ;  a  third, 
consisting-  of  bronze  punches,  chisels,  and  other  implements,  witli 
several  pieces  of  unused  metal,  one  of  which  was  evidently  tlu; 
residuum  of  the  melting-pot,  at  Attleborough  in  Norfolk,  on  tiie 
Roman  road  between  Thetford  and  Norwich  ;  a  fourth,  consist- 
ing of  sixty  bronze  chisels,  etc.,  with  a  portion  of  a  bronze  sword 
and  a  piece  of  bronze  wliich  again  appeared  to  be  the  residue 
from  melting,  all  contained  in  an  eartlien  pot,  at  Weston  in 
Yorkshire,  on  the  road  from  Old  Malton  (where  tliere  are  the 
remains  of  a  Roman  town)  to  York.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
enumerate  any  further  examples.  Sir  John  Lubbock  seeks  to 
explain  tlie  position  of  these  iinds  by  supposing  that  tiie  Roman 
roads  were  laid  upon  older  British  roads,  but  this  is  an  objection 
to  which  I  cannot  listen  until  he  brings  me  the  slightest  sub- 
stantial evidence  tliat  sucli  was  the  case.  To  me,  these  '  finds  ' 
I  alone  are  sufficient  to  explain  a  fact  which  Sir  John  hardly,  or 
only  feebly,  denies,  the  identity  of  forms,  and  not  mere  similarity, 
of  all  these  bronze  swords,  in  whatever  part  of  Europe  they  ai*e 
found.  I  cannot  imagine  that  any  one  will  believe  tliat  tliis 
identity  of  form  is  the  result  of  chance,  but  they  must  have  been 
derived  from  one  general  centre;  and,  when  we  consider  the 
radius  through  which  they  are  scattered,  it  was  only  the  Roman 
empire  that  could  have  snpplied  such  a  centi'e.  it  is  nonsense 
to  suppose  that,  brought  into  Britain  at  a  remote  and  obscure 
period  by  the  Phoenicians,  they  could  have  spread  in  this  manner. 
The  whole  mystery,  then,  is  dispelled  by  the  proceedings  of  these 
itinerant  manufacturers,  who  must  have  been  very  inunerous, 
and  who  went  not  only  to  the  limits  of  the  Roman  province,  but, 
no  doubt,  penetrated  into  the  surrounding  countries,  and  made 
weapons  for  their  inhabitants.  It  was,  for  these,  the  easiest  way 
of  obtaining  weapons.  Swords  were  so  rare,  and  so  valued, 
among  the  Scandinavians  and  Teutons,  that  they  believed  them 
to  have  been  forged  by  the  gods ;  and  I  beg  to  state  that  the 
arms  which  the  gods  forged  were  made  of  iron.*     There  are 

*  It  may  be  remarked,  on  this  subject,  that  even  in  the  early  Anglo- 
SMxon  cemeteries  in  this  island,  which  belong-  to  the  period  immediately 
following  the  Komans,  only  one  warrior  here  and  there  is  found  with  u 


(HAP.  I.]  THE  EARLY  IRTSII.  21 

many  reasons,  into  wliicli  I  will  not  now  enter,  for  believin<i- 
tliat  it  was  a  subject  of  honour  and  o-lory,  amono-  the  different 
branches  of  the  Teutonic  race,  for  a  man  to  possess  a  sword ; 
and  here  the  'barbarian'  had  a  chance  of  gettino-  a  sword  to 
wear  by  his  side  at  not  so  great  an  expense  of  wealth  and  trouble 
as  if  it  had  been  made  by  the  gods,  and  he  no  doubt  proKted 
largely  by  it.  And  then,  the  '  barbarians,'  contrary  to  the 
Uoman  practice,  buried  their  weapons  with  the  dead,  in  cons(;- 
(luence  of  which  we  find  in  their  graves  a  sufficiency  of  those 
weapons  to  till  our  museums,  wdiile  we  only  pick  up  one  now 
and  then  within  the  bounds  of  the  Roman  empire.  Such  is  tlie 
case  with  Ireland,  where,  by  the  way,  it  has  been  somewhat 
too  hastily  asserted  that  the  Roman  arms  never  penetrated,  ^-> 
^  seeing  that  we  know  little  of  the  /iisto?y  of  our  islands  under  the  (Jy 
Romans, — that  Juvenal,  speaking  as  of  a  fact  generally  known, 
asserts, — 

'  Anna  quidem  ultra 
Litora  Juvernai  promo  vim  us,'  — 

and  that  Roman  antiquities  are  now  found  in  Ireland.  Such  is 
the  case  with  Scandinavia,  and  also  of  the  other  countries  of 
Europe  bordering  upon  the  Roman  provinces.  It  has  been 
alleged  that  some  of  the  ornamentation  of  the  Scandinavian 
bronze-work  is  not  Roman  in  its  character,  which  is  true — but 
why  ?  It  is  not  probable  that  an  enterprising  people  like  the 
Scandinavians  Avould  be  satisfied  to  remain  long  dependent  on 
the  precarious  supplies,  as  they  must  have  been  at  such  a  dis- 
tance, of  wandering  merchants,  and  they  would  soon  learn  to 
imitate  what  they  had  seen  done  by  others.  Roman  ornament- 
ation and  design,  in  their  hands,  wouhi  soon  undergo  degrad- 
ation until  it  took  a  character  of  its  own,  just  as  it  did  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  among  the  Germans,  and  indeed  among 
all  the  other  non-Roman  peoples  into  whose  hands  it  fell.  I 
have  always  held  the  belief  that  the  mass  of  the  Scandinavian 
ornamented  bronze  is  nothing  more  than  the  development  of 

Rword,  while  most  of  them  were  buried  with  spears.     This  would  show 
that  the  sword  was  comparatively  rare  among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  that  only 
one  individual  here  and  there  possessed  one,  or  that  they  were  considered  j' 
too  precious  to  be  buried.    Yet  the  common  poetical  phrase  for  being  killed  i 
in  battle  was  siveordum  aswefede^  '  put  to  sleep  with  swords.'     In  fact,  the   / 
naine  of  the  more  valuable  of  the  weapons  was  employed  to  represent  them    I 
all,  just  as  among  the  Romans  the  name  of  the  more  valued  metal  for   ' 
making  a  sword,  ferrum,  was  used  to  signify  all  swords,  and  then  used  for 
weapons  in  general,  because  the  sword  was  considered  the  most  excellenr. 
We  still  talk  of  putting  the  enemy  '  to  the  sword,'  omitting  altogether  the 
mention  of  muskets,  rifles,  lances,  revolvers,  etc.,  etc. 


Lb  THE  BUnOXS.  LCHAr.  I. 

Koman  popular  art  under  the  influence  of  barbaric  taste ;  and  I 
think  this  will  hardly  be  denied  by  any  one  who  is  familiarly 
acquainted  with  the  forms  and  spirit  of  Roman  art. 

But  it  is  time  to  conclude  these  remarks.  I  will  only  repeat 
the  belief,  on  which  I  have  always  insisted,  that  in  this  part  of 
the  world  the  use  of  bronze  did  not  precede  that  of  ii'on,  and  I 
believe  that  I  am  fully  supported  in  this  view  by  the  opinion  of 
our  <!;reat  metallurgist,  my  friend  Dr  Percy.  At  the  time  of 
Caesar's  invasion,  as  that  g-reat  warrior  and  statesman  declares 
deliberately,  the  only  bronze  known  to  the  Britons  was  im- 
ported ;  of  course  from  Gaul,  and  it  could  not  have  come  in 
large  quantities.  The  Britons  could  not  have  made  bronze 
themselves,  for  I  am  satisfied,  by  my  own  researches  among 
our  ancient  mines,  that  no  copper  was  obtained  in  this  island 
\  until  it  was  found  by  the  Eomaiis.  I  am  informed  that,  instead 
]  of  being  easy,  the  process  of  mining  copper  and  tin,  and  pre- 
j  paring  bronze,  is  very  complicated  and  difficult;  whereas  the 
smelting  of  iron  is  extremely  easy,  and  in  some  parts  of  our 
island,  as  in  the  forest  of  Dean,  the  iron  ore  presented  itself  on 
the  surface,  and  in  a  form  which  could  not  fail  to  di-aw  the 
attention  of  men  who  knew  anything  about  metals.  I  confess 
that  I  only  look  upon  the  modern  myth  of  the  colonisation  of 
this  island  by  the  Phoenicians  as  unworthy  the  consideration  of 
a  serious  antiquary.  It  is  based  upon  speculations  which  have 
no  historical  foundation.  In  these  new  questions  which  are 
agitated  by  men  of  science,  we  nuist  enter  upon  the  study  of 
the  remote  period  of  archaeology  of  which  we  have  no  practical 
knowledge,  with  a  very  profound  knowledge  of  the  subsequent 
historic  period;  wdiereas  this  new  school  of  antiquaries  prefer 
contemplating  altogether  the  doubtful  period  speculatively  from 
the  utterly  unknown  period  which  preceded  it,  to  going  back  to 
/it  from  the  known  period  which  followed.     Indeed,  I  fear  that 

(far  too  much  of  prehistoric  archaeology,  as  it  has  been  hitherto 
presented  to  us,  rests  only  upon  a  want  of  knowledge  of  what  is 
historic. 


c:iAP.  II.]  ETHNOLOGICAL  VIEWS.  2? 


CMAPTEH  II. 

Lthuological  Views — Political  Movements  in  Gaul — Cajsar's  fir^^t  and 
second  Invasions — Cassivellaunus — The  Britons,  as  described  by 
Ca^isar,  Strabo,  and  Diodorus^ — Cunobeline  and  his  Sons — Expedition 
of  Claudius — Conquests  of  the  earlier  Propreetors — Caractacus— -Car- 
tisniandua  and  Venusius — Invasion  of  Mona — ^Insurrection  of  Boadi- 
cea — War  with  the  Brigantes — Campaigns  of  Agricola — Total  Sub- 
jection of  the  Island  to  Rome — Enumeration  of  the  British  Tribes — 
Hibernia — Manners  of  the  Britons,  as  described  by  ancient  writers — 
The  Druids. 

According  to  the  system  now  generally  adopted  by  ethnolo- 
gists, Europe  was  peopled  by  several  successive  migrations,  or, 
as  they  have  been  technically  named,  waves  of  population,  all 
liowiiig  from  one  point  in  the  east.  Of  these  the  two  principal 
were  the  Celts  and  the  Teutons  or  Germans,  both  branches  of 
tlie  same  great  race,  which  has  been  popularly  termed  the 
Japhetaii,  l)ecause,  according  to  the  Scriptural  account,  the 
various  peoples  which  belonged  to  it  were  all  descended  from 
Japhet.  The  Celts  came  first  in  point  of  time,  and,  making 
tlieir  way  apparently  through  the  districts  bordering  on  the 
Mediterranean,  they  spread  over  all  Western  Europe.  The 
German  nations,  entering  Europe  from  the  shores  of  the  Black 
Sea,  advanced  through  its  central  parts,  till,  coming  in  contact 
with  the  Celts,  they  gradually  drove  them  forwards  to  the  west 
and  south-west.  The  Germans  themselves  were  urged  west- 
n^ard  by  a  new  migration  which  was  pressing  upon  them  from 
behind,  that  of  the  Sclavonic  or  Sarmatian  race,  which,  as  early  \ 
as  the  tinu!  of  the  Greek  historian  Herodotus,  that  is,  in  tlie  I 
middle  of  the  fifth  century  before  Christ,  had  already  established  / 
itself  on  the  eastern  borders  of  Europe. 

Of  the  successive  movements  of  these  nations,  and  the 
mutual  struggles  which  ended  in  their  location  in  the  positions 
they  occupied  when  we  tirst  became  acquainted  with  them, 
history  has  preserved  no  record.  The  early  Greek  writers  knew 
little  cf  Western  Europe,  and  Herodotus  co\ild  only  inform  us 


V 


24  THE  BRITOXS.  -  [chap.  ii. 

that  the  western  extremity  was  occupied  by  a  people  wliom  lie 
terms  the  Cynetae,  and  that  all  the  countries  next  to  them  Avere 
said  to  be  inhabited  by  the  Celtse  or  Celts ;  and  he  had  an 
indistinct  notion  of  the  British  Isles,  under  the  general  term  of 
Cassiterides,  or  the  tin  islands,  as  the  g-i-and  source  from  which 
the  Phoenicians  derived  their  supply  of  that  metal.  The  philo- 
sop>|ier  Aristotle,  who  lived  a  hundred  years  later,  or  about  three 
centuries  and  a  half  before  Christ,  speaks  more  definitely  and  dis- 
tinctly of  the  ocean  without  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  (the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar),  in  which  he  tells  us  there  were  '  two  islands, 
\  which  are  very  large,  Albion  and  lerne,  called  the  Britannic, 
I  which  lie  beyond  the  Celta?.'  This  is  the  earliest  mention  of 
I  our  islands  by  their  names.  Another  Greek  historian,  Polybius, 
who  w^rote  very  little  more  than  a  hundred  and  tifty  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  adds  nothing  to  our  knowledge  on  this 
subject,  but  he  speaks  of  the  method  in  which  the  tin  was  ob- 
tained and  prepared  in  the  '  Britannic  Isles,'  as  of  a  matter  with 
which  he  was  well  acquainted,  and  which  was  then  a  subject  of 
so  .much  interest  that  he  wrote  a  separate  treatise  upon  it,  now 
unfortunately  lost.  All  that  we  learn  from  these  ^e\\  and 
scanty  notices  is,  that  from  a  very  early  period  of  the  history  of 
the  world,  the  merchants  of  Phamicia  obtained  tluir  supply  of 
tin  (an  article  in  use  bs  far  back  as  the  time  of  Homer)  from 
Britain.  As  this  metal  is  found  chiefly  in  Cornwall  and  the 
tScilly  Islands,  the  parts  of  Britain  which  would  first  present 
themselves  to  navigators  from  the  Phoenician  port  on  the  coast 
of  Spain,  Gadeira  or  Gades  (the  modern  Cadiz),  we  are  justified 
in  believing  tliat  these  and  the  south  of  Ireland  were  the  only 
districts  visited  by  that  people,  who,  as  we  are  further  assured, 
kept  their  knowledge  a  profound  secret,  in  order  that  they 
might  with  greater  ease  monopolise  a  lucrative  brancli  of 
commerce.  The  geographer  Strabo  tells  us  that  the  Eomans 
long  attempted  in  vain  to  discover  the  place  from  Avhence  the 
Phoenicians  obtained  their  tin,  to  which  at  this  time  were  added 
lead  and  perhaps  copper,  and  that  on  one  occasion  a  Phoenician 
captain,  perceiving  that  he  was  followed  and  watched  by  Roman 
vessels,  ran  his  own  ship  intentionally  on  the  roci<s  rather  than 
let  the  secret  b(;  discovered,  aud,  escaping  with  his  crew  on  a 
raft,  was  rewarded  by  his  own  government  for  his  patriotism. 
A  It  was  not  till  a  Roman  named  Publius  Crassus,  who  is  sup- 
j)osed  to  be  the  commander  sent  by  Caesar  at  the  end  of  his 
first  campaign  in  Gaul  to  reduce  the  Gallic  tribes  on  the  sl)or<s 
of  the  British  Channel,  discovered  the  trade  of  the  Pha^nicians 


CHAP.  II.]     EARLY  MOVEMENT  OF  THE  CELTIC  RACE.       "io 

with  Britain,  that  the  Komans  became  acquainted  with  the 
ronte  by  which  their  mercliants  reached  Britain  by  sea,  and 
with  the  ease  with  whicli  the  tin  was  dug-  up,  it  being-  then 
found  at  a  very  small  depth  under  the  surface  of  the  ground. - 
Previous  to  this,  however,  two  other  commercial  states  had 
established  an  intercourse  with  the  tin  district  bf  Britain.  The 
Carthaginian  Himilco,  sent  by  his  government  on  a  voyage  of 
discovery  between  the  years  362  and  350  before  the  Christian 
era,  visited  the  tin  islands,  which  he  calls  (Estrymnides,  near 
Albion,  and  two  days'  sail  from  lerne,  by  which  lie  is  supposed 
to  mean  some  of  the  isles  on  the  Cornish  coast ;  and  the 
Phocean  colonies  of  Massilia  and  Narbona  carried  on  the  same 
commerce  overland.  We  are  informed  by  another  Greel: 
^  writer,  Diodorus  Siculus,  that  the  tin  was  conveyed  i'vbm  the 
district  in  wliich  it  was  found  to  an  island  '  in  front  of  Britaift,' 
named  Ictis,  apparently  the  Isle  of  Wight,  wliere  it  was  pur- 
chased by  native  merchants,  who  transported  it  to  Gaul,  and  it 
was  then  cai'ried  overland  on  pack-horses  a  journey  of  thirty 
days  to  the  mouth  of  the  Khone.  Everything,  however, 
relating  to  this  distant  region,  almost  unconnected  Avitli  the 
world  as  then  known,  was  wrapped  in  mystery ;  and  Scipio 
could  obtain  no  satisfactory  answer  to  the  anxious  inquiries 
concerning  Britain  which  he  made  among  the  merchants  of  the 
great  cities  of  Massilia,  Narbona,  and  Corbelo.  The  veil  was  at 
length  drawn  aside  by  the  ambition  of  Julius  Caesar. 

At  this  time  the  movement  of  the  German  race  towards  the 
west  was  proceedingly  rapidly,  and  the  Celtic  populations  of 
(laul  and  Britain  Avould  probably  have  been  soon  crushed 
beneath  the  invasion,  had  not  the  Romans  stepped  fn  to  arrest 
its  progress.  Perhaps  the  northern  parts  of  Gaul  were  already 
extensively  peopled  by  tribes  of  German  extraction,  and  there 
are  reasons  for  believing  that  the  Belgse  were  themselves  a 
Teutonic  race,*  a  circumstance  whicli  would  explain  some  diffi- 
culties in  the  history  of  Western  Europe  at  this  period. 

The  mass  of  the  Celtic  population,  as  we  learn  from  Csesar, 
were  serfs,  without  civil  influence  or  even  civil  rights  ;  the  mere 

*  Cassar  tells  us  distinctly,  that  the  Belga^  differed  in  lan^^uage,  customs, 
and  laws,  from  the  Celtae,  equally  with  the  Aquitani :  '  Gallia  est  onmis 
divisa  in  partes  tres  ;  quaruih  unam  incolunt  Belgae,  aliam  Aquitani,  ter- 
tiam  qui  ipsorum  lingua  Coltai,  nostra  Galli,  adpellantur.  Hi  onmes  lingua, 
institutis,  legibus  inter  se  differunt.'  This  statement,  combined  witji 
various  circumstances  of  their  history,  lead  me  to  believe  that  the  Belgjc 
wore  of  German  origin  ;  and  I  confess  that  the  arguments  of  Dr  Priphard 
aud  others,  to  the  contrary,  seem  to  me  unsatisfactory. 


26  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ri. 

slaves  of  the  superior  orders.  Tlie  latter  were  divided  into  two 
very  distinct  classes — the  Druids  and  the  kniglits  {mllites)  ;  or 
in  other  words,  the  priests  and  the  chiefs  of  chins  or  military 
leaders.  The  former,  who  resembled  the  Brahniinical  class  in 
India,  combined  with  the  sacerdotal  profession  the  functions  of 
judg-es  and  legislators,  and  during'  the  course  of  ages  they  seem 
gradually  to  have  usurped  the  supreme  powers  in  the  state,  and 
to  have  reduced  the  military  chiefs  to  a  state  of  political  sub- 
jection. These,  however,  had  not  entirely  forgotten  their 
ancient  independence,  and  the  spirit  of  resistance  appears  to 
have  been  stirred  up  and  encouraged  by  the  example  of  the 

i    Teutonic  tribes  who  were  now  mixing  with  them,  and  who  were 
far  less  priest-ridden,  for  Caesar  tells  us  that  they  had  no  Druids. 
'  The  whole  of  Gaul  became  thus  divided  into  two  great  political 

factions,  some  of  the  tribes  uniting  in  support  of  the  Druidic 
iiitiuence,  while  others  took  part  with  the  military  chiefs.  The 
western  Celtse — among  whom  were  the  Carnutes,  in  whose  terri- 
tory (the  modern  Chartres)  stood  the  sacred  grove,  the  head  seat 
of  Druidic  worship  in  Gaul,  with  the  people  of  Brittany,  of  whose 
devotion  to  the  religion  of  their  race  so  many  rude  monmnents 
still  remain — all  supported  the  Druidic  faction,  of  which  the 
Hedui,  who  inhabited  the  modern  Burgundy,  took  the  lead. 
The  Belgse,  as  might  be  expected,  with  the  northern  tribes,  sup- 
ported the  other  faction,  at  the  head  of  which  were  the  Sequani, 
whose  capital  was  Vesontio  (the  modern  Besan9on).  Hard 
pressed  by  the  Druid  faction,  the  tribes  who  supported  the 
military  chiefs  had  called  to  their  assistance  the  Germans 
under  Ariovistus,  while,  to  resist  these  terrible  invaders,  the 
Hedui  appealed  for  protection  to  Rome.  To  Caesar  this  was  a 
welcome  proposal ;  he  came  with  his  legions,  drove  the  Germans 
back  over  the  Rhine,  and  then  taking  advantage  of  the  political 
divisions  among  the  nations  of  Gaul,  proceeded  to  reduce  it  to 
a  Roman  province.  The  Gauls,  too  late,  threw  aside  their 
mutual  animosities  in  order  to  resist  their  common  enemy,  and 
when  Caesar  thought  that  they  were  cut  off  from  all  foreign  aid 
by  the  ocean  behind  them,  he  found  that  they  Avere  drawing 
])owerful  reinforcements  from  Britain.  The  Belgye,  who  sur- 
passed all  the  other  nations  of  Gaul  in  valour  and  conduct, 
— JL.  wer(!  the  last  to  yield  to  the  military  genius  of  the  Roman 
'  commander,  and  to  the  steady  discipline  of  liis  cohorts.  \\  hen 
lie  at  length  reached  their  coast,  and  saw  from  the  lieights 
between  Boulogne  and  Calais  the  white  cliffs  of  Albion,  he 
resolved  to  carry  his  arms  into  the  island  which  had  so  long 


V 


CHAP.  II]  THE  CELTIC  RACE  IN  BiaTAIX.  27 

l)een  an  object  of  curiosity  to  his  countrvmen,  and  ascertain  tlie 
resources  which  might  be  used  to  assist  those  wlioni  he  liad 
made  their  foes. 

]5ritain  contained  at  tin's  time  nearly  the  same  political  ele- 
ments as  Gaul.  The  basis  of  its  population  was  the  same 
Celtic  race  which  there  held  with  the  Druidic  faction  ;  and  the 
supremacy  of  the  Druids  or  priestly  order  seems  to  l.Mve  been 
established  more  firmly  in  Britain  even  than  in  Gaul.  We  are 
not  able  to  say  with  any  certainty  if  any,  or  how  much,  of  the 
population  of  the  western  parts  of  our  island  derived  its  origin 
from  the  Aquitanian  or  Basque  race,  but  we  know  that  the 
BelgiB  had  taken  possession  of  the  richest  parts  of  South  Britain, 
and  that  these  settlers  wei'e  in  close  alliance  with  their  brethren 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Straits,  while  the  Celtic  Yeneti  of  Gaul, 
a  seafaring  tribe,  maintained  their  old  commercial  intercourse 
with  the  Celts  of  Britain.  We  are  ignorant  of  the  extent  to 
wdiich  the  division  between  the  Druids  and  the  military  chiefs 
had  been  introduced  into  this  island,  but  Ave  know  that  the 
British  tribes  in  the  time  of  Caesar  were  no  strangers  to  civil 
strife. 

As  the  season  Avas  far  advanced,  the  Roman  commander  saw- 
that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  and  he  called  together  the  mei'- 
cliants  irom  diiferent  parts  of  the  coast,  in  the  hopes  of  obtain- 
ing from  them  the  necessary  information  relating  to  the  country 
which  he  Avas  about  to  invade.  But  they  seemed  to  have  con- 
spired together  to  deceive  him,  and  Avhen  he  questioned  them, 
they  could  tell  him  neither  the  extent  of  the  island,  nor  the 
number  or  character  of  the  natiA^es  who  inhabited  it,  nor  even 
the  harbours  in  Avliich  a  fleet  might  anchor.  Nevertheless, 
they  sent  intelligence  to  the  Britons  of  the  designs  of  invasion 
and  conquest  Avhich  Csesar  had  not  concealed.  Several  of  the 
British  states,  thus  Avarned,  despatched  messengers  to  Caesar, 
offering  to  submit  to  the  government  of  the  Eoman  people  and 
to  give  hostages  for  their  fidelity.  These  he  sent  back  Avith 
liberal  promises,  and  they  were  accompanied  by  Commius, 
whom  the  Jioman  commander  had  made  king  over  the  A^an- 
([uished  Attrebates  of  Gaul,  and  who  Avas  directed  to  visit  as 
many  of  the  states  as  he  could,  and  to  exhort  them  to  submit  to 
the  Romans.  The  real  object  of  the  British  envoys  Avas  perhaps 
to  gain  information,  as  Caesar  Avas  still  as  ignorant  as  ever  of 
the  country  and  its  coasts.  He,  therefore,  sent  one  of  his 
officers,  Cains  Volusenus,  Avith  a  war-galley,  to  survey  tlie 
l^ritish  coasts,  while  he  assembled  his  troops  in  the  country  of 


V 


{ 


28  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

the  Morini  (the  Pas-de-Calais),  and  ordered  the  ships  which 
had  been  employed  in  the  precedin"-  year  against  the  Veneti  to 
repair  to  the  Portus  Iccius,  a  naval  station  afterwards  called 
Gessoriacnm  (Boulogne). 

Satisfied  with  the  imperfect  survey  of  Yoluseniis,  Caesar  em- 
barked at  the  Portns  Iccius  before  daybreak  in  an  autumn 
morning,  carrying  with  him,  in  about  eighty  vessels  of  burden, 
his  favourite  legion,  the  tenth,  in  the  courage  and  devotion  of 
which  he  placed  the  utmost  confidence,  and  the  seventh.  His 
cavalry  was  directed  to  follow  in  eighteen  vessels  which  Avere 
stationed  in  a  port  about  eight  miles  from  that  in  which  Caesar 
end)arked.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the  Roman  fleet 
arrived  on  the  coast  of  Ih'itain,  here  formed  of  low  cliffs,  which 
were  covered  with  British  warriors  prepared  for  battle.  After 
w^aiting  in  vain  for  the  arrival  of  his  cavalry  until  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  Caesar  took  advantage  of  a  favom-able  wind 
and  tide,  and  naming  on  about  seven  miles  further,  brought  his 
ships  up  on  an  open  and  level  strand,  which  was  more  favour- 
able for  the  landing  of  his  troops.  The  latter  were  seized  wdth 
alarm  at  the  novel  and  formidable  appearance  of  the  multitude 
of  warriors  who  had  huriied  forwards  to  meet  them,  and  were 
now  drawn  up  in  hostile  array  on  the  shore,  and,  nnacquainted 
with  the  depth  of  the  water,  they  w^ere  unwilling  to  leave  their 
siiips.  At  length,  after  much  hesitation,  the  standard-bearer  of 
the  tenth  legion,  calling  on  his  fellow-soldiers  to  follow,  jumped 
into  the  sea.  It  Avas  some  time  before  the  Eoman  soldiers  could 
reach  firm  ground ;  for  the  depth  of  their  ships  had  obliged 
them  to  anchor  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  shore,  and 
they  had  to  struggle  through  deep  water,  in  which  they  were 
impeded  by  the  weight  of  their  arms  and  accontrements ;  while 
their  enemies,  lighter  and  more  agile,  rode  into  the  water  with 
their  horses,  and  attacked  them,  as  they  attempted  to  form,  in 
small  parties,  or  overwhelmed  them  with  a  shower  of  missiles 
from  the  beach.  As  soon,  however,  jis  the  soldiers  obtained  a 
firm  footing,  the  Britons  who  had  sh(, »vn  no  want  of  courage  in 
the  previous  confused  engagement,  yielded  to  superior  discipline, 
and  fled,  making  their  escape  with  the  less  loss  because  the  in- 
vaders wei'e  destitute  of  cavalry. 

Thus  did  the  Romans,  for  the  first  time,  place  their  feet  on 
that  distant  island  whose  name  had  hitherto  belonged  rather  to 
the  poet  than  to  the  historian.  It  is  not  easy  to  explain  the 
subsequent  conduct  of  the  Britons,  except  by  the  entire  want 
of  union  amony:  the  various  tribes  which  were  scattered  over 


CHAP.  II.]      ARRIVAL  OF  THE  ROMANS  IN  BRITAIN.  29 

the  island.  Their  chiefs,  instead  of  making  any  furtlier  attempt 
to  retrieve  their  first  defeat,  or  appealing  to  the  other  tribes  to 
join  them  in  resisting  tlie  invaders,  sent  messengers  to  Caesar 
with  excnses  for  the  resistance  they  had  already  made,  promis- 
ing obedience  in  futnre,  and  offering  hostages.  Commius,  the 
chief  of  the  Attrebates,  came  with  these  messengers ;  he  liad 
been  seized  on  his  arrival  in  Britain,  and  thrown  into  chains ; 
but  the  chiefs  now  gave  him  his  liberty,  throwing  the  blame  of, 
his  detention  on  the  multitude,  and  promising  to  make  amends 
for  their  imprudent  hostility.  Caesar  readily  granted  them 
])eace,  demanding  a  certain  number  of  hostages,  part  of  whom 
were  immediately  delivered  ;  and  the  chiefs  dismissed  their  fol- 
lowers, and  repaired,  in  considerable  numbers,  to  Caesar's  camp. 
The  insincerity  of  their  submission  was,  however,  soon  proved. 
Caesar  had  been  four  days  in  Britain  before  his  cavalry  could 
put  to  sea  from  the  coast  of  Gaul,  and  then,  although  a  favour- 
able wind  brought  them  within  sight  of  the  camp,  the  weather 
became  so  stormy  that  they  were  driven  back  to  the  ports  they 
had  left.  The  storm  increased  during  the  night,  dragged  the 
transports  from  their  ancliors,  and  drove  the  whole  fleet  on  the 
sliore,  where  most  of  the  Roman  ships  were  destroyed,  or  more 
or  less  damaged.  This  accident,  and  the  dismay  into  which  it 
threw  Caesar's  army,  encouraged  the  British  chiefs  to  form  a 
new  confederacy,  with  the  design  of  attacking  the  camp,  from 
which,  under  various  pretences,  they  gradually  withdrew.  Tlie 
Romans  busied  themselves  with  refitting  their  fleet,  and  were 
not  aware  of  the  designs  of  the  Britons,  till  one  day  tlie  seventh 
legion  went  out,  as  usual,  to  forage,  and  they  had  not  been  long 
absent,  when  the  guards  at  the  gate  of  the  camp  reported  that 
there  Avas  an  unusual  cloud  of  dust  in  the  direction  which  they 
had  taken.  Caesar,  hurrying  with  other  troops  to  the  assistance 
of  his  foragers,  found  that  the  latter  were  surrounded  by  a  mul- 
titude of  armed  Britons,  who  had  rushed  upon  them  from  the 
woods,  and  that  they  were  defending  themselves  with  difficidty 
against  the  attacks  of  the  horsemen  and  charioteers.  The 
assailants  were  now  repulsed ;  but  Caesar  found  it  necessary  to 
draw  off  his  men,  and  make  good  his  retreat  to  the  camp,  where 
the  Britons,  who  considered  this  engagement  as  a  victory,  deter- 
mined to  attack  him;  and  they  sent  messengers  in  all  directions 
to  call  the  neighbouring  chiefs  to  their  standard.  A  continu- 
ance of  stormy  weather  prevented  the  attack  for  several  days 
during  which  Caesar,  Avarned  of  their  design,  made  every  pre- 
paration for  defence,  the  result  of  which  was  a  new  and  severe 


30  THE  BKITONS.  [chap.  ji. 

defeat  of  tlie  Britons,  wlio  were  pursued  with  slau<;liter  by  a 
small  body  of  cavalry  which  attended  upon  the  Attrebatiaii 
Commius.  The  same  day,  the  chiefs  sent  again  to  demand 
peace,  which  Caesar,  anxious  to  return  to  Gaid  before  the  set- 
tiiig-in  of  the  equinoctial  gales,  granted,  after  exacting  double 
the  number  of  hostages  which  he  had  previously  required.  He 
then  embarked  his  troops,  and  reached  the  country  of  the  Morini 
in  safety,  from  whence  the  intelligence  sent  him  by  his  friends 
recalled  him  to  Italy.  But,  before  his  departui-e,  he  gave  direc- 
tions for  fitting  out  a  great  number  of  ships,  of  a  shape  better 
adapted  for  landing  his  troops  on  the  shores  of  Britain,  announc- 
ing that  it  vvas  his  intention  to  return  to  the  island  in  the  en- 
suing spring. 

The  officers  and  troops  left  in  Gaul  showed  their  zeal  in  the 
completeness  with  which  they  executed  the  orders  of  their  great 
commander;  and  when  Ctesar  returned  to  them,  in  the  year  64 
B.C.,  he  found  everything  ready  for  the  transport  of  his  troops, 
his  horses,  and  his  provisions.  The  former  consisted  of  five 
legions,  with  two  thousand  cavalry.  These  were  embarked  in 
upwards  of  eight  hundred  ships,  and  the  appearance  of  this 
numerous  fleet  so  alarmed  the  Britons,  that  tlicy  deserted  the 
coast,  and  retired  to  the  less  accessible  parts  of  the  country. 
The  Eomans,  on  this  occasion,  landed  in  or  near  the  same  spot 
as  in  the  year  preceding  ;  and  Csesar  chose  a  place  for  his  camp 
on  the  shore.  Some  priso-ners,  taken  in  the  course  of  the  same 
afternoon,  having  given  information  of  the  spot  where  the  Britons 
were  assembled,  he  marched  against  them  at  night,  leaving  ten 
cohorts  and  three  hundred  horse  to  guard  the  ships.  He  found 
the  Britons  posted  in  a  woody  district,  about  twelve  Koman 
(perhaps  sixteen  English)  miles  from  his  camp,  on  the  banks 
of  a  river  supposed  to  be  the  Stour  ;  and  as  he  approached  (I 
now  use  his  own  words),  they  '  came  down  to  the  river  to  meet 
him,  with  their  horsemen  and  chariots,  and  attempted,  from 
elevated  ground,  to  begin  the  battle,  and  repel  our  troops.  But 
our  horse  soon  drove  them  back,  and  they  took  refuge  in  the 
woods,  where  they  had  a  place  singularly  strong  both  by  nature 
and  art,  and  which,  to  all  appearances,  had  been  constructed  by 
them  as  a  stronghold  during  their  civil  wars  ;  for  every  approach 
to  it  was  efiectually  blocked  up  with  felled  trees.  Some  few  of 
their  troops,  however,  continued  to  skirmish  from  the  woods, 
and  prevented  our  men  from  entering  their  fortress.  But  the 
soldiers  of  the  seventh  legion  lockecl  their  shields  together,  so 
as  to  form  what  is  called  the  ttdudo,  and,  mounting  over  a 


CHAP.  II.]  CASSIVELLAUiXUS.  31 

iriound  thrown  up  against  the  defences,  took  the  place,  and  ex- 
pelled the  Britons  from  the  woods,  without  experiencing  much 
loss  tliemselves.' 

CiEsar  was  prevented  from  following-  up  this  success  by  the 
intelligence  of  another  disaster  which  had  befallen  his  fleet, 
tiirough  a  violeut  storm  on  the  second  night  after  his  arrival. 
He  returned  in  haste  to  his  camp,  found  that  the  damage  doue 
to  his  fleet  had  not  been  exaggerated  by  the  messengers  who 
brought  him  intelligence  of  it,  and  gave  immediate  directions 
for  repairing  the  shattered  ships.  '  He  now  resolved,  not- 
withstanding the  difficidty  of  the  task,  to  haul  up  all  his  ships, 
and  inclose  them  in  one  line  of  fortification  with  the  camp. 
This  labour  occupied  about  ten  days ;  and  the  work  was  not 
intermitted  during  the  night.  The  vessels  were  thus  drawn  ; 
up,  and  a  camp  strongly  fortified ;  after  which,  leaving  the  | 
same  force  to  guard  the  fleet,  he  recommenced  his  march  in  / 
the  same  direction  as  before.'  Caesar  found  that  the 
Britons  had  employed  the  time  which  he  had  lost  by  the 
disaster  of  his  fleet,  in  composing  their  differences  and  uniting 
against  him ;  for  when  he  landed  in  Britain,  the  different 
tribes  were  engaged  in  mutual  hostilities :  perhaps  it  was  a 
struggle  between  the  Belgian  settler  and  the  aboriginal  Celt:  * 
and  the  chief  of  the  latter  is  named  l)y  Caesar,  Cassivellaunus 
or  Cassibellaunus.  This  chief,  who  seems  to  have  been  of  the 
British  race,  and  whose  territoiy  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
present  county  of  Hertford,  had  been  gradually  reducing  under 
his  sway  the  tribes  around  him.  We  learn,  incidentally,  that 
some  of  the  chiefs,  whose  rights  he  had  usurped,  had  fled  to 
Gaul,  and  there  made  their  complaint  to  Caesar,  and  implored 
his  protection.  This  was  the  case  with  Mandubratius,  the 
young  chief  of  the  Trinobantes,  a  people  occupying  the  modern 
county  of  Essex,  and  considered,  at  the  time  of  Caesar's  inva- 
sion, as  the  principal  tribe  of  this  part  of  the  island.  The 
kingdom  of  the  Trinobantes  had  been  seized  by  Cassivellaunus, 
who  murdered  its  king,  Imanuentius,  the  father  of  Mandu- 
bratius, and  the  latter  only  escaped  a  similar  fate  by  flight. 

The  different  tribes  of  the  south-eastern  parts  of  the  island, 
as  we  have  just  said,  now  joined  in  a  temporary  league  against 
the  invaders :  and  it  is  a  proof  of  the  general  estimation  of 
the  talents  of  Cassivellaunus,  that  they  agreed  in  selecting  him 

*  It  may  perhaps  be  considered,  in  favour  of  this  supposition,  that  the 
chiefs  who  were  oppressed  by  Cassivellaunus  fled  to  the  continent  to  seek 
assistance,  instead  of  applying  to  the  native  tribes  of  the  interior. 


32         .  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

for  their  leader.  In  consequence  of  this  confederacy,  when 
Csesar  marched  back  to  the  position  from  Avhicli  he  had  been 
called  by  the  disaster  of  his  fleet,  he  found  the  enemy  collected 
in  much  greater  numbers  than  before,  to  oppose  his  further 
progress.  The  Roman  legions  and  their  auxiliaries  were  now- 
exposed  to  constant  attacks,  in  the  course  of  which  they  lost 
many  men  ;  for  the  woods,  which  appear  to  have  covered  or 
skirted  the  country  through  which  Caesar  marched,  gave  a 
secure  shelter  to  the  Britons,  and  they  were  thus  enabled  to 
harass  the  Romans  by  sudden  and  unexpected  attacks,  and, 
when  repulsed,  to  retreat  without  loss,  as  the  heavy-armed 
legionaries  would  seldom  overtake  them  in  their  flight.  '  In 
all  these  skirmishes,'  Caesar  tells  us,  '  so  immediately  under 
our  eyes,  and  close  to  the  camp,  it  was  evident  that  the  weight 
of  our  men's  arNinovlr  prevented  them  from  pursuing  the  enemy 
when  they  retreated,  or  advancing  far  from  their  own  colours. 
In  short,  their  accoutremeirts  were  ill-adapted  for  contending 
with  such  an-  enemy  as  they  had  now  to  deal  with ;  and  the 
cavalry,  in  particular,  were  much  exposed  on  the  held  of  battle  ; 
'for  the  Britons  would  often  make  a  feigned  retreat,  and  allure 
them  to  separate  from  the  legions,  after  which  they  would  leap 
from  their  chariots,  and  take  the  cavalry  at  a  disadvantage.  .  .  . 
Moreover,  the  Britons  never  advanced  in  one  body,  but  fought 
in  small  parties,  stationed  at  intervals,  so  that  one  squadron 
relieved,  another,  and  our  men,  who  had  been  contending 
against  those  who  were  exhausted,  suddenly  found  themselves 
engaged  with  a  fresh  body,  who  hjid  taken  their  places.  The 
next  day,  the  e'nemy  posted  themselves  on  the  hills,  at  some 
distance  from  the  camp,  and  only  appeared  a  few  at  a  time ; 
and  they  were  also  less  disposed  to  attack  our  cavalry  than 
they  had  been  the  day  before.  About  noon,  Csesar  sent  out 
Cains  Ti'ebonius,  the  lieutenant,  with  three  legions  and  all  the 
cavalry,  to  forage  ;  upon  which  the  enemy  assembled  from  all 
sides,  and  surrounded  the  foragers,  who  were  unable  to  leave 
their  colours,  or  separate  from  the  legions.  Our  men  now 
made  a  general  attack  upon  them,  and  put  them  to  flight  and 
pursued  them  Avithout  interruption,  as  long  as  the  legions  kept 
in  sight  to  give  the  cavalry  confidence  of  support  whilst  they 
drove  the  Britons  before  them.  In  this  manner,  they  did  not 
allow  them  time  to  rally,  or  halt,  or  leap  from  their  chariots, 
according  to  their  usual  custom.  In  consequence  of  this  defeat, 
the  British  reinforcements,  which  were  arriving  from  all  sides, 
again  disbanded,  and   from  that  time  the  enemy  never  again 


CHAP.  II.]  DEFEAT  OF  CASSIVELLAUNUS.  33 

came  to  a  "general  engngement.  Caesar,  now  knowing  their 
intentions,  led  liis  army  towards  the  Thames,  in  order  to  invade 
tlie  territories  of  CassiveUaunus.  The  river  could  only  be 
passed,  on  foot,  in  one  place,  and  that  with  difficulty.  When 
lie  arrived  on  its  banks,  he  perceived  a  large  force  drawn  up 
on  the  other  side  to  oppose  him  ;  the  bank,  moreover,  was 
planted  with  sharp  stakes,  and  others  of  the  same  kind  were 
fixed  in  the  bed  of  the  river  beneath  the  Avater.  Caesar  gained 
intelligence  of  this  from  ])risoners  and  deserters.  He  accord- 
ingly sent  the  cavalry  in  advance,  and  brought  up  the  infantry 
nnmediately  in  the  rear.  So  great  were  the  ardour  and 
impetuosity  of  the  soldiers,  that,  whilst  their  heads  alone 
appeared  above  the  water,  the  enemy,  unable  l/o  sustain  their 
attack,  abandoned  the  bank  and  fled  precipitrftely.  Cassivel- 
launus,  as  we  have  before  observed,  abandoned  all  idea  of 
lighting,  and  dismissed  the  greater  part  of  his  forces,  retaining 
only  about  four  thonsand  men  in  chariots.  With  these  he 
watched  our  march,  and,  retiring  out  of  our  way,  lay  m  wait 
for  us  among  the  woods  and  difficult  passes.  Meanwhile,  he 
cleared  the  whole  country  threttgh  whicli  dur  road4ay,  both  of 
men  and  cattle ;  and  when  our  foragers  went  out  to  get  pro- 
visions and  waste  the  country,  his  knowledge  of  the  ways 
enabled  him  to  assail  them  with  all  his  chariots ;  this  caused 
much  danger  to  our  cavalry,  and  prevented  tliem  from  going- 
far  from  the  main  body.' 

One  defeat  was  sufficient  to  break  th^  ill-consorted  alliance 
which  CassiveUaunus  had  formed  against  the  Romans  ;  and  the 
superiority  of  the  latter  once  demonstrated,  the  ditf'erent  tribes 
Avho  had  been  oppressed  by  that  chieftain  seem  to  have  thrown 
the  blame  of  their  resistance  on  his  intiuence,  making  a  merit 
of  their  personal  hostility  towards  him,  and  seeking  an  alliance 
with  the  invaders.  First  came  messengers  from  the  Trino- 
bantes  of  Middlesex  and  Essex,  who  ottered  to  submit  to  the 
Romans  on  condition  that  they  should  espouse  the  cause  of 
their  young  chief  Maudnbratius,  and  restore  him  to  the  sove- 
reignty of  their  tribe,  which  CassiveUaunus  had  usurped.  -  The 
treaty  was  soon  arranged  ;  Mandubratius,  who  happened  to  be 
in  Caesar's  camp,  Avas  sent  back  to  rule  his  tribe  as  a  Roman 
tributary  ;  and  the  Trinobantes,  according  to  agreement,  gave 
forty  hostages,  and  supplied  the  Roman  army  Avith  corn.  The- 
examples  of  the  Trinobantes  was  immediately  followed  by^  the 
Cenimagni,  the  Segontiaci,  the  Ancalites,  the  Bibroci,  and  the 
Cassi.     The  first  of  these  tribes  lay  to  the  north  of  the  Trino- 

D 


34  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ir. 

bantes,  in  the  present  county  of  Suffolk  ;  the  Segoutiaci  occupied 
the  greater  part  of  the  present  counties  of  Hampshire  and 
Berksliire ;  the  Bibroci  inhabited  a  thickly-wooded  country 
contaiuiug  the  celebrated  forest  of  Anderida- — including  a  small 
part  of  Hampshire  and  Berkshire,  and  stretching  through  th(^ 
modern  counties  of  Sussex  and  Surrey  into  the  eastern  parts  of 
Kent ;  the  position  of  the  Ancalites  is  less  certain,  but  they, 
perhaps,  lay  on  the  north  of  Berkshire  and  on  the  western 
borders  of  Middlesex ;  and  if  the  Cassi  were  the  same  tribe 
that  was  called  by  Ptolemy  the  Catyeuchlani,  as  is  supposed, 
they  formed  the  link  between  these  other  tribes  and  the  Tiino- 
bantes,  stretching  through  the  modern  counties  of  Hertford, 
Bedford,  and  Buckingham.  The  envoys  of  these  tribes  iuformed 
Caesar,  '  that  the  town  of  Cassivellaunus  was  not  far  off, 
surrounded  by  woods  and  marshes,  and  occupied  by  a  large 
number  of  men  and  cattle.  The  Britons  call  by  the  name  of 
town  a  place  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  woods  surrounded  by  a 
mound  and  trench,  and  calculated  to  afford  them  a  retreat  and 
protection  from  hostile  invasion.*  Ca3sar  immediately  marched 
to  this  place,  which  he  found  extremely  strong,  both  by  nature 
and  art ;  nevertheless,  he  assailed  it  at  once  in  two  different 
quarters.  The  enemy  stood  their  ground  for  a  time,  but  at 
length  gave  way  before  the  onset  of  our  men,  and  abandoned 
the  town  by  the  opposite  side.  A  great  number  of  cattle  were 
found  there,  and  many  of  the  enemy  were  slain  or  taken 
prisoners  in  the  pursuit.' 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  a  map  that  Caesar  had  now 
received  the  submission  of  a  verv  lar^e  tract  of  countrv, 
extending  from  sea  to  sea,  and  completely  surrounding  the 
!  country  of  the  Cantii,  in  which  he  had  first  landed.  All  these 
tribes  seem  to  have  bargained  for  protection  against  Cassivel- 
launus, and  it  is  probable  that  they  had  been  all  more  or  less 
brought  under  his  rule.  Iliis  had  been  the  case  also  with 
Cantium,  or  Kent,  which  was  then  ruled  by  four  kings,  or 
chiefs,  whom  Caesar  calls  Cingetorix,  Carvilius,  Taximagulus, 
and  Segonax.  When  Caesar  marched  across  the  Thames, 
CassiveHaunus,  driven  from  his  own  country,  seems  to  have 
formed  the  project  of  cutting  him  oti"  from  the  coast,  and, 
marching  into  Kent,  he  sent  to  the  four  Kentish  chiefs  just 
mentioned  his  orders  to  assemble  their  forces  immediately,  and 

*  Oppidum  autem  Britanni  vocant,  quum  sylvas  impeditas  vallo  atque 
fossa  iDunierunt,  quo,  incursionis  liostiuin  vitandse  causa,  convenire  cuii- 
sueverunt.  Eo  pi'oficiscitur  cum  legionibus  :  locum  vppoiit  egregia  natura 
atque  opere  munitum. — Ctesar,  Bell.  Gall.  lib.  v.  o.  17. 


cuAP.  II.]       SUBMISSION  OF  CASSIVELLAUNUS.  35 

join  liim  in  surprising  the  naval  camp  of  the  Eomans.  This 
attack  was,  like  so  many  others,  unsuccessful ;  the  assailants 
were  beaten  from  the  camp  with  considerable  slaughter,  and  a 
young  chief  of  consideration,  named  Lugotorix,  was  taken 
prisoner.  This  action  convinced  Cassivellaunus  that  it  was  in 
vain  to  contend  with  his  irregular  warriors  against  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Roman  veterans  ;  and  now,  finding  that  even  his 
own  subjects  were  disaffected  to  him  and  had  made  their  peace 
with  the  invaders,  he  also,  through  the  intermediation  of  the 
Attrebatian  Commius,  offered  to  submit.  His  proposals  were 
accepted,  for  Caesar  was  now  anxious,  for  various  reasons,  to 
return  to  Gaul ;  and  having  agreed  upon  a  tribute  which  the 
Britons  were  to  pay  annually  to  the  E-oman  people,  and 
given  his  injunction  to  Cassivellaunus  not  to  make  war  upon 
Mandubratius  or  the  Trinobantes,  who  were  naturally  supposed 
to  have  incurred  his  hatred  by  their  being  the  first  to  submit, 
Csesar  led  his  legions  back  to  Gaul,  carrying  with  him  hostages  | 
whicli  he  had  taken  from  the  British  chiefs  as  pledges  for  their  ' 
fulfilment  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

Such  is  Caesar's  account  of  his  exploits  in  Britain,  which 
have  every  appearance  of  being  truthful,  although  we  have  no 
other  authority  by  which  to  test  them.  His  descriptions  are 
much  too  indefinite  to  enable  us  to  trace  with  any  certainty  the 
line  of  his  march,  and  it  is  but  a  waste  of  time  with  so  few 
data  to  attempt  to  fix  the  sites  of  his  camps  or  battle-fields. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Romans  landed  somewhere  on 
the  line  of  coast  between  Folkestone  and  Sandwich,  but  as  that 
coast  is  known  to  have  undergone  great  changes  since  that 
period,  it  would  be  unsafe  to  rely  on  his  description  at  the 
present  day.*  The  river  on  the  banks  of  which  he  found  the 
Britons  posted  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Stour.  We  can 
hardly  doubt  that  his  subsequent  march  lay  along  the  edge  of 
the  Weald,  perhaps  along  the  vale  of  Maidstone.  The  place  at 
which  the  Romans  crossed  the  Thames  was  fixed  by  a  tradition 
which  existed  in  the  time  of  Bede,  when  the  stakes,  said  to  have 
been  those  which  defended  the  river,  remained,t  at  a  place  now 

*  The  theory  has  recently  been  sustained  with  some  ingenuity,  that  the 
Romans  did  not  start  for  this  expedition  from  the  country  of  the  Morini, 
but  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Somme,  and  that  the  Romans  landed  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Pevensey  ;  but  I  do  not  believe  that  Caesar's  narrative 
will  bear  this  interpretation.  See  my  remarks  on  this  subject  in  the 
'Wanderings  of  an  Antiquary,'  pp.  102,  103  (London,  18-54). 

+  Traditions,  even  of  the  time  of  Bede,  are  not  of  much  value,  unless 
well  supported  by  other  circumstances.     The  words  of  this  writer,  after 


36  THE  BRITOX.^ 


(f- 


called  Cowev  Stnkes,  near  Cliertsey,  in  Surrey.  Tlie  stron 
hold  of  Cassivellaiiiius,  which  tlie  Roman  soldiers  carried  by 
storm,  lias  been  conjectured  witli  much  less  probability  to  have 
stood  on  tlie  spot  afterwards  occupied  by  the  Roman  city  of 
Yerulamium  (near  St  Alban's).  Other  sites  have  been  su"-- 
ii'ested,  but  we  willingly  pass  over  such  vague  and  useless  con- 
jectures to  confine  ourselves  as  much  as  possible  to  known, 
or  more  apparent,  facts. 

Csesar's  expedition  to  Britain  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
mOst  remarkable  events  of  the  time,  and  from  this  moment  the 
distant  western  island  was  a  common  theme  for  poetry  and 
"S  declamation.  The  victorious  commander  was  looked  upon  as 
one  whq^  had  carried  the  Roman  arms  into  a  new  world — 
penitus  toto  dlvisos  orbe  Brltannos — and  his  countrymen  listened 
'eagerly  to  the  account  brought  home  by  their  armies  of  these 
hitherto  unknown  peoples.  Caesar  evidently  gained  the  best 
information  he  could  on  the  manners  of  the  Britons,  and  his 
brief  description  of  the  island  and  its  inhabitants  is  apparently 
given  at  least  with  good  faith.  He  knew  that  the  island  was 
in  its  general  form  triangular,  and  he  was  sufficiently  well 
informed  of  the  comparative  proportions  of  its  different  sides. 
He  knew  that  another  island,  which  he  reckoned  to  be  half  the 
size  of  Britain,  and  which  he  called-ffiberuia  (Ireland),  lay  to 
the  west  of  Britain,  and  he  placed  between  these  an  isle  named 
Mqna  (Anglesea  or  Man).  He  speaks  more  doubtfully  of  other 
islands,, of  smaller  dimensions,  with  a  more  northerly  position. 

(The  inhabitants  of  the  interior  of  Britain,  according  to  the 
traditionary  information  gained  by  Cfiesar,  were  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  island,  while  the  south-eastern  coasts  Avere 
inhabited  by  Belgic  colonies,  who,  as  he  informs  us,  had  given 
to  the  different  petty  states  {clvitate^Y^i  Britain  the  name  of 

giving'  the  account  from  Caesar  of  the  fortifying  of  the  river  with  stakes, 
are,  '  the  remains  of  which  stakes  are  to  be  seen  there  to  this  day  ;  and  it 
appears  to  the  observer  as  though  the  several  stakes — each  about  the  thick- 
ness of  man's  thigh,  and  cased  with  lead — were  fixed  innnoveably  in  the 
bed  of  the  river,' — {quarum  vestigia  sudium  ibidem  usque  hodie  viswifur, 
et^  videtnr  inspectmitihus  quod  singular  earum  admoduni  humani  feinoris 
arosscR  et  circumfusce  plumbo  immobilifer  ha:reant  in  profundumjiuniinis 
vnfixfe.  Bedae  Hist.  Eccl.  i.  3.)  Bede's  account  of  these  stakes  is  pro- 
bably correct ;  but,  as  it  is  not  likely  that  in  the  hurry  of  a  sudden  defence, 
like  that  against  Caesar's  march,  the  Britons  would  have  the  time  to  erect 
posts  of  this  magnitude,  and  case  them  with  lead,  we  are  justified  in  sup- 
posing that  the  stakes  existing  in  Bede's  time  were  a  Roman  work  of  a  later 
period  connected  in  some  way  with  the  navigation  or  fishery  of  the  Thames, 
which  we  cannot  now  explain,  and  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  Caesar's 
passage  of  the  river. 


CHAP.  II.]  MANNERS  OF  BRITOXS.  37 

those  from  which  they  came.  Tliis  statement  is  corroborated  by 
die  list  of  Britisli  tribes  given  by  subsequent  writers,  in  which 
the  Hedui  of  Somersetshire,  the  Morini  of  Dorset,  the  Senones 
of  Hampsliire,  the  Ehemi  (another  name  of  the  Bibroci)  of  Berk- 
shire and  Surrey,  the  Attrebates,  stretching  from  the  former 
county  into  Hampshire,  the  Cimbri  of  the  borders  of  Devon,- 
had  all  their  representatives  in  Gaul.  The  people  of  Cantium 
(Kent)  were  the  most  civilized  of  all  the  ih'itish  tribes,  and  in 
tlu'ir  manners  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  their  Gallic  neigh- 
bours. The  maritime  districts  were  essentially  corn  countries, 
for  it  was  the  Belgic  settlers  who  introduced  agriculture ;  the 
wild  tribes  of  the  interior  did  not  cultivate  the  earth,  but^ 
they  lived  on  milk  and  flesh,  and  clothed"  themselves  with  ^ 
skins.  All  the  Britons,  we  are  assnred  by  Csesar,  s^tained- 
themselves  with  a  blue  dye  made  from  woad,  to  give  them  a 
more  teri-ible  appearance  in  battle ;  and  they  wore  their  hair 
long,  and  shaved  every  part  of  the  body  but  the  head  and 
upper  lip.  A  sentiment  of  national  pride  has  led  many  wi iters 
to  doubt  the  truth  of  Csesar's  account  of  the  prevalence  of 
p.olygamy  among  the  Britons,  and  he  was  probably  speaking- 
only  of  the  maritime  districts  when  he  tells  us  with  a  tone  of 
wonder  of  their  numerous  population,  and  of  the  frequency  of. 
buildings  which  resembled  those  of  the  Gauls.  Cattle  were  very 
abundant.  But  the  Britons  had  no  money,  using  in  place  of  it 
pieces  of  brass  or  iron  rings,  reduced  to  certain  standard  weight.* 
White  pluvibum  (tin)  was  procured  in  the  midland  districts, 
and  iron  Avas  found,  though  not  very  abundant,  in  the  parts 
bordering  on  the  sea.f  Brass,  Caesar  tells  us,  Avas  imported 
from  abroad.  The  island  produced  timber  of  every  kind,  except 
beech  and  fir. 

Such  Avas  Britain  as  known  to  Julius  Caesar.  Two  nearly 
contemporary  writers,  Strabo  the  geographer,  and  the  historian 
Diodorus  Siculus,  have  supplied  us  with  some  information 
omitted  by  him,  and  probably  obtained  from  subsequent  com- 
munications^ Avith  the  island.  These  authors  describe  the  island 
as  being  for  the  most  part  flat  and  Avoody,  having  hoAvever, 
'many  strong  places  on  hills.'  The  produce,  they  tell  us,  con- 
sisted  of  corn  and  cattle,  gold,  silver,  and  iron,  Avith  skins,   . 

*  '  Utuntur  aut  a?re  aut  annulis  ferreis  ad  certum  pondus  examinatis  pru 
nummo.'— Csesar,  Bell.  Gall.  lib.  v.  c.  10. 

t  Ca3sar  may  perhaps  be  supposed  to  have  taken  Cornwall  for  a  midland 
district,  as  it  was  far  from  the  country  in  which  he  was  engaged.  His 
iion  district  Avas  perhaps  the  weald  of  Sussex  and  Kent. 


33  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  n. 

slaves,  and  dog's  of  a  superior  breed  for  the  chase.  The  British 
doj^s  were  widely  celebrated,  and  so  strong  and  fierce  that  the 
Gauls  are  said  to  have  nsed  them  in  war.  The  aboriginal 
l-5ritons  are  described  as  being-  tall  of  statnre,  and  corpnlent, 
but  not  well  made.  According  to  Strabo,  although  they  nsed 
milk  in  great  abundance,  they  were  not  acquainted  with  the  art 
of  making  cheese,  and  they  were  total  strangers  to  gardening 
and  agriculture.  Diodorus  describes  them  as  practising  agri- 
culture, gathering  the  corn  and  storing  it  up  in  the  stalk  in 
thatched  houses,  out  of  which  'they  plucked  the  old  ears  from 
day  to  day,  and  used  them  to  make  their  food.  '  Their  houses, 
we  are  told,  were  mere  temporary  establishments,  foi-med  in  the 
foi'ests  by  enclosing  a  space  with  felled  trees,  within  Avhich  they 
made  huts  of  reeds  and  logs,  and  sheds  for  their  cattle,  'not 
intended  to  remain  long'  (oh  irpac  ttoXvv  xpovov).  Cfesar  as 
we  have  seen  alludes  to  the  tin  {plumbum  albnui,  as  it  is  named 
also  by  Pliny),  which  appeal's  to  have  been  the  principal  export 
of  Britain  in  those  remote  ages;  and  Strabo  tells  us  that  'the 
inhabitants  o\  Britain  who  live  near  the  Belerian  promontory 
I  (the  Land's  End,  Cornwall),  are  peculiarly  hospitable,  and,  from 
I  Uie  great  resort  of  foreigners,  more  polished  in  manners  than  the 
others.  They  prepare  the  tin,  and  show  much  skill  in  working 
the  earth  which  produces  it.  This  being  of  a  stony  nature  and 
having-  earthv  veins  in  every  direction,  thev  work  their  wav  into 
tliese  veins,  and  so  by  means  of  water  separate  the  fragments, 
These  they  bruise  into  small  pieces,  and  convey  to  an  island 
which  lies  in  front  of  Britain,  called  Ictis  [Wight  ?  or  perhaps  an 
island  on  the  Cornish  coast]  ;  for  at  the  great  ebb  of  the  tide 
the  channel  becomes  dry,  and  they  carr^ver  the  tin  in  large 
quantities  on  waggons.  From  Ictis  the  tin  is  purchased  by 
native  merchants,  and  transported  to  Gaul.'  The  same  writer 
tells  us  that  ivory  bracelets,  necklaces,  vessels  of  glass,  and 
such  like  small  wares,  were  usually  imported  from  Gaul  into 
Britain. 

In  comparing  these  writers,  we  have  some  difficulty  in 
separating  the  characteristics  of  the  maritime  states  from  those 
which  applied  only  to  the  tribes  of  the  interior ;  but  it  seems 
clear  that  the  island  was  then  inhabited  by  two  very  distinct 
v/  races,  differing  no  doubt  /in  language  as  well  as  in  manners. 
The  country  extending  along  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Humber  to  Devonshire,  and  stretching  inwardly  perhaps  througli 
the  modern  counties  of  Hertford,  Buckingham,  and  Berk- 
shire, was  possessed  by  tribes  who  had  passed  over  from  the 


CHAP.  II.]  THE  LATER  BRITONS.  39 

Continent,  and  driven  tlie  aboriginal  inliabitants  into  tlie  in- 
terior. They  Avere  distiiigiiislied  by  a  mncli  hig-her  civilization, 
especially  in  Kent,  which  had  j^robably  been  settled  more  re- 
cently than  the  others,  and  althongh  they  had  no  towns  projDcrly 
so  called,  they  had  permanent  dwellings,  and  were  extensively 
employed  in  cultivating  the  land.  The  primitive  Britons  wan- 
dered over  the  interior  of  the  island,  driving  their  herds  and 
flocks  from  pasture  to  pastnre,  having  no  fixed  habitation,  but 
throwing  up  tem|)orary  dwelling-places  for  security  for  them- 
selves and  their  cattle — in  fact,  living  precisely  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  wild  Irish  three  centu.ries  ago.  In  a  few  places 
accidental  circumstances  led  the  natives  to  adopt  a  more  settled 
mode  of  life,  and  to  become  less  barbarous.  This  was  especially 
the  case  in  Cornwall,  where,  from  a  remote  period,  the  ti'ade  in 
the  metals  produced  so  abundantly  in  that  district  had,  as 
Strabo  says,  brought  them  into  a  continued  intercourse  wdth 
merchants  from  foreign  lands,  but  chietiv,  it  would  appear,  from 
Gaul. 

During  the  long  period  of  a  century,  from  the  time  of  Caesar 
to  that  of  Claudius,  we  have  scarcely  any  information  relating 
to  the  island  of  ]5ritain.  We  have  seen  that,  before  Csesar  left 
its  shores,  all  the  tribes  in  the  south-east  from  the  Iceni  or 
Cenimagni  of  Snfiblk  to  the  inhabitants  of  Hampshire,  had 
agreed  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Eome.  Among  the 
chiefs  of  these  ti'ibes  there  appears  to  have  arisen  a  sudden 
emulation  of  imitating  Roman  forms  and  manners — a  sort  of 
pride,  as  we  might  say,  of  wearing  the  livery  of  their  masters. 
l3ritons  now  w^ere  seen  not  unfreqiiently  in  Rome,  and  travellers 
from  Italy  probably  made  their  way  throngh  (laul  to  visit  the 
distant  home  of  the  strangers  whose  appearance  in  the  south 
must  always  have  excited  curiosity.  The  feeling  of  eai^-erness 
for  what  was  called  friendship  with  Rome  seems  to  have  soon 
spread  into  other  parts  of  the  island,  and  when  Strabo  was  writ- 
ing his  Geography,  British  ambassadors  were  in  Rome,  bowing 
to  the  throne  of  Augustus.  'At  present,'  he  says,  '  some  of 
their  princes  have  sent  ambassadors  to  cidtivate  the  friendship 
of  Augustus  Caesar,  and  have  deposited  offerings  in  the  Capitol, 
thus  bringing  the  whole  island  to  be  in  friendly  connection  wdth 
the  Romans.'  * 

*  Strabo's  account  is  fully  confirmed  by  an  insci'iption  in  honour  of 
Augustus,  found  aJi-i^iL'or;!..  in  Asia  Minor,  in  >vhicb/,-^among  the  public 
acts  of  tins  eniperorV^reig^u,  the  submission  of  the  Britisli  princes  is 
mentioned.     The  Latin  text  of  this  inscription,  which  is  completed  from 


^ 


V 


40  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

Among  the  various  arts  now  imported  from  Eome  was  that 
of  coining  nioiiew  No  evidence  lias  vet  been  discovered  to 
make  ns  doubt  the  truth  of  C;x3sar's  statement  that,  when  he 
visited  the  ishuid,  the  ]5ritons  had  no  coinage;  bnt  soon  afU  r 
that  event  mints  were  established  in  Britain,  and  we  lind  nu- 
merous coins,  many  of  which  bear  inscriptions  in  Roman 
characters.  Most  of  these  inscriptions  evidently  give  us  the 
names  of  British  chiefs  who,  sinc(>  their  'friendship'  with  Rome, 
assumed  the  title  of  reges,  and  they  adopted  the  foruud.i  of  the 
coinage  of  Augustus,  cj^sar  divi  filius.  The  history  of  this 
coinage  is  still  very  obscure,  but  the  eaiiier  examples  seem  to  make 
us  acquainted  with  two  distinct  families  of  chiefs,  both  of  which 
are  connected  with  the  ditt'ereut  tribes  who  submitted  to  Csesar. 
The  poAver  which  in  Caesar's  time  had  been  held  by  Cassivel- 
launus,  appears  to  have  descended  to  a  prince  namect  Tasciova- 
nus,  who  was  father  of  the  (we  may  say)  celebrated  C'unobelinus 
or  Cunobeline.*  The  latter,  we  know,  had  three  sons,  Adnun- 
ius,  Caratacus  or  Caractacus,  and  Togodumniis.  Another,  and 
apparently  contemporary  (or  nearly  contemporary),  family  of 
Jiritish  kings,  named  Eppillus  (or  Ippillus),  Yeric,  Yiric,  or 
]^eric,  and  a  name  of  which  only  the  first  syllable  Tine  is  known, 
are  described  on  a  number  of  coins  as  sons  of  a  British  chief 
named  Comius.f  There  is  no  necessity  for  believing  that  the 
latter  was  the  Commius  whose  name  occurs  in  Caesar's  transac- 
tions with  the  British  chiefs.  The  coinage  of  Tasciovanus  and 
of  Cunobeline  was  very  numerous,  and  it  furnishes  us  with 
another  piece  of  very  important  information,  for  it  appears  from 
the  inscriptions  on  it  that  after  the  Britons  had  become  more  in- 
timately acquainted  with  their  Roman  allies  they  began  to  imi- 

the  parallel  Gi-eek  text,  is,  Britannorum  reges,  Damno,  Eellatinos,  ct 
Tiinan,  Sicambrorum  Maelo,  Marcoiuaiinoruiu  Suebo,  tideiii  petiveruiit 
nieam  (the  kings  of  the  Britons,  Danino,  Bellaunos,  and  Tinian,  of  the 
Sicambri  Maelo,  and  of  the  Marconianni  Suebo,  submitted  to  me). 

*  The  legend  on  the  coins  of  Cunobeline  is  cunokelixus  tasciovaxi 
F  HEX,  in  one  or  two  instances  complete,  but  in  general  mure  or  less  abbre- 
viated. I  believe  that  it  was  Mr  Birch  who  pointed  out  ^he  simple  and 
natural  explanation  that  F  stood  for  the  \.^i\.xv  filius.  Mr  Beale  Poste  has 
given,  in  a  series  of  papers  in  the  Journal  of  the  British  Archaeological 
Association,  a  very  different  explanation  of  this  and  the  whole  series  of  the 
British  coinage,  supported  by  an  ingenious  train  of  argument,  which, 
however,  appears  to  me  neither  convincing  nor  satisfVictory,  as  being 
founded  too  much,  on  assumptions  and  suppositions.  Like  every  other 
branch  of  archaeology  or  historical  inquiry  which  is  very  imperfectly 
known,  the  coins  of  the  ancient  Britons  furnish  a  wide  field  for  speculative 
theory. 

t  The  legends  on  the  most  perfect  specimens  are,  eppillus  comi  f, 

VEKIC  COM  F  KEX,  and  TING  COM  F  HEX. 


CHAP.  II.]  THE  BRITISn  COIXAGE.  41 

tate  them  in  buildino;  stationary  towns.  The  coins  of  Tuscio- 
vaniis  Avere  struck  at  Verlamiiim,  as  it  is  spelt  on  the  coins, 
wliich  was  no  doubt  the  capital  of  that  prince  ;  his  son  Cnno- 
Ijeline  fixed  his  chief  residence  at  Camulodunum  (Colcliester,  in 
Essex),  on  the  borders  of  the  Iceni,  who  acknowledged  his 
power,  the  name  of  which  also  is  impressed  on  his  money.* 
The  coins  of  the  sons  of  Comius  bear  no  indication  of  the  place 
where  they  were  minted,  but  it  seems  probable  from  the  locali- 
ties in  which  they  have  been  founds  that  Eppillus  nded  in  Kent,  y'" 

and  that  Veric  and   Tine were  joint  or   rival   chiefs 

(or  perhaps  one  succeeded  the  other),  in  Sussex  and  Hampshire. 
During*  the  reigns  of  Augustus  and  Tiberius,  making  to- 
gether a  period  of  nearly  eighty  years,  the  British  states  which 
had  submitted  to  Julius  Csesar  were  left  in  that  position  of 
friendship  or  alliance  with  Home  which  we  have  already  de- 
scribed, and  history  tells  us  nothing  of  their  condition  or  of  tlie 
actions  of  tiieir  chiefs.  We  know  that  Cunobelinus,  who  has 
been  made  familiar  to  every  Englisii  ear  by  Shakespeare  under 
the  name  of  Cymbeline,  was  living  in  the  time  of  the  latter  of 
the  two  emperors  just  mentioned,  but  the  stories  of  that  chief's 
intercourse  with  Augustus,  resting  on  no  very  early  authority, 
are  evidently  monkish  fables.  The  very  numerous  coinage  of 
Cunobeline,  and  its  superior  execution,  show  that  he  was  a 
powerful  and  distinguished  prince  ;  yet  war  and  sedition  pre- 
vailed among  the  tribes  under  his  command,  and  in  his  latter 
years,  the  rivalry  among  his  own  sons  arose  to  such  a  height 
that  he  was  obliged  to  banish  one  of  them,  Adininius,  from  his 
court.  Adminius,  with  a  few  of  his  adherents,  hurried  to  Rome, 
and  claimed  the  protection  of  Caligula,  who  had  now  succeeded 
to  the  imperial  throne.  The  British  refugees  were  received  as 
vassals  of  the  Empire,  and  were  exhibited  in  triumph  to  the 
Romans,  and  Caligula  having  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  marched  to  the  coast  of  Gaul  with  the  declared  intention 
of  restoring  Adminius  and  reducing  Britain  to  a  province.  But 
this  vaunted  expedition  ended  ingioriously ;  instead  of  passing 

*  It  has  been  conjectured,  that  one  or  two  legends,  not  yet  understood, 
may  be  names  of  towns.  A  coin  beaiing-  the  name  tascio  (for  Tascio- 
vanus  or  Tasciovani)  has  sego  on  the  reverse,  which,  some  interpret  as 
Segontium,  the  name  of  a  town,  while  others  make  it  Segonax,  the  name 
of  a  chief,  perhaps  a  son  of  Tasoiovanus.  It  has,  in  a  similar  manner, 
been  sug<icsted  that  calle,  vricon,  soliuo,  and  cun,  found  on  coins  most 
of  whicli  appear  to  have  belonged  to  Tascio vanus  and  Cunobelin,  indicate  . 
towns  named  Calleva,  Uriconium,  Solidunum,  and  Cunetio.  In  the  tirst  \/ 
of  these,  the  word  hex,  joined  with  calle,  seems  to  prove  that  it  is  the 
name  of  an  individual ;  and  the  others  arc  far  from  certain. 


s/ 


4'-'  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

over  into  Britain,  the  Romnn  soldiers  Avere  ordered  to  o-ather 
sliells  on  the  beach,  antl  they  were  then  led  back  to  Eon;e  to 
triumph  in  what  were  called  the  '  spoils  of  the  ocean.' 

In  the  mean  while,  Britain  seems  to  have  been  more  and  more 
disturbed  witli  civil  strife.  As  far  as  we  can  understand  by  a 
comparison  of  the  slig-ht  notices  preserved  by  the  Roman  annal- 
ists, with  the  yet  imperfectly  explained  British  coins,  tlie  sor.s 
of  Cunobeline,  who  was  now  dead,  were  oppressiu"-  the  sons  of 
Comius.  One  of  the  latter,  called  by  l3io  Cassius,  Bericus, 
pi'obably  the  Veric  of  the  coins,  was  compelled  to  iiy  from  the 
island,  and  took  refuge  at  the  court  of  Claudius,  to  whom  he 
explained  the  state  of  Britain  and  the  facility  with  which,  at 
that  moment,  it  might  be  conquered.  We  are  told  that  the 
Britons  sent  to  Rome  to  demand  that  the  fugitives  should  be 
delivered  up,  and  that  the  refusal  was  accompanied  with  re- 
criminations on  the  irregularity  with  which  the  islanders  had  of 
late  paid  their  tribute.  Claudius,  anxious  to  deserve  a  triumph 
by  some  military  exploit,  listened  willingly  to  the  representatives 
of  the  fugitive  chief,  and  found  an  excuse  for  hostilities  in  the 
complaints  of  the  l^ritons.  An  army  was  collected  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  43,  under  the  command  of  a  senator  of  distinction, 
named  Aulus  Plautius ;  but  the  legions  mutinied  at  the  pros- 
pect of  an  expedition  which  seemed  to  expose  them  to  the  perils 
of  the  unknown  ocean,  and  it  was  not  until  after  much  labour 
and  anxiety  that  their  fears  were  calmed,  and  they  were  per- 
suaded at  length  to  embark.  They  landed  on  the  shores  oi" 
l^ritain  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  The  Britons,  who 
seem  to  have  formed  no  combined  plan  of  resistance,  retired  to 
the  woods  and  marshes,  and  it  was  some  time  before  the  Romans 
could  discover  their  retreat,  and  bring  them  to  battle.  At  length, 
however,  the  Britons  ventured  to  fight,  not  collectively,  but  in 
divisions,  and  Plautius  defeated  first  Caractacus  (who  is  named 
by  Dio  Cassius,  our  authority  for  these  events,  Cataracus),  and 
then  his  brother  Togodunmus.  In  pursuing  these  chiefs,  the 
Roman  commander  had  overrun  the  south  of  England  as 
far  as  Oxfordshire  and  Gloucestershire,  the  country  of  the 
Dobuni,  who  were  at  this  time  under  the  dominion  of  the  Ca- 
tuellani,  the  hereditaiy  tribe  of  Cassivellaiinus,  and  probably  of 
Cunobeline.  The  Dobuni  submitted,  and  Plautius  raised  a 
fortress  and  left  a  garrison  to  hold  them  in  subjection,  and  then 
pursued  the  sons  of  Cunobeline.  Among  the  distinguished 
officers  w^ho  served  in  Britain  under  Plautius  were  two  future 
emperors,  Vespasian,  and  his  son  Titus.     In  one  of  the  obsti- 


CHAi'.  II.]  WAR  WITH  THE  ROMANS.  43 

nate  eno;a<>-emeiits  Avitli  the  Britons,  which  occuiTed  after  tlie 
advance  of  the  Romans  from  the  countiy  of  the  Dobimi,  the  life 
of  the  fatlier  was  saved  only  by  the  bravery  of  his  son.  It  was 
thus  in  our  island,  as  it  has  been  well  observed,  that  the  arms 
were  trained,  which  were  destined  to  be  the  instrument  of  God's 
vengeance  against  the  stubborn  people  of  Israel.  The  sons  of 
C'unobeline,  after  having  retreated  before  the  Romans  towards 
tiie  west,  seem  to  have  doubled  upon  their  pursuers,  and  to 
have  souglit  refuge  in  the  marshes  which  covered  the  lower  part 
of  Essex  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  Here  also  they 
were  pursued  and  attacked,  and  Togodumnus,  one  of  the 
brothers,  was  slain  in  battle.  The  death  of  their  chief  seems  to 
have  provoked  the  Britons  to  a  more  obstinate  resistance,  and 
the  Roman  commander  found  himself  obliged  to  act  upon  the 
defensive.  He  sent  information  of  his  position  to  the  emperoi', 
Avho  hastened  to  command  in  person  his  legions  in  Britain.  On 
the  arrival  of  Claudius,  they  again  crossed  the  Thames,  defeated 
the  Britons  in  battle,  and  took  possession  of  Camulodunum,  the 
royal  seat  of  Cunobeline.  The  Britons  now  submitted,  and  the 
emperor  hastened  back  to  Rome  to  celebrate  his  trinmph,  leav- 
ing Aulus  Plautius  in  command  of  the  army.  The  emperor 
and  his  son  were  both  honoured  by  the  senate  with  the  title  of 
Britannicus,  and  a  coin  was  subsequently  struck  to  commemor- 
ate the  conquest  of  the  Britons.* 

That  conquest,  however,  Avas  as  yet  very  imperfect,  and  in- 
cluded only  the  south-eastern  district  of  the  island.  But  a 
foreign  power,  like  that  of  Rome,  established  in  a  hostile  manner 
ill  one  district  of  Britain,  coidd  not  long  remain  without  excuses 
for  attacking  the  others.  The  south-western  division  of  the 
island,  extending  from  Hampshire  to  the  extremity  of  Cornwall, 
was  held  by  two  powerful  tribes,  called  the  Belgae  and  the  ^ 
Damnonii  or  Dumnonii.  Both  appear  to  have  been  late  settlers 
from  the  opposite  continent,  and  to  have  been  able  to  resist 
successfully  the  influence  of  Cunobeline.  In  retaliation  for  as- 
sistance, wliich  they  had  probably  given  against  the  Romans  in 
the  war  with  Caractacus  and  Togodumnus,  their  country  was 
now  invaded  by  Vespasian  with  the  second  legion,  and  after  an 

*  This  coin,  which  is  found  in  silver  and  prold,  has  a  laureated  head 
of  Chiudius  on  the  obverse,  with  the  inscription,  Tl  .  clavd  .  caesar  . 
AVG  .  p  .  M  .  TR  .  v  .  VI  .  IMP  .  XI,  which  is  to  be  read,  Tiberius  Claxidius 
C(tsar  Augustus, pontifex  maxinius,  Tribunitia potestate  sextum,  imperator  f 
u)idecimu>n.  On  the  reverse,  a  triumphal  arch  is  surmounted  by  an  " 
equestrian  statue  between  two  trophies,  with  the  inscription  de  britann, 
i.e.  de  Britarons,  on  the  conquest  of  the  Britons. 


^ 


44  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  it. 

obstinate  and  apparently  a  long-  stnig-g-le,  in  wliicli  Vespasian 
foug-ht  nearly  thirty  battles  and  captnred  twenty  of  the  British 
oppida,  or  fortified  posts,  these  two  tribes,  with  the  adjacent 
island  of  Vectis  (Wight),  were  reduced  to  submission.* 

Previous  to  the  year  50,  Aulus  Plautius  was  recalled,  and  he 
seems  to  have  left  the  Koman  legions  engaged  in  war  with  the 
Britons.  It  was  now  the  tribes  of  the  interior  who  had  taken 
up  arms  against  the  invaders,  and  were  making  inroads  upon 
the  tribes  who  had  submitted  to  them,  considering  their  submis- 
sion as  a  just  cause  for  attacking  and  plundering  them.  They 
had  chosen  for  this  attack  the  moment  when  the  lloman  army 
in  Britain  was  without  a  commander-in-chief,  and  when  the 
immediate  approach  of  winter  promised  them  a  sufficient  period 
of  impunity  to  enable  them  to  secure  their  booty.  In  the  midst 
of  this  confusion,  a  new  governor  ox proprcetor  of  Britain  arrived 
from  Eome.  His  name  was  Ostorius  Scapula,  a  good  soldier, 
and  a  man  of  eminent  abilities.  He  had  no  sooner  landed  than 
he  collected  such  troops  as  were  at  hand,  and,  falling  upon  the 
Britons  unexpectedly,  defeated  them  with  great  slaughter,  and 
drdve  them  out  of  the  Roman  territory.  He  then  proceeded  to 
inclose  and  protect  the  latter  with  a  line  of  forts  from  the  Avon 
to  the  Severn, f  from  which  it  appears  that  the  whole  country 
within  these  rivers,  from  the  farthest  coast  of  Norfolk  to  the 
Land's-End,  and  thence  to  the  extreme  point  of  Kent,  had  at 
this  time,  voluntarily  or  by  compulsion,  submitted  to  the  power 
of  Rome. 

Among  those  Avho  had  submitted  voluntarily  was  the  ex- 
tensive and  powerful  tribe  of  the  Iceni,  who  occupied  the 
modern  counties  of  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  Cambridge,  and  Hunting- 
don, The  Iceni  were  jealous  of  the  attempt  of  the  Romans  to 
establish  their  power  by  these  forts,  and,  confident  in  their  oavu 
strength,  which  had  not  yet  been  tried  with  the  Romans,  they 


*  Our  know]edp:e  of  this  war  is  taken  chiefly  from  Suetonius,  who  says 
of  Vespasian,  '  Inde  in  Britanniam  translatus,  tricies  euni  hoste  conflixit, 
duas\alidissirnas  gentes,  superquo  xx.  oppida,  et  insulam  Vectem  Brit- 
anniae  proximani,  in  deditioneni  redegit.'  From  the  niention  of  the  island 
.of  Vectis,  and  other  circumstances,  there  seems  little  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  du(e  ijentes  were  the  Belfi:8e  and  the  Damnonii,  although  it  is  not  so 
clear  whether  the  thirty  (or,  according-  to  Eutropius,  thirty-two)  batlles  did 
not  include  four  or  five  battles  Vespasian  is  known  to  have  fought  in  the 
previous  war. 

t  '  Cinctosque  castris  Anton  am  et  Sabrinam  fluvios  cohibere  parat.' — 
Tacitus.  The  Antona  is  usually  considered  to  be  the  Nen,  but  it  seems 
more  probable  that  it  here  signifies  the  Avon.  I  understand  that  sonio 
editions  or  MSS.  read  Ai(foiia. 


CHAP.  II.  J  DEFEAT  OF  THE  BRIG  ANTES.  45 

put  themselves  at  the  head  of  a  confe^leracy,  with  some  of  the 
ueig-hbounn<>-  tribes,  and  when  Ostorius  marched  against  them, 
they  prepared  for  battle  in  a  place  which  they  had  inclosed 
with  ramparts  of  earth,  with  a  narrow  entrance  to  hinder  the 
approach  of  cavalry.*  But  this  was  of  little  avail  against  the 
discipline  of  their  opponents,  and  Ostorins,  with  only  a  few 
cohorts  of  auxiliaries,  attacked  them  in  their  entrenchments, 
made  a  breach  for  the  entrance  of  his  cavalry,  and  defeated 
them  with  great  slaughter.  The  Iceni  now  returned  to 
their  obedience,  and  other  tribes,  which  had  before  hesitated, 
submitted. 

Beyond  the  boundary  which  Ostorius  had  formed  by  his  line 
of  forts,  the  interior  of  the  isLuid  was  inhabited  by  tribes  who 
were  fiercer  and  less  civilized  than  the  southern  nations.  The 
chief  of  these  was  the  great  tribe  of  the  Brigantes,  extending 
through  the  mountainous  and  wooded  districts  from  the  borders 
of  Lincolnshire,  through  Torkshire,  Lancashire,  Westmoreland, 
Cumberland,  and  Northumberland.  The  lesser  tribes,  such  as 
the  Cornavii  and  Coritavi,  which  were  intermediate  between  the 
tribes  subject  to  the  Romans  and  the  Brigantes,  probably  ac- 
knowledged the  superiority  of  the  latter.  The  Brigantes  seem 
to  have  been  so  much  discouraged  by  the  defeat  of  the  Iceni, 
that  they  souglit  the  alliance  of,  or  rather  bought  their'  peace 
with,  the  Romans.  Ostorius,  I'elieved  from  the  hostilities  of 
the  various  tribes  just  mentioned,  carried  his  arlny  into  Shrop- 
shire and  North  Wales,  and  had  proceeded  as  far  as  the  tribe  of 
the  Cangii  on  the  shores  of  the  Irisli  Sea,  when  he  was  recalled 
by  a  revolt  of  the  Brigantes,  which  was  apparently  partial  and 
easily  subdued.  The  only  formidable  enemy  now  in  arms  on 
the  borders  of  the  Roman  possessions  was  the  tribe  of  the 
Silures,  which  had  rallied  under  Caractacus,  the  defeated  son  of 
Cunobeline,  who,  after  various  turns  of  fortune,  hnd  been  elected 
tlie  chief  of  this  tribe,  and  eiitered  into  a  confederacy  with  the 
Ordovices  of  North  Wales. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  Brigantes,  Ostorius  gave  his  attention 
to  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  province  committed  to  his 
cliarge.  He  made  Camulodunum,  wliich  was  raised  to  the  rank 
of  a  colonla,  the  head-quarters  of  the  Roman  power,  and  estab- 
lished there  a  numerous  body  of  veterans,  among  whom  the 
conquered  lands  were  distributed.  The  city  was  adorned  with 
public  buildings,  and  more  especially  with  a  temple  dedicated 

*  _'  Locum  pugnae  delegrere,  septum  agresfi  ajrgere,  et  aditu  angusto  ne 
pervius  equiti  foret.' — Tacitus,  An/ial.,  lib.  xii.  c.  31. 


>/ 


46  THE  BRITONS.  [uhap.  ii. 

to  Claudius,  and  was  increased  in  size  and  importance.  Havinuj 
settled  these  things  to  his  satisfaction,  Ostorius  marclu^d  aii,-ainst 
Caractacns.  That  chief,  leaving-  the  more  open  country  of  tlie 
Silures  to  be  overrun  by  the  enemy,  had  withdrawn  into  tlie 
wilder  country  of  the  Ordovices,  where  he  chose  a  strong- 
position,  difficult  of  access  even  without  the  assistance  of  arti- 
ticial  defences.  On  the  more  accessible  parts  of  the  high  hills 
he  threw  up  a  kind  of  rampart  of  stone,  while  below  and  in 
front  was  a  river  difficult  to  ford.*  Here  the  British  chief 
awaited  the  attack  of  his  enemies,  or,  perhaps,  amused  himself 
with  the  belief  that  his  stronghold  was  too  formidable  to  be 
attempted,  for  he  had  with  him  his  family,  consisting  of  a  wife 
and  daughter.  The  Britons,  thus  posted,  and  excited  by  the 
example  and  exhortations  of  their  leader,  presented  a  formidable 
appearance  to  the  Roman  legionaries,  protected  as  they  were  by 
the  river  which  ran  before  them,  and  the  steep  declivity  Avhich 
rose  in  their  way.  '  But  the  soldiers,'  to  use  the  words  of 
Tacitus,  '  were  clamorous  for  the  attack,  crying  out  that  their 
valour  would  overcome  all  opposition ;  and  the  inferior  officers 
breathing  the  same  sentiments,  gave  additional  courage  to  the 
troops.  Ostorius,  after  reconnoitring  the  ground  to  see  which 
parts  were  impenetrable  and  which  accessible,  led  on  the  eagei- 
soldiers,  and  with  much  difficulty  crossed  the  river.  When  they 
came  to  the  rampart,  while  the  enemy  threw  their  javelins  at  a 
distance,  our  sokliers  sutfered  most,  and  many  were  slain ;  but 
when  ours  closed  their  ranks  and  placed  their  shields  over  them, 
they  soon  tore  down  the  rough  irregular  piles  of  stones,  and 
attacking  the  enemy  on  level  ground  obliged  them  to  fly  to  the 
hills.  Thither  also  both  the  light  and  heavy  armed  soldiers 
followed,  the  former  attacking  them  with  their  speai-s,  the  latter 
in  a  dense  body,  till  the  Britons,  who  had  neitlier  armour  nor 
helmets  to  protect  their  persons,  were  thrown  into  disorder,  and 
if  they  made  any  resistance  to  the  auxiliaries,  they  were  cut  in 
pieces  by  the  swords  and  spears  of  the  legionaries,  and  when 

*  '  Tunc  montibus  arduis,  et  si  qua  clementer  accedi  poterant  in  moduni 
valli  saxa  praestruit ;  et  praofluebat  atnnis  vado  incerto,  catervaquo  niajor- 
utn  pro  munimentis  consisterant.' — Tacitus.  A  lofty  mountain  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Stretton  Hills  in  Shropshire,  still  called  Caer 
Caradoc,  has  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  scene  of  the  final  defeat  of 
Caractacus,  but  this  is  very  uncertain,  or  perhaps  we  had  better  say  very 
improbable.  To  other  hills  the  same  honour  has  been  given,  and  with 
perhaps  about  the  same  degree  of  reason.  From  the  account  of  Tacitus, 
the  position  of  the  Britons  on  this  occasion  would  seem  to  have  been  part 
of  a  mountain  range,  but  we  have  not  sufficient  detail  to  enable  us  to 
identify  it. 


I 


CHAP.  II.]  DEFEAT  OF  CARACTACUS.  47 

they  turned  upon  the  ktter,  the  auxiliaries  destroyed  them  with 
their  sabres  and  javc4ins.'* 

This  victory  was  a  decisive  one.  The  wife  and  daughter  of 
Caractacus  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  conquerors,  and  two 
brothers  who  had  shared  his  fortunes  submitted.  Caractacus 
himself  escaped  from  the  battle,  and  fled  to  the  tribe  of  the 
Brigantes,  from  whose  queen,  Cartismandua,  he  sought  prot(!C- 
tion :  but  this  princess,  anxious  to  remain  in  friendship  with 
the  liomans,  threw  him  into  chains  and  delivered  him  to  his 
enemies.  The  dignifled  appearance  of  Caractacus  and  his  ') 
family  at  the  court  of  Eome,  as  related  bv  the  historian  I 
Tacitus,  is  the  theme  of  every  schoolboy.  The  loss  of  their  y 
leader  did  not  discourage  the  Silures,  who,  trusting  to  their 
woods,  continued  to  carry  on  a  flerce  warfare  against  the 
liomans,  cutting  off  their  stragglers,  and  in  more  than  one 
instance  nearly  overwhelming  the  legions  which  were  left  to 
erect  fortresses  in  their  country.  '  After  this,'  says  Tacitus, 
'  there  was  incessant  fighting,  generally  of  a  predatory  charac- 
ter; sometimes  the  annies  would  meet  in  the  woods,  at  other 
times  in  the  midst  of  marshes,  according  as  chance  or  their 
own  headlong  valour  directed  :  many  an  engagement  took  place 
by  accident,  while  others  were  the  result  of  stratagem  and 
military  manosuvre ;  many  an  expedition  was  undertaken  to 
revenge  some  previous  defeat,  while  others  had  plunder  for 
their  object ;  and  they  were  sometimes  undertaken  by  order  of 
the  generals,  and  at  other  times  without  their  knowledge. 
The  Silures  were  the  most  obstinate  in  their  resistance,  and 
their  obstinacy  was  increased  by  the  threat  of  the  Roman 
commander,  that  he  would  root  the  very  name  of  the  Silures 
out  of  Britain,  as  had  been  done  with  the  Sigambri,  who  had 
been  transported  to  Gaul.  These  words  enraged  the  Silures, 
who  assailed  and  cut  off'  two  cohorts  of  the  auxiliaries,  and 
stirred  up  the  other  tribes  to  revolt  by  giving  them  a  large 
share  of  their  booty,  and  thus  exciting  their  love  of  plunder. 
In  the  midst  of  these  disorders,  Ostorius,  overcome  by  the 
troubles  with  which  he  was  surrounded,  departed  this  life ;  and 
the  Britons  rejoiced  at  his  death,  not  merely  as  if  they  had 
gained  a  battle,  but  rather  as  if  the  war  w^as  entirely  at  an 
end.' 

An    old  officer,   Avitus    Didius    Gallus,   was    appointed    to 
succeed  Ostorius  as  propraetor,  and  hastened  to  Britain  to  take 

*  '  Et  si  auxiliaribus  resisterent,  gladiis  ao  pilis  le^ionariorum,  si  liac 
verterent,  spathis  et  hast  is  auxiliarium  sternebautur.' 


4S  THE  ERITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

tlie  command.  Before  he  arrived,  a  Eoman  legion  had  been 
defeated  l)y  the  Sikires,  but  he  immediately  marched  ag-ainst 
them,  and  gave  them  in  their  turn  a  sev^ere  defeat.  Then, 
\{  unequal  to  the  arduous  character  of  this  war,  Didius  left  it  to 
be  conducted  by  his  subordinate  officers,  and  relapsed  into  the 
inactivity  which  was  moi'e  in  accordance  with  his  advanced  ajre. 
It  was  probably  in  this  war  that  tlie  second  legion,  which  had 
had  Vespasian  for  its  commander,  was  established  at  Isca 
(Caerleon,  on  the  Usk), 

At  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Didius  in  Britain,  a  civil  war 
arose  among  the  Brigantes,  which  threatened  to  add  to  the 
embarrassments  of  the  Romans.  I  have  already  mentioned 
that  this  powerful  tribe  was  now  governed  by  a  queen,  named 
Cartismandua,  Avho  proved  a  woman  of  high  spirit  and  some 
abilities.  Her  conduct  Avith  regard  to  Caractacus  had  naturally 
drawn  upon  her  the  hatred  of  those  who  w^ere  most  hostile  to 
the  liomans,  and  this  included  many  of  her  own  subjects.  She 
had  married  one  of  her  chiefs,  named  Venusius,  who,  as  far  as 
vve  can  gather  from  the  brief  account  of  Tacitus,  quarrelled  with 
his  wife  because  she  would  not  surreiuler  to  him  the  supreme 
power  over  her  tribe,  and  he  then  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  party  in  the  state  who  cried  out  against  the  indignity  of  men 
living  under  the  rule  of  a  woman.  Cartismandua,  wdiose  party 
appears,  at  first,  to  have  been  the  strongest,  claimed  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Romans,  and  her  husband,  Avho  seems  to  have 
been  driven  from  among  the  Brigantes,  endeavoured  to  make 
himself  popular  among  the  other  tribes,  by  now  placing  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  party  who  were  in  arms  against  the  invaders. 
It  Avas  this  man  who,  connnanding  the  Silures  and  their  allies, 
had  defeated  the  Koman  legion  connnanded  by  Manlius  Valens 
before  the  arrival  of  the  new  propraetor  Didius.  After  this 
success,  Venusius,  collecting  his  allies,  and  joined  by  the  party 
of  the  Brigantes  who  were  opposed  to  the  Roman  influence, 
proceeded  to  make  war  on  his  wife  Cartismandua,  who  had 
crushed  the  first  attempt  against  her  government,  and  captured 
and  put  to  death  a  brother  and  other  relatives  of  Venusius.  A 
Roman  army  was  immediately  sent  to  assist  the  queen  of  the 
,  Brigantes,  and  in  a  Avell-contested  battle  overcame  the  Britons 
wiio  were  in  arms  against  her.  About  the  same  time  another 
Roman  legion,  commanded  by  Csesius  Nasica,  obtained  a 
decisive  victory  over  an  army  of  Britons. 

Thus   the  administration   of  Didius  had  not   been  entirely 
without  credit,  when,  towards  the  end  of  tlie  year  58,  he  was 


CHAP.  II.]  CAIUS  SUETOXIUS  PAULLINUS.  49 

replaced  by  Yeranius,  who  made  one  or  two  successful  expedi- 
tions against  the  Silur^s  ;  but  he  died  l)efore  he  had  been  a  year 
in  Britain,  at  a  moment  wlien  the  g'reatest  expectations  were 
formed  from  his  military  talents,  lie  was  immediately  suc- 
ceeded by  Caius  Suetonius  Paulliniis,  one  of  tlie  uiost  warlike  and 
skdfnl  of  the  imperial  gvnerals.  The  Eoman  arms  had  expeii- 
enced  a  reverse  [gravis  claries)  before  the  arrival  of  Suetonius,  >/ 
and  he  found  the  districts  from  the  Silures  to  the  Brigautcs  in 
great  disorder. 

It  seems  that  in  Britain,  as  in  Gaul,  as  foreign  intercourse 
and  consequent  civil  is  ition  advanced,  the  head  seat  of  the  old 
Druid ical  religion  was  removed  more  and  more  into  the  remoter 
districts,  until  in  the  latter  country  it  established  itself  on  the 
Armorican  coast  and  in  the  Channel  Islands,  and  in  the  former 
it  retreated  into  the  distant  island  of  Mona  (x\nglesea),  equally 
arrested  in  its  further  advances  by  the  Avaves  of  the  ocean, 
We  gather  from  the  Eoman  historians  that  it  was  the  Druids 
of  Mona  who  excited  the  Ordovices  and  the  Silures  and  their 
other  allies  to  obstinate  resistance,  and  it  was  in  that  island 
that  were  collected  togetlier  the  bravest  and  bitterest  enemies' 
of  the  foreign  invaders,  ever  ready  to  issue  forth  and  incite 
their  countrymen  to  insurrection.  Suetonius  Paullinus  soon 
discovered  the  influence  which  Mona  exercised  against  him,  and 
he  determined  to  reduce  it  to  obedience  to  Rome.  For  this 
purpose  he  marched  his  forces  to  the  coast  of  Caernarvonshire, 
and  having  caused  a  number  of  flat-bottomed  vessels  to  be 
constructed,  he  placed  the  foot  soldiers  in  them,  and  ordered 
the  cavalry  to  try  to  ford  the  strait  which  divided  the  island 
from  the  mainland ;  or,  if  they  found  this  impossible,  to  go 
in  the  boats  and  tow  their  horses  after  them.  When  they 
approached  the  island,  an  miusual  scene  presented  itself  to 
their  view.  '  The  shore  of  the  island  was  lined  with  the  hos- 
tile army,  in  which  were  Avomen  dressed  in  dark  and  dismal 
garments,  with  their  hair  streaming  to  the  Avind,  bearing  torches 
in  their  hands,  and  running  like  furies  up  and  down  the  ranks. 
Around  stood  the  Druids,  with  hands  spread  to  heaven,  and 
uttering  dreadful  prayers  and  imprecations.  The  novelty  of  the 
sight  struck  our  soldiers  with  dismay,  so  that  they  stood  as  if 
petrified,  a  mark  for  the  enemy's  javelins.  At  length,  animated 
by  the  exhortations  of  their  general,  and  encouraging  one  an- 
other not  to  fear  an  army  of  women  and  fanatics,  they  rushed  \f 
upon  the  enemy,  bore  down  all  before  them,  and  involved  them 
in  their  own  fires.     The  troops  of  the  enemy  were  completely 

E 


•50  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  ji. 

defeated,  a  garrison  placed  in  the  island,  and  the  groves  wliicli 
had  been  the  consecrated  scenes  of  the  most  barbarous  super- 
stitions, were  levelled  with  the  ground.  It  had  been  their 
practice  to  sacrifice  on  the  altars  prisoners  taken  in  war,  and  to 
divine  the  pleasure  of  their  gods  by  inspecting  human  entrails.' 
Suetonius  was  called  otf  from  this  expedition  by  the  most 
>^  alarming  revolt  of  the  Britons  in  the  Eoman  province  that  had 
hitherto  occurred. 

The  Romans  were  seldom  conciliatory  or  generous  towards 
the  provinces  they  had  conquered,  and  the  empire  was  now 
ruled  by  Nero,  under  whom  those  provinces  were  delivered  to 
the  Avorst  of  tyranny,  by  governors  whose  only  principle  of 
action  was  to  grind  the  unfortunate  people  under  tlieir  cliarge 
in  order  to  contribute  to  the  avarice  and  luxury  of  Rome.  The 
more  distant  the  province,  the  more  cruelly  was  it  oppressed, 
and  Tacitus,  in  the  account  he  gives  us  of  the  consultations 
among  the  tributary  chiefs  in  Britain  on  their  wrongs,  affords 
a  sufficient  view  of  the  manner  in  which  this  island  was  treated. 
'  They  reflected,'  he  says,  '  on  the  miseries  attendant  on  servitude, 
and  when  they  came  to  compare  their  sevei'al  injuries,  they  were 
heightened  tenfold  by  putting  them  together.  It  was  clear  that 
passive  submission  would  but  encourage  their  oppressors  to 
proceed  to  still  greater  lengths.  Instead  of  one  king,  as  for- 
merly, they  had  now  two,  the  lieutenant  and  his  procurator ; 
the  former  exercising  his  tyranny  over  their  persons,  the  latter 
over  their  goods.  Whetlier  their  governors  were  at  harmony 
together  or  at  variance,  it  was  alike  fatal  to  their  unhappy  sub- 
jects ;  the  one  oppressed  them  by  his  troops  and  his  centiu'ions, 
the  other  by  his  insolence  and  extortion.  Nothing  was  now  safe 
from  their  avarice,  or  from  their  licentiousness.  In  battle  it  was 
the  bravest  or  strongest  man  who  carried  off  the  spoil ;  but  here 
the  meanest-spirited  and  most  contemptible  of  men  entered  and 
pillaged  their  houses,  carried  away  their  children,  and  made 
them  enlist  in  the  Roman  armies  as  if  they  were  ready  to  die 
for  anything  but  their  country.  If  the  Britons  would  but  con- 
sider their  own  numbers,  they  would  find  that  the  Roman  troops 
who  were  among  them  were  but  a  paltry  and  inconsiderable 
force.  .  .  .  Their  country,  with  their  wives  and  parents,  should 
be  so  many  motives  for  them  to  support  a  Avar,  to  Avhich  tlieir 
enemies  were  urged  only  by  avarice  and  luxury,  and  the  armies 
of  Rome  would  no  doubt  retire  as  Ca3sar  had  done,  if  the 
l^ritons  would  but  imitate  the  bravery  of  their  ancestors,  and 
not  be  discouraged  by  the  issue  of  one  or  tAVO  battles.' 


CHAP.  11.]  QUEEN  BOADICEA.  .51 

It  was  usual,  during  the  earlier  period  of  the  Eoman  cou- 
quest,  to  leave  the  British  chiefs  in  nominal  command  of  their 
tribes,  with  more  or  less  power  or  wealth,  according  to  their 
tried  obedience  and  devotion  to  their  imperial  masters.  In 
(Jogidunus  or  Cogidnbnns,  a  chief  of  the  Eegni  of  Sussex,  we 
have  an  instance  of  a  British  prince  who  was  so  faithful  to  the 
Itoraans,  that  he  was  allowed  to  enjoy  liis  dignity  and  title  of 
rex,  or  king,  from  the  reign  of  Claudius  to  tliat  of  Trajan,  and 
his  name  appeared  down  to  the  latest  period  of  Roman  rule  oi' 
an  inscription  as  one  of  those  who  embellished  the  city  of  Reg- 
num  (Chichester)  with  public  buildings.*  Others,  who,  al- 
though they  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Romans,  bad 
not  shown  the  same  submissive  spirit,  were  treated  more 
oppressively.  The  Iceni,  as  we  have  seen,  were  kept  in  obedi- 
ence only  by  fear,  and.  their  chief,  or  king  (as  he  was  called), 
Prasutagus,  wlio  had  hoarded  up  immense  wealth,  dying  in  the 
reign  of  Nero,  when  the  licence  of  the  imperial  officers  in  the 
provinces  was  at  its  height,  attempted  to  secure  protection  for 
his  family  by  leaving  one  half  of  his  riches  to  the  emperor,  and 
the  other  half  to  his  two  daughters.  But  he  was  no  sooner 
dead,  than  the  Roman  officers  took  possession  of  his  kingdom, 
and  treated  it  as  a  conquered  province.  His  queen,  Boadicea, 
a  woman  of  high  spirit,  resisted  or  expostulated,  which  only 
provoked  the  haughty  Rom.ans  to  act  with  greater  brutality. 
The   queen   was   publicly  scourged;   her  two   daughters  were 

*  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  last  century,  as  some  workmen  were  digging 
a  cellar  in  a  house  at  the  corner  of  St  Martin' s-lane  and  North-street, 
ill  Chichester,  they  came  to  the  massive  walls  of  a  building,  near  which 
lay,  with  the  inscribed  face  downwards,  a  mutilated  stone  with  the  follow- 
ing inscription  : — 

.  EPTVXO  .  ET  .  MINERVAE 

TEMFLVM 

.  .  O  .  SALVTE  .  DO  .  .  .  DIVIXAE 

AVCTOKITA  .  .  .  CLAVD. 

.  .  .   GIDVBNI  .  R  .  L  .  .  .  VG  .  .  .  IN  .  BRIT. 

.   .  .  GIVM  .  FARROR  .  E  .  .  QVI  .  IN  .  EG 

.  .  .  D  .  S  .  D  .  DONANTE  .  AREAM 

.    .   .  ENTE  .  PVDENTINI  .  FIL. 

which  has  been  read  thus  :  '  Neptuno  et  Minervc^e  templuin  pro  salute 
domus  divina3  ex  auctoritate  Tiberii  Claudii  Cogidubni  regis  iegati  augusti 
in  Britannia  collegium  fabi'orum  et  qui  in  eo  a  sacris  sunt  de  suo  dedica- 
verunt  donante  aream  Pudente  Pudentini  filio.'  This  inscription  refers,  no 
doubt,  to  the  same  British  prince  mentioned  by  Tacitus  as  receiving 
favours  from  Claudius,  and  who  appears  by  it  to  have  taken  the  name  of 
the  emperor  in  addition  to  his  own.  '  Qua3dam  civitates  C^giduno  regi 
erant  donatsB  ;  is  ad  nostram  usque  memoriam  fidissimus  rcmansit,  vetere 
ac  jam  pridem  recepta  populi  Romani  consiietudiue  ut  haberet  instrumenta 
servitutis  et  re^'ss,.'— Tacit i  Agric,  c.  14. 


52  THE  BEITOXS.  [chap.  ii. 

violated  ;  and  otlicr  meinbers  of  the  royal  family,  or  relatives 
of  the  deceased  chief,  were  thrown  into  prison,  and  even  sold  as 
slaves.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  the  Iceni  rose  in  arms  to 
avenge  their  wrongs,  and  the  Trinobantes  of  Essex  immediately 
joined  in  the  revolt.  The  latter  seem  to  have  been  goaded  into 
rebellion  by  the  insolence  of  their  Roman  masters  in  Camnlo- 
(lunnm.  iVccordhig  to  Tacitus,  '  they  looked  \i))on  the  temple 
which  the  Romans  had  bnilt  and  dedicated  to  Claudius,  as  a 
kind  of  citadel  to  hold  them  in  perpetual  bondage,  and  the 
priests  Avho  celebrated  religious  worship  in  it  as  so  many  harpies 
who  lived  upon  the  substance  of  the  natives.  It  would  be  no 
(litficult  task,  they  thought,  to  destroy  the  Roman  colony,  for  it 
had  no  fortifications  to  protect  it,  an  omission  into  which  the 
Romans  were  led  by  paying  more  attention  to  the  gratification 
of  their  luxury  than  to  provide  for  their  public  safety,' 

Before  the  insurrection  broke  out,  the  Romans  appear  to 
have  been  alarmed  by  unequivocal  indications  of  an  approaching 
storm,  and  we  are  told  that  there  were  not  wanting  prodigies 
to  warn  them  of  their  danger.  The  account  wdiich  Tacitus 
gives  of  these  is  curious,  as  throwings  ome  light  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  town  and  country.  '  At  Camulodunum,'  he  tells 
us,  '  the  statue  of  Nero  fell  to  the  ground,  and  turned  its  back 
where  the  face  had  been,  as  if  it  fled  before  the  enemy.  Women 
were  seen  as  if  mad,  singing  wild  songs,  in  which  they  foretold 
the  destruction  of  the  colony  [perhaps  they  were  native  women, 
aware  of  the  conspiracy,  and  employed  to  create  alarm].  Strange 
noises  were  heard  in  the  house  of  assembly,  and  loud  bowlings 
in  the  theatre.  In  the  estuary  of  the  Thames  there  was  an 
appearance  like  that  of  a  sunken  town.  The  sea  assumed  the 
colour  of  blood,  and  human  forms  appeared  to  be  left  on  the 
shore  by  the  ebbing  tide.  All  these  things  were  of  a  nature  to 
encourage  the  Britons,  whilst  they  overwhelmed  the  veterans 
Avith  terror.'  The  inhabitants  of  Camulodunum,  in  their  alarm, 
applied  for  assistance  to  the  procurator  Catus  Decianus,  who 
commanded  in  the  absence  of  Suetonius,  but  who  appears  to 
have  slighted  the  warning.  '  He  sent  them  only  two  hundred 
]nen,  very  imperfectly  anned,  and  to  these  were  added  a  small 
body  of  soldiers  belonging  to  the  town.  The  temple  of  Claudius 
was  taken  possession  of  by  these  troops,  as  a  citadel,  but  their 
measures  of  defence  were  thwarted  by  those  around  them  who 
Avere  in  the  secret  of  the  conspiracy ;  so  that  they  had  neither 
(lug  a  fosse  nor  cast  up  an  earthen  rampart  for  protection,  and  the 
precaution,  usual  in  such  cases,  of  sending  away  the  old  men 


CHAP.  II.]  ATTACK  OX  CAMULODUXinr.  53 

and  tlie  women,  and  retaininf^  only  the  younj^  and  active,  had 
l)een  entirely  neglected.  They  were,  indeed,  taken  by  surprise 
in  time  of  profound  peace,  and  found  themselves  suddenly  sur- 
rounded by  tlie  bai-barians.  Everything-  but  the  temple  was 
plundered  and  burnt  at  the  first  attack,  and  the  temple  itself, 
in  which  the  soldiers  had  taken  refuge,  was  captured  after  a 
siege  of  two  days.' 

The  success  of  the  attack  on  Camulodunum  gave  courage 
and  force  to  the  insurgents.     It  appears  that  the  ninth  legion, 
commanded  by  its  lieutenant,  Petilius  Cerealis,  had  its  station- 
ary camp  witliin   the  territory  of  the  Trinobantes.     Cerealis 
hurried  to  the  relief  of  Camulodunum,  but  he  arrived  too  late, 
and,  rashly  engaging  the  insurgents,  he  w^as  entirely  defeated, 
his  infantry,  comprising  the  great  mass  of  the  legion,  was  ut- 
terly destroyed,  and  the  cavalry,  with  Cerealis  himself,  fled  to 
their  camp   and   shut  themselves  up  in  their  entrenchments. 
The  alarm  of  the  Romans  was  now  so  great,  that  the  procurator  ',, 
Catiis,    fearing   to  expose    himself  to  the   resentment  of  the  ! 
natives  whom  his  own  avarice  had  excited  to  revolt,  deserted/ 
his  post  and  Hed  into  Graul.  ' 

Suetonius,  engaged  in  the  reduction  of  the  distant  isLand  of 
Mona,  heard  of  these  alarming  disorders,  and  hastened  back. 
As  he  approached  towards  the  head  seat  of  the  Roman  power  in 
Britain,  he  found  the  whole  country  in  arms  and  in  possession 
of  the  insurgents.  Nevertheless,  '  he  marched  through  the 
midst  of  the  enemy  to  Londinium  (London),  which  was  not  yet 
honoured  with  the  name  of  a  colony,  but  considerable  from  the 
resort  of  merchants,  and  from  its  trade.  Here,  hesitating 
whether  he  should  make  that  town  the  seat  of  war,  he  con- 
sidered how  weak  the  garrison  was,  and  warned  by  the  check 
which  Petilins  had  incurred  by  his  rashness,  he  determined  to 
preserve  the  whole  by  sacrificing  one  town.  Nor  did  the  tears 
and  lamentations  of  the  people  imploring  his  assistance  prevent 
him  from  giving  the  signal  for  marching,  though  he  received 
into  his  army  all  who  chose  to  follow  him.  But  all  those  whom 
the  weakness  of  sex,  or  the  infirmities  of  age,  or  attachment  to 
the  place,  induced  to  stay  behind,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  same  calamity  befell  the  municipal  town  of 
Verulamium  ;  for  the  barbarians,  neglecting  the  fortified 
stations  {casteUa)  and  garrisons,  plundered  the  richer  and  more 
defenceless  places,  their  principal  object  being  booty.  Seventy 
thousand  citizens  and  allies  are  said  to  have  perished  in  these 
})laces ;  for  they  made  no  prisoners  to  sell  or  exchange  them, 


54  THE  ERITOXS.  [ciiAr.  n. 

according  to  the  usual  practice  in  Avar,  but  thouglit  of  notliing 
but  slaughter,  hauging,  burning,  and  crucifying,  as  if  to 
retaliate  for  former  sutteriugs,  and  eager  to  quench  their  thirst 
for  vengeance. ' 

The  Eoman  coramauder  had  wow  collected  about  ten  thousand 
regular  troops,  consisting  of  the  fourteenth  legion  with  the 
\'  vexillarii  of  the  twentietli,  and  tlie  auxiliaries  from  the  nearest 
niilitarv  posts,  and  he  determined  to  give  battle  to  the  numer- 
ous but  tumultuous  hordes  who  followed  tlie  stanchird  of 
J^oadicea.  '  He  made  choice  of  a  spot  defended  by  defiles,  and 
closed  in  the  rear  by  a  forest,  as  the  safest  position  to  receive  an 
enemy  who  would  make  their  attack  in  front,  while  the  open 
phiin  before  him  relieved  him  from  all  fear  of  anduiscades.  The 
legionaries  were  drawn  up  in  many  deep  ranks,  the  light-armed 
troops  disposed  around  in  companies,  and  the  Hanks  coA^ered 
Avith  the  cavalry.  The  British  forces  bounded  about  {exsuUahaiit) 
in  companies  and  troops,  an  innumerable  multitude,  and  Avith 
so  niuch  confidence  that  they  brought  their  Avomen  to  be 
Avitnesses  of  their  victory,  and  placed  them  in  Avaggons  on  the 
outer  circuit  of  the  plain,  Boadicea,  Avho  rode  Avith  her 
daughters  in  a  chariot,  as  she  came  to  the  several  clans,  Avith 
Avhoni  it  Avas  not  unusual  for  a  Avoman  to  command  an  army, 
told  them  that  she  considered  herself  not  as  the  descendant  ot 
noble  ancestors,  possessed  of  sovereignty  and  great  riches,  but 
as  one  of  the  community,  prepared  to  avenge  the  loss  of  liberty, 
the  stripes  inflicted  upon  her  body,  and  the  dishonour  done  to 
her  daughters  ;  for  the  lusts  of  the  Romans  where  risen  to  such 
a  height,  that  neither  their  persons,  their  age,  nor  their  chastity 
Avas  safe.  The  gods,  hoAvever,  she  said,  favoured  their  just 
reA^enge ;  the  legion  which  had  attempted  an  engagement  Avas 
cut  off  ;  those  who  had  escaped  had  concealed  themselves  within 
their  fortresses  (castrls)  or  Avere  preparing  for  flight.  The 
Eoman  army  uoav  opposed  to  them  would  never  stand  the 
shouts  and  clamour  of  so  many  thousands,  much  less  their 
shock  and  fury.  If  they  considered  the  number  of  forces,  or 
the  causes  of  the  Avar,  they  Avould  resolve  that  day  to  conquer 
or  die ;  this  Avas  the  last  resource  for  her,  a  Avoman  ;  let  the 
men,  if  they  pleased,  live  and  be  slaves.' 

This  address  of  the  British  queen  contains,  at  least,  the  senti- 
ments that  actuated  the  Britons  in  this  revolt,  as  they  Avere  well 
knoAvn  to  the  contemporary  Eoman  historian,  who  has  placed  it 
in  her  mouth.  Suetonius  also  addressed  his  troops,  urging  them 
not  to  fear  the  immense  numbers  of  tlieir  enemies,  or  to  be 


d 


CHAP.  II.]  DEATH  OF  BOADICEi.  -         65 

alarmed  at  tlie  dreadful  shouts  with  which  tliey  were  accustomed 
to  march  into  battle.  The  legion  acted  on  the  defensive,  pro- 
tected by  its.  position,  until  the  fury  of  tlie  first  attack  was 
exhausted.  It  then  formed  in  a  Avedo-e,  and  marched  steadily 
on  the  Britons,  while  the  auxiliaries  made  the  same  movement, 
and  the  cavalry,  rushini!;  down  with  their  spears  levelled,  bore 
all  before  them.  The  Britons  were  soon  routed  with  terrible 
slaugiiter,  for  the  circle  of  wag-gons  impeded  their  liight,  and 
the  Roman  soldiers  spared  none,  but  massacred  the  women,  and 
even  the  beasts.  Eighty  thousand  Britons  are  said  to  liave 
been  slain  on  this  fatal  day,  and  then  queen  Boadicea,  unwill- 
ing- to  survive  the  destruction  of  her  country,  put  an  end  to  her 
own  life  by  taking  poison.* 

The  Iceni  were  utterly  crushed  in  this  revolt.  The  numbers 
assembled  in  the  last  disastrous  battle,  and  the  fact  of  their 
being  accompanied  with  their  women,  show  that  the  tribes 
engaged  in  it  had  arisen  eii  masse,  and  their  country  was  now 
left  without  defenders,  and  probably  almost  without  inhabitants. 
Their  lands  were  overrun  and  plundered  by  the  Roman  troops, 
and  all  the  other  tribes  Avhose  inclinations  were  known  to  be 
hostile  or  wavering,  were  ravnged  by  tire  and  sword.  The 
troops  wiiYQ  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  two  thousand  legion- 
aries, eight  cohorts  of  auxiliaries,  and  a  thousand  horse  from 
Germany;  and  out  of  these,  the  ninth  legion,  which  had  suf- 
fered so  much,  was  recruited.  Although  the  war  lingei-ed  on 
for  a  time,  the  defeat  of  tliis  insurrection  had  fixed  so  firmly 
the  Roman  yoke,  that  we  hear  no  more  of  serious  revolts  in 
the  conquered  provinces,  although  from  time  to  time  an  out- 
break among  the  oppressed  natives  furnished  the  excuse  for 
destroying  the  families  of  their  chiefs  and  reducing  the  natives 
to  a  more  degrading  state  of  slavery. 

The  reduction  of  the  rebellion  of  the  Iceni  led,  however,  to 
at  least  a  temporary  change  of  policy  towards  the  Britons,  and 
even  the  Roman  soldiers  seem  to  have  been  satiated  with  the  \/ 
wholesale  slaughter.     Suetonius  Paullinus  appears  to  have  beeu 
a  harsh  and  rigorous  ruler,  and  his  disinclination  to  show  any 

*  Our  iiuniisiiiatists  have  ascribed  to  Boadicea  certain  British  coins 
which  bear  the  inscription  bodvoc.  I  think  too  hastily  ;  for  the  history 
of  the  Britisli  queen  is  that  of  a  hurried  insurrection,  suppressed  imme- 
diately, and  scarcely  atibrdin<i-  time  for  a  distinctive  coinag-e.  Previous 
to  the  rising:,  she  had  no  authority  or  power,  and  the  miserable  woman  y 
who  Avas  subject  to  the  lash  at  the  pleasure  of  her  Roman  masters,  is  not 
likely  to  have  possessed  a  mint.  Boduoc  may  have  been  some  one  of  the 
British  chiefs  whose  existence  has  not  been  recoided  by  history. 


.56  THE  BIIITONS.  [chap.  ii. 

It'iiity  towards  the  conquered  Britons  is  said  to  have  been  a 
subject  of  dispute  between  the  general  and  the  new  procurator, 
.Iiilius  CLissicianus,  who  had  l)een  sent  as  tlie  successor  of  the 
fuuitive  Catus  Decianus.  Polycletus,  an  imperial  agent,  re- 
paired to  Britain  to  enquire  into  the  state  of  the  province,  and 
it  was  probably  his  report  that  led  soon  after  to  the  recall  of 
Suetonius.  He  was  succeeded  byPetronius  Turpilianus,  a  man 
who  had  just  laid  down  the  consulship,  and  whose  only  qualifi- 
catiou  mentioned  by  the  historian,  Avas  a  spirit  of  forberirance 
and  lenity,  which  the  commanders  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
tyrannise  over  conquered  nations  looked  upon  with  contempt. 
The  mild  administration  of  this  proprietor,  however,  soothed  the 
wounds  with  wliich  this  distant  province  was  bleeding,  and 
seems  to  have  wiped  away  the  last  traces  of  the  ferocious 
struggle  which  had  taken  place  under  his  predecessor.  A  short 
time  before  the  death  of  Nero,  Petronius  resigned  his  office  and 
was  succeeded  by  Trebellius  Maximus,  who  governed  the 
province  with  equal  moderation  and  aflability.  While  the  rest 
of  the  empire  was  torn  by  civil  commotion,  the  province  of 
l^ritain  enjoyed  unusual  tranquillity,  and  was  disturbed  only  by 
a  quarrel  between  the  propraetor  and  Roscius  Cnelius,  the 
lieutenant  of  the  twentieth  legion.  As  the  soldiers  seem  in 
general  to  have  taken  part  Avith  Coelius,  this  feud  ended  in  the 
flight  of  Trebellius,  who  went  alone  and  without  followers  to 
join  the  standard  of  Yitellius,  leaving  Britain  to  be  governed 
nominally  by  the  lieutenants  of  the  ditt'erent  legions,  but  really 
by  Roscius  Ccclius.  Yitellius  had  already  drawn  from  Britain 
a  body  of  eight  thousand  troops,  while  Suetonius  Paulliuus  had 
carried  over  the  whole  of  the  fourteenth  legion  to  tight  under 
the  standard  of  Otho. 

When  Yitellius  had  rid  himself  of  his  competitors,  and 
secured  the  purple,  he  sent  to  Britain,  as  propraetor,  one  of  his 
immediate  attendants,  Yettius  Bolanus,  who  carried  back  with 
him  the  fourteeiith  legion,  which  was  in  disfavour,  because  it 
had  fought  for  one  of  the  unsuccessful  pretenders  to  the  throne. 
Tacitus  tells  us  that  the  government  of  Bolanus  '  was  too  mild 
for  so  fierce  a  province ;  and  that  Agricola,  who  was  still 
serving  in  Britain,  checked  the  ardour  of  his  own  martial  dispo- 
sition, lest  he  should  be  suspected  of  disobedience  or  disaffection 
towards  his  commander-in-chief.'  The  insecurity  of  the  pro- 
vince was  increased  by  the  number  of  troops  which  were  now 
draughted  off  to  join  in  the  new  struggle  for  the  empire  be- 
tween Yitellius  and  Yespasian.     It  was  at  this  moment  that 


CHAP.  II.]  REVOLT  OF  THE  BEIGAXTES.  57 

symptoms  of  insubordination  ajijain  l)eg-an  to  show  tliemselves 
among  the  Britons  Tlie  insurrection  began  with  the  extensive 
ti-ibe  of  the  Brigantes,  where  the  autliority  of  Cartismandua 
app(!ars  to  have  been  still  supported  by  tlie  Romans.*  Tliis 
imperious  lady  remained  separated  from  her  husband,  and  in 
contempt  of  him,  she  had  taken  to  lier  bed  his  armour-bearer, 
Vellocatus,  and  deputed  to  him  a  part  of  her  power.  Many  of 
her  subjects  were  shocked  by  this  scandalous  proceeding,  and 
Veuusius  soon  raised  a  powerful  party,  and  pursued  tlie  queen 
with  so  much  vigour,  that  she  was  only  rescued  with  difficulty 
by  a  body  of  Eomau  troops  after  several  battles.  The  revolt 
of  the  Brigantes  had  become  so  general,  that  the  Eomaus  were 
obliged  for  a  moment  to  leave  them  in  a  state  of  independence 
with  Venusius  at  their  head. 

On  the  accession  of  Vespasian,  various  changes  were  made 
in  the  establishment  in  Britain,  Petilius  Cerealis,  the  com- 
mander of  the  ninth  legion,  who  had  incurred  the  signal  disaster 
in  the  war  against  Boadicea,  was  sent  to  succeed  Vettius  Bo- 
lanus  as  propraetor,  while  an  officer  of  great  talents,  both  as  a 
soldier  and  as  a  statesman,  Julius  Agricola,  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  twentieth  legion,  which  had  shown  some 
unwillingness  to  acknowledge  the  new  emjjcror.  An  attectionate 
friendship  had  long  subsisted  between  Agricola  and  Cerealis, 
and  they  joined  heartily  in  carrying  on  tlie  Avar  which  had  now 
broken  out  in  Britain.  But  after  several  successful  engage- 
ments with  the  Brigantes,  by  which  a  large  portion  of  that  tribe 
was  reduced  to  obedience,  Cerealis  was  recalled,  and  Julius 
Frontinus  appointed  in  his  place.  Under  this  propraetor  the 
iSdures,  who  had  hitherto  remained  independent  in  the  fast- 
nesses of  the  mountains,  and  had  perhaps  taken  part  with 
the  Brigantes,  were  conquered.  Bnt  the  spirit  of  disaffection 
was  now  spreading  widely,  and  when  in  the  year  78,  Julius 
Prontinus  was  recalled,  the  Ordovices  of  North  Wales  rose  and 
destroyed  a  troop  of  cavalry  which  was  stationed  in  their 
country,  and  various  other  tribes  were  preparing  to  rise  in  a 
general  revolt. 

At  this  moment  the  man  of  all  others  most  capable  of 
wrestling  with  the  dangers  which  seemed  on  all  sides  to  threaten 

*  From  the  manner  in  which  Tacitus  introduces  the  history  of  Cartis- 
mandua and  her  husband  in  the  Histories  and  the  Annals,  it  appears 
Mimewhat  confused,  and  it  has  been  usual  to  regard  the  two  notices  as 
relating-  to  one  event.  I  think,  however,  that  they  are  distinct,  and  I  have 
treated  them  so  in  this  sketch. 


63  .  THE  BEITOXS.  [chap.  ir. 

the  province,  was  appointed  as  a  successor  to  Prontinns.     It 
was  towards  the  close  of  the   sunnner  of  the  year  78,  when 
\/    Jidius  Agricola  returned  Irom  Ronie  to  assume  the  g'overnnient 
of  Britain.     In  spite  of  the  advanced  period  of  the  year,  lie  im- 
mediately assembled  the  legions  and  a  small   nundjer  of  the 
auxiliaries,  and,  marching  into  the  mountains  of  the  Ordovices, 
he  caused  nearly  the  whole  tribe  to  be  put  to  the  sword.     He 
then  passed  over  to  Mona  (Anglesea),  and  reduced  that  island 
entirely  under  the  Roman  power.     As  the  time  of  the  year  was 
now  past  for  further  military  operations,  and  the  slaughter  of 
the  Ordovices   had  sti'uck  terror  through  mo^3t  of  the  other 
tribes,  Ag;ricola  spent  the  winter  in  regulating*  and  reforming 
the  government  of  the  province,  and  correcting  the  innmnerable 
abuses  which  had  crept  into  the  administration.     As  the  sum- 
mer   of   the  year   79  approached,  the  legions  were  again  in 
motion,  and  by  a  mixture  of  rigour  towards  those  who  resisted, 
and  extraordinary  lenity  towards  those  who  submitted,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  the  lioman  power  throughout  the  island, 
almost  to  the  borders  of  Scotland.     In  the  midst  of  these  suc- 
cesses, the  emperor  Vespasian  died,  and  left  the  purple  to  his 
son  Titus.     Agricola,  who  was  continued  in  the  government  of 
Britain,  spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  in  securing  his  con- 
quests.    He  now,  as  Tacitus  tells  us,   saAv  the  necessity   of 
weaning  the  tierce  passions  of  the  Britons  from  the  unsettled 
state    of  war    and  tumult  to   which    they  had   become  habit- 
uated,  and  of  leading  them  to   adopt   the   pursuits   of  peace 
and  the  refinements  of  civilisation.    He  saw  that  this  could  only 
be  effected  by  giving  them  a  relish  for  the  arts  and  a  taste  for 
elegant  pleasure.     To  this  he  excited  them  by  his  conversations 
in  private  and  by  his  public  measures.    He  encouraged  them  to 
erect  temples,  forums,  and  houses.     He  caused  the  sons  of  the 
British  chiefs  to  be  instructed  in  the  language  and  knowledge 
of  their  conquerors.     Such  measures  produced  rapid   effects. 
The  Britons  soon  began  to  adopt  the  Eoman  dress,  and  they 
exchanged  the  rude  garb  of  their  ancestors  for  the  dignified 
toga.     The  manners  of  the  Romans  also  gradually  took  root 
r     among  them,  and  they  gained  a  taste  for  erecting  porticos  and 
baths,  and  indulging  in  other  luxuries. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  80,  Agricola  placed  himself  again 
at  the  head  of  the  army,  and,  proceeding  to  invade  and  reduce 
the  lowlands  of  Scotland,  extended  the  Roman  territory  as  far 
as  the  estuary  of  the  river  Taus  (the  Tay).  When  this  cam- 
])aign  was  over,  the  Roman  troops  Avcre  employed  under  the 


■J 


CHAP.  II.]        THE  GOVERXMEXT  OF  AGRICOLA.  59 

eye  of  their  leader  in  erecting"  fortresses  over  the  newly-acquired 
territory,  and  the  sites  were  chosen  with  so  much  judgment  that 
it  was  a  common  remark  that  no  castellum  huilt  by  Agricohi 
was  ever  taken  by  the  enemy,  Avhile  they  were  placed  near  y 
enough  together  to  communicate  easily  with  each  other. 
Agricola's  fourtli  summer  (a.d.  81)  Avas  employed  in  the 
ei'ection  of  a  chain  of  foils  betw^een  the  two  estuaries  knoAvn  to 
the  Romans  by  the  name  of  Clota  and  Bodotria  (the  Clyde  and 
Forth),  as  a  check  upon  the  incursions  of  the  northern  high- 
landers ;  and  in  the  following  spring  he  brought  his  Heet  into 
tlie  Solway  Firth,  and  cai-ried  liis  troops  over  to  the  country 
where  it  approached  nearest  to  Ireland,  Avhicli  also  he  secured 
with  fortresses  and  troops.  The  exact  locality  of  these  opera- 
tions has  been  a  matter  of  some  dispute,  but  the  opinion  whicii 
seems  to  carry  most  weight  places  it  in  the  country  known  in 
more  modern  times  by  the  name  of  Galloway.  It  was  under-  v 
stood  that  the  Eoman  general  already  projected  an  invasion  of 
Ireland.  One  of  its  petty  princes,  driven  into  exile  by  a 
domestic  sedition,  had  repaired  to  Agricola  to  ask  for  •assist- 
ance from  the  Eomans,  and  Agricola  was  ready  to  seize:  the 
occasion  of  carrying  over  a  Eoman  legion,  had  his  intention  not 
been  drawn  away  by  other  events. 

Early  in  the  year  83,  which  was  Agricola's  sixtli  campaign, 
the  Eoman  general  marched  with  liis  army  into  the  country 
beyond  the  line  of  fortresses  erected  two  years  before,  to  reduce 
the  nortliern  tribes,  who  appear  to  have  harassed  his  borders 
by  their  inroads.  Having  assembled  his  iieet  in  the  Firth  of 
Forth,  he  ordered  it  to  accompany  the  march  of  his  army,  which 
proceeded  through  the  districts  bordering  on  the  eastern  coast. 
The  Caledonian  tribes  harassed  the  Eoman  legions  on  their 
march  ;  and  when  they  had  reached  a  position  supposed  to  be 
a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Ochil  mountains,  the  ninth  legion, 
which  Avas  in  advance  and  obliged  to  encamp  in  an  unfavourable 
position,  was  so  vigorously  attacked  that,  had  it  not  been  soon 
relieved  by  the  arrival  of  the  rest  of  the  Eoman  forces,  it  might 
liave  experienced  a  disaster  more  serious  even  than  that  which 
fell  upon  it  in  its  march  to  Camulodunum.  The  object  of  this  ^ 
campaign  appears  to  have  been  to  take  possession  of  the  districts 
of  Fife  and  Kinross,  preparatory  to  the  entire  reduction  of  the 
northern  parts  of  the  island  in  the  following  year.  Accordingly 
ill  the  summer  of  the  year  84,  having  ordered  his  fleet  to  sail 
nnind  Scotland  and  alarm  the  enemy  by  making  descents  on  the 
coast,    he    advanced  with   the    army,   in   which    the    southern 


60  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  \u 

]>ritons  now  served  as  Roman  auxiliaries,  and  reached  the  foot 
>^  of  the  Grampian  mountains,  on  tlie  declivity  oi'  which  he  found 
thirty  thousand  of  the  bravest  warriors  of  the  north,  under  a 
celebrated  chief  named  Galg-acus,  asseuibled  to  resist  his  further 
advance.  As  the  Romans  advanced  to  the  attack,  they  suffered 
much  from  the  arrows  of  the  enemy,  while  the  north  Britons, 
who  were  armed  with  long'  pointless  swords  and  small  round 
shields,  used  them  so  skilfully  that  they  pari'ied  off  the  Roman 
missiles.  Agricola,  observing  the  inequality  of  this  mode  of 
combating,  chose  three  troops  of  Batavians  and  two  of  Tun- 
grians,  and  ordered  them  to  hurry  forward  and  attack  the  Britons 
with  their  swords.  These  were  short  and  pointtd,  and  thci-e- 
fore  much  better  calcidated  for  close  action  than  the  long  swords 
of  their  opponents.  The  attack  was  made  with  courage  and 
\  success ;  the  Britons,  crowded  together  too  closely  in  their 
*  r?.nks,  were  deprived  of  the  free  use  of  their  arms  to  strike  with 
their  swords  in  their  usual  manner,  while  their  faces  and  bodies 
w^ere  exposed  to  the  deadly  thrusts  of  their  opponents,  and 
they  soon  began  to  give  way.  The  rest  of  the  Roman  troops 
had  now  come  up,  and  the  main  body  of  the  Caledonians, 
which  had  remained  in  their  position  on  the  hill,  rushed  down 
to  the  assistance  of  their  companions,  so  that  the  battle  became 
general.  The  discipline  of  tiie  Romans,  however,  soon  overcame 
the  bravery  of  their  opponents,  and  the  noi'th  l^ritons  were 
routed  with  terrible  slaughter.  About  ten  thousand  are  said  to 
have  been  killed,  and  those  who  escaped  fled  with  their  families 
into  the  more  remote  and  inaccessible  parts  of  the  country. 

This  last  great  battle  of  Agricola  is  believed  to  have  been 
fought  on  the  moor  of  Ardoch,  in   Perthshire.     It  made  the 
Romans  masters  of  the  whole  island.     Agricola  left  his  army 
to  winter  in  the  district  of  the  Horestii,  and  returned  to  his  seat 
of  government  in  the  south.     His  fleet  made  the  cii'cuit  of 
North  Britain,  and,  while  they  took  a  survey  of  its  coasts  and 
obtained  information  relating  to  the  interior,  they  flUed  the  in- 
/  habitants  with  terror  and  alarm.      They  took  possession  of  the 
I    Orkney  Islands.     The  merits  of   Agricola  were,  however,  too 
V  bright  for  the  worthless  ruler  who  then  sat  on  the  imperial 
throne ;     and   this    distinguished   propraetor,    with    an    empty 
triumph,  was  deprived  of  his  command  in  Britain,  to  experi 
ence  at  home  the  ingratitude  of  Domitian.     He  left  the  pro- 
vince of  Britain  in  perfect  tranquillity  ;  and,  though  history  has 
told  us  nothing;  of  the  events  of  the  next  few  vears,  it  seems 

CI  •  ' 

probable  that  the  Roman  troops  in  Britain,  flnding  no  employ- 


CHAP.  II.]  AGEICOLA  IN  IRELAND.  61 

nieiit  at  home,  passed  over  to  Ireland,  and  reduced  that  island 
to  nominal  subjection.  The  poet  Juvenal,  who  is  said  to  have  j  ^ 
written  his  satire  in  a.d.  06,  just  twelve  years  after  Ag-ricola's  J  / 
last  campai»'n,  speaks  of  Irehmd  as  one  of  the  most  recent  ac- 
quisitions of  the  Roman  arms — 

'  Anna  quidem  ultra 
Litora  Juvernre  promovimus,  et  modo  captas 
Orcadas,  ac  minima  contentos  nocte  Britannos.' 

Britain  was  now  entirely  subjected  to  the  power  of  imperial 
Rome.  Its  people  had  irrecoverably  lost  their  independence, 
and  they  soon  lost  their  nationality,  Avhen  their  new  rulers  be- 
«;•  m  to  divide  the  province  of  liritain  into  departments.  The 
very  nations,  many  of  whom  had  so  bravely  foug'ht  for  their 
freedom,  lost  their  names,  and  gradually  merged  into  Roman 
subjects,  or  rather  Roman  slaves.  A  little  more  than  thirty 
years  after  the  recall  of  Agricola,  the  celebrated  geographer, 
Claudius  Ptolemseus,  published  his  survey  of  the  Avorld  as  then 
known,  in  which  he  has  given  us  a  very  exact  survey  of  the 
coasts  of  Britain  and  Ireland,  with  an  enumeration  of  the  native 
tribes.  From  this  account,  compared  with  the  allusions  of 
other  writers,  it  appears  that  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  island, 
or  the  district  now  occupied  by  the  county  of  Kent,  was  occupied 
by  the  Cantii,  a  large  and  intiuential  tribe,  which,  in  CfBsar's 
time,  was  divided  ainono-  four  chiefs  or  kino-s.  To  the  west, 
the  Regni  hekl  the  modern  counties  of  Sussex  and  Surrey,  from 
the  sea-coast  to  the  Thames.  Still  farther  west,  the  Belgfe 
occupied  the  country  from  the  southern  coast  to  the  I»ristol 
Channel,  including  nearly  the  whole  of  Hampshire,  Willshire, 
and  Somersetshire.  The  whole  of  the  extensive  district  e?.tend- 
ing  from  the  Belgse  to  the  extreme  western  point  of  the  inland, 
then  called  Antivestseum  or  Bolerium  (now  the  Land's  End), 
including  Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  was  occupied  by  the  Dum- 
nonii,  or  Damnonii.  On  the  coast,  between  the  Dumnonii  and 
the  Belgae,  the  smaller  ti'ibe  of  the  Durotriges  held  tlie  modern 
county  of  Dorset.  On  the  other  side  of  the  Thames,  extending 
northwartls  to  the  Stour,  and  including  the  greater  part  of 
Middlesex,  as  Avell  as  Essex,  lay  the  Trinobantes.  To  the 
north  of  the  Stour  dwelt  the  Iceni,  extending  over  the  counties 
of  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  Cambridge,  and  Huntingdon.  The  Coritavi 
possessed  the  present  counties  of  Northampton,  Leicester,  Rut- 
land, Derby,  Nottingham,  and  Lincoln  ;  and  the  south-eastern 
part  of  Yorkshire  was  held  by  the  Parish  Between  the  tribes 
last  enumerated,  in  the  counties  of  Buckingham,  Bedford,  and 


62  THE  BRITOXS.  [chap.  ii. 

Hertford,  lay  the  tribe  called  by  Ptolemy  tlie  Catyeuclilani 
{KuTVEvx-'^nroi),  and  by  others  Catuvellani.  Another  name 
apparently  for  tliis  tribe,  or  for  a  division  of  it,  was  tlie  Cassii. 
West  of  these  were  tlie  Attrebates,  in  Berkshire ;  and  still  fur« 
ther  west  were  the  Dobnni,  in  the  connties  of  Oxford  and 
Gloucester.  All  these  tribes  are  supposed  to  have  been  later 
settlers  than  the  tribes  of  the  interior,  those  nearer  the  coast 
being'  always,  of  course,  the  more  recent  colonies,  and  it  is  far 
from  improbable  that  some  of  them  were  of  German  origin. 

The  interior  of  the  island  northward  was  occu])ied  by  the 
Bi'igantes,  who  held  the  extensive  districts,  difficult  of  ap- 
proach on  account  of  their  mountains  and  woods,  extending 
from  the  Humber  and  the  Mersey  to  the  present  borders  of 
Scotland.  This  extensive  tribe  appears  to  have  included  several 
smaller  ones.  Two  of  these  are  called  by  Riciiard  of  Ciren- 
cester, the  Yoluntii  and  the  Sestuntii,  the  former  in  the  west  of 
Lancashii'e,  the  latter  in  Westmoreland  and  Cumberland.  The 
Jugantes  and  the  Cangi  of  Tacitus,  on  the  borders  of  the  Irisli 
Sea,  are  also  understood  to  have  belonged  to,  or  been  dependent 
upon,  this  tribe.  The  Brigantes  are  believed  to  have  been  the 
original  inhabitants  of  tlie  island,  who  had  been  driven  nortli- 
I  ward  by  successive  invasions  and  settlements,  and  they  appear 
I  to  have  been  the  least  civilised  tribe  of  South  Britain ;  their 
wild  independence  w^as  encouraged  and  protected  by  the  nature 
of  the  country  they  inhabited.  Wales  also  was  inhabited  by  a 
primitive  population.  The  northern  counties,  Flint,  Denbigh, 
Montgomery,  Merioneth,  and  Caernarvon,  with  the  island  of 
Angiesea  (then,  as  we  have  said  before,  called  Mona),  was  the 
territory  of  the  Ordovices.  The  south-eastern  counties  of  Cor- 
digan,  Caermarthen,  and  Pembroke,  were  held  by  the  Demetae. 
The  still  more  celebrated  tribe  of  the  Silures  inhabited  the 
modern  counties  of  Hereford,  Kadnor,  Brecknock,  Monmouth, 
and  Glamoro-an.  Between  these  and  the  Bri^'antes  lav  the 
Cornabii,  or  Carnabii,  who  occupied  the  present  counties  of 
Warwick,  Worcester,  Stafford,  Salop,  and  Chester,  and  perhaps 
the  adjoining  part  of  Flintshire. 

The  Avilder  parts  of  the  island  of  Britain,  to  the  north  of  the 
Brigantes,  were  inhabited  by  a  great  number  of  smaller  tribes, 
some  of  whom  seem  to  have  been  raised  in  the  scale  of  civibsa- 
tion  little  above  savao-es.  Of  these  we  have  the  names  of  no 
less  than  twenty-one.  Bordering  on  the  Brigantes,  were  the 
Otadeni,  inhabiting  the  coast  from  the  Tyne  to  the  Firth  of 
Forth,  including  a  large  portion  of  Northumberland,  with  the 


CHAP.  II.]  BRITISH  TRIBES.  f.Z 

modern  counties  of  Berwick  and  East-Lothian,  and  part  of 
Roxburg-lishire.  Next  to  them  were  the  Gadeni,  occupying- 
tlie  western  part  of  Northumberland,  the  small  part  of  Cum- 
berland north  of  tlie  Irthin<>-,  the  western  part  of  Roxburgh- 
shire, tlie  whole  of  the  county  of  Selkirk,  with  Tweedale,  a 
great  part  of  Mid-Lothian,  and  nearly  all  West-Lothian.  The 
Selgov3e  inhabited  Annandale,  Nithsdale,  and  Eskdale,  in  Dum- 
friesshire, with  the  east  of  Galloway.  The  Novantes  inhabited 
the  remainder  of  Galloway.  The  Damnii,  a  larger  tribe,  held 
the  countiy  from  the  chain  of  hills  separating  Galloway  from 
('arrick,  northward  to  the  river  Ern.  These  tribes  lay  to  the  v 
south  of  the  Eorth  and  Clyde.  Beyond  the  narrow  boundary 
formed  by  these  rivers  lay,  first,  the  Horestii,  who  occupied  the 
modern  counties  of  Clackmannan,  Kinross,  and  Fife,  with  the 
eastern  part  of  Strathern,  and  the  country  to  the  west  of  the 
Tay.  The  Venricones  occupied  a  part  of  Perthshire,  the  whole 
of  Angus,  and  a  large  part  of  Kincardineshire.  The  northern 
part  of  the  Mearns,  and  the  greater  part  of  Aberdeenshire,  were 
inhabited  by  the  Taixali.  The  Yacomagi  possessed  the  country 
forming  the  modern  shires  of  Bantt",  Elgin,  and  Nairn,  with  the 
east  part  of  Inverness  and  Brsemar,  in  Aberdeenshire.  The 
Albani  held  the  districts  of  Braidalban  and  Athol,  with  parts  of 
Lochaber  and  Upper  Lorn.  The  ferocious  tribe  of  the  Atta- 
cotti  inhabited  part  of  Argyleshire,  and  the  greater  part  of  ^ 
Dumbartonshire.  The  wild  forest  country  of  the  interior, 
known  as  the  Caledonia  Si/lva  (or  forest  of  Celyddon),  extend- 
ing from  the  ridge  of  mountains  between  Inverness  and  Perth 
northward  to  the  forest  of  Balnagowan,  including  the  middle 
parts  of  Inverness  and  lloss,  was  held  by  the  Caledonii,  which 
appears  to  have  been  at  this  time  the  most  important  and  powei-- 
ful  of  all  the  tribes  north  of  the  Brigantes.  The  eastern  part 
of  Ross  was  inhabited  by  the  Cantae.  On  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Sutherland  were  the  Logi.  Beyond  them,  the  Carnabii 
occupied  the  greater  part  of  Caithness,  leaving  only  the  north- 
west corner,  which,  with  a  part  of  Sutherlandshire,  belonged  to 
the  Catini.  The  interior  of  Sutherlandshire  was  peopled  by  the 
jNIertse ;  while  the  north  and  west  coasts,  and  a  small  part  of 
the  western  coast  of  Ross,  were  inhabited  by  the  Carnonacse.  A 
tribe  named  the  Creones  d\velt  on  the  west  coast  of  Ross  ;  the 
Cerones  held  the  western  coast  of  Inverness  and  part  of  Argyle- 
shire ;  and  the  neck  of  land,  now  known  by  the  name  of  Cantyre, 
was  the  seat  of  the  Epidii.  We  have  no  information  on  the 
etlmological  character  of  these  tribes ;   some  of  them  are  sup- 


64  THE  BRITONS.  [ciiAr.  n. 

posed  to  have  come  from  Scandinavia  and  the  opposite  coast  of 
^  Germanv  ;  others  no  doubt  ori<>-inated  in  miy-rations  from  the 
si      south  ;  while  others  ai;"ain  probably  came  from  Ireland. 

This  island,  known  to  the  Homans  by  the  names  of  Hibernia 
and  Jnverna,  appears  to  have  been  tolerably  well  known  in  the 
aji'e  of  Ptolemy,  who  <;ives  ns  a  description  of  its  coasts,  and 
enumerates  the  tribes  and  toAvns  both  iu  the  maritime  districts 
and  in  the  interior.  On  the  northern  coast  dwelt  the  Veiiiconii, 
iu  the  modem  county  of  Donegal,  and  the  Robogdii,  in  London- 
derry and  Antrim,  Adjoining  to  the  Venicoiiii,  westward,  were 
the  Erdini  or  Erpeditani,  and  next  to  them  the  IMagnata:,  all  iu 
Donegal.  Farther  south  were  the  Auteri,  in  Sligo ;  the  Gan- 
gani,  in  Mayo  ;  and  the  Velibori,  or  Ellebri,  in  the  district 
between  Galway  and  the  Shannon.  The  south-west  part  of  the 
island,  with  a  great  portion  of  the  interior,  was  inhabited  by  the 
Iverni,  who  gave  name  not  only  to  the  great  river,  but  to  the 
whole  island,  and  who  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants.  The  south-eastern  promontory,  now 
called  Carnsore  Point,  was  then  known  by  the  title  of  the  Holy 
Promontory  {Itpuv  ak-pov),  to  the  north-west  of  which,  in  the 
modern  counties  of  Waterford  and  Tippei'ary,  Ptolemy  places  a 
tribe  called  the  Usdise  or  Vodire,  according  to  the  variations  of 
the  manuscripts.  In  the  modern  comity  of  Wexford  (hvelt  the 
I^rigantes ;  and  northward  from  them  were  the  Coriondi,  in 
I  Wicklow  ;  the  Menapii,  in  Dublin  ;  the  Canci,  on  the  banks  of 
I  the  Boyne  ;  the  Blanii,  or  Eblani,  on  the  bay  of  Dundalk  ;  the 
Voluntii,  in  Down  ;  and  the  Darini,  borderhig  on  the  Robogdii, 
in  Antrim. 

Three,  at  least,  of  the  tribes  who  held  the  eastern  coast  of 
Ireland,  the  Brigantes,  the  Menapii,  and  the  Voluntii,  were,  no 
tloubt,  colonies  from  the  opposite  shores  of  Britain.  This  cir- 
cnmstance  gives  additional  force  to  the  conjecture  that  the 
l^rigantes,  with  their  dependent  tribe,  the  Voluntii,  are  to  be 
considered  as  the  remains  of  the  earlier  Celtic  population  of  the 
latter  island.  Driven  inward  by  the  later  settlers,  whether 
Geltic  or  Teutonic,  they  were  obliged  also  to  seek  new  settle- 
ments in  the  neighbouring  island.* 

It  is  evident  that  these  various  tribes,  not  only  governed  by 
ditferent  chiefs,  but  belonging  to  different  races,  must  have 
dilfered  also  in  their  manners  and  in  their  comparative  civilis- 

*  It  also  p:ives  rise  to  a  supposition  that  the  orio^inal  Celtic  lang-uas'e  nf 
Britain  is  represented  rather  by  the  modern  Irish  than  by  the  Welsh, 
which,  for  several  other  reasons,  is  more  than  probable. 


CHAP.   II.]  THE  BRITISH  TOPULATIOXS.  6-5 

ation,  and  that  we  should  be  Avrong  in  applying  to  them  all 
the  various  notices  on  this  subject  found  in  ancient  writcn'S, 
and  much  move  so  in  transferring  to  the  inhabitants  of  Britain, 
without  reserve,  the  description  which  the  old  geographers  and 
historians  have  left  us  of  the  people  of  Gaul.  Most  of  the 
descriptions  found  in  subsequent  writers  are  little  more  than  a 
repetition  of  the  scanty  information  given  by  Caesar,  who  was 
himself  acquainted  only  with  the  south-eastern  part  of  the 
island. 

We  should  probably  form  the  best  appreciation  of  the  con- 
dition of  our  Celtic  forefathers  before  their  conquest  by  the 
Romans,  if  we  compared  them  with  the  septs  or  clans  in  Ireland 
and  the  highlands  of  Scollmd  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries.  Each  chief  exercised  the  same  independent  and 
unrestrained  authority  over  his  clan,  and  the  disunion  of  the 
whole  Avas  probably  increased  by  difference  of  language  and 
race.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  assuming  that  the 
different  tribes  were  accustomed  to  unite  under  one  head  (or, 
as  he  has  been  termed,  Pendragon)  in  cases  of  emergency.  On  *~^ 
the  contrary,  we  observe,  as  far  as  their  history  is  known,  that 
they  never  acted  together,  unless  Avhen  their  union  was  caused 
by  conquest,  or  by  the  alliance  of  one  or  two  neighbouring  and, 
perhaps,  kindred  tribes.*  The  statement  that  they  went  naked, 
and  that  they  painted  their  bodies,  can  only  have  been  true  of 
some  of  the  more  barbarous  tribes.  We  have  no  very  distinct 
information  on  the  costume  of  the  Britons,  except  that  we  know 
from  the  earlier  Roman  writers  that  they  wore  breeches  {h'acccs), 
like  the  Gauls  and  Germans.  They  are  described  as  being  in 
person  taller  than  the  average  height  of  the  Romans.  The 
lu'ief  account  of  Tacitus  confirms  the  views  already  stated,  as  to 
the  difference  of  races  which  peopled  the  island.  He  imagined  y/ 
that  the  red  hair  and  masculine  forms  of  the  Caledonians  be- 
spoke a  German  origin  ;  that  the  Silures,  by  their  complexions 
{caloratl  v/iltns),  and  curly  hair,  were  a  colony  of  the  Iberi  of 
Spain  ;  and  that  the  tribes  who  inhabited  the  coasts  came  from 
Gaul ;  and  one  of  the  arguments  he  adduces  for  believing  that 
the  maritime  tribes  were  of  Gallic  origin,  the  similarity  of  lan- 
guage {sermo  haudmnltum  dlversus),  leads  us  to  believe  that  the 
language  of  these  tribes  was  totally  different  from  that  of  the 

*  Tacitus,  speaking  of  the  British  tribes,  says,  *  Nee  aliud  adversus 
validissiinas  gentes  pro  nobis  utilius,  quam  quod  in  commune  non  consu- 
lunt.  Rarus  duabus  tribusve  civitatibus  ad  propulsandum  commune 
periculum  conventus ;  ita,  dum  singuli  pug-nant,  universi  vincuntur.' — 
Tacitus,  Agric.,  c.  12. 

P 


-/^ 


66  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.   it. 

Silures,  or  from  that  of  the  Caledonians,  and  of  the  tribes  of  liie 
interior. 

In  one  particular,  we  are  justified  in  considering  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  manners  of  the  people  of  Gaul  as  ap))licable  to  those 
of  Britain,  I  mean  their  religion.  All  the  ancient  writers  agree 
that  the  Druidic  system  was  the  same  in  both  countries.  Al 
tliat  we  really  know  of  it  is  given  by  Caesar,  and  may  be  best 
repeated  in  his  own  words.  '  The  Druids,'  he  says,  '  act  in 
all  sacred  matters  ;  they  attend  to  the  sacrifices,  which  are 
offered  either  by  the  tribe  in  general,  or  by  individuals,  and 
answer  all  questions  concerning  their  religion.  They  always 
liave  a  large  number  of  young  men  as  pupils,  who  treat 
them  with  the  greatest  respect.  For  it  is  they  who  decide  in 
all  controversies,  Avhether  public  or  private,  and  they  judge  all 
causes,  whether  of  murder,  of  a  disputed  inheritance,  or  of 
the  boundaries  of  estates.  They  assign  both  rewards  and  punisii- 
nients,  and  whoever  refuses  to  abide  by  their  sentence,  whether 
he  be  in  a  public  or  private  station,  is  forbidden  to  be  present  at 
the  sacrifices  to  the  gods.  This  is  in  fact  their  most  severe  mode 
of  punishment,  and  those  who  have  been  thus  excommunicated 
are  held  as  impious  and  profane  ;  all  avoid  them,  no  one  will 
cither  meet  them  or  speak  to  them,  lest  they  shonld  be  injured 
by  their  contagion  ;  every  species  of  honour  is  withheld  from 
them,  and  if  they  are  plaintiffs  in  a  lawsuit,  justice  is  denied 
them.  All  the  Druids  are  subject  to  one  chief,  who  enjoys  the 
greatest  autliority  among  them.  Upon  the  death  of  the  chief 
Druid,  the  next  in  dignity  is  appointed  to  succeed  him ;  and  if 
there  are  two  whose  merits  are  equal,  the  election  is  made  by 
tlie  votes  of  the  whole  body,  though  sometimes  they  dispute  for 
pre-eminence  with  the  sword.  .  .  ,  The  Druidic  system  is  thought 
to  have  had  its  origin  in  Britain,  from  Avhence  it  was  introduced 
into  Gaul  ;  and  it  is  still  customary  for  those  who  wish 
;to  study  it  more  thoroughly,  to  pass  over  into  Britain  for  that 
purpose.  The  Druids  enjoy  peculiar  privileges ;  they  are 
exempted  from  service  in  war,  and  from  the  payment  of  taxes  ; 
they  have  also  many  other  immunities,  which  cause  their  order 
to  become  so  munerous  and  influential,  and  young  men  are 
gladly  placed  with  them  by  their  parents  and  relations  to  learn 
tlieir  doctrines.  In  their  schools  the  pupils  are  said  to  learn  by 
heart  a  large  number  of  verses,  and  in  this  way  some  of  their 
scholars  pass  twenty  years  in  completing  their  education ;  for 
it  is  unlawful  to  commit  their  doctrines  to  writing,  though  they 
are  not  ignorant  of  the  art  of  writing ;  and  for  all  other  pur- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHARACTER  OF  THE  DRUIDS.  67 

poses,  both  in  their  public  and  private  reckonings,  tliey  make 
use  of  the  Greek  characters.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  have 
two  motives  for  this  conduct  :  in  the  first  phice  tliey  are 
uuwillino-  that  their  tenets  should  become  known  to  the  vuk-ar ; 
and,  secondly,  they  are  afraid  that  their  pupils  will  be  less  apt 
to  cultivate  their  memories,  if  they  trust  to  written  characters, 
which  often  have  the  effect  of  checking-  diligent  study.  Among 
their  most  important  tenets  is  that  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  which  they  believe  passes  after  deatli  into  other  bodies  ; 
tliey  hold  this  to  be  a  great  inducement  to  the  practice  of 
virtue,  as  the  mind  becomes  relieved  from  the  fear  of  death. 
Their  other  doctrines  concern  the  motions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  tlie  magnitude  of  the  earth  and  the  universe,  the  nature 
of  tilings,  and  the  power  and  attributes  of  the  immortal  gods.' 
'AH  the  Gallic  nations,'  Caesar  adds,  'are  much  given  to 
superstition ;  for  which  reason,  when  they  are  seriously  ill,  or 
are  in  danger  through  their  wars  or  other  causes,  they  either  offer 
up  men  as  victims  to  the  gods,  or  make  a  vow  to  sacrifice  them- 
selves. The  ministers  in  these  offerings  are  the  Druids  ;  and 
they  hold  that  the  wrath  of  the  immortal  gods  can  only  be 
appeased,  and  man's  life  be  redeemed,  by  offering  up  human 
sacrifice,  and  it  is  part  of  their  national  institutions  to  hold 
fixed  solemnities  for  this  purpose.  Some  of  them  make 
immense  images  of  wicker-work,  wdiich  they  fill  with  men  who 
are  thus  burned  alive  in  offering  to  their  deities.  These  victims 
are  generally  selected  from  among  those  who  have  been  con- 
victed of  theft,  robbery,  or  other  crimes,  in  whose  punishment 
they  tliink  the  immortal  gods  take  the  greatest  pleasin-e  ;  but 
if  there  be  a  scarcity  of  such  victims,  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  innocent  men  in  their  place.' 

'Their  principal  deity,'  continues  Caesar,  'is  Mercury,  in 
whose  honour  they  have  erected  numerous  statues  ;  they  hold 
him  to  be  the  inventor  of  all  tlie  arts,  and  the  god  who  protects 
men  on  a  journey,  and  leads  them  on  their  way  ;  moreover, 
they  ascribe  to  him  the  power  of  granting  success  and  prosperity 
in  affairs  of  gain  and  commerce.  Next  to  Mercury  come 
Apollo,  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Minerva,  to  whom  tliey  ascribe 
attributes  similar  to  those  which  are  attributed  to  the  same 
deities  among  other  nations.  Apollo  is  believed  to  heal  diseases, 
Minerva  to  initiate  mankind  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  Jupiter 
to  be  the  king  of  heaven,  and  Mars  to  be  the  god  of  war.  When 
the  Gauls  are  about  to  fight  a  battle,  they  often  make  a  vow  to 
dedicate  to  Mars  the  spoils  which  they  may  take  from   thfir 


% 


) 


-4. 


68  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.   ii. 

enemies.  If  there  be  a  superabundance  of  cattle  taken  in  war, 
the  surplus  is  offered  up  in  sacrifice.  The  rest  of  the  spoil  is 
collected  into  one  mass.  In  many  of  their  tribes,  large  heaps 
of  these  things  may  be  seen  in  their  consecrated  places  ;  and  it 
is  a  rare  occurrence  for  any  individual  sacrilegiously  to  conceal 
part  of  the  booty,  or  to  turn  it  to  his  own  use ;  the  severest 
punishment,  together  with  bodily  torture,  is  inflicted  on  those 
who  are  guilty  of  such  an  offence.  The  Gauls  boast  that  they 
sprung  from  father  Dis  (Pluto) ;  and  say  that  they  derive  their 
information  from  the  Druids.  This  is  the  reason  why  they 
measure  time  by  uights  and  not  by  days,  and  their  birthdays, 
together  with  the  commencement  of  their  months  and  years, 
T  are  so  arranged,  that  the  days  are  reckoned  as  parts  of  the 
preceding  nights.' 

Caesar  had  an  interest  in  collecting  all  the  information  he 
could  relating  to  the  Druids  and  their  religion,  but  we  are 
almost  led  to  suspect  that  he  obtained  it  from  different  races, 
German  and  Celtic,  and  that  he  mixed  it  together  without  due 
discrimination.  The  five  deities  which  he  gives  to  the  Gauls 
seem  to  be  Teutonic,  the  same  whose  names  have  been  preserved 
in  our  modern  days  of  the  week.  The  great  god  of  the  Ger- 
mans was  Woden,  who  is  always  identified  with  the  Koman 
Mercury  ;  Jupiter  was  Thor ;  Mars  was  Tuisco ;  Minerva  was, 
no  doubt,  Frigga  ;  and  Caesar's  Apollo  was  perhaps  intended 
for  Saeter,  the  god  whose  name  has  been  preserved  in  our 
Saturday.  It  has  always  been  the  custom  of  the  Germans  to 
reckon  time  by  nights — we  still  say  sennlgJd,  fortuigJd,  &c., 
for  what  the  French  call  hnit  jours,  quinze  jours,  but  we  know 
so  little  of  the  Celts,  that  we  cannot  venture  to  assert  that  they 
did  not  reckon  time  in  the  same  way. 

An  edict  of  the  emperor  Claudius  proscribed  the  Druidic 
caste,  with  its  superstitions,  and  they  quickly  disappeared  from 
Gaul.  A  curious  passage  of  Tacitus,  where  he  compares  the 
tribes  on  the  south  and  south-eastern  coast  of  Britain  with  the 
Gauls  on  the  Continent,  and  points  out  as  a  point  of  similarity, 
in  which  the  other  British  tribes  did  not  partake,  the  resem- 
blance of  their  religious  rites,*  would  lead  us  to  imagine  that 
Druidism  prevailed  only  among  those  maritime  people.     As  the 

*  '  Proxinii  Gallis,  et  similes  sunt  ....  eorum  sacra  deprehendas,  su- 
perstitionum  persuasione.' — Taciti  Agric,  c.  11.  We  must  bear  in  n)ind 
that  Druidism  was  abolished  when  Tacitus  wrote,  so  he  could  only  speak 
of  the  traces  of  it  which  remained  among  the  people  ;  yet  we  know  by  many 
instances  how  long  such  traces  endure. 


CHAP.  II.  J  THE  DRUIDS.  6S 

Romans  advanced,  tlieir  ban  still  fell  upon  the  Druids,  who 
made  their  last  stand  in  Mona,  and  were  destroyed  there  by 
the  arms  of  Suetonius  Paullinus.  Subsequent  winters  only 
speak  of  them  as  a  race  who  belonged  to  past  ages,  and  they 
add  nothing-  to  our  knowledge,  at  least  nothing  in  which  we 
can  place  any  trust.  It  is  Pliny  who  tells  us  of  their  respect 
for  the  mistletoe.  '  The  Druids/  he  says,  '  who  are  the  mngi 
of  Gaul,  esteem  nothing  more  sacred  than  the  mistletoe,  and 
the  tree  on  which  it  grows,  if  only  it  be  an  oak.  Indeed  they 
select  groves  of  oaks,  and  use  their  leaves  in  all  their  sacred 
rites,  so  that  their  very  name  of  Druids  may  seem  to  be  derived 
from  the  Greek  name  for  oak  (cpvt).  Everything  which  grows 
upon  these  trees  is  considered  by  them  as  sent  from  heaven, 
and  a  sign  that  the  tree  is  chosen  by  the  deity  himself.  But 
tlie  mistletoe  is  very  rare  toftnd,  and  where  it  occurs  is  sought 
with  great  avidity  ;  particularly  on  the  sixth  moon,  which,  a 
a.iiong  these  nations,  marks  the  beginnings  of  their  months  and  » 
years,  and  of  a  generation  after  thirty  years,  because  it  then 
lias  abundance  of  strength,  though  not  yet  half  of  its  full  size. 
They  call  it  in  their  language  by  a  name  which  signifies  all- 
heal (omnia  sauanteui),  and  when  they  have  made  ready  their 
sacrifices  and  banquets  under  the  tree,  they  bring  up  two  white 
bulls,  whose  horns  are  then  bound  for  the  first  time.  A  priest 
clothed  in  a  white  robe  ascends  the  tree,  and  with  a  golden 
pruning-knife  lops  ott'  the  bough,  which  is  caught  in  a  white 
towel.  They  then  immolate  the  victims,  praying  that  God 
may  prosper  the  gift  to  all  who  shall  partake  of  it  ;  for  they 
believe  that  by  using  it  as  a  drink  barren  animals  are  rendered 
fruitful,  and  all  kinds  of  poisons  are  deprived  of  their  noxious 
power,'  * 

*  Plinii  Hist.  Nat.,  lib.  xvi.  c  9-5. 


7i  THE  BRITONS,  [chai'.  hi. 


I 


CHAPTER  III. 

British  Antiquities — Barrows — Cromlechs,  and  Sepulchral  Chambers — 
Circles  ;  Stoneheng-e — Other  Monuments  of  Stone — Various  descrip- 
tions of  British  Barrows— Their  contents— Pottery — Instruments  of 
Stone — Instruments  of  Metal — Other  articles — Their  value  as  illustra- 
tive of  History — The  British  Coinage — Earthworks,  and  supjjosed 
sites  of  towns  and  villages. 

Such  is  all  we  know  from  record  of  the  history  and  condition 
of  tlie  inhabitants  of  Britain  before  it  Avas  finally  reduced  to  a 
Koman  province.  We  are  able  to  add  little  to  this  knowledge 
from  tlie  discoveries  of  the  antiquary,  for  tlie  monuments  of 
the  Britisli  period  are  few,  and  uncertain,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  appropriating-  them  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  It 
has  been  the  custom  to  consider  all  articles  of  rude  make,  which 
appeared  not  to  be  Roman,  as  belonging  to  a  period  antecedent 
to  the  Roman  invasion ;  but  later  experience,  and  more  careful 
investigation,  liave  sliown  that  this  view  was  altogether  erro- 
neous. Much  which  used  to  be  called  British,  is  now  known 
to  be  Saxon,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  of  the  rest 
belongs  to  the  period  of  the  Roman  occupation,  or  to  that  which 
immediately  followTd  it. 

The  only  monuments  to  which  people  in  a  rude  state  of 
civilisation  seem  to  have  been  anxious  to  give  durability,  were 
Iheir  graves,  and  to  the  contents  of  these  we  must  look  for  any 
traces  of  the  character  and  manners  of  those  who  built  them. 
From  the  remotest  ages  it  was  customary  to  mark  to  future 
generations  the  last  resting-place  of  the  honoured  dead,  by 
raising  mounds,  more  or  less  elevated  according  to  circumstances 
connected  with  the  locality,  or  according  to  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  the  deceased.  To  these  sepulchral  mounds  our 
Anglo-Saxon  forefathers  gave  the  names  of  low  (klcew),  and 
barrow  {beorh,  beanc)  -,  of  which  the  former  is  chiefly  preserved 


CHAP.   iii.J  SEPULCIIRAJ.  EAilKOWS.  7i 

ill  names  of  places,  siicli  as  Bartlow,  Houndslow,  Ludlow,  &c., 
while  tlie  latter  lias  been  g-enerally  used,  by  Eug-lisli  writers  on 
archaeology  as  the  technical  term  for  all  ancient  sepulchral 
mounds.  Both  are  equivalent  to  the  Latin  tumulus.  The  form 
of  the  barrow  was  in  its  original  state  more  or  less  conical, 
especially  when  it  was  of  large  dimensions,  but  ages  of  exposure 
to  the  elements  and  to  other  actions,  Avhich  have  swept  so  many 
of  them  entirely  from  the  soil,  have  no  doubt  greatly  modified 
the  forms  of  those  which  are  left,  and,  whatever  may  once  have 
been  the  distinction  of  form,  we  can  now  only  judge  of  tlu; 
people  to  whom  they  bexr.ged  by  th^ir  contents.  Sir  Eichanl 
Colt  Hoare,  an  earnest  and  diligent  antiquary,  if  not  always  a 
correct  one,  opened  a  great  number  of  barrows  in  the  south  of 
England,  and  hastily  undertook  to  classify  them  according  to 
their  outward  forms,  inventing  a  nomenclature  which  has  been 
too  blindly  followed  by  antiquaries  of  later  times. '^  He  thus 
not  only  distinguished  by  their  outward  forms  what  were  British 
barrows,  but  he  subdivided  the  British  barrows  themselves.  Yet 
his  own  errors  show  how  little  truth  there  was  in  this  system,  for 
he  confounds  British  with  Saxon,  and  sometimes  either  or  both 
with  what  may  have  been  Koman. 

It  is  only  by  pi'obability,  greater  or  less,  that  we  can  attribute 
any  of  these  barrows  to  the  British  period,  for  unfortunately 
we  have  no  known  and  undoubted  monuments  of  British  manu- 
factui'c  with  which  to  compare  them,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
Roman  and  with  other  later  periods.  The  very  fact  that  great 
errors  have  been  made,  obliges  us  to  proceed  with  the  more 
caution  in  forming  our  judgment. 

There  is  one  class  of  barrows,  and  those  usually  large  ones, 
which,  when  found  in  this  island,  antiquaries  in  general  seem 
to  agree  in  ascribing  to  the  Britons — mounds  which  contain  a 
rude  chamber  of  rough  stones,  often  of  colossal  dimensions.  1\\ 
the  greater  number  of  instances,  the  superincumbent  mound 
has  been  removed,  either  for  the  sake  of  the  earth,  or  in  the 
belief,  prevalent  during  the  middle  ages,  that  treasure  Avas  con- 
tained under  it,  and  the  massive  chamber  of  rough  stones  alone  >. 
has  been  left  standing.  Groups  of  large  stones  arranged  in  this  I 
.manner  have  been  found  scattered   over  various  parts  of  the  ' 

*  The  chief  varieties  in  the  cLissification  alluded  to,  have  received  the 
names  of  conical  barrows,  bell  barrows,  bowl  barrows,  Druid  barrows,  broad 
barrows,  twin  barrows,  long  barrows,  and  pond  barrows.  No  doubt 
barrows  with  the  forms  indicated  by  these  names  are  found,  but  it  is  most 
probable  that  they  frequently  owe  thon  to  accidental  circumstances,  among 
which  we  must  not  omit  the  caprice  of  the  makers. 


72  THE  DRITOXS.  [c:iap.    hi. 

Rritisli  islands,  as  well  as  in  other  countries.  Our  antiquaries 
have  applied  to  them  the  name  of  cromlechs,  and  have  given  to 
tliem  every  sort  of  absurd  explanation,  the  most  general  of 
which  was  tliat  which  made  them  Druids'  altars.  But  recent 
researches  have  left  no  room  for  doubt  tliat  tiiey  are  all  sepul- 
chral chambers  denuded  of  their  mounds.  In  fact  they  liave 
been  found  with  tlieir  original  coverings  iu  the  Cliannel  Islands, 
in  Brittany,  in  Ireland,  and  in  England.  One  instance  occurred 
about  the  year  1800,  at  Lanyou,  in  the  parish  of  Maddern,  or 
Madron,  near  Penzance  in  Cornwall,  which  has  been  more  care- 
fully recorded  than  other  similar  discoveries  in  England,  and  it 
furnishes  us  with  an  example  of  the  motives  which  have  led  to 
the  removal  of  the  original  moimds.  The  farmer  to  whom  the 
ground  belonged  had  often  cast  a  longing  eye  to  what  appeared 
to  be  an  immense  heap  of  rich  monld,  and  at  length  he  resolved 
to  clear  it  aAvay  and  spread  it  over  his  iield.  As  these  large 
barrows  are  generally  raised  in  localities  where  the  soil  is  not 
very  deep,  tlie  earth  of  which  they  are  formed  is  the  more 
attractive.  When  they  had  carried  away  about  a  hundred  cart 
loads,  the  labourers  came  to  a  great  stone,  and  not  knoAving 
what  this  might  be,  they  removed  the  surrounding  eartli  more 
carefully,  and  thus  brought  to  light  a  large  cromlech,  formed, 
like  many  known  examples,  by  three  upright  stones,  making 
the  three  sides  of  the  sepulchral  chamber,  covered  with  a  mas- 
sive cap-stone.  Within  were  found  a  heap  of  broken  urns  and 
human  bones,  but  it  was  evident  that  it  had  been  disturbed  at 
some  former  period,  probably  by  treasure-seekers. 

The  word  cromlech  is  said  to  be  Celtic,  and  to  have  a  mean- 
ing not  differing  much  from  that  of  the  name  dolmen  given  to 
them  in  France,  which  signifies  a  stone  table.*  Indeed,  their 
appearance  in  an  uncovered  state  readily  suggests  the  idea  of 
a  table,  and  the  peasantry  in  France  often  call  them  fairies' 
tables  and  devils'  tables.  These  chambers  are  usually  closed 
in  only  on  three  sides,  and  consist  of  four  stones,  three  of  which 
raised  on  their  ends  form  the  sides  of  a  square,  while  the  fourth 
serves  as  the  covering.  Such  is  the  very  reuiarkable  cromlech 
on  the  hill  between  Maidstone  and  Rochester,  in  Kent,  known 
by  the  name  of  Kits-Cotty  House.  In  the  annexed  view  of  the 
cromlech  of  Chun-Quoit,  in  the  parish  of  Morvan,  in  the  western 
part  of  Cornwall,  only  the  lower  corner  of  tlie  stone  forming  the 

*  Some  of  our  Celtic  antiquaries,  not  satisfied  with  the  name  of  '  crom- 
lech,' had  named  them  kist-vaeiis,  or,  as  they  interpret  it,  'stone- 
chests.' 


CHAP.  HI.]       THE  CllUMLECII  OF  CIIUX-QUOIT. 


73 


transverse  side  is  seen.     Tliese  monuments  vary  in  size,  though 
iliey  are  often  very  large.     The  covering  stone  of  the  cromlech 


Cromlech  of  Cliiln-Quoit  in  Cornwall. 

of  Chun,  just  described,  is  calculated  to  weigh  about  twenty 
tons ;  the  covering  stone  of  one  at  Lanyon,  in  the  parish  of 
Madron,  in  Cornwall,  weighs  about  fifteen  tons  ;  that  of  Kits- 
Cotty  House,  in  Kent,  has  been  estimated  at  ten  tons  and  a  y^ 
half.  Others  are  much  smaller.  Three  upright  stones,  with  a 
covering,  constitute  the  cromlech  in  its  simplest  form.  The 
stones  are  usually  joined  as  close  together  as  their  shape  will 
permit,  for  they  seldom  present  any  traces  of  having  been 
squared  with  a  tool ;  sometimes  they  are  left  with  interstices 
betAveen  them,  which  give  the  chamber  a  still  more  rude  appear- 
ance ;  and  they  are  sometimes  not  arranged  in  a  regular  square 
In  some  instances,  as  they  now  stand,  the  back  stone  has  been 
carried  away,  and  the  cromlech  consists  only  of  three  stones, 
two  standing  like  the  portals  of  a  door,  to  support  the  trans- 
verse cap-stone  or  lintel ;  in  others,  where  the  cromlech  has 
fallen,  only  two  stones  are  left,  one  upright,  and  the  other  lean- 
ing upon  it  with  on.'  edge  on  the  ground ;  and  in  many  instances 
all  that  remains  of  the  original  cromlech  is  a  single  stone,  stand- 
ing upright  or  lying  flat.  We  owe  these  forms  doubtless  to  the 
dilapidations  of  time,  and  examples  are  known  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  whole  cromlechs  to  break  up  the  stones  for  roads,  or 


74  THE  lUilTONS.  [chap,   hi 

other  purposes.  But  the  ohl  anticpiaries  had  mnde  differeiil 
classes  of  all  these  imperfect  moniiiuents,  and  in  France  they 
^•ave  them  distinctive  names.  They  termed  the  first  Uchavens, 
which  is  intei-pi'eted  also  as  meaning-  stone-tables,  but  later 
French  antiquaries  have  given  them  the  Greek  name  of  triliths, 
on  account  of  the  three  stones  of  which  they  are  composed ;  the 
second  are  called  by  the  French  antiquaries  de mi-dolmens  ;  and 
the  third  class  they  have  termed  indiscriminately  menhirs,  or 
peulvans,  Celtic  terms  signifying-  long  stones,  or  stone  pillars. 

This,  as  I  have  said,  was  the  simplest  form  of  the  Britisli 
sepulchral  chamber,  but  it  was  sometimes  much  more  compli- 
cated in  its  structure.  In  some  instances  it  presents  the  foi'm 
of  a  ponderous  cap-stone,  supported  at  its  corners  by  four 
stones,  and  leaving  the  sides  of  the  chamber  more  or  less  open. 
In  other  instances  the  chamber  is  made  more  complete,  its 
sides  being-  formed  by  a  number  of  stones  joined  side  by  side, 
with  one  or  more  very  large  cap-stones  above.  Crondechs  thus 
constructed  are  found  in  different  parts  of  England,  and 
especially  in  the  Channel  Islands.  Sometimes  more  than  one 
crondech  is  found  under  the  same  mound.  On  the  hills  between 
Gloucester  and  Clieltenham,  a  rather  low%  but  very  extensive 
oljlong  mound,  overgrown  with  tir-trees,  w'as  a  few  years  ago 
accidentally  dug  into  at  one  end,  and  a  small  crondech  was 
brouglit  to  light.  From  the  appearance  of  the  mound,  we  are 
justified  in  supposing-  that  one  or  more  similar  cromlechs  still 
remain  uncovered  in  the  part  which  has  not  been  touched. 
There  is  a  remarkable  monument  of  this  kind  at  Plas  Newydd, 
in  the  Isle  of  Anglesea ;  it  consists  of  two  cromlechs  close 
togetlier  (the  French  antiquaries  call  it  a  double  dolmen),  one 
considerably  larger  than  the  other.*  The  cap-stone  of  the 
largest,  which  measures  about  twelve  feet  in  length  by  ten  in 
l)readth,  and  from  four  and  a  half  to  three  and  a  half  feet  in 
thickness,  rests  on  five  ujDright  stones  ;  it  is  said  to  have  had 
originally  seven  supports.  These  two  cromlechs  were  no  doubt 
included  in  one  mound. 

A    glance  at  the  monument  last  described   shows   us  how 

readily  the  idea  wouhl  present  itself  of  building-galleries,  or  a 

series  of  chambers,  in  these  large  sepulchral  mounds,  probably 

to  serve  as  family  tombs.     Vast  works  of  this  kind  are  found 

*  It  may  be  mentioned,  as  a  sample  of  the  absurdities  which  have  been 
published  on  the  subject  of  these  monuments,  that  a  writer  of  the  earlier 
part  of  the  present  century,  describing  this  monument,  '  had  no  doubt  ' 
that  the  greater  cromlech  was  appropriated  to  the  sacrifice,  and  the  lesser 
to  the  priest  while  he  attended  it  I 


CHAP.  i:r. ] 


CROMLECH  AT  PLAS  NEWYDD. 


in  l^rittaiiy,  as  well  as  in  Ireland.     Tlie  chambered  monument 

of  New  Grange,  in  Meatli,  in  the  latter  country,  is  celebrated    V 


Cromlech  at  Plas  Newydd,  Isle  of  Ang-lesen. 

amonj?  Celtic  antiquaries  ;  it  contains  a  chamber  twenty  feet 
hig'h  by  thirty  feet  in  circumference,  approached  by  a  narrow 
passage  from  the  side  of  the  mound,  the  entrance  to  which  was 
(^losed  by  a  large  slab  of  stone.  The  researches  of  Air  Lukis 
among  the  Celtic  sepnlchres  of  the  Cliannel  Islands,  show  that 
these  stone  chambers  had  been  there  used  by  generation  after 
generation  through  many  ages.  As  far  as  antiquarian  re- 
searches have  yet  been  carried,  extensive  moiumients  of  this 
kind  are  of  rare  occurrence  in  England.  They  are  found, 
however,  in  Wiltshire.  When  denuded  of  their  covering  of 
earth,  they  have  been  more  easily  thrown  down  than  the 
simple  cromlech,  or  perhaps  they  have  afforded  greater  tempta- 
tion to  those  who  -va  ere  in  want  of  stone  for  other  purposes. 
The  monument  at  Ashbury,  in  Ikrksliire,  to  -which  the  Saxons 
attached  the  name  of  TFelaudes  Smiththan  (Weland's  Smithy — 
Weland  was  the  Saxon  Vulcan),  a  name  which  has  been 
corrupted  to  that  of  Wayland  Smith's  cave,  appears  to  haVe 
been  originally  a  gallery  with  chambers  of  this  description.  A 
very  curious  monument  of  the  same  kind,  nearWellow,  in  Som- 
cn-setshire,  was  opened  by  Sir  Eichard  Colt  Hoare,  in  the  May 
of  1S16,  and  an  account  of  it  published  in  the  nineteentli  vol* 


76 


THE  BRITONS. 


[CUAP.    UT. 


ume  of  the  Archaeolog-ia.  The  barrow,  composed  of  stones 
instead  of  earth,  and  of  a  very  irremdar  form,  stood  on  the  side 
of  a  sloping-  field  called  Eonnd  Hill  Tyning,  at  a  place  called 
Stoney  Littleton,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Wellow 
church.  The  barrow  was  a  hundred  and  seven  feet  long,  fifty- 
four  feet  in  its  extreme  width,  and  thirteen  feet  higli  in  its 
most  elevated  part.  When  opened  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
long  gallery  with  chambers  on  each  side.  The  annexed  cut 
represents  a  section  of  the  barrow  in  the  length  of  the  gallery, 


Barrow  at  Stoney  Littleton,  in  Somerset, 

and  a  plan.  The  entrance  was  on  the  north-west  side,  where  a 
stone  upwards  of  seven  feet  long,  and  three  and  a  half  wide, 
supported  by  two  others,  left  a  square  aperture  of  about  four 
feet  high,  which  had  been  closed  by  another  large  stone.  This 
entrance  led  to  a  long  passage  or  avenue,  extending  in  the 
direction  from  north-west  to  south-east  forty-seven  feet  six 
inches,  and  varying  in  breadth.  There  were  three  transepts, 
or  recesses,  on  each  side.  The  side-walls  were  formed  of  thin 
laminee  of  stone  piled  closely  together  without  cement,  and  a 
rude  kind  of  arched  roof,  made  by  stones  so  placed  as  to  over- 
lap each  other.  Where  the  large  stones  in  the  side  walls  did 
not  join,  the  interstices  were  filled  up  with  layers  of  small  ones. 
This,  like  so  many  of  the  larger  barrows,  had  been  disturbed, 
and  the  deposits  removed  or  scattered  about.     In  one  of  the 


CHAP,  iir.j         MATERIALS  OF  THE  MOUNDS.  77 

recesses,  fragments  of  an  earthen  vessel  with  burnt  bones  were 
found ;  but  in  general  the  deposits  had  been  taken  out  of  the 
recesses  and  scattered  over  the  avenue,  which  Avas  strcAved  with 
fragments  of  bones,  mostly  imburnt.  In  oue  place,  just  before 
the  second  transept,  a  stone  had  been  placed  across  the  avenue, 
which  closed  the  access  to  the  further  part,  but  with  what 
object  it  is  not  easy  to  guess. 

The  mound  or  barrow,  which,  as  we  have  stated,  originally 
covered  these  cromlechs  and  stone  structures,  Avas  generally 
formed  of  fine  mould,  and  the  value  of  the  earth  as  soil  has 
doubtless  been  the  principal  cause  of  their  removal.  Sometimes, 
liOAvever,  the  mouud  is  composed  of  small  loose  stones,  or  of 
stones  and  earth  mixed.  That  at  Stoney  Littleton,  in  Somer- 
setshire, appears  to  have  been  peculiar  in  its  construction,  hmlt, 
as  it  were,  of  small  stones.  The  reason  of  the  use  of  stones  y 
instead  of  earth  may  generally  be  traced  to  the  natural  character 
of  the  locality,  as  such  barrows  are  found  most  frequently  on 
spots  were  stone  was  much  more  easily  obtained  than  earth. 
A  few  instances  have  occurred  in  Wiltshire,  but  they  are 
seldom  found  iu  the  interior  or  in  the  south  of  England,  except 
in  Cornwall,  where  they  are  not  uncommon.  Tliey  are  common 
in  Wales,  and  are  found  also  in  the  north  of  England.  In 
Scotland,  where  they  are  known  by  the  name  of  cairns,  they 
abound.  The  Welsh  call  them  carmjdd.  In  Erance  they  call 
the  mounds  of  stones  galgals. 

The  base  of  the  larger  sepulchral  mounds,  and  very  often  of 
the  smaller  ones,  was  usually  defined  either  by  a  shallow  fosse, 
or  by  a  circle  of  stones,  and  sometimes  the  two  were  combined. 
In  some  instances,  especially  in  Cornwall,  instead  of  the  circle 
of  stones,  the  base  of  the  barrow  was  supported  by  a  sort  of 
low  wall.  These  circles  have  often  disappeared  with  the 
mound,  as  the  stones  of  which  they  were  composed  were 
smaller  and  more  portable  than  those  which  constituted  the 
cromlecli.  But  they  as  often  remain  encircling  the  cromlech. 
At  Molfra,  in  Cornwall,  on  a  bare  hill  with  a  commanding- 
view  of  Mount's  Bay,  a  fine  crondech  is  surrounded  by  a 
circular  base  of  stonework,  thirty-seven  feet  in  diameter,  and 
two  feet  high.  A  cromlech  at  Zennor,  or  Sennor,  in  Cornwall, 
is  surrounded  by  a  similar  base.  Our  cut  of  the  cromlech  at 
Chun  shows  the  circle  of  stones  round  that  monument.  The 
circles  of  stones  are  frequently  fomid  with  the  cromlechs  in 
various  parts  of  England.  They  are  also  often  found  without 
any  cromlech  in  the  centre.     One  of  these,  called  Dance  Maine, 


THE  BRITONS. 


[CHAP.     III. 


at  Bolleit,  in  the  parish  of  St  Biirian,  near  the  Land's  End,  is 
represented  in  the  accompanying  sketcli.  This  circle  is  abont 
eighty  feet  in  diameter.  There  are  several  other  good  examples 
in  Cornwall,  nearly  of  the  same  magnitude,  such  as  the  circle  at 
Boscawen-un,  in  tlie  parish  cf  Sancrcd,  near  the  Land's  End, 


Circle  called  Dance  Maine,  near  the  Land's  End,  Cornwall. 

about  the  same  size  as  that  of  Dance  Maine;  one  in  the  parisli 
of  Madron,  seventy  feet  in  diameter;  and  two  adjoining  circles 
in  St  Just,  each  between  sixty  and  seventy  feet  in  diameter. 
The  last  stands  on  an  eminence  commanding  a  view  of  the 
Scilly  Islands.  There  is  a  similar  circle  on  the  summit  of  the 
lofty  Pen-maen-mawr,  in  North  Wales.  There  are  remains  of 
J.  others  at  Salkeld,  near  Carlisle,  at  Rollrich,  near  Banbury  in 
V  Oxfordshire,  and  in  several  other  places  in  England.  One,, 
called  Arbor-low,  in  the  Peak  of  Derby,  nearly  one  hundred  and 
tifty  feet  in  diameter,  is  surrounded  by  a  deep  intrenchment. 
Sometimes  the  stones  forming  the  circle  are  nearly  equal  in 
size,  while  in  other  cases  they  are  very  irregular.  The  latter 
is  especially  the  case  in  a  circle  near  Winterb urn  in  Dorsetshire. 
It  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  the  mounds  raised  on  all 
these  circles  contained  each  a  cromlech — the  interments  may,  in 
some  cases,  have  been  made  without  a  cham1)er,  as  it  has  been 
found  to  be  the  case  in  some  larger  barrow^s. 

Antiquaries  observed  these  circles  before  they  noticed  liow 


CHAP.  III.]  STONEHEXGE.  .  7^ 

often  they  accompanied  cromlechs,  or  were  aware  that  cromlechs 
are  sepulchral  mon\unents,  and  they  g'ave  them  the  name  of 
J)rnld>i'  circles,  imagMned  that  they  were  temples,  or  courts  of 
justice,  or  places  of  assembly,  and  even  built  extravagant 
speculations  on  the  mimber  of  stones  which  formed  each  circle. 
It  is  now  quite  certain  that  the  majority  of  such  circles  were 
originally  made  to  support  or  inclose  sepulchral  mounds,  and 
even  the  circle  at  Arbor-low,  which  has  been  set  down  so 
positively  as  being  the  great  Druidical  temple  of  the  Peak  of 
Derby,  would  seem,  by  its  name  of  low,  to  have  had  another 
Dbject,  and  when  that  name  was  given,  to  have  presented  a 
different  ap])earance.  Yet  we  should  be  rash  in  asserting,  Aviih 
our  scanty  knowledge  of  the  subject,  that  some  few  of  the 
circles  of  stones  still  remaining  on  our  own  soil  may  not  have 
been  erected  for  other  purposes,  though  it  is  difficult  to  make 
the  distinction.  The  greater  number  of  these  circles  are  not 
larger  than  the  basis  of  ordinary  large  barrows,  and  there  are 
sepulchral  mounds  known,  whose  bases  are  ecpial  to  the  largest ; 
yet  I  am  not  aAvare  that  any  barrow  so  large  has  yet  been 
discovered  in  this  country  resting  on  such  a  cii'cle  of  stones. 
Moreover,  as  we  pursue  these  circles  thi'ough  the  ascending  ,. 
scale  of  magnitude,  we  become  still  more  embarrassed  when  we  i 
reach  the  gigantic  monuments  of  Avebury  and  Stonehenge. 

The  extraordinary  monument  called  Stonehenge,  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  term  meaning  the  hanging  stones,  is  situated  on  a  gentle 
knoll  in  the  midst  of  a  wide  and  barren  tract,  only  distinguished 
iVom  a  plain  by  not  very  considerable  elevations.  It  consisted 
originally  of  an  outer  circle  of  thirty  upright  stones,  sustaining 
as  many  others  placed  horizontally,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous 
impost.  These  upright  stones  were  about  fourteen  feet  high 
above  the  ground,  and  seven  feet  broad,  by  three  in  thickness. 
They  differ  from  other  Celtic  stone  monuments  in  the  circum- 
stance that  the  stones  have  been  hewn  and  squared  with  tools, 
and  that  each  of  the  upright  stones  had  two  tenons  or  projections  .  / 
on  the  top,  Avhicli  fitted  into  mortices  or  hollows  in  the  super- 
incundjent  slabs.  Within  this  first  circle,  which  was  about  a 
hundred  feet  in  diameter,  was  another  circle,  eighty-three  feel 
in  diameter,  containing  about  the  same  number  of  perpendicular 
stones,  but  much  smaller,  and  without  imposts.  This  again 
inclosed  two  elliptical  arrangements  of  large  and  small  stones, 
the  former  arranged  in  what  the  French  archaeologists  term 
trilitiis,  or  groups  of  three  stones,  two  upright  ones  and  an 
impost,   and    the    other    formed  by   a  series   of  small  upright 


80  THE  BRITOXS.  [chap.  tii. 

stones,  three  of  wliicli  stood  before  eaeh  trilitli.  The  triliths, 
were  from  sixteen  to  twenty *one  feet  in  heig-ht.  In  tlie  central 
space,  in  front  of  the  principal  trilith,  is  a  large  flat  stone, 
which  those  who  look  upon  the  whole  as  a  primeval  temple, 
call  the  altar.  Such  is  the  arrangement  of  this  monument  as 
nearly  as  we  can  judge  from  its  present  condition,  Avhich  pre- 
sents to  the  eye  at  first  sight  an  apparently  confused  mass  of 
upright  and  fallen  stones,  the  appearance  of  which,  as  seen  from 
the  W.N.W.,  is  exhibited  in  our  engraving,  taken  from  a 
sketch  by  Mr  Fairholt.  The  form  of  the  tenon  on  the 
uprights  of  the  outer  circle  is  shown  on  the  leaning  stone  in 
front,  somewhat  more  prominently  than  it  is  really  seen,  in 
order  to  make  it  more  intelligible  to  the  reader.  This  structure 
of  stones  occupies  the  centre  of  an  area,  inclosed  by  a  circular 
intrenclunent,  consisting  of  a  ditch  and  bank,  three  hundred 
feet  in  diameter.  It  was  approached  by  a  wide  intrenched 
avenue  from  the  north-east,  which,  at  the  distance  of  a  few 
hundred  feet,  branched  off  in  two  ways,  running  north  and 
east. 

The  ground  around  Stonehenge  is  covered  with  barrows,  and 
was  evidently  the  cemetery  of  a  very  extensive  tribe,  but 
nothing  has  yet  been  discovered  to  throAv  any  light  upon  the 
object  or  date  of  the  structure  itself.  The  earliest  existing 
legends  relating  to  it  descrilje  it  as  a  monument  raised  to  the 
memory  of  the  dead ;  a  notion  which  may  easily  have  arisen 
from  the  number  of  sepulchral  monuments  surrounding  it.* 
The  earliest  writer  who  mentions  it,  Henry  of  Huntingdon,! 
looked  upon  it  as  involved  in  the  same  impenetrable  mystery 
which  still  envelopes  it,  and  which  will  probably  never  be 
cleared.  From  the  aiTangement  of  the  stones,  the  most  pro- 
bable conjecture  seems  to  be  that  whicii  makes  it  a  temple  for 
some  kind  of  Avorship  ;  but  the  wild  specidations  to  which  this 
and  other  suppositions  have  g'iven  rise  should  be  deprecated  by 

*  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  and  the  host  of  writers  who  translated  and 
paraphrased  his  fabulous  History  of  the  Britons,  pretended  that  these 
stones  were  brought  from  Ireland,  and  that  they  were  raised  to  the  me- 
mory of  the  British  princes  fabled  to  have  been  murdered  by  Hengist  and 
his  Saxons. 

t  In  the  list  of  the  wonders  of  Britain,  written  in  the  earlier  half  of  the 
twelfth  century,  and  given  by  Henry  of  Huntingdon,  Stonehenge  is  the 
second  wonder.  '  Apud  Stanhenges  lapides  mirte  magnitudinis  in  niodum 
portarum  elevati  sunt,  ut  portse  portis  superpositse  videantur,  nee  potest 
excogitare  qua  arte  elevati  sunt,  vel  qualiter  constructi.' — 'At  Stanhenges 
stones  of  wonderful  magnitude  are  raised  in  the  manner  of  doors,  so  that 
they  seem  like  doors  placed  over  doors,  nor  can  any  one  imagine  by  what 
art  they  were  raised,  or  how  constructed.' 


CHAP.  III.]  CIRCLES  AT  AVEBURY.  «2 

all  who  are  sincerely  desirous  of  arriviii£>:  at  truth.*  It  has 
been  observed  with  reg'ard  to  the  stones  of  wliich  this  inoiin- 
ment  is  constructed,  that  the  outer  circles  of  larg'e  stones,  as 
well  as  the  inner  triliths,  are  of  the  sandstone  found  plentifully 
in  the  neighbourhood,  whereas  the  inner  circle  of  small  stones, 
as  well  as  the  small  stones  within  the  triliths,  are  of  a  diHerent 
sort  of  stoue,  which  appears  to  have  been  brought  from  Devon- 
shire. This  litis  led  to  a  conjecture  that  Stonehenge  was  built  ^ 
at  two  different  periods,  but  those  who  have  adopted  this 
opinion  differ  as  to  which  was  the  earliest  and  which  the  lai^st 
part. 

A  series  of  circles  more  reniai'lvable  even  tlian  those  of 
Stonehenge,  is  found  at  the  village  of  Aveburv,  distant  from 
IStonehenge  about  twenty  miles.  It  consisted  originally  of  an 
area,  about  fourteen  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  inclosed  by  a 
deep  ditch  and  bank,  immediately  within  which  was  a  Hrst 
circle  of  a  hiuidred  stones.  Within  the  area  were  two  double 
circles,  which  have  been  designated  as  temples,  one  having 
three  stones  in  the  centre,  and  the  other  one  only.  The  stones 
with  which  these  various  circles  were  composed,  Avere  no  less 
massive  than  those  at  Stonehenge,  varying  from  five  to  twenty 
feet  in  height.  Two  entrances  were  approached  by  two  Avinding 
avenues,  each  consisting  of  a  double  row  of  upright  stones, 
branching  off  to  the  extent  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the 
West  and  south.  These  avenues  of  approach,  from  their  form, 
have  been  a  fertile  subject  of  specidation,  and  have  been 
imagined  to  have  some  connection  with  the  worship  of  the 
serpent.  At  no  great  distance  from  the  outer  circle  of  iVvebury 
is  a  fine  cromlech  Avith  its  attendant  circle  of  stones.  The 
I'emains  at  Avebuiy  are  much  less  known  than  those  of  Stone- 
iienge ;  and  they  are  not  easily  observed,  on  account  of  the 
extent  of  grouud  they  cover,  and  its  subdivision  by  hedges  and 
other  inclosures.  The  space  inclosed  by  the  earthen  embank- 
ment contains  a  village,  with  various  fields  and  buildings, 
over  which  the  stones  that  remain  are  scattered  in  apparent 
confusion. 

Stones  which  have  been  classed  by  our  anti(piaries  under  the 
indiscriininate  title  of  Druidic,  but  Avhich  come  under  the  head 

^'  The  young  antiquary  is  particularly  to  be  warned  against  such  specu- 
lations as  have  recently  been  publi.shed  in  a  book  entitled  '  The  Druidical 
Temples  of  the  County  of  Wilts,'  by  the  Rev.  E.  Duke,  as  more  calculated 
to  throw  ridicule  upon  s.-ieiice  than  to  promote  it.  Very  good  accounts  of 
those  monuments  are  given  by  Mr  Britton,  in  his  articles  on  Stonehenge 
und  Aveburv  in  the  '  1  enny  Cyclupa-dia.' 


vi 


84  THE  BRTTOXS.  [chap.  hi. 

of  none  of  the  monuments  already  described,  are  found  in 
groups,  or  sing-ly  scattered,  over  many  parts  of  our  island.  Some 
of  these  appear  to  be  natural  formations,  others  have  been  set 
up  at  different  periods  for  various  purposes,  and  others  are  pro- 
bably the  remains  of  cromlechs  and  circles.  Geologists  and 
antiquaries  seem  now  generally  agreed  that  the  rocking-stones 
are  not  works  of  art,  but  that  they  are  the  result  of  natural 
causes,  and  that  they  have  been  classed  erroneously  among 
Druid ic  remains.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Boroughbridge,  iu 
Yorkshire,  there  are  masses  of  scattered  rocks  Avhicli  in  the  same 
manner  have  been  erroneously  supposed  to  be  Druidical.  In 
some  cases  a  few  scattered  stones  are  the  remains  of  circles  or 
avenues.  Single  stones  belonging  to  a  long  avenue  of  this  kind 
are  still  traced  here  and  there  in  a  line  from  the  foot  of  the  hill 
on  which  Kits-Cotty  House  stands,  across  the  valley  to  the 
opposite  chalk-hills,  a  distance  of  five  miles.  Celtic  antiquaries 
have  given  to  these  single  stones  the  names  of  peulvan  [i.  e. 
stone  pillar),  and  menhir  (long  stone).  They  have  no  doubt 
been  erected  at  different  periods,  and  for  different  purposes. 
Some,  as  I  have  just  observed,  are  the  last  remains  of  cromlechs. 
Others  are  sepulchral  monuments,  often  of  tlie  Roman  or  post- 
Roman  period,  which  is  proved  sometimes  by  inscriptions. 
Several  such  inscribed  stones  have  been  found  in  Wales  and 
Cornwall ;  and  there  is  a  celebrated  one  near  Joinville,  in 
France,  witli  the  inscription  in  Roman  characters,  viuomarvs 
ISTATILI  F  (Viromarus  the  son  of  Istatilius).  Two,  found  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Neath,  in  Glamorganshire  (the  Roman 
Nidum),  have   severally  the    inscriptions    imp.    c.    fla.   val. 

MAXIMINO    INVICTO    AUGUS     [TO],    and     IMP.    M.    C.    PIAVONIO 

viCTORiNO  AUGUSTO,  aud  Were  perhaps  boundary-stones  or 
mile-stones.  There  is  a  rougli  uninscribed  stone  of  this  descrip- 
tion, perhaps  a  boundary-stone,  standing  on  the  common  at 
Harrowgate,  in  Yorkshire,  concerning  whicli  the  inhabitants 
can  only  tell  you,  that  '  the  oldest  man  that  ever  lived  there 
knows  nothing  about  it.'  A  single  stone,  or  peulvan,  in  the 
department  of  the  Haute-Marne  in  Prance,  is  said  to  bear  a 
Latin  inscription,  stating  that  it  marked  the  ancient  limits  of 
the  Leuci.  That  such  stones  marked  the  sites  of  battles,  or 
were  memorials  of  celebrated  events,  is  a  mere  assumption.  Al- 
thou"-h  the  stones  of  the  so-called  Druidic  monuments  are  in 
general  rough  and  untouched  with  a  tool,  some  instances  are 
known,  as  in  the  extraordinary  sepulture  of  Gavr'inis  in  the 
Morbihan  (Brittany),  and  at  New  Grange,  in  Ireland,  where  they 


CHAP.  III.]  SUPERSTITIOUS  LEGENDS.  8/i 

liave  been  sculptured  with  rude  ornaments.     In  some  instances        / 
in  En<2^1and,  one  of  the  stones  of  a  cromlech  is  pierced  with  a    V 
round  hole,  perhaps  accidental,  or  the  result  of  caprice. 

Long  after  the  people  who  raised  them  had  passed  away,  and 
Avhen  tlieir  meaning,  and  the  object  for  which  they  were  erected, 
were  alike  forgotten,  these  monuments  of  stone  continued  to 
be  regarded  by  the  peasantry  with  reverence,  which,  combined 
with  a  certain  degree  of  mysterious  fear,  degenerated  into  a 
sort  of  superstitious  worship.  In  this  feeling  originated  legends 
connected  with  them,  and  the  popular  names  which  are  often 
found  attached  to  them.  Stonehenge  was  called  the  Giants' 
Dance  {chorea  glgantum),  a  name  no  doubt  once  connected  with 
a  legend  which  has  been  superseded  by  the  story  attached  to  it 
by  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth.  A  circle  in  Cornwall,  of  which  we 
have  given  a  sketch  on  a  former  page,  is  called  Dance  Maine, 
or  the  dance  of  stones,  and  is  said  to  be  the  representation  of  a 
party  of  young  damsels  who  were  turned  into  stones  because 
they  danced  on  the  Sabbath  Day.  According  to  a  somewhat 
similar  legend,  a  party  of  soldiers,  who  came  to  destroy  Long 
Compton,  were  changed  into  the  Bollrich  stones  in  Oxfordshire. 
The  people  of  Brittany  declare  that  the  extraordinary  multitude 
of  stones  arranged  upright  in  lines  at  Carnac,  was  an  army  of 
pagans  changed  into  stones  by  St  Cornilly.  As  we  have  seen, 
the  Saxons  believed  that  a  cromlech  in  Berkshire  was  a  work- 
shop of  their  mythic  smith  Weland.  A  cromlech  on  Marlborough 
Downs  is  called  the  Devil's  Den.  Legends  like  these,  which  \/^ 
are  found  in  every  part  of  our  island,  are  generally  good  evidence 
of  the  great  antiquity  of  the  monmnents  to  which  they  relate. 
In  Prance,  as  in  England,  and  indeed  in  most  countries,  they 
are  usually  connected  in  the  popular  belief  with  fairies  or  with 
demons — and  in  England  often  with  Robin  Hood.  In  France 
this  latter  personage  is  replaced  by  Gargantua,  a  name  made 
generally  celebrated  by  the  extraordinary  romance  of  Rabelais. 
A  cromlech  near  the  village  of  Toury,  in  Brittany,  is  called  Gar- 
gantua's  stone ;  a  not  uncommon  name  for  the  single  stone  or 
menhir  is  paid  de  Gargantua  (Gargantua's  quoit).  A  very 
common  name  for  cromlechs  among  the  peasantry  of  France  is 
fairies'  tables,  or  devils'  tables,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  they 
have  obtained  the  name  of  Caesar's  table ;  the  covered  alleys,  or 
more  complicated  cromlechs,  are  similarly  named  fairies'  grottos, 
or  fairy  rocks.  The  single  stones  are  sometimes  called  fairies' 
or  devils'  seats.  The  prohibition  to  worship  stones  occurring 
so  frequently  in   the   earlier   Christian  ecclesiastical  laws   and 


8G  TEIE  BRITONS.  [chap,  iir 

oivlinances,  relates  no  doubt  to  tliese  Druidical  inoininieiits,  and 
was  often  the  cause  of  their  desti'uction.  Traces  of  tliis  Avorsliip 
still  remain.  In  some  instances  people  passed  tliroug'h  the 
Druidical  monuments  for  trial,  or  for  purification,  or  as  a  mode 
of  defensive  charm.  It  is  still  a  practice  among  the  peasantry 
at  Columbiers,  in  France,  for  YOung  girls  Avho  want  husbands, 
to  climb  upon  the  cromlech  called  the  Pierre  levee,  place  there 
a  piece  of  money,  and  then  jump  down.  At  Guerande,  with  the 
same  object,  they  depose  in  the  crevices  of  a  Celtic  monument 
bits  of  rose-coloured  wool  tied  with  tinsel.  The  women  of 
Croisic  dance  round  a  menhir.  It  is  the  popular  belief  in 
Anjou,  that  the  fairies,  as  they  descended  the  mountains,  spin- 
ning by  the  way,  brought  down  the  Druidical  stones  in  their 
aprons,  and  placed  them  as  they  are  now  found. 

In  a  great  number  of  cases,  the  British  cromlechs,  like  the 
barrows  of  other  periods,  are  placed  on  lofty  hills,  commanding- 
extensive  views  of  the  sea,  if  on  the  coast,  or,  Avhen  inland,  of 
the  surrounding  country.  It  seems  always  to  have  been  the 
desire  of  the  chiefs  to  be  buried  in  such  commanding  positions. 
A  cromlech  at  Molfra,  in  Cornwall,  is  thus  situated  on  a  bare 
hill,  which  commands  a  wide  range  of  view  over  Mount's  Bay. 
The  mound  of  some  Celtic  chief  has  once  been  raised  on  the 
elevated  summit  of  Pen-maen-mawr,  in  Wales,  of  which  the 
circle  of  stones  that  confined  its  base  alone  remains  at  the  present 
day.  It  would  be  difficult  to  select  in  this  respect  a  finer  position 
than  that  occupied  by  Kits-Cotty  House,  in  Kent,  of  which  a 
slight  sketch  is  given  in  the  cut  in  the  next  page.  This  large 
cromlech  stands  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  knoll,  a  little  in 
advance  of  tlie  chalk-hill  which  rises  behind.  Below,  the  Med- 
way  Avinds  in  iN  course  from  Maidstone  to  Rochester.  Further 
on  extends  a  Avide  valley,  bounded  on  the  north  by  another  range 
of  chalk-hills.  Under  these  latter  hills,  at  the  spot  indicated  in 
the  cut  by  three  crows,  lies  the  parish  of  Addington,  in  which 
are  several  circles,  cromlechs,  and  other  early  sepulchral  monu- 
ments ;  and  from  this  spot,  proceeding  in  a  direct  line  eastAvard, 
large  upright  stones  are  found  at  intervals,  Avhich  seem  to  have 
belonged  to  an  avenue  extending  from  the  group  of  monuments 
at  Addington  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  Kits-Cotty  House 
stands,  a  distance  of  not  less  than  five  miles.  The  hill  behind 
Kits-Cotty  House  is  also  covered  Avith  sepulchral  monuments, 
consisting  of  smaller  cromlechs  and  circles,  either  throAvn  down 
or  partly  buried  ;  and  there  are  several  remarkable  cromlechs 
and  circles  in  the  fields  below ;  all  seeming  to  indicate  that  this 


CFIAP.   III.] 


KITS-COTTY  HOUSE. 


valle}^  was  the  Imrial-place  of  a  British  tribe.     Another  class  of 
UioriUinents   are   found   on   the   liill  above   Kits-Cotty  House. 


Kils-Colly  ILiuPO,  in  Kent,  from  llic  hill  above. 

Lnrg-e  stones,  resenibliii<2^  the  nienliirs,  are  found  lying*  flat  on 
the  oTound,  and,  on  excavating,  it  is  discovei-ed  that  they  are 
])laced  over  round  pits  cut  in  the  chalk,  and  filled  np  with  Hints. 
None  of  these  have  yet  been  carefully  investigated,  but,  on  the 
opposite  hills,  and  in  other  parts  in  the  neighbourhood,  are 
found  similar  pits  open,  communicating  with  chambers  cut  in 
the  chalk,  regarding  the  purpose  of  which  many  conjectures  have 
been  hazarded,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  were  sepulchral. 
Very  few  of  the  cromlechs  and  stone  chambers  in  Britain 
had  been  uncovered  from  their  mounds  of  earth  in  recent 
times,  under  proper  examination.  This  deficiency  has  been 
compensated,  in  some  measure,  by  the  extensive  and  carefid 
researches  among  the  cromlechs  of  the  Channel  Islands,  by 
Mr  Lukis,*  although  there  would,  no  doubt,  be  found  a  marked 
difference  between  their  contents,  which  belonged  to  Gaul,  and 
those  of  the  British  monuments  of  a  similar  character.  But 
there  is  another  numerous  class  of  barrows,  which  are  generally 

*  iSIr  Lukis's  diflferent  accounts  of  his  researches  in  the  Channel  Islands 
will  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the  '  Archa;oU)gical  Journal,'  pp.  14'2, 
'222;  and  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Archaeological  Association,'  vcl.  i.  i'l-. 
2o,  306,  311  ;  vol.  iii.  pp.  4,  269,  342 ;  vol.  iv.  p.  323. 


/ 


88  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.   hi. 

considered  to  be  British,  but  vvnicli  do  not  contain  the  se- 
pulcliral  chamber  or  cromlech.  Numerous  examj)les  of  this 
class  of  barrows  have  been  opened  in  AViltshire,  Dorsetshire, 
and  Derbyshire,  and  a  few  in  other  parts.*  These  are  the 
oidy  barrows  in  this  conntiy  which  have  furnished  us,  to  any 
extent,  witli  articles  which,  from  a  chain  of  indirect  evidence, 
are  believed  to  be  British.  These  barrows  differ  very  much 
in  form  and  size.  The  interment  is  sometimes  placed  on  the 
level  of  the  ground,  and  sometimes  in  a  shallow  grave  dug 
below  the  surface,  with  variations  in  the  manner  of  burial 
which  can  only  have  arisen  from  individual  caprice.  The 
body  is  sometimes  found  to  have  been  buried  entire,  wliile, 
perhaps,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  it  had  been  burnt,  and  the 
ashes  deposited  in  rude  urns.  When  the  body  Avas  interred 
without  cremation  or  burning,  it  was  sometimes  stretched  at 
full  length,  and  at  others  doubled  up  and  laid  on  one  side, 
or  was  sometimes  phiced  in  a  sitting  position.  The  urns  con- 
taining the  burnt  bones  are  sometimes  found  in  their  natiu'al 
position,  and  sometimes  inverted,  with  the  mouth  downwards. 
When  upwards,  the  urn  is  often  covered  Avith  a  flat  stone. 
There  is  no  evidence  to  support  the  conjectures  of  some 
writers,  that  these  different  modes  of  burial  belong  to  different 
dates ;  it  seems  more  probable  that  they  were  fashions  adopted 
by  different  families,  or  by  subdivisions  of  tribes  or  septs,  but 
it  would  be  a  vain  speculation  to  attempt  to  give  a  decided 
opinion  on  such  questions,  Avith  the  little  we  know  of  the 
manners  and  history  of  the  ancient  iidiabitants  of  this  island. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  all  these  different  modes  of  inter- 
ment are  often  found  in  the  same  barrow,  for  some  of  the 
barrows  seem  to  have  been  family  graves,  and  it  is  rare  to  find 
only  one  interment,  Avhile  tlie  larger  barroAVs  contain  usually  a 
considerable  number  of  urns  and  bodies.  In  many  cases  these 
are  distinguishable  into  primary  and  secondary  interments,  and 
so  on,  and  in  opening  these  barrows  the  excavator  is  never  sure 
in  Avhat  part  of  the  mound  he  will  find  a  deposit.     A  very  large 

*  Numerous  barrows  in  Wiltshire  were  opened  by  Mr  W.  Cunnington 
und  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare,  the  latter  of  whom  has  given  copious  de.scrip- 
tions  of  them  in  his  '  Ancient  Wiltshire  ;  '  those  of  Derbyshire  have  been 
largely  examined  by  Mr  Thomas  Bateman,  and  described  in  a  very  useful 
volume,  the  '  Vestiges  of  the  Antiquities  of  Derbyshire.'  Some  of  the 
British  barrows  in  eastern  Yorkshire  have  been  opened  by  Lord  Londes- 
borough  ;  many  of  those  of  Dorsetshire  were  opened  by  the  late  Mr  Syden- 
ham, by  Mr  Warne,  Mr  C.  Hall,  and  other  local  antiquaries,  whose  reports 
of  their  discoveries  are  found  scattered  over  volumes  of  the  '  Archjeolo^ia,' 
and  of  the  '  Journal  of  the  Archaeological  Association.' 


CHAP.  III.]  TUMULUS  AT  ST  WE^XAUD'S.  89 

barrow  near  Dorchester,  Avas  found  to  co'.isist  of  a  low  primary 
barrow,  on  which  subsequently  a  secou  1  iiiteriuent  had  been 
placed,  and  then  a  new  mound  raised  over  it.  ISometimes  the 
different  interments  are  arrano-ed  in  regular  order.  In  the 
Deverill  barrow,  between  Whitechurcli  and  Milbourne  St 
Andrew,  in  Dorsetshire,  opened  in  1825,  and  described  in  a 
little  volume  by  W.  Augustus  Miles,  the  urns  were  found  ar- 
ranged in  a  circle  under  protecting  stones.  Throughout  these 
early  barrows  we  find  much  irregularity,  and  evidently  a  good 
deal  of  caprice  in  the  mode  of  burial. 

Some  few  years  ago  I  nad  the  direction  of  the  opening  of  a 
lartre  tumulus  at  St  Weonard's  in  Herefordshire.  This  was  a 
large  barrow,  its  diameter  at  the  base  being,  as  near  as  I  could 
roughly  measure  and  calculate  it,  about  a  luuidred  and  thirty 
feet,  and  its  elevation  from  the  ground  somewhat  more  than 
twenty.  The  summit  forms  a  circular  platform,  about  seventy- 
six  feet  in  diameter,  levelled  in  such  a  manner  that  my  first 
impression  was  that  tlie  tumulus  had  been  truncated.  The 
edge  of  this  platform  is  planted  with  large  fir  and  other  trees, 
among  which  is  a  decayed  yew  tree,  of  great  antiquity,  and  a 
tall  poplar  stood  exactly  in  the  centre.  It  appears  that,  until 
a  recent  period,  the  platform  on  this  mound  Avas  the  usual 
scene  of  village-fetes,  and  that  it  was  the  spot  especially  chosen 
for  morris-dancing,  a  custom  very  prevalent  in  Herefordshire, 
and  that  the  poplar  tree  in  the  middle  was  used  as  the  village 
maypole.  Placed  on  a  bold  isohnted  eminence  in  the  middle  of 
ihe  village,  the  height  of  the  mound  gives  to  its  summit  a  won- 
derfully extensive  prospect  around.  In  the  popular  belief  these 
mounds  Avere  generally  looked  upon  as  sepulchral,  and  this  at  St 
AVeornard's  was  believed  by  some  to  have  been  the  grave  of  the 
hermit  so  named,  from  Avliom  the  neighbouring  church  had 
taken  its  name,  and  by  others  that  of  some  great  chieftain . 
The  appearance  of  this  tumulus  at  the  time  it  was  excavated  is 
shown  in  the  accompanying  cut.  The  men  began  their  work 
on  the  south-eastern  side,  Avith  a  cutting  from  eight  to  nine  feet 
wide,  in  a  direct  line  toAvards  the  north-west. 

I  have  described  the  process  of  opening  this  fine  tumulus  in 
the  first  volume  of  my  Essays  on  Archaeological  Subjects,*  from 
Avhich  I  extract  the  foUoAving.  '  At  about  six  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  base  of  the  tumulus  there  Avas  an  evident  difference 

*  '  Essays  on  Arclia?olo<iical  Subjects  and  on  various  questions  connected 
with  the  History  of  Art,  Sciouce,  and  Literature,  iu  tlie  Middle  Ages,'  vol. 
i.  p.  62. 


90 


TUE  BRITONS. 


[chap.  m. 


in  the  character  of  the  soil,  and  the  appearances  were  stronj^ly 
in  favour  of  the  belief  that  this  Mas  the  oriiiinal  snrface  of  the 


Sopulcliral  Tunmhis  at  Si  Wconard's,  Iloiofoidsliire. 

i^ronnd,  wliich  must  in  tliat  case  have  been  very  uneven.  Actinuj 
on  this  belief,  we  took  this  as  the  level  of  our  cutting,  which 
was  exactly  fourteen  feet  deep  from  the  top  of  the  mound.  On 
a  Thursday  alternoon,  when  the  workmen  had  amved  within 
about  fifteen  feet  from  the  centre  of  the  mound,  th(;y  came  upon 
what  appeared  to  be  the  base  of  a  heap  of  large  flat  stones 
(the  sandstone  of  the  spot,  which  breaks  up  into  this  form), 
rudely  built  up  one  over  the  other,  and  so  completely  free  of 
earth  within  that  we  could  thrust  our  arms  in  between  them. 
My  tirst  impression  was  that  we  had  come  upon  a  cairn,  and  I 
thought  it  advisable  to  clear  away  the  earth  from  above,  before 
removing  the  stones.  This  operation  occupied  the  wdiole  of 
the  day  on  Friday.  We  found  that,  instead  of  being  the  l)ase 
of  a  large  cairn,  the  stones  formed  a  small  mound,  and  then 
sunk  again ;  but  we  found  also  a  layer  of  these  large  stones 
along  the  level  of  our  cutting,  until  near  the  centre  they  began 
to  rise  again,  and  evidently  reached  a  somewhat  greater  eleva- 
tion than  before.  It  was  now  thought  advisable  to  carry  the 
cutting  to  a  little  distance  beyond  the  centre,  and  tlie  poplar 
tree  was  sacrificed.  It  was  not  till  Saturday  night  that  this 
operation  was  nearly  completed,  leaving  uncovered  a  great  part 
of  the  heap  of  stones  in  the  centre,  which  presented  the  appear- 


CHAP.  HI.]  TUMIJJ.US  AT  ST  WEONARD'S.  91 

aiice  of  the  exterior  of  a  rude  vault.  On  jMoiulay,  tin  IGth 
[of  April],  the  stones  iu  tlie  centre  were  cleared  away,  and 
within  them  appeared  a  inttss  of  much  finer  mould  than  the  rest 
of  the  mouhl.  This  mould  also  was  cleared  away  to  the  level 
of  the  cuttino- ;  but  as  yet  no  indications  of  a  sepulchral  inter- 
ment presented  themselves,  although  the  workmen  were  still  of 
opinion  that  they  Avere  on  the  orif>"inal  hard  surface  of  tlu; 
ground.  JUit  of  the  accuracy  of  this  opinion  I  now  became 
very  doubtful,  and  on  the  following-  morning  I  directed  the 
men  to  sink  a  pit  on  the  spot  which  had  been  covered  by  the 
vaidt  of  stones.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  before  they  canu' 
to  a  mass  of  ashes,  mixed  with  pieces  of  charcoal  and  fragments  of 
burnt  human  bones,  which  was  found  to  be  about  a  foot  and  a  half  ^ 
thick,  and  was  apparently  about  nine  or  ten  feet  in  diameter.  A. 
piece  of  thigh  bone,  part  of  the  bone  of  the  pelvis,  and  a  fragment 
of  the  shoulder-blade,  were  picked  up  here  ;  and  it  appeared  evi- 
dent that  the  Avhole  of  the  ashes  of  the  funeral  pile  had  l)een 
placed  on  the  ground  at  this  spot,  and  that  a  small  mound  of 
fine  earth  had  been  raised  over  them,  upon  which  had  been 
built  a  rude  roof  or  vault  of  large  rough  stones.  No  traces  of 
urns,  or  of  any  other  manufactured  article,  were  met  with. 
Having  been  thus  successful  in  discovering  the  central  deposit, 
our  attention  was  now  turned  to  the  first  mound  of  stones,  and 
it  was  determined  to  clear  those  away  and  dig  below  our  level 
there  also  ;  and  the  result  Avas  the  discovery  of  another  inter- 
ment of  ashes,  also  mixed  with  human  bones  in  a  half-burnt 
state.  This  last  operation  was  performed  on  the  mor^iing  of 
Wednesday,  the  18th  of  April ;  after  which  the  excavations 
were  discontinued. 

'  The  accompanying  diagram,  giving  a  section  of  the  mouno 
in  the  direction  of  our  cutting  (which  is  shown  in  the  shaded 
part),  will  give  the  best  notion  of  the  position  of  the  two  deposits 


Section  of  the  Tumulus  at  St  Weonard's. 

at  f  and/,  which  represent  the  two  pits  dug  through  the  ashes, 
(represented  by  the  black  lines),  to  a  small  depth  below.  One  o. 
th»^  ;«:>ost  interesting  circumstances  connected  with  the  cutting 


92  THE  BRITOXS.  [ciiai-.  hi. 

itself  was  that  of"  the  re^nilav  discolorations  visible  on  the  surface, 
arisiii<>;,  of  course,  from  the  employment  of  different  kinds  of 
material,  and  displayini;-  in  a  most  remarkable  manner  the  mode 
in  which  the  mound  was  raised.  These  are  carefully  fig-ured  on 
the  accompanying-  section.  As  I  have  ah-eady  stated,  the  mass 
of  the  mound  consists  of  a  uniform  light-coloured  sand ;  but 
from  the  point  (i)  near  where  we  first  fell  in  with  the  stones,  a 
narrow  arched  stripe  occurs  of  a  much  darker  mould,  as  represented 
in  the  cut.  Beyond  this,  two  or  three  other  bands  of  a  similar 
description,  but  thinner,  and  of  a  lig'hter- coloured  soil,  and, 
therefore,  less  strongly  marked,  follow  each  other  initil,  at  ^^,  we 
come  upon  a  narrow  band  of  small  stones,  also  represented  in 
the  cut,  and  at  k,  near  the  summit  of  the  moimd,  there  is  another 
bed  of  similar  stones.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  when  the 
small  mounds  roofed  with  stones  had  been  raised  over  the 
deposits  of  ashes,  a  circular  embankment  was  next  formed  round 
the  whole,  and  from  this  embankment  the  workmen  filled  up  the 
interior  inwards  towards  the  centre.  When  they  began  filling  in 
they  appear  to  have  fallen  in  with  some  darker  mould,  which  has 
formed  the  band  at  i,  and  this  dark  band  probably  defines  very 
nearly  the  outlines  of  the  first  embankment.  The  lighter-shaded 
bands  show  the  successive  fillings-in  towards  the  centre,  until  at 
last  the  workmen  made  use  of  a  quantity  of  stones  and  rabble, 
taken  perhaps  from  the  quarry  which  furnished  the  large  stones 
of  the  interior  vaults.  This  bed  of  stones  forms  a  kind  of  basin 
in  the  middle  of  the  mound.  They  went  on  filling  again  witli 
the  sand  till  the  work  was  nearly  finislied,  when  they  returned 
to  the  stony  material  again,  Avhich  appears  at  h.  The  length  of 
our  cutting  fi'om  c  to  d  was,  as  near  as  I  could  measure  it  with 
accuracy,  46  feet  6  inches,  and  that  of  the  surface  from  a  to  fj, 
was  64  feet  5  inches ;  as  I  have  stated  before,  the  height  of  this 
cutting  was  14  feet.  The  distance  from  a  to  k  whs  29  feet  7 
inches,  making  therefore  the  diameter  of  the  platform  on  the  top 
of  the  mound,  in  the  direction  of  our  cutting,  exactly  76  feet. 
This  I  found  to  be  rather  the  longest  diameter,  for  the  circle  had 
not  been  quite  a  perfect  one,  though  very  nearly  so.' 

The  excavation  of  this  fine  barrow  left  no  doubt  of  its  sepul- 
chral character,  but  no  remains  were  found  to  show  definitely  the 
])eople  to  whom  it  belonged,  or  the  period  at  which  it  was 
t^rected.  It  belongs  to  that  class  of  monuments  which  are 
evidently  not  more  modern  than  the  Roman  period,  and,  having 
no  decidedly  Roman  character,  have  been  set  down  as  British. 
Perhaps  the  truth  is  that  it  belongs  to  the  perhaps  earlier  Roman 


CHAP.  III.]  BRITISH  B.\RROWS.  93 

period,  but  that  the  persons  to  wliom  it  belonged  were  natives 
of  the  soil  who  soti<i;ht  to  be  bnried  in  the  lloman  manner.  The 
old  road  from  Monmonth  to  Hereford,  Avhich  runs  by  it,  was 
p;n"haps  a  Roman  road  from  Blesthim  to  Magna. 

To  judo^s  by  the  barrows  hitherto  opened,  it  was  not  the 
c.istora  of  the  Britons  to  inter  with  their  dead  many  articles  of 
value.  By  mncli  the  o^re  iter  number  of  barrows,  whether  large 
or  small,  are  fonnd  to  contain  nothing-  but  urns  and  burnt  bones. 
In  some  cases  we  find  a  few  implements  of  stone  or  bronze, 
and,  in  much  rarer  instances,  bsads  and  fragments  apparently 
of  other  personal  ornaments  occur.  As  these  articles  furnisli 
the  only  evidence  of  tlie  age  of  the  barrow,  and  as  they  admit 
of  easy  classification,  they  deserve  particular  attention  Tlie 
j)ottery,  as  being  of  more  universal  occurrence,  demands  our 
first  consideration,  ^t  is  in  general,  though  not  always,  very 
]"udely  made,  not  baked,  but  merely  dried  in  the  sun.  Its  forms 
are  peculiar,  and  have  none  of  the  elegance  of  the  lloman  urns. 
They  are  ornamented  more  or  less  with  parallel  lines,  zigzags, 
crosses,  dots,  and  otlier  marks,  which  appear  usually  to  have 
been  made  by  the  hand,  with  some  instrument  like  a  stick 
sharpened  to  a  point,  though  they  are  sometimes  more  elabor- 
ately and  skilfully  worked.  Many,  however,  have  no  ornament 
at  all,  which  are  usually  those  containing  burnt  bones. 

A  few  examples  are  here  given  of  the  moi*e  ordinary  forms 
of  what  are  believed,  and  apparently  with  good  reason,  to  be; 
i^ritish  urns.  The  most  remarkable,  and  in  general  the  most 
carefully  ornamented,  class  of  British  earthen  vessels  is  that  of 
which  specimens  are  here  given,  marked  1,  2,  3,  4.  They  vary 
nuich  in  size,  and  in  general  have  nothing  in  them.  Some  have 
called  them  incense  cups,  Avhile  others  have  believed  them  to  be 
drinking  cups.  No.  1  was  found  by  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare, 
at  the  side  of  a  skeleton  in  a  barrow  near  Stonehenge  ;  the 
original  is  about  nine  inches  and  a  half  high.  No.  4,  fouiul  l)y 
Mr  Cunnington,  also  in  a  barrow  in  Wiltshire,  was  about  the 
same  height,  and  six  inches  and  a  half  in  diameter  over  the 
brim,  holding  about  two  quarts.  This  was  a  red  ware,  not  bright 
like  the  Roman  pottery  called  Samian  ware;  and  Mr  Cunning- 
ton  found,  at  the  same  time,  a  much  smaller  vessel,  of  the  same 
form,  but  of  a  darker-coloured  pottery.  Nos.  2  and  3  were 
found  by  Mr  Bateman  :  the  first  in  a  barrow  called  Green 
Lowe,  on  Alsop  Moor,  in  Derbyshire,  witli  a  skeleton ;  and  the 
other  in  a  large  barrow  at  Castern,  near  Wetton,  in  Staftbrd- 
shire,  also  with  a  skeleton.     In  the  latter  instance,  Mr  Batemau 


91 


THE  BRITONS. 


[chat.  in. 


snys,  that  the  vase  had  internally  an  incrustation,  as  thoug-h  t 
had  contained  some  liquid  when  deposited  in  the  grave.  Urns 
of  this  description,  which  are  baked,  and  not  sun-dried,  are 
found  more  frequently  in  the  south  of  F^ngland  than  elsewhere. 

17  8  t)  4 


One  i'ouiul  by  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare,  in  a  barrow  at  Stone- 
heng-e,  was  not  above  three  inches  high.  These  cups  are 
usually  found  with  skeletons.  The  urns,  Nos.  5  and  6,  are 
from  barrows  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dorchester,  opened  by 
Mr  Sydenham,  and  described  in  the  thirtieth  volume  of  the 
Archseologia.  The  tirst  was  seven  inches  and  a  half,  the  other 
nine  inches  in  height,  and  both  had  contained  burnt  bones. 
Urns  of  the  form  No.  6,  are  frequently  found  in  an  inverted 
position.  Nos.  7,  8,  9,  and  10,  were  found  with  a  great  many 
others,  more  or  less  similar  in  form,  in  the  Deverill  barrow. 
The  loops  found  in  Nos.  7  and  9  occur  not  unfrequently  in 
these  British  iu*ns,  but  it  is  uncertain  if  they  were  intended  for 
fixing  cords  for  suspension,  or  if  they  were  merely  ornamental. 
An  \u'n  closely  resembling  No.  7,  and  found  in  a  cromlech  in 
the  Chainiel  Islands,  has  been  engraved  by  Mr  Lukis.  The 
other  three,  and  especially  No.  10,  bear  a  rather  striking  resem- 
blance in  form  to  a  class  of  burial  urns,  which  recent  researches 
have  proved  to  be  Saxon,  although  they  wei-e  formerly  cou- 


CHAP.  III.]        IMPLEMENTS  MADE  OF  ST05E.  95 

sidered  British.  Specimens  of  tliese  will  be  given  further  on  ; 
but  one,  taken  from  an  Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  near  Derby,  is 
given  here,  No.  12,  for  the  sake  of  comparison.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  urns  are  generally  harder  baked  than  the  British  ;  tliey  .  / 
are  distinguished  by  some  peculiarities  in-"  the  form,  and  on  ^ 
closer  examination  the  ornament  will  be  seen  to  be  of  a  ditterent 
character,  and  made  in  a  difterent  manner.  No.  11,  in  our  cut, 
is  an  urn  containing  burnt  bones,  taken  from  a  barrow  in  Coi-n- 
wall.  Similar  urns  are  found  in  Wiltshire,  Dorsetshire,  and 
other  parts,  especially  in  Yorkshire. 

The  foregoing  are  the  more  usual  forms  of  supposed  British 
pottery,  and  Avill  serve  to  give  a  general  notion  of  its  character. 
Many  other  varieties,  and  some  much  more  rude  in  form  and 
construction,  occur,  but  they  will  generally  be  recognized  by 
the  similarity  of  ornament  to  those  given  here. 

As  I  have  already  observed,  the  other  articles  found  in 
the  British  barrows  are  not  much  diversified,  and  are  of  rare 
occurrence.  They  consist  chiefly  of  implements  of  stone  and 
implements  of  bronze.  Those  made  of  the  former  materials 
are  usually  the  heads  of  axes  or  hammers,  chisels,  and  ai-ro\v- 
heads. 

Implements  made  of  stone  are  found  abundantly  in  all  parts 
of  the  British  Islands,  and  we  might  add,  all  over  the  world  ; 
and  nothing  seems  more  natural,  not  only  in  a  very  rude  state 
of  society,  but  also  in  much  more  civilized  times,  when  com- 
munication between  different  parts  of  the  country  was  slow,  and 
metal  was  not  always  to  be  had,  than  to  form  rough  tools  or 
weapons,  especially  for  the  chase,  of  hard  stones.  Stones  of  a 
siliceous  character,  which  were  chipped  into  the  required  forms 
without  much  difHculty,  were  used  most  generally  for  this  pur- 
pose. But  other  kinds  of  stone  Avere  also  used.*  Our  cut  in  the 
next  page  represents  a  few  of  the  more  usual  types  of  the  imple- 
ments of  stone  found  in  this  country,  chiefly  taken  from  originals 
preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries.  Nos.  1 
and  2  are  dift'erent  samples  of  axe-heads,  the  first,  Avhich  is 
elaborately  cut,  found  by  Mr  Bateman  in  a  barrow  in  Derby- 
shire, the  othei"  from  the  bed  of  the  Severn  at  Ribbesford  in 
\Vorcestershire ;   3  and  4  appear  to  have  been  used  as  chisels, 

*  Mr  Lukis  (Journal  of  the  Br.  Arch.  Ass.,  vol.  iii.  p.  127)  f?ives  the 
following;-  list  of  the  substances  from  which  stone  weapons  in  his  possession, 
chiefly  found  in  the  Channel  Islands,  are  made  :  serpentine,  greenstone, 
{granular  greenstone,  indurated  claystone,  trap  f^'reenstone,  claystone,  quartz, 
syenite,  schistus,  yellow  hornstone  or  chert,  granular  porphyry,  s/liceous 
schist,  serpentine  or  jade. 


96 


THE  BRITONS. 


[chap.  hi. 


and  are  very  sharp  at  the  broad  end.     No.  8  is  a  spear-head 
9  is  an  instrument  apparently  intended  for  stabbing  or  boring- ; 
7  is  a  chisel  of  a  different  form  from  the  others;  and  10  is  a 
piece  of  flint  notched  at  tlie  edge,  so  as  to  serve  as  a  saw. 
iSeveral  of  these  stone  saws  have  been  found  in  ditt'erent  parts 


Implements  of  Stone. 


of  England.  Nos.  5  and  6  are  arrow-heads,  taken  by  Sir 
llichard  Colt  Hoare  from  barrows  in  Wiltshire,  where,  as  well 
as  in  Derbyshire,  they  are  frequently  found.  A  very  large  and 
remarkable  collection  of  stone  implements,  found  chiefly  in  the 
more  easterly  districts  of  Yorkshire,  has  been  made  by  Mr 
Edward  Tindall,  of  Bridlington. 

Stone  knives  are  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  (Joshua 
V.  2),  in  a  way  which  shows  that  implements  of  this  material 
may  have  been  employed  at  times  for  special  purposes.  It  has 
been  assumed  rather  hastily  that  where  we  find  these  imple- 
ments of  stone,  the  people  to  whom  they  belonged  were  not 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  working  metals.  That  stone  and 
metal  were  in  use  for  such  implements  at  the  same  time  is  quite 
evident  from  the  manner  in  which  they  occur  together.  In  the 
tumuli  in  Wiltshire,  the  stone  arrow-heads  are  usually  found 
with  bronze  daggers.  In  Derbyshire  stone  implements  are  found 
not  only  with  bronze,  but  with  iron.     Thus,  in  a  barrow  opened 


CHAP.  III.]  STONE  AXD  METAL.  97 

at  Miiminglowe  by  Mr  Bateman,  an  upper  deposit  of  two 
skeletons  was  accompanied  with  an  urn,  a  flint  arrow-head,  a 
small  piece  of  iron,  and  part  of  a  horse's  bit;  and  lower  down, 
in  the  same  barrow,  an  earlier  interment,  in  a  stone  cist  or 
cromlech,  was  accompanied  with  an  iron  knife  or  dago^er  in  a 
sheath  of  the  same  metal.  Another  interment  in  the  same 
barrow  was  accompanied  with  an  ornamented  urn  of  the  same 
description  as  the  four  first  flgures  in  the  preceding-  group  of 
British  pottery,  a  small  brass  pin,  and  an  arrow-head  of  grey 
flint.  In  a  small  barrow  at  Middleton-by-Yolgrave,  a  iiint 
arrow-head  was  found  Avith  one  of  the  small  bronze  chisels  or 
axes,  which  will  be  described  further  on.  In  a  barrow  called 
C'arder-lowe,  along-  with  a  great  number  of  implements  of  flint, 
were  found  a  bronze  dagger  and  an  iron  knife ;  there  had  been 
several  interments,  no  doubt  at  ditterent  periods,  but  the  bronze 
dagger  was  found  in  a  lower,  and  therefore  older,  deposit  than 
one  which  contained  nothing  but  flint  implements.  A  large 
barrow  opened  by  Mr  Bateman  in  1846,  was  supported  at  tlie 
base  by  a  regular  circle  of  large  stones,  and  had  in  the  interior 
a  cromlech.  Within  the  latter  was  found  a  skeleton,  which  was 
accompanied  with  '  a  brass  dagger  of  the  usual  type,  measuring- 
six  inches  and  a  quarter  in  length,  and  in  the  highest  preserva- 
tion ;  it  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  silvered,  and  still 
retains  a  brilliant  polish.  .  .  .  near  it  were  two  instruments  of 
flint,  and  two  more  were  found  during  the  progress  of  the 
examination  of  the  tumulus.'  A  barrow  with  a  cromlech  cist 
opened  by  the  same  gentleman  in  1847,  contained  a  skeleton, 
with  a  flint  spear-head  and  a  bronze  pin  or  bodkin,  which  had 
been  inserted  in  a  wooden  handle. 

The  stone  chisels  or  axes  are  less  frequently  found  in 
tnmuli,  than  in  accidental  localities  where  there  is  nothing  to 
fix  their  date  or  to  indicate  the  people  to  whom  they  belonged. 
They  are  sometimes  met  with  in  a  very  rough  condition,  and 
sometimes  more  or  less  flnished,  and  in  one  or  two  instances, 
l)undles  of  finished  and  rough  stone  implements  have  been 
found,  as  though  they  belonged  to  the  stores  of  a  manufacturer. 
Tills  is  most  frequently  the  case  with  the  arrow-heads.  In 
other  instances,  especially  in  Scotland,  bundles  of  flint  chip-  / 
pings,  or,  as  they  have  been  termed,  flint  flakes,  have  beeny 
found,  which  appear  to  have  been  struck  oft'  from  a  solid  mass, 
and,  as  these  generally  occur  in  districts  where  flint  is  not  found 
naturally,  we  are  justified  in  regarding  them  as  importations  of 
the;  rough  article,  merely  formed  to  the  size  required  by  the 


98  THE  BRITOXS.  [chap.  hi. 

mnimtaoturer.  Tii  oxiinining;  tliese  implomcnts  in  tlie  (lifi'erent 
stati:es  of  their  mauutactiire,  as  thus  pn^seiited  to  iis,  we  become 
convinced  that  not  only  must  implements  of  metal  liave  been 
used  in  makinu'  them,  but  that  some  machine  like  a  latlie  nuist 
hnve  been  used  in  boring'  an  I  finishinii;  them.  Besides  the  fact 
just  stated  of  their  having  been  deposited  in  the  same  inter- 
ments with  instniments  of  metal,  insnlated  facts  liave  occurred 
corroboratino'  the  conclusions  winch  we  should  naturally  draw 
i'rom  this  circumstance.  Tn  France  some  of  the  stone  imple- 
ments are  said  to  have  heen  found  with  handles  of  bone,  but  we 
are  assured  of  a  circumstance  still  more  intercstinij;,  tluit  at  old 
Toulouse  one  of  these  stone  implements  was  found,  in  the  place 
of  its  original  deposit,  surrounded  with  a  circle  of  iron  that  had 
evidently  tixed  it  to  its  handle.*  Instances  might  be  adduced 
of  the  continuation  of  the  use  of  implements  of  stone  down 
to  a  maich  more  recent  date.  Ac-Sordino-  to  the  recital  of 
AVilliam  of  Poitiers,  some  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  fought  with 
weapons  of  stone  at  the  battle  of  Hastings  :  f  and  they  are  said 
to  have  been  employed  by  the  Scots  as  late  as  the  wars  of 
Wallace. 

The  older  implements  of  metal  found  in  this  island  are 
generally  of  bronze.  I  here  give  a  group  of  the  more  usual 
forms  of  those  attributed  generally  to  the  British  period,  all, 
except  No.  8,  taken  from  specimens  in  the  museum  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.  No.  1  is  the  usual  form  of  the  bronze; 
axehead  or  chisel,  to  which  the  name  of  celt  has  been  given, 
not  because  it  was  conceived  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Celtic 
race,  but  because  our  earlier  antiquaries  supposed  it  to  be  the 
instrument  to  which  the  Romans  gave  the  name  of  celtU  (a 
chiselj.t.     It  has  a  socket  for  receiving  the  handle.     Nos.   2 

*  See  a  paper  in  the  llemoires  de  la  Socitte  ArcJttologique  du  Midi  de 
la  France,  torn.  i.  p.  78. 

i"  Jactant  ciisiiides  ac  diversoruiii  g'enerum  tela,  s;r?vissiinas  quasque 
secures,  et  lig-nis  iinposita  saxa.  p.  201,  ap.  Uuchesne.  These  stones,  fixed 
on  pieces  of  wood,  were  perhaps  used  for  striking',  as  with  clubs. 

X  The  eai'liest  dissertation  on  these  instruments  I  know,  is  one  by  the 
well-known  antiquary,  Thomas  Heanie,  to  whom  the  historian  Thoresliy 
conimunicated  some  examples  in  his  possession,  found  in  Yorkshire. 
Hearne  wrote  a  long^  and  learned  epistle  to  Thoresby,  in  the  December  of 
1709,  which  he  printed  as  an  appendix  to  the  first  volume  of  his  edition  of 
liCland's  Itinerary,  under  the  title  of  '  A  Discourse  concerning  some  Anti- 
quities found  in  Yorkshire,'  and  in  which  he  stated  his  opinion  that  these 
instruments  were  the  Roman  celtes  or  chisels.  This  opinion  .seems  to  have 
been  generally  ac(piiesced  in  by  Hearne's  contemporaries,  and  this  particu- 
lar tool  obtained  the  name  of  a  celtis  or  celt.  Subsequent  writers,  ascribing 
these  instniments  to  the  BritoDS;  have  retained  the  name,  forgetting-  itd 


CHAP.   III.] 


BROXZE  IMI'LEMENTS. 


9:» 


and  3,  the  latter  found  in  tfie  Isle  of  Inanet,  ana  laiCiV  in  tlie 
museum  of  my  friend  Mr.  Crofton  Croker,  are  also  common 


S  2  13 

Imp^eii^enls  of  Lronze. 

forms,  with  a  different  contrivance  for  fixing  the  handle.  No. 
4  is  another  variety,  exhibiting  a  much  rarer  form.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  these  were  tools  in  very  common  use  by  work- 
men in  England  at  some  period,  for  they  are  found  very  fre- 
(luently,  though  very  rarely  in  sepulchral  interments,  all  over 
tlie  island  ;  and  rather  numerous  instances  have  occurred  of  the 
discovery  of  considerable  quantities  of  thern,  wliole  or  broken, 
under  circumstances  which  can  leave  no  doubt  of  their  having 
been  the  stock  in  trade  of  some  maker  of  such  instruments. 
They  are  found  in  great  abundance  in  tlie  county  of  Norfolk  : 
and  they  generally  occur  along  with  chisels  of  different  forms, 
and  sometimes  with  spear-heads  and  daggers.  In  a  meadow  at 
Stibbard,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  no  less  than  seventy  of  the 
so-called  celts,  and  ten  spear-heads  of  bronze,  were  found  in  a 
single  lot.  In  1845,  a  quantity  of  such  instruments,  including 
the  chisels  or  axe-heads  of  the  usual  forms,  with  punches, 
gouges,  and  other  similar  instruments,  as  well  as  several  pieces 
of  unused  metal,  one  of  which  appeared  to  have  been  the  resi- 

orisrin,  and  have  applied  it  indiscriminately,  not  only  to  other  implements 
of  bronze,  but  o\«n  to  the  analo<;ous  instruments  of  stone.  It  is  not  good 
as  a  technical  term,  because  it  is  mistaken  too  generally  as  implying  that 
things  to  which  it  is  applied  are  Celtic,  and  it  would  therefore  be  better  to 
lay  it  aside. 

H 


100  THE  BRITONS.  [chap,  in, 

cliiuin  left  in  the  melting'-pot,  were  found  at  a  villaij-e  near 
Attleborough,  in  the  same  county.  A  similar  discovery  of 
bronze  chisels,  goug-es,  &c.,  with  portions  of  a  bronze  sword, 
was  made  at  Sittingbourne,  in  Kent ;  and  another  occurred  some 
years  ago  in  Shropshire,  at  the  foot  of  the  Wrekin.  More  re- 
cently, at  Westow,  about  twelve  miles  from  York,  a  collection 
of  sixty  similar  instruments,  presenting  the  same  varieties,  with 
the  addition  of  a  piece  of  dagger  or  sword,  and  a  similar  piece  of 
bronze,  which  appeared  to  be  the  residuum  from  melting,  were 
found  in  an  earthen  jar  or  vase.  A  very  similar  hoard  was  found 
in  the  parish  of  Lanant,  in  Cornwall,  in  the  year  1802  ;  and 
Leland  has  recorded  the  discovery  of  a  similar  hoard  in  the 
parish  of  St  Hilary,  in  the  same  county,  in  the  time  of  Henry 
VIII.  *  A  parcel  of  the  so-called  celts,  spear-heads,  and  frag- 
ments of  swords,  of  bronze,  were  found  by  Mr  Lukis  in  the 
Isle  of  Alderney,  under  similar  circumstances. 

No.  7,  in  our  cut,  represents  a  bronze  chisel,  from  a  specimen 
in  the  museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  will  serve  to 
give  a  general  idea  of  the  forms  of  these  instruments,  as  tbund 
with  the  '  celts.'  We  are  convinced  at  once  that  all  these 
instruments  have  been  cast  in  moulds,  and  accordingly  several 
examples  of  these  moulds  have  been  found,  both  in  England 
and  other  countries.  I  have  given  examples,  Nos.  5  and  0, 
from  casts  in  the  museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  of  two 
such  moulds,  found  in  Normandy ;  they  represent  the  two 
varieties  of  which  we  have  examples  in  the  cut,  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3. 
No.  8,  in  our  cut,  is  a  fragment  of  a  bronze  saw. 

I  have  stated  that  antiquarian  writers  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  calling  these  bronze  tools  British,  but  1  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  Hearne  was  nearer  the  truth  when  he  pronounced 
them  to  be  Eoman.  The  localities  in  which  they  have  been 
usually  foiuid,  especially  when  they  have  occurred  in  any 
quantities,  have  generally  been  Eoman  sites.  One  of  the 
moulds  engraved  above,  is  said  to  have  been  found  by  the  side 
of  a  Roman  road,  and  tlie  other  at  a  place  well  known  for  its 
Roman  antiquities.     The  discovery  at  Sittingbourne,  in  Kent, 

*  '  There  was  found  of  late  yeres  syns,  spere  heddes,  axis  for  warre, 
jind  swerdes,  of  coper,  wrappid  up  in  lynin  scant  perishid,  near  the  mount 
in  St  Hilaries  paroch  in  the  tynne  works.' — Leland' s  Itin.,  ed.  Hearne, 
vfil.  iii.  p.  7.  The  discoveries  alluded  to  in  the  text  will  be  found  more 
fully  described  in  the  '  Arch  seologia,'  vol.  xv.  p.  118;  in  the  'Journal 
<if  the  British  Arch.'voloprical  Association,'  vols.  i.  pp.  51,  c9,  and  ii.  pp. 
!*,  58;  and  in  Mr  Iloach  Smith's  Collectanea  Autism ^  vol.  i.  pp.  iOl, 
105. 


CHAT.  III.] 


INSTRUMENTS  OF  BRONZE, 


101 


was  made  also  near  a  Roman  road,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  an  extensive  Saxon  cemetery,  and  perhaps  further  researches 
will  lay  open  Roman  remains.  The  general  shape  and  charac- 
ter of  these  instruments  seem  to  be  nmch  more  like  Roman 
than  anything  we  know  of  Celtic  make;  and  I  believe  they  are 
found  in  Italy.  The  question  here  raised  is,  however,  one  of 
considerable  obscurity,  until  further  discoveries,   and  a    more 


2  6 


careful  observation  of  the  circumstances  umn.'r  wnuMi  tney  are 
found,  shall  enable  us  to  clear  it  awav. 


102  THE  BRITOXS.  [cjhap.  i;i. 

Tlie  frao-nients  of  swords  found  iu  one  or  two  instances  with 

these   parcels  of  bronze   instruments,  were  appai'ently    placed 

there  as  old  metal.     They  belong  to  a  class  which  have  usually 

been  considered  as  Celtic  by  Eng-lish  antiquaries,  but  Avhich  I 

have    always    regarded  as    unmistakably    Roman.      They    are 

found  in  England  and  Scotland,  in  Ireland,  in  Denmark  (less 

\      frequently),  in   Germany,  in  France,  and,  I  believe,  in  Italy. 

f      Four   specimens  are  given  in    the   preceding  cut.     Th3    first 

\     is  preserved    in   the  museum  of  the    Society   of  Antiquaries 

'     of  England,   but  it   is    uncertain   where  it  was    found.     The 

second  was  found  at  Arthur's  Seat  near  Edinburgh,  and  is  now 

preserved  in  the    museum  of  the    Society   of   Antiquaries   of 

Scotland.     The  third  was  found  in  the  bed  of  the    Thames, 

near  Vauxhall,   and  the  fourth  at  Twerton,  near  Bath.     Tiie 

two  last  are  engraved   in  the   Journal  of  the  Archaeological 

Association.     They  are  short,  usually  from  sixteen  to  eighteen 

inches  in  length,  and  were  evidently  used  for  thrusting  rather 

than  for  cutting. 

These  swords,  in  whatever  country  Ave  lind  them,  are  so 
uniform  in  shape,  that  we  can  hardly  doubt  their  being  all  the 
workmanship  of  one  people.  They  do  not  answer  the  ancient 
descriptions  of  the  swords  used  by  the  Celts  and  Germans,  who, 
from  the  time  when  Marius  encountered  the  Cimbrians  and 
Teutons,  to  the  great  battle  in  which  Agricola  defeated 
the  Britons  under  Galgacus,  are  described  as  using  long 
pointless  swords.*  Indeed,  I  believe,  all  people  in  a  rude 
/  state,  whose  soldiers  are  not  highly  disciplined,  are  more  apt  to 
\/  use  swords  for  striking  than  thrusting.  We  know  that  the 
Romans  had  an  advantage  over  their  British  foes  in  close 
condjat,  from  the  circumstance,  that  they  used  their  short  and 
pointed  swords  in  thrusting,  while  the  Britons  were  unable  to 
use  with  the  same  effect  their  long  pointless  ones.  The  swords 
of  the  form  figured  above  have,  I  think,  been  genei'ally  found 
on  or  near  lloman  sites.  Many  are  taken  iip  from  the  Thames, 
where  such  multitudes  of  Roman  Antiquities  are  found,  but  no 
other  swords  that  can  be  accounted  Roman.  The  question, 
iiowever,  seems  to  be  set  at  rest  by  discoveries  in  France.  One 
of  these  swords  was  found  at  Heilly,  in  the  department 
of  the   Somme,   with  other  articles,  among  which  were  four 

*  Besides  the  niention  of  these  long  swords  in  the  accounts  of  the  battles 
mentioned  in  the  text,  Dion  Cassius,  lib.  xxxviii.  c.  49,  in  his  account  of 
''4'sar's  battle  with  Ariovistus,  in  Gaul,  mentions  the  large  long  swords  of 
tlie  barbarians. 


CHAP.  III.  J  INSTRUMEXTS  OF  BROXZE.  103 

brass  coins  of  Caracalla;  and  another  was  found  in  another 
locality  along-  with  skeletons  and  coins,  some  of  which  belonged 
to  the  emperor  Maxentius,  so  that  they  could  not  have  been 
deposited  there  before  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century 
after  Christ.*  It  may  be  added,  that  in  the  museum  of  the 
Louvre,  in  Paris,  there  is  one  of  these  bronze  leaf-shaped 
swords  (as  they  are  usually  termed),  with  its  sheath,  the  latter 
undoubtedly  Roman ;  and  I  am  informed  that  there  is  another 
similar  sword  and  sheath  in  the  Musee  de  I'Artillerie,  also  in 
Paris. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  some  countries  the  use  of  copper 
and  bronze  for  weapons  and  other  instruments  preceded  that  of 
iron.  Copper  weapons  are  supposed  to  have  preceded  those  of 
bronze.  The  alloy  of  tin  in  the  latter  metal  gave  it  a  hardness 
and  a  brittleness  not  possessed  by  tlie  pure  copper,  and  th« 
ancients  are  said,  though  on  late  and  doubtful  authority,  to 
have  employed  a  method  of  tempering  it  as  we  do  steel.  The 
weapons  of  the  Homeric  age  were  of  these  materials,  whicli 
appear  to  have  been  regarded  almost  with  a  superstitious  vener- 
ation by  the  llomans.  In  the  treaty  between  Porsena  and 
the  Koman  people,  about  four  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  i 
era,  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  the  llomans  should  not  use 
iron  except  for  implements  of  agriculture. f  It  was  not  till 
th]"ee  hundred  years  later — that  is,  after  the  second  Punic  war 
— that  the  Homans  began  to  use  iron  in  the  fabrication  of  arms; 
and  it  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance,  that  in  the  battle  in 
which  the  Gauls  were  defeated  by  the  consul  /Emilius,  when 
the  Eomans  used  swords  of  bronze,  those  of  the  Gauls,  as  we 
are  told  by  Polybius,  Avere  long,  and  so  badly  tempered,  that 
they  bent  when  the  Gallic  warriors  struck  a  hard  blow  against 
the  Roman  armour.  It  would  appear,  from  their  being  tern-  n/ 
pered,  that  they  Avere  made  of  iron. | 

Among  the  most  curious  of  the  instruments  of  bronze  found 
in  this  country,  are  the  daggers  or  knives,  which  are  not 
unfrequently  found  in  the  barrows  supposed  to  be  British,  and 
were  no  doubt  peculiar  to  the  people  Avho  were  buried  in  them. 

*  These  are  described  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Mtmoires  of  the  Insti- 
tute of  France,  class  of  Litter atur e  et  Beaux  Arts,  pp.  193  and  501.  I  give 
the  reference  from  the  work  of  M.  Mauduit,  mentioned  below. 

t  In  foedere  quod  repulsis  regibus  populo  Romano  dedit  Porsena,  nomi- 
native comprehensiim  invenimus,  ne  ferro  nisi  in  agricultura  uterentur. — 
Flinii  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xxxiv.  c.  14. 

X  Much  information  on  the  early  use  of  bronze  will  be  found  in  the 
Dtcoi-overtes  du/ts  la  Troade,  by  M.  Mauluit,  Paris,  18i0. 


Ui 


THE  BRITOXS. 


[chap.  in. 


The  usual  forms  of  these  instruments  will  be  best  understood 
by  cbo  accompanying  cut.     They  are  found  frequently  witliout 


Bronze  daggers  or  knives. 

handles,  but  with  the  rivets  which  fixed  them,  and  the  bladt^ 
ii'enerally  bears  marks  of  havino-  been  placed  in  a  shank  of 
wood.  The  handle  appears  to  have  been  generally  of  the  same 
material,  and  has  only  been  preserved  Avhere,  in  particular 
instances,  it  has  been  made  of  ivory  or  bone.  The  blades  are 
from  six  to  ten  inches  long ;  sometimes  they  are  much  smaller. 
At  first,  until  one  was  found  with  a  handle,  they  were  supposed 
to  be  spear-heads.  Tn  a  barrow  at  Normanton,  in  Wiltshire, 
Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  found  the  handle  of  one  of  these 
daggers,  of  wood,  richly  ornamented  with  zig-zags  and  lines, 
resembling  those  found  on  the  pottery,  formed  by  innumerable 
diminutive  points  or  pins  of  gold  driven  into  the  wood.  It  is  in 
the  barrows  of  Wiltshire  and  Dorset  that  these  bronze  daggers 
are  found  most  abundantly.  A  few  have  been  met  with  in 
Derbyshire,  and  they  occur  more  rarely  in  Scotland ;  they  are, 
however,  not  uncommon  in  Ireland ;  they  are  also  found  in 
Gaul.  The  figure  No.  2,  in  the  group  above,  represents  one 
of  these  dagger  or  knife  blades  of  the  more  usual  form,  which 
was  found  in  a  barrow  called  Dowe-lowe,  near  Church-Sterndale, 
in   Derbyshire,  opened  by   Mr  Bateman :    it  accompanied  a 


CHAP.  III.]  THE  GOLD  CORSET.  IC) 

skeleton.  No.  5,  is  a  dcig'^iTr  of  the  same  form,  Avitli  a  liaiullc, 
found  by  Sir  "Richard  Colt  Hoare  in  a  barrow  at  Brio-milson  in 
Wiltshire,  accorapanyino-  an  urn  with  ashes ;  and  No.  3  is  a 
blade  of  exactly  the  same  form,  found  in  Ireland,  and  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  my  friend  the  late  Mr  Crofton  Croker.  No.  V 
1  is  a  somewhat  similar  bronze  blade,  found  at  Pitcaithly,  in 
Perthshire;  Avhile  the  other,  No.  4,  with  the  same  shaped  blade, 
but  with  its  handle  of  ivory,  came  from  a  bari'ow  near  Bland- 
ford,  in  Dorsetshire.  This  latter  is  in  a  perfect  state  of  pre- 
servation ;  it  was  found  with  two  bronze  speardieads,  iyini; 
beside  an  urn  with  burnt  bones. 

There  are  very  few  other  articles  found  under  circumstances 
which  could  lead  us  to  ascribe  them  to  the  Celtic  population  of 
our  island.  Bronze  spear-heads,  often  with  loops  at  the  side,  t/ 
are  found  under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  swords,  and  uo 
doubt  belonged  to  the  same  people.  A  few  persoiud  ornaments, 
chietiy  beads,  with  now  and  then  a  piece  of  bone  or  metal,  are 
found  in  some  of  the  barrows  of  Derbyshire,  Wiltshire,  and 
Dorset.  Several  discoveries  have  also  been  made  of  circular 
shields,  generally  of  bronze,  and  of  rather  small  dimensions, 
which  have  been  considered  to  be  British,  though  the  justice 
of  this  appropriation  is  doubtful.  Traces  of  a  metal  cover- 
ing for  the  breast,  very  thin,  and  therefore  more  for  orna- 
ment than  protection,  have  also  been  found  with  skeletons, 
apparently  of  this  early  date.  The  most  remarkable  discoveiy 
of  this  kind  was  made  in  the  October  of  1833,  at  Mold,  in 
Flintshire.  A  mound,  composed  of  pebbles  and  stones,  had 
long  stood  at  the  corner  of  a  field,  and  it  Avas  then  cleared 
away  for  agricultural  purposes.  It  was  found  to  contain  inter- 
ments of  urns  and  burnt  bones,  and  also,  in  another  part  of 
the  mound,  a  skeleton,  round  the  breast  of  Avhich  was  a  corset 
of  thin  gold,  eud)ossed  with  an  ornamentation  resembling  nail 
heads  and  lines.  Tins  interesting  article  is  uoav  in  the  British 
Museum.  This  barrow  was  called  by  the  Welsh  peasantry 
hrt/N-yr-elbjUori,  or  the  hill  of  fairies  or  goblins ;  and  it  was 
believed  to  be  haunted.  But  the  most  curious  circumstance 
connected  with  it  was  the  declaration,  nuide  before  it  was 
opened,  of  a  woman  of  the  neighbourhood,  that,  as  she  was 
going  home  late  one  night  and  had  to  pass  by  it,  she  saw 
moving  over  the  barrow,  a  spectre  '  clothed  in  a  coat  of  gold, 
which  shone  like  the  sun.' 

It  is  the  business  of  the  antiquary,  by  comparing  and  dis- 
criminating the  objects  of  each  period,  to  make  them  throw 
new  light  on  the  manners  and  condition  of  the  people  to  whom 


1G6  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  hi. 

they  belon*!;,  and  also  to  endeavour  to  tracs,  by  tlieir  peculiar- 
ities, the  movements  of  the  different  tribt^s,  and  the  positions 
they  occupied.  Unfortunately,  the  antiquities  of  the  British 
period  ]  ave  as  yet  proved  but  of  little  use  in  either  of  these 
points  of  view.  The  solitary  daii^o-er,  with  the  few  fragments  • 
of  pottery,  and  two  or  three  beads  or  pins,  can  give  us  no 
satisfactory  notion  of  the  dress  or  riches  of  the  person  who  wore 
them.  If,  as  Caesar  says  was  the  practice  among  the  Gauls, 
the  Britons  buried  Avith  their  dead  all  the  articles  of  value  they 
possessed,  they  must  indeed  have  been  poor.  But  it  is  hardly 
probable  that  the  contents  of  the  graves,  as  we  now  find  them, 
are  any  fair  measure  of  the  wealth  of  those  who  were  buried  in 
them.  We  cau  feel  no  doubt,  after  a  comparison  of  their 
contents,  that  the  cromlechs  and  the  other  barrows  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  belong  to  the  same  people,  and  that 
they  are  of  about  the  same  date.  They  occur  in  large  groups. 
The  Kits-Cotty  House  group  belongs  to  Kent;  there  was 
another  group  in  the  valley  of  the  White  Horse,  in  Berkshire ; 
another  lay  in  Oxfordshire  ;  a  larger  group  lay  in  Dorsetshire  ; 
then  came  the  vast  group  about  Stonehenge  ;  and  finally,  a 
tolerably  numerous  one  in  Cornwall.  The  only  large  group  of 
the  interior  is  that  of  Derbyshire.  There  is  a  group  towards 
the  south-east  of  Yorkshire,  and  they  are  scattered  over  Wales, 
and  in  the  Isle  of  Anglesea.  This  distribution  woidd  certainly 
lead  us  to  imagine  that  the  barroAVs  and  other  monuments  of 
this  island,  which  w^e  are  accustomed  to  attribute  to  the  Druids, 
belong,  not  to  the  earlier  Celtic  population,  but  to  the  later 
settlers.  If  this  be  the  case,  we  might  perhaps  go  further,  and 
assume  that  the  British  population  of  the  earlier  mining  dis- 
tricts, Cornwall,  Wales,  and  Derbyshire,  Avas  also  composed  of 
later  settlers,  wdio  knew  hoAv  to  work  the  metals,  of  Avhich  the 
earlier  aboriginal  tribes  Avere  perhaps  ignorant.  But  these  are 
obscure  questions,  Avhich  we  are,  from  Avant  of  accurate  know- 
ledge, unable  to  solve ;  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
cromlechs  are  numerous  in  Ireland. 

The  next  question  that  presents  itself,  with  relation  to  these 
monuments,  is  their  date,  which  I  am  inclined  to  believe  less 
remote  than  is  usually  imagined.  It  has  often  been  a  fault 
among  antiquaries  to  be  too  eager  in  fixing  great  antiquity  on 
everything  about  Avhich  they  are  uncertain.  The  comparison 
of  these  barrows  Avith  one  another,  Avhile  it  shows  that  some  of 
them  had  served  apparently  for  family  sepulchres  during  a 
length  of  time,  Avould  lead  us  to  think  that  they  mav  in  general 


cii.M".  Ill]  THE  AGE  OF  CPtOMI.ECHS.  IC? 

be  placed  within  no  very  wide  limits.  In  times  like  these  of 
which  we  are  now  treatinfi-,  individuals  possessed  but  a  small 
quantity  of  personal  property  ;  the  communication  between  one 
place  and  another  was  slow  and  uncertain  ;  and  while  one  man, 
l)y  accident  or  throuji'h  his  superior  Avealth  and  power,  had 
weapons  and  other  implements  of  bronze  or  iron,  or  even  of 
silver  and  ^old,  his  neighbour  might  be  obliged  to  remain  con- 
tent with  a  chisel  or  axe  of  stone,  or,  if  a  hunter,  he  might  be 
satisfied  with  a  few  Hint-headed  arrows  to  his  bow.  In  the 
same  way,  one  man  might  be  rich  or  ostentatious  enough  to 
depose  in  the  gi'ave  elegant  vessels  of  superior  manufacture, 
while  another  at  the  same  time  would  use  only  the  rude  urn  of 
chiy  and  gravel  baked  hastily  in  the  sun.  Nothing  indeed  is 
more  unsafe  than  the  rule  that  mere  rudeness  of  consti-uction 
is  a  proof  of  antiquity.  One  or  two  circumstances  have  been 
discovered  that  are  certainly  rather  startling.  In  Belgium,  on 
the  borders  of  the  Ardennes,  a  cromlech  with  a  Roman  intei*- 
ment  in  it  has  been  recently  found  in  the  middle  of  a  Eoman 
cemetery.*  A  discoveiy  of  a  somewhat  similar  kind  was  made 
by  Mr  Bateman,  in  his  researches  among  the  barrows  of 
Derbyshire,  which  he  describes  as  follows  :  '  In  a  plantation  on 
the  summit  of  Minninglowe  Hill,'  he  says,  '  are  two  tumuli 
of  large  size,  one  being  nearly  fifteen  feet  high  from  the  level 
of  the  ground.  In  the  centre,  and  in  four  places  in  the  area  of 
the  circle,  are  large  cists,  or,  as  they  now  appear,  from  the  soil 
being  removed  from  them,  large  cromlechs,  exactly  of  the  same 
construction  as  that  well-known  Driddical  structure,  Kits-Cotty 
House.  They  are  formed  of  the  large  limestones  of  the  country, 
and  have  all  had  covers  of  the  same,  only  two  of  which  now 

remain  in  their  places The  soil  in  the  interior  of  the 

cists  of  the  large  barroAV  was  removed  down  to  the  surface  of 
the  rock  on  the  5th  of  July,  1843,  when  it  was  found  that  all 
the  interments  had  been  before  removed,  with  the  exception  of 
one,  which  was  a  skeleton,  laid  at  full  length  on  the  outside  of 
the  cist,  imaccompanied  by  any  weapon  or  ornaments.  In  the 
cell  near  wduch   this   body  lay,  were   found  fragments   of  five 

*  '  Le  seul  tombeau  qui,  dans  ce  cimetiere  Romain,  ineritait  ce  nom, 
cotisistait.  en  cinq  enornies  pierres  en  quartiers  de  roches.  Trois  de  ces 
pierres  foriiiaieut  un  triangle  dont  les  deux  autres  etaient  la  base  et  le  cou- 
vercle.  Dans  ce  tombeau,  ainsi  que  pies  des  assietles  niortuaires,  j'ai 
trouve  des  feiTements  et  des  clous,  qui  indiqueraieut  que  ces  restes  de 
Koniains  auraient  ete  ent'ermes  dans  une  sorte  de  cercueil  en  bois,  dont  il 
ne  Y'^te  plus  tneo.'  —  Ihdletin  de  la  SociHd llistoriqae  et  Archioloyiqne  di 
iSoissoi's,  torn.  iii.  p.  187. 


V 


VCS  THE  BIUTOXS.  [chap.  hi. 

urns,  some  animal  bones,  and  six  tliird  brass  Roman  coins, 
namely,  one  of  Claudius  Goihicus,  two  of  Constantine  the 
Greal,  two  of  Constantine  Junior,  and  one  of  Yalentinian.  An 
attempt  to  penetrate  the  substance  of  the  mound  was  then 
made,  which,  from  want  of  time,  proved  ineft'ectual.  A  few 
human  teeth,  and  a  third  brass  coin  of  Constantine,  were  the 
only  relics  found  in  this  part  of  the  excavation.'  Sir  Richard 
Colt  Hoare  also  found  Eoman  coins  in  one  of  the  supposed 
British  barrows  in  Wiltshire, 

These  facts  niig'ht  perhaps  be  considered  to  be  accidental ; 
but  it  is  very  remarkable  that  the  only  excavation  within  the 
area  of  Stonehenge  of  which  we  possess  any  account,  brought 
to  light  Roman  remains.  We  are  informed  by  Aubrey  that 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  in  1620,  *  did  cause  the  middle  of 
Stonehenge  to  be  digged,  and  this  under  digging  was  the  cause 
of  the  falling  downe  or  recumbencie  of  the  great  stone  there.' 
He  tells  us  that  in  the  course  of  this  '  digging '  they  found 
'  a  great  many  horns  of  stags  and  oxen,  charcoal,  batter- 
dashes  (?),  heads  of  arrows,  some  pieces  of  armour  eaten  out 
with  rust,  and  rotten  bones.'  An  inscribed  tablet  of  tin  is 
pretended  to  have  been  found  at  Stonehenge,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  A' HI.  ;  and,  according  to  Inigo  Jones,  the  cover  of  a 
t/mrtb/ilniji,  or  incense-cup,  was  found  within  the  area  at  a 
later  period.  '  In  more  modern  times,'  adds  Sir  Richard  Colt 
Hoare,  whose  description  is  more  to  be  depended  upon,  '  we 
have  found,  on  digging,  several  fragments  of  Roman  as  Avell  as 
of  coarse  British  pottery,  parts  of  the  head  and  horns  of  deer 
and  other  animals,  and  a  large  barbed  arrow-head  of  iron.  ])r 
Stukeley  says  that  he  dug  close  to  the  altar,  and  at  the  depth 
of  one  foot  came  to  solid  chalk.  Mr  Cunnington  also  dug 
about  the  same  place  to  the  depth  of  nearly  six  feet,  and  found 
that  chalk  had  been  moved  to  that  depth ;  and,  at  the  depth 
of  three  feet,  he  found  some  Roman  pottery,  and,  at  the  depth 
of  six  feet,  some  pieces  of  sarsen  stones,  three  fragments  of 
coarse  half-baked  pottery,  and  some  charred  wood.  .  .  .  Jn 
digging  into  the  ditch  that  surrounds  the  area,  Mr  Cunnington 
found  similar  remnants  of  antiquity  ;  and  in  the  waggon  tracks, 
near  Stonehenge,  you  frequently  meet  with  chippings  of  the 
stones  of  which  the  temple  was  constructed.  Soon  after  the 
fall  of  the  great  trilithon  in  1797,  Mr  Cunnington  dug  out 
some  of  the  earth  that  had  fallen  into  the  excavation,  and  found 
a  fragment  of  fine  black  Eoman  pottery,  and  since  that  another 
piece  in  the  same  spot ;  but  I  have  no  idea  that  this  pottery 


CHAr,  III.]  BlUTISII  COINS.  109 

ever  lay  beneath  the  stones,  but  probably  in  the  earth  adjoining 
the  trilithon,  and,  after  the  downfall  of  the  latter,  it  fell  witli 
the  mouldering-  earth  into  the  excavation.' 

Although  some  of  the  remains  of  antiquity  which  are  from 
time  to  time  dug  up  in  our  island  may  belong  to  an  age  more 
I'emote.  the  most  probable  view  of  the  case  seems  to  be,  that 
the  mass  of  our  British  antiquities  belong  to  the  age  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  arrival  of  the  Eomans,  and  to  the  period 
which  followed. 

The  date  of  one  class  of  British  antiquities,  the  coins,  are 
more  easily  fixed,  and  they  will,  perhaps,  eventually  throw 
some  light  on  one  period  of  British  history.  These  coins  have 
been  found  in  considerable  quantities  in  most  parts  of  England, 
often  in  hoards,  and  they  are  remarkable  for  the  large  propor- 
tion in  gold  and  silver.  Many  of  them  have  inscriptions, 
always  in  Eoman  characters,  which,  as  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  discoveries  hitherto  made,  express  the  names  of  the  chiefs 
for  whom  they  were  minted.  In  form  they  resemble  the  Greek 
coinage,  being  thicker  in  proportion  to  their  size  than  Eoman 
coins,  and  usually  slightly  convex  on  one  side  and  concave  on 
the  other.  Some  of  these  British  coins  show  a  considerable 
degree  of  artistic  skill,  and  bear  distinct  representations  of 
human  heads,  animals,  and  other  figures,  while  a  still  greater 
number  are  extremely  rude,  and  some  of  them  bear  confused 
marks  and  attempts  at  devices  which  appear  totally  inexplica- 
ble. These,  like  everything  that  is  mysterious,  have  furnished 
ground  for  many  theories,  founded  on  the  supposition  that  they 
had  some  connection  with  the  mythology  or  history  of  the 
lU'itish  tribes.  But  a  more  careful  study  and  comparison  has 
shown  us  that  the  British,  like  the  Gallic  coinage,  consisted 
merely  of  imitations  of  Greek  and,  subsequently,  of  Eoman 
coins.  It  appears  that  when  the  chiefs  began  to  mint  money, 
they  adorned  it  with  mere  copies  of  the  figures  on  foreign  coins 
brought  as  models  by  their  coiners,  and  that,  while  their  rela- 
tions with  Eome  induced  them  to  adopt  Eoman  inscriptions, 
they  chose  in  preference  the  forms  and  pictorial  devices  of  tlu; 
money  of  Greece,  selecting  especially  those  of  the  Macedonian 
kings.  The  first  minters  were  probably  brought  over  from  Gaul, 
and  they  made  tolerably  good,  copies  of  the  originals,  as  we  find 
to  be  the  case  in  many  of  the  coins  of  Cunobeline.  Subsequently 
these  copies  served  again  as  models  to  British  and  very  unskilful 
artists,  and  in  their  hands  they  gradually  degenerated  into 
forms  which  can  only  be  understood  when  we  place  them  beside 


no 


THE  BRITOXS. 


[chap.    !TI 


the  more  perfect  copies  from  whicli  they  were  imitated.  Some- 
times we  only  trace  the  British  imitation  of  the  Greek  coin 
throuo-h  an  intermediate  Gallic  copy.  To  explain  better  this 
g-radual  deg-eneration,  and  furnish  at  the  same  time  an  example 
of  one  of  the  ruder  types  of  the  British  coins,  we  g'ive  a  cut 
representino-  three  gold  coins,  in  their  obverses  and  reverses. 
The  uppermost  is  a  li'old  stater  of  Philip   of  Macedon.     The 


Greek  and  British  Coins. 

second  is  a  gold  coin  of  one  of  the  Gaulish  chiefs,  in  whicl; 
the  head  of  the  king  is  copied  in  a  very  rude  manner,  with 
the  wreath  round  the  head;  but  the  charioteer  and  horses  are 
given  in  a  manner  much  more  rude,  though  still  distin- 
guishable. The  name  of  Philip  has  been  transformed  into  a 
rude  ornament.  The  lowermost  coin  is  a  rude  British  copy 
of  the  same  type — one  of  a  hoard  of  British  gold  coins  found  in 
Whaddon  Chace.  Until  compared  with  the  two  previous  coins, 
we  cannot  even  guess  at  what  the  coiners  intended  to  repre- 
sent ;  but  on  laying  the  three  coins  thus  side  by  side,  we  trace 
distinctly  on  the  obverse  the  wreath  and  ears  of  the  head  of 
Philip  of  Macedon,  while  it  is  equally  evident  that  the  reverse 


<H\V.  III.] 


BRITISH  COINS. 


lU 


was  intended  as  a  copy  of  tlie  cliarioteer.  In  this,  as  in  many 
cases  of  the  British  coinage,  the  die  was  cut  clumsily  and  nuicli 
larg'er  than  the  piece  of  metal  which  was  to  receive  the  impres- 
sion. Hence  the  coin  only  represents  a  part  of  the  sidjject, 
and  as  the  metal  sometimes  fell  on  one  side  of  the  field,  and 
sometimes  on  another,  we  have  often  to  compare  several 
examples  of  a  British  coin  before  we  get  the  design  complete  ; 
md  the  accidental  discovery  of  one  which  contains  a  portion  ot' 
the  design  not  previously  fovmd  often  explains  what  was  before 
unintelligible.     Our  next  cut  represents  another  palpable  copy 


Greek  and  British  Coins. 

of  a  Greek  coin.  The  large  figure  is  the  obverse  of  a  silver 
tetradrachm  of  Alexander  the  Great,  in  which  that  monarch  is 
represented  under  the  character  of  Hercules,  with  the  head  aiul 
mane  of  the  lion's  skin  over  his  head,  and  the  claws  tied  in  a 
knot  under  his  neck  and  chin.  The  smaller  coin  beside  it  is  a 
silver  coin  of  a  British  chief,  whose  name  is  represented  by  the 
Koman  letters  epat.  Mr  Beale  Poste  has,  I  think,  mistaken 
part  of  what  was  intended  to  represent  the  lion's  claws  for  a 
Greek  K,  and  he  proposes  to  read  the  inscription  in  Greek 
characters,  KEPAT  (/cerat),  which  he  interprets  as  referring  to 
('aractacus.  But,  in  general,  the  British  coins  seem  rather  to 
have  been  struck  by  chiefs  who  were  friendly  or  submissive  to 
the  liomans,  than  by  those  who  were  warring  against  them. 
The  eagle  on  the  reverse  of  the  coin  just  described  was  probably 
also  copied  from  a  Greek  or  Eoman  model.  Among  the  Roman 
coins  copied  by  the  Britons  is  one  of  Augustus,  with  a  figure 
of  Victory  seated  on  the  reverse.  Future  examinations  and 
discoveries  will,  no  doubt,  lead  to  the  identification  of  them  all. 
A  figure  of  an  animal,  on  some  British  brass  coins  found  in 
Kent,  is  evidently  the  rude  copy  ot  an  elephant,  from  one  of  the 
consular  coins.     The  charioteer  of  the  coin  of  Philip,  copied 


112  THE  BRITOXS.  [chap.  in. 

more  or  less  rudely,  is  rather  a  common  reverse  of  tlie  British 
coins.  Many  of  the  fig-ures,  still  unintelligible,  will  probably 
be  explained  by  future  discoveries.  One  of  the  reverses  of  the 
coins  of  Tasciovanus,  which  has  been  described  as  '  an  unknown 
ornament,'  seems  to  have  been  intended  for  the  prow  of  a 
Roman  g'alley. 

The  knowledo'e  of  British  coins  is  as  yet  in  its  infancy,  and 
comparatively  little  has  been  done  towards  classifying  them  in 
a  satisfactory  manner.  From  the  process  of  degeneration 
shown  above,  and  other  circumstances,  it  appears  tliat  the 
ruder  coins  are  often  to  be  considered,  in  point  of  date,  as  the 
latest,  and  not  as  the  earliest.  The  best  in  point  of  workman- 
ship, and  the  most  numerous,  are  those  of  Tasciovanus  and 
Cunobeline  :  of  the  latter  nearly  fifty  varieties  are  already 
known.  Of  the  names  inscribed  on  these  coins,  the  varieties 
are  not  numerous,  and  it  seems  most  probable  that  they  all 
represent  chiefs.  The  greater  number  are,  unfortunately, 
without  inscriptions,  and,  therefore,  it  is  impossible  from  the 
coins  themselves  to  determine  the  tribes  or  chiefs  to  whom  they 
belonged.  By  careful  observations  of  the  places  where  they 
were  discovered,  certain  types  have  been  found  to  be  peculiar  to 
certain  districts,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
belonged  to  the  British  tribes  there  located.  But  we  must 
wait  till  further  discoveries  throw  light  on  this  subject.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  how  long  the  Bi'itish  coinage  remained  in 
circulation ;  but  it  has  been  found  mixed  with  E-oman  money, 
though  I  believe  the  latter  was  of  the  consular  period  or  of  the 
earlier  emperors. 

Among  the  monuments  of  a  remote  period  which  it  is  most 
difficult  to  class,  are  the  earthworks  and  entrenchments  which 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  every  part  of  our  island. 
In  some  parts  there  is  scarcely  a  hill-top  which  is  not  crowned 
with  a  circle  of  ditches  and  embankments,  and  in  some  cases  they 
are  of  colossal  magnitude.  These  have  been  ascribed,  too  indis- 
criminately and  too  hastily,  to  the  British  period,  and  have 
been  called  British  camps  and  British  towns.  In  some  cases, 
it  will  be  found,  on  examination,  that  these  entrenchments 
were  merely  intended  to  inclose  a  barrow  or  a  cemetery.  ISome 
of  them  were,  probably,  medieval.  They  may,  in  some 
instances,  have  inclosed  a  primitive  town  or  village  :  and  we 
know  that  the  early  Anglo-Saxon  mansion  was  a  mere  structiu'e 
of  wood  inclosed  by  an  earthen  entrenchment.  It  has  been 
also  rather  too  hastily  assumed  that  the  Komans  never,  under 


CHAP.  Ill]  r,lUTISH  VILLAGES.  113 

cUiy  circumstances,  departed  from  the  rectanp:ular  system  of 
castrametation,  which  is  not  justilied  by  a  careful  examination 
of  facts. 

Nevertheless,   if  there  is   a  difficulty  in  fixing"  the  date  of 
what  are  usually  called  British  camps,  there  is  one  very  inter- 
esting- class  of  earthworks  which,  doubtless,  belong  to  an  early 
period,  and  which  are  scattered  over  many  parts  of  our  island. 
They  are  genei'ally  found  at  some  distance  from  the  Eoman 
towns,  but  they  are  usually  not  far  from  Roman  roads.     These 
are  groups  of  shallow  pits,  or  rather  of  bowl-shaped  excavations, 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground.     These  curious  works  have  been 
observed  with  most  care  by  Sir  Eichard  Colt  Hoare,  in  Wilt- 
shire,   who  calls    them  British   villages  ;  but  they   occiu*   in 
Leicestershire,  Derbyshire,   Yorkshire,  and  probably    in  most 
other  parts  of  the  country,  where  the  traces  of  them  have  not 
been  obliterated  by  cultivation ;   but  some  of  the  most  perfect 
specimens  are  met  with  on  the   Wiltshire  downs.     Two   such 
traces  of  settlements  are  found  on  Knook  Down,  near  Heytes- 
bury,  which  seem  to  have  been  protected  by  an  ancient  fortress, 
now  called  Knook  Castle.     Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  states  that 
'  the    site    of    these   villages    is    decidedly    marked    by    great 
cavities  and  irregularities    of   ground,    and    by  a  black    soil. 
Where  the  moles  were  more  abundant,  numerous  coins  were 
constantly  thrown  up  by  them,  as  well  as  fragments  of  pottery 
of  different    species.      On   digging  in  these  excavations,  we 
tind  the  coarse  British  pottery,  and  almost  every  species  of  what 
has  been  called  Roman  pottery  ;  also  Jibulce,  and  rings  of  brass 
worn  as  armillce  or  bracelets  ;  flat-headed  iron  nails,  hinges  of 
doors,  locks  and  keys,  and  a  variety  of  Roman  coins,  of  which 
the  small  brass  of  the  lower  empire  are  the  most  numerous,  and 
particularly  those  of  the  Constantine  family.     Of  the  larger 
and  first  brass,  we  have  coins  of  Vespasian,  Nerva,  Antoninus, 
Trajan,  Julia  Mammsea,    and   Postumus  ;  of  the   denarii,  we 
have  Caligula,  the  elder  Faustina,  Julia  Mammsea,  the  elder 
Philip,   Gallienus,   and    Gratianus  :  the    small  brass    are   too 
numerous  to  particularize,  but  some  of  the  smallest  are  remark 
able,  having  only  a  radiated  head  (often  very  rude),  and  one  or 
two   Roman  letters,  which,   perhaps,  may  have    been    struck 
during  the  latest  struggles  between  the  Britons  and  Saxons. 
In   digging  within  these  British  villages,  we  have  but  rarely 
discovered  any  signs  of  building  with  stone  or  flint  ;  but  we 
have  several  times  found  very  thin  stones  laid  as  floors  to  a 
room.     The  fire-places  were  small  excavations  in  the  ground,  in 


lU  THE  BEITOXS.  [chap.  hi. 

which  we  liave  frequently  fouud  a  large  flat  henrthstoiie  ;  and 
in  two  parts  of  this  extensive  village  we  have  discovered  hypo- 
ca lists  similar  to  those  in  the  Roman  villa  at  Pitmead,  near 
Warminster.  These  are  regular  works  of  masonry,  made  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  and  covered  Avith  large  flat  stones,  well 
cemented  hy  mortar.  We  have  also,  dnring  onr  investigations 
of  this  spot,  repeatedly  fonnd  pieces  of  painted  stncco,  and  of 
brick  flues ;  also  pit-coal,  and  some  fragments  of  glass,  or 
crystal,  rings,  beads,  &c.  In  one  of  the  banks  raised  for  the 
old  habitations,  we  discovered  a  skeleton  with  its  head  laid 
towards  the  north  ;  at  its  feet  was  a  tine  black  celt  [of  stone], 
and  at  the  distance  of  a  few  feet  was  a  bead.  In  this,  as  well 
as  in  the  generality  of  other  Bi'itish  villages,  the  attentive  eye 
may  easily  trace  ont  the  lines  of  honses,  and  the  streets,  or  rather 
holiow  ways  condncting  to  them  ;  these  are  particularly  visible 
in  the  npper  village  on  these  downs,  as  w^ell  as  the  entrance  to 
it.  The  whole  adjoining  country  is  also  strongly  marked  by 
the  intersection  of  slight  banks  along  the  sides  of  the  hills, 
which  point  to  us  the  limits  of  ancient  British  cultivation,  and  in 
many  instances  the  smallness  of  them  will  show^  the  contracted 
scale  on  which  agriculture  was  at  that  time  carried  on.' 

Several  groups  of  similar  works  are  described  by  the  same 
writer  in  ditt'erent  parts  of  his  great  work  on  ancient  Wiltshire. 
Of  these  not  the  least  remarkable  is  the  very  extensive  group 
called  the  Pen  Pits,  near  Stonrton,  the  character  of  which  ap- 
pears somewhat  doubtful.  Another  group,  of  a  moi"e  deflnite 
character,  runs  along  the  brow  of  a  slight  eminence  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Wily,  known  by  the  popular  name  of  Stockton 
Works.  '  Stockton  Works,'  says  Sir  Kichard  Colt  Hoare,  '  ap- 
pear to  have  been  originally  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  and  a  single 
rampart  of  earth,  of  which  a  considerable  part  towards  the  east 
still  remains ;  but  the  western  boundary,  and  many  of  the  in- 
terior w^orks,  have  been  much  defaced  by  a  great  waggon  track, 
which  for  many  ages  has  passed  through  the  works.  The  ori- 
ginal entrance  w-as  on  the  eastern  side,  near  the  head  of  a  steep 
valley;  but  many  other  adits,  of  a  more  modern  date,  have  beer 
made  for  the  accommodation  of  Avaggons  frequenting  the  wood. 
At  one  point  there  is  also  an  entrance  to  an  inner  work,  where 
we  see  lumierous  excavations,  &c.,  and  near  the  centre  is  a  sin- 
gular little  work  of  a  pentagonal  form  ;  and  beyond  it  the  irregu- 
larities and  cavities  continue  deep  and  numerous  for  a  consider- 
jible  distance  to  the  westward.  These  works  cover  the  space  of 
sixty-two  acres,  and  extended,  probably,  much  further  towards 


CHAP.  III.]  BRITISH  VILLAGES.  llo 

tlie  west,  and  into  the  wood  on  the  soiitli,  but  they  are  so  defaced 
ill  njany  places,  and  in  others  so  very  doubtful,  that  what  now 
remains  can  only  be  considered  as  a  veiy  imperfect  specimen  of 
tlie  original  works.  We  have  dug  in  various  places  within  the 
area,  and  found  both  large  and  small  lloman  coins,  pieces  of 
brass,  iron  nails,  fragments  of  millstones,  brick  flues,  tiles,  and 
both  British  and  lloman  pottery  ;  also  the  neck  of  a  glass  bottle, 
of  a  sea-green  colour:  in  short,  all  the  vestiges  of  a  numerous 
popidation.'  The  writer  from  whom  we  are  quoting  adds  : — 
'  A  series  of  coins,  from  the  first  Claudius  to  Theodosius,  mark 
also  their  continued  residence  on  this  spot  for  a  long  period ; 
they  are  so  numerous  and  common,  that  the  labourers  employed 
to  dig  flints  throw  them  up  and  leave  them  amongst  the 
stones :  twice,  on  visiting  these  works,  I  found  coins  in  this 
situation.' 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  excavations  described  by 
Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  are  the  floors  of  dwellings,  the  supei- 
structure  of  which  consisted  of  perishr.ble  materials ;  and  we 
should  be  justified  in  considering  them  as  the  remains  of  the 
villages  occupied  by  tlie  pastoral  and  agricultural  popuhitiou 
during  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  island.  What  he  calls 
British  pottery  was  no  doubt  the  commoner  and  rougher  de- 
cription  of  Roman  ware ;  and  the  coins,  which  he  could  not  ap- 
propriate, seem  to  have  been  the  small  rude  coins,  or  possibly 
the  later  imitations  of  the  Roman  money,  known  to  antiquaries 
by  the  name  of  ml/ilmi.  This  may  be  remarked  as  a  very 
curious  circumstance,  because,  though  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  antiquities  of  the  British  period,  it  seems  to  show,  that  in 
some  parts  of  the  island,  even  in  the  country  villages,  the 
peasantry  were  not  driven  from  their  habitations.  In  other 
parts  of  the  country,  we  have  not  always  the  same  certain  indi- 
cations of  the  people  who  inhabited  the  settlements  indicated 
by  their  excavations,  as  were  found  in  Wiltshire,  and  in  some 
places  perhaps  they  only  mark  the  sites  of  villages  of  a  much 
later  date,  destroyed  amid  the  turbulence  of  the  middle  ages.* 

*  A  careful  antiquary  makes  the  following:  remarks,  in  the  Leicester 
Chroxicle,  on  the  'Deserted  Villa<;-es  '  of  Leicestershire  :— '  On  the  north- 
eastern side  of  the  county  of  Leicester  may  be  found,  apart  from  human 
habitations,  sites  of  ancient  villages,  of  which  not  a  fragment  is  now 
visible  above-ground.  One  of  these  lies  near  Ingarsby,  a  second  near  Cold 
Newton,  and  a  third  near  Humberstone.  An  ordinary  passer-by  would 
not  notice  these  curious  sites,  and  the  peasant  may  daily  pass  over  their 
broken  surfaces  without  experiencing  any  emotion  of  curiosity  or  interest  ; 
but  it  is  not  so  with  the  intelligent  man  and  the  reader  of  history.    In  iheir 


116  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  hi. 

We  find  the  habitations  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  these 
ishmds  under  eircninstances  wliich  seem  to  denote  a  still  lower 
scale  of  civilisation.  These  are  the  caves  on  the  sea-coast,  such 
as  Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay,  in  Devonshire,  and  other  caves 
on  that  and  the  Cornish  coast,  which  interest  the  geologist  as 
well  as  the  antiquary.  The  cave  just  mentioned  was  explored 
by  a  local  geologist,  who  has  given  the  folloAving  account  of 
the  appearances  which  presented  themselves  when  it  was  first 
examined: — 'The  fioor  of  the  entrance,  except  tliat  it  had  the 
appearance  of  being  broken  np,  offered  nothing  remarkable  to 
detain  us.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  return  to  it  presently. 
Not  so  the  lateral  branch  by  wliich  it  communicaies  with  the 
body  of  the  cavern  on  the  left.  Under  a  ledge  on  the  left  was 
found  the  usual  sprinkling  of  modern  bones,  and,  in  the  mould 
beneath,  which  had  acquired  the  consistence  of  hard  clay,  were 
fragments  of  pottery,  calcined  boo-es,  charcoal,  and  ashes  ;  in 
the  midst  of  all  were  dispersed  arrow-heads  of  fiint  and  chert. 
The  ashes  furnishes  a  lai'ge  proportion  of  the  mould.  In  the 
same  heap  were  discovered  round  slabs  of  rooting  slate,  of  a 
plate-like  form,  some  crushed,  others  entire.  The  pottery  is 
of  the  rudest  description,  made  of  coarse  gritty  earth,  not 
tiu'ued  on  a  lathe,  and  sun  baked  ;  on  its  external  marghi  it 
bears  zigzag  indentations,  not  unlike  those  represented  on  the 
urns  found  by  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  in  the  bai-rows  of  Wilt- 
shire. These  fragments,  there  seems  no  reason  for  doubting, 
are  the  remains  of  cinerary  urns,  which  once  contained  the  sub- 
stances scattered  around,  and  to  which  the  slates  served  for 
covers.  At  a  short  distance,  nearer  the  entrance,  were  found, 
in  a  continuation  of  the  same  mould,  articles  of  bone  of  three 
sorts  ;  some  of  an  inch  long,  and  pointed  at  one  end,  or  arrow- 

niinds  these  spots  excite  inquiry  and  reflection.  They  know  that  the  face 
of  the  country  has  witnessed  many  a  "  bloody  broil,"  and  that  populous 
hamlets  have  been  razed  to  the  gi-ound  in  the  times  of  civil  war  or  feudal 
contest.  One  of  the  sites  well  calculated  to  elicit  observation  lies,  as  we 
have  hinted,  near  to  Humberstone.  About  two  miles  to  the  north-east  of 
it,  midway  between  Barkby  and  Scraptoft,  may  be  found  a  field  present- 
ing numerous  irregularities  of  surface,  which  is  known  as  the  "  Town 
field."  On  paying  a  vi.sit  to  this  a  few  days  ago,  we  were  struck  with 
the  evidence  it  afforded  of  former  occupancy,  and  of  having  been  covered 
with  buildings  and  fortitied  works.  It  slopes  in  a  northerly  direction,  a 
brook  running  along  the  lower  ground.  On  the  upper  part  may  be  traced 
very  clearly  three  sides  of  an  encampment  or  enclosure,  defended  by  a 
mound  and' trencli.  In  the  part  bordering  on  the  brook,  but  higher  up 
in  the  field,  traces  of  the  existence  of  buildings  are  obvious.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  this  is  the  site  of  the  town  of  Hamilton,  which  is  marked  in 
maps  as  being  in  this  quarter.' 


CHAP.  III.]  HABITATIONS  IX  CAVES.  117 

heads ;  others  ahoiit  tliree  inches  long,  rounded,  slender,  and 
likewise  pointed.  Conjecture  was  long  busy  as  to  their  destin- 
ation. They  were  thought  by  some  to  be  bodkins,  by  others 
for  confining  the  hair,  like  those  ornaments  used  by  the  women 
in  Italy  ;  lastly,  they  were  supposed,  with  more  probability,  to 
be  a  species  of  pin  for  fastening  in  front  the  skin  which  served 
savages  for  garments.  The  third  article  does  not  seem  so  easy  to 
explain ;  it  is  of  a  different  shape,  quite  flat,  broad  at  one  end, 
pointed  at  the  other ;  the  broad  part  retains  the  truncated  form 
of  a  comb,  the  teeth  of  which  were  broken  ott'  near  their  root ; 
whether  it  was  used  for  a  comb,  or  for  making  nets  for  fishing, 
is  not  clear.  There  was  only  this  solitary  example  found,  and 
two  of  tlie  former,  but  several  of  the  first,  with  a  quantity  of 
bone  chips.  All  three  bore  marks  of  polish.  Nearer  the 
mouth  we  collected  a  good  number  of  shells  of  the  mussel,  lim- 
pet, and  oyster,  with  a  palate  of  the  scarus.  Tliis,  as  well  as 
the  nacre  of  oysters,  which  was  thickly  disseminated  througli 
the  mould,  served,  as  they  do  at  the  present  day  among  the 
savages,  most  probably  for  ornament.  Tlie  shell-fish  may  have 
furnished  bait  for  fishing.  The  presence  of  these  rude  articles 
renders  it  probable  that  they  were  collected  here  by  the  ancient 
al)origines,  who  divided  their  time  between  the  chase  and 
fishing  in  the  adjacent  sea.  Close  to  the  opposite  wall,  in 
the  same  passage,  buried  in  black  mould,  I  found  a  stone 
hatchet,  or  celt,  of  sienite,  the  only  one  found  in  the  cavern. 
Another  of  the  same  material,  but  of  a  different  shape,  I 
found  shortly  after,  not  far  from  the  cavern,  near  Anstis  Cove, 
which  labourers  engaged  in  making  the  new  cut  had  just  thrown 
up  with  the  mould.  As  we  advanced  towards  the  second  mouth, 
on  the  same  level,  were  found,  though  sparingly,  pieces  of  pot- 
tery. The  most  remarkable  product  of  this  gallery  were  round 
pieces  of  blue  slate,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and 
a  quarter  thick.  In  the  same  quarter  were  likewise  found  sever- 
al round  pieces  of  sandstone  grit,  about  the  form  and  size  of  a 
dollar,  but  thicker  and  rounder  at  the  edge,  and  in  the  centre 
pierced  with  a  hole,  by  means  of  which  they  seem  to  have  been 
strung  together  like  beads.  Clusters  of  small  pipes  or  icicles 
of  spar,  such  as  depended  from  the  roof  at  our  first  visit,  we 
saw  collected  here  in  heaps,  buried  in  the  mud.  Similar 
collections  we  had  occasion  to  observe  accompanied  by  char- 
coal, throughout  the  entire  range  of  the  cavern,  sometimes 
in  pits  excavated  in  the  stalagmite.  Copper  ore,  Avith  these 
varioiis  articles  in  the  same  stuff",  was  picked  up  ;  a  lump  mucli 


U 


118  THE  BRITONS.  [chap.  hi. 

oxvdised,  wliich  the  late  Mr  Phillips  analysed,  was  found  to  be 
pure  virgin  ore. 

'  Havino-  taken  a  general  survey  of  the  surface  of  tlie  floor,  we 
returned  to  the  point  from  which  we  set  out,  viz.,  the  common 
passage,  for  the  purpose  of  piercing  into  the  materials  below 
the  mould.  Here,  in  sinking  a  foot  into  the  soil  (for  of  stalag- 
mite there  remained  only  the  broken  edges  adhering  to  the 
sides  of  the  passage,  and  which  appeared  to  be  repeated  at 
intervals),  we  came  upon  flints  in  all  forms,  confusedly  disse- 
minated through  the  earth,  and  intermixed  with  fossil  and 
liuman  bones,  the  whole  slightly  agglutinated  together  by  cal- 
careous matter  derived  from  the  roof.  My  collection  possesses 
an  example  of  this  aggregation  in  a  mass,  consisting  of  pebbles, 
clay,  and  bone,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  imbedded  a  fine  blade 
of  flint,  all  united  together  by  sparry  cement.  The  flints  were 
in  all  conditions,  from  the  rounded  pebble  as  it  came  out  of  the 
chalk,  to  the  instruments  fabricated  from  them,  as  arrow  and 
spear-heads,  and  hatchets.  Some  of  the  flint  blocks  were  chip- 
ped only  on  one  side,  such  as  had  probably  furnished  the  axes ; 
others  on  several  faces,  presenting  planes  corresponding  exactly 
to  the  long  blades  found  by  their  side,  and  from  which  they 
had  been  evidently  sliced  ofl" ;  other  pebbles  still  more  angular 
and  chipped  at  all  points,  were  no  doubt  those  which  yielded 
the  small  arrow-heads.  These  abounded  in  by  far  the  greatest 
number.  Small  irregular  splinters,  not  referable  to  any  of  the 
above  divisions,  and  which  seem  to  have  been  struck  oft*  in  the 
operation  of  detaching  the  latter,  not  urdike  the  small  chips  in 
a  sculptor's  shop,  were  thickly  scattered  throughout  the  stufl^', 
indicating  that  this  spot  was  the  workshop  where  the  savage 
prepared  his  weapons  of  the  chase.  .  .  .  With  the  exception  of  a 
boar-spear  (of  iron)  and  a  blade  of  the  same  metal  not  far  from 
it,  very  much  rusted,  all  the  articles  in  the  mould  or  in  the  dis- 
turbed soil  consisted  of  flint,  chert,  sienite,  and  bone.'  * 

These  caves,  like  the  remains  of  the  villages  already  described, 
were  probably  inhabited  in  the  time  of  the  Eoman  rule,  but  by 
that  portion  of  the  population  who  lived  by  fishing.  We  need 
only  look  to  the  condition  of  the  fishers  and  wreckers  on  the 
wilder  parts  of  the  Cornish  coast  not  a  hundred  years  ago,  to 
form  a  notion  of  what  must  have  been  the  savage  mode  of  life 
of  a  similar  class  in  the  same  localities  long  after  the  Eoman 

*  '  Cavern  Researches ;  or,  Discoveries  of  Organic  Remains,  and  of 
British  and  Roman  Reliques,  in  the  Caves  of  Kent's  Hole,  Anstis  Cove, 
&c.'     By  the  Rev.  J.  MacEnery. 


CHAP.  III.]  IIABITATIOXS  IX  CAVE^.  119 

occupation.  Caves  of  a  very  similar  character  have  been  dis- 
covered more  recently  in  King's  Scar,  near  Settle,  in  Yorkshire, '^' 
in  which  the  remains  are  mostly  Roman,  and  they  were  here 
mixerl  with  coins,  some  of  which  were  Roman,  while  the  greater 
proportion  belonged  to  that  class  of  rude  copies  of  Roman  coins, 
struck  when  the  island  was  losing  its  dependence  on  Rome. 
The  fisher  population  is  thus  traced  in  these  rude  habitations, 
uninterrupted  in  their  vocation,  and  probably  unchanged  in 
their  condition  and  manners,  through  the  revolutions  of  empires. 

*  A  description  of  these  sing-ular  caves,  with  a  number  of  engravings, 
will  be  found  in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  '  Collectanea  Antiqua,'  vol.  i.  p.  69. 


120  THE  ROMANS.  [chaiv  iv. 


V 


CHAPTER  IT. 

Britain  at  the  beg-innmg  of  the  Second  Century — Towns  enumerated  hv 
Ptolemy — Hadrian — The  Wall — LoUius  Urbicus  ;  the  Wail  of  Auiu- 
ninus — Rebellion  of  the  Soldiery  in  Britain — Albinus  contends  for  the 
Purple — Campaigns  of  Severus,  who  dies  at  Eburacuiu  {York) — The 
Caledonians — Carausius  usurps  the  Purple— AUectus — Britain  re- 
stored to  the  Empire  by  Constantius— Constantine  the  Great — Revolt 
of  Maffnentius — The  Picts  and  Scots. 


Before  the  end  of  the  first  centnvy,  "Britain  was  reduced  to 
a  Roman  province ;  it  began  to  receive  an  influx  of  population 
from  foreign  lands,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  a  frequent 
and  general  intercourse  between  this  island  and  Rome.  Its 
exports,  and  even  its  peculiarities,  were  already  well  known  in 
Italy.  The  oysters  of  Rutupise  {RlcJi borough)  were  favourites 
at  the  table  of  the  rich — 


Ostrea, 


Rutupinove  edita  fundo 


and  the  whales  which  were  seen  in  the  British  seas  were  pro- 
verbial for  their  magnitude — 

Quanto  delphinis  balsena  Britannica  major. 

The  same  poet,  Juvenal,  tells  us  that  the  learning  and  elo- 
quence of  Greece  and  Rome  had  established  themselves  in  the 
far  west — 

Nunc  totus  Graias  nostrasque  habet  orbis  Athenas  ; 
Gallia  causidicos  docuit  facuuda  Britannos  ; 
De  conducendo  loquitur  jam  rhetore  Thule. 

A  boast  of  his  contemporary.  Martial,  leaves  no  doubt  of  the 
rapid  progress  which  civilisation  had  made  in  this  land  after  tlie 
Roman  legions  had  taken  possession  of  it — 

Dicitur  et  nostros  cantare  Britannia  versus. 

Indeed,  various  circumstances  in  subsequent  history  show  that 


cii.vr.  IV. 


THE  ROMANS.  121 


wliatever  was  new  at  Rome  was  quickly  communicated  to  this 
distant  province  of  the  empire. 

The  Boman  troops  had  now,  indeed,  been  long-  eng-aged  in 
building  towns  and  in  making  roads  ;  and  under  their  influence 
the  face  of  the  country  was  undergoing  a  rapid  and  extraordin- 
ary change.  We  have  seen  that,  after  some  of  the  British 
chiefs  entered  into  relations  with  the  Homans,  a  town  or  two 
were  built,  such  as  Verulamium  and  Cainulodunum,  in  imita- 
tion, probably,  of  those  on  the  Continent,  and  differing  entirely 
from  what  had  been  called  towns  in  the  time  of  Caesar.  We 
have  no  means  of  ascertaining  how  many  such  towns  were  built, 
and  it  is  by  an  assumption  without  authority  that  writers  have 
betni  accustomed  to  say  that  this  or  that  Roman  town  was 
built  on  the  site  of  a  ])revious  town  of  the  Britons.  But  under 
the  influence  of  Roman  manners  and  refinements,  cities  and 
towns  soon  rose  up  on  all  sides,  and  were  joined  together  by  an 
immense  system  of  military  and  other  roads.  The  first  indica- 
tion of  thes3  towns  on  any  considerable  extent  is  found  in  the 
pages  of  Ptolemy,  who  has  merely  enumerated  those  which 
were  then  of  most  account.  We  find  that  when  he  wrote 
(about  A.D.  120),  Rutupise  was  already  the  principal  port  of 
Kent,  and  the  usual  point  of  debarkation  for  visitors  from  the 
('ontineut.  Not  very  far  from  it  was  another  principal  town  of 
Kent,  called  Dai'vernum  (Aapovtpyoy),  no  doubt  a  corruption 
of  Durovernum  (Cauterdnn/).  Londinium,  which  Ptolemy  places 
in  Cantium,  was  already,  in  the  time  of  Tacitus,  known  as  a 
great  trading  town.  Within  the  district  of  the  Regni  of  Surrey 
v/as  Noviomagus,  which  seems  to  have  stood  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Bromley,  on  the  borders  of  Kent.  In  the  ancient  dis- 
trict of  the  Belgse  were  three  important  towns,  Yenta  {TFiucJieH- 
ter),  Aquae  Calidas  {Bath),  and  Ischalis  {Ilchester).  The  small 
district  of  the  Durotriges,  in  Dorset,  possessed  but  one  town 
which  Ptolemy  thought  worthy  of  notice,  and  of  that  his  copy- 
ists seem  to  have  corrupted  the  name  ;  for  it  is  probable  that 
what  he  calls  Duniuui,  was  the  same  place  called  by  later 
writers  Durnovaria  {Dorchester).  Further  west,  in  the  territory 
of  the  Dumnonii,  four  towns  are  enumerated,  one  of  which,  Isca, 
is  kjiown  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  Exeter,  but 
the  other  three,  Yoliba,  Uzela  or  Uxela,  and  Tamare,  are  less 
certain,  though  they  are  supposed  to  have  stood  respectively, 
the  first  on  the  river  Fowey,  the  second  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Bridgewater,  and  the  third  on  tlie  Tamar.  The  two  districts 
to  the  north  of   the  l>elg8e,  those  of  the  Attrebates  and  tlie 


V 


122  THE  EOMAXS.  [cuAr.  iv. 

Dobuni,  liad  each  an  important  city,  the  first  called  Caleva 
{S'dchester),  the  other,  Coriniiun  {Clrencedei') . 

North  of  the  Thames  were  the  towns  of  Camulodiinum  {Col- 
cJieder),  in  Essex,  and  another,  Venta  (Caistoi),  in  the  country 
of  the  Iceni,  in  Norfolk.  More  westward  lay  Verulamium  (St 
Albans),  and,  to  the  north  of  this  town,  another  called  SalinK) 
[liaXfjvui),  the  site  of  which  is  supposed  to  be  Salndy,  or  Sandy, 
near  Biggleswade,  in  Bedfordshire.  In  the  country  of  the  Coritavi 
were  Lindum  (L'mcohi),  and  Hagse,  or,  according  to  the  in  ore 
correct  reading,  Ratse  {Leicester).  In  the  small  coastclistrict  to 
the  north  of  the  Humber,  which  had  been  the  territory  of  the 
Barisii,  there  was  a  town  called  l)y  Ptolemy,  Petnaria,  the  site 
of  which  is  not  certain.  Some  of  the  most  important  Eoman 
towns  in  the  island  were  now  scattered  over  the  once  wild  haunts 
of  the  fierce  Brigantes.  Pirst  of  these  was  Eburacum  (Joy/), 
the  head-quarters  of  the  sixth  legion.  The  others  were  Isnrium 
{Aldborough),  Caturactoniuni  (Catterlc),  OWvdwa  {Ilklej/),  all  in 
Yorkshire;  Gralagum  or  Galacum,  an  uneertam  site,  but  sup- 
posed to  be  near  Kendal,  in  Westmoreland ;  Epiacum  (Lanches- 
ter),  in  Durham,  Vinnovium  {Blnchester),  in  the  same  county, 
Kigodunum,  believed  to  be  the  place  subsequently  called  Coc- 
cium,  in  Lancashire,  and  Camunlodununi,  or,  as  later  Avriters 
call  it,  Cand)0(lununi  (Slack),  in  Yorkshire.  Ueva,  the  garrison 
of  the  twentieth  legion,  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Chester.  Below  it  stood  Viroconium  or  Uriconium  (TFroxeter), 
in  Shropshire  ;  Brannogeniuin  (supposed  to  be  near  Leintward- 
iiie),  on  the  northern  borders  of  Herefordshire ;  and,  more 
westwardly,  Mediolanium,  a  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Tanad,  in 
North  Wales.  Par  down  in  the  western  part  of  Wales,  in  a 
])art  of  Cardiganshire  still  rich  in  antiquities,  was  a  town  named 
iiUentinura  (Llanib) -,  further  south  was  Maridunum  (Caermar- 
then) ;  and  eastward  again,  in  the  borders  of  the  Silures,  was 
lUdlseum,  supposed  to  be  the  same  town  which  is  mentioned  at 
a  later  period  under  the  name  of  Burrium  (  Usk).  By  confound- 
ing two  names,  Ptx)lemy  has  omitted  the  Silurian  Isca  (Caerleon) , 
wliich  was  the  hepd-quarters  of  the  second  legion. 

Since  the  caiu^^aigns  of  Agricola,  the  conquerors  had  covered 
tlie  lowlands  of  Scotland,  as  far  as  the  borders  of  the  great 
(Caledonian  forest,  with  an  extraordinary  number  of  towns  and 
stations  on  the  sites  of  most  of  which  the  spade  still  brings  to 
light  traces  of  Roman  civilisation.  Ptolemy  enumerates  no  less 
than  twenty  towns  (TroAtic)  to  the  north  of  the  Brigantes,  the 
names  of  which  wei'e  Lucopibia  (Whithern),  and  Retigonium 


CHAP.  IV.]  TvOMAX  TOWNS  IX  BRITAIX.  123 

[Stranraer),  in  the  district  of  the  Novantac,  on  the  extreme  coasts 
of  Galloway  ;  Carbantorigiim  {Kircudbright),  Uxehiin,  Corda, 
and  Trimontiiim,  the  three  last  of  uncertain  site,  but  believed  to 
have  ranged  across  the  district  north  of  the  head  of  Solway 
Firth,  as  they  were  in  the  district  of  the  Selgovse.  The  first 
two  have  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  represented  by  entrench- 
ments found  at  Raeburufoot,  in  Eskdale,  and  Birrenswork  Hill, 
in  Annandale.  The  Roman  Trimontium  is  supposed  to  be  Eil- 
don,  in  Lauderdale.  The  Roman  towns  in  the  extensive  district 
of  the  Damnii,  who  occupied  the  larger  portion  of  the  lowlands, 
were  Colania  (Carstalrs),  Vanduara  {Paisley),  Covin  (imcei'taiti) , 
Alauna  [Kier),  \A\\(\.\\m{^yh'doch),  and  Victoria  {Beat gin  Boss). 
In  the  district  of  the  Otadeni  were  built  Curia  {Ciirrie),  and 
Bremenium  {Rochester) ;  in  that  of  the  Vacomagi,,  bordering  on 
the  district  of  the  Caledonians,  Banatia  {Bonness),  Tamia  {Brae- 
mar  Castle),  Pteroton  Castrum  {Burghhead),  and  Tuesis,  a  town 
on  the  Spey,  perhaps  at  Cromdale ;  in  that  of  the  Yeiiicontes, 
Orrea  {Bertha  at  the  head  of  the  Tay)  ;  and  among  the  Texali, 
Devana  {Old  Aberdeen^. 

The  strength  which  was  thus  permanently  established  in  the 
north  shows  us  to  what  a  state  of  dependence  the  Romans  had 
now  reduced  all  the  southern  parts  of  the  island.  Further  evi- 
dence of  this  is  seen  in  the  distribution  of  the  Roman  legions, 
which  had  now  been  placed  in  the  permanent  quarters  which 
they  held  until  nearly  the  moment  of  their  final  withdrawal. 
The  fourteenth  legion,  the  one  which  had  crushed  the  insurrec- 
tion of  Boadicea,  had  been  drawn  from  Britain  by  Yitellius  in 
the  year  70,  and  had  never  returned.  Several  of  the  others  had 
left  at  a  still  earlier  period.  Four  only  remained-=^the  second, 
sixth,  ninth,  and  twentieth.  Of  these,  the  second  was  posted 
at  Isca  {C:rleo7t),  and  the  twentieth  at  Deva  {Chester),  whence 
they  held  in  restraint  the  mountaineers  of  Wales,  and  of  Cum- 
berland and  Westmoreland,  the  retreat  of  such  of  the  Brigantes 
as  still  retained  their  wild  independence,  and  protected  the 
country  from  the  Irish  pirates,  who  landed  usually  in  the  SeVern 
and  the  Dee.  The  sixtli  legion  was  established  at  York,  from 
whence  it  could  be  marched  quickly  into  Scotland.  After  the  last 
campaign  of  Agricola,  the  ninth  legion  suddenly  disappears,  and 
is  no  more  heard  of  in  history  ;  but  as  avc  find  it  coiiuuemor- 
ated  in  inscriptions  found  at  York,  it  is  supposed  to  have  been 
combined  with,  or  incorporated  into,  the  sixth.  The  north 
of  England  and   the  lowlands  of  Scotland  were  thickly  covered  ^' 

with  posts  of  auxiliaries  ;  and  we  trace  other  bodies  of  auxili- 

/ 


124  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  iv. 

nries  scattered  in  the  towns  of  the  south,  but  not  in  such 
nuiribers  as  to  lead  us  to  believe  that  they  were  placed  there  as  a 
curb  on  the  popuhition. 

The  Roman  writers  have,  unfortunately,  left  us  very  few 
notices  of  the  internal  affairs  of  our  island  after  it  was  reduced 
to  a  province  ;  and  for  many  years  subsequent  to  the  departure 
of  Ag-ricola,  Britain  is  hardly  noticed.  We  are,  probably,  to 
suppose  from  this,  that  it  remained  without  any  serious  disturb- 
ances, and  that  the  progress  of  Eomanising  and  civilisino-  went 
on  without  interruption.  We  do  not  even  know  who  succeeded 
Agricola  in  the  propraetorship,  and  we  only  learn  incidentally 
tliat  the  governor  of  this  province,  towards  the  end  of  the  reign 
of  Domitian,  was  an  officer  named  Sallustius  Lucullus,  whom 
that  tyrant  caused  to  be  put  to  death  for  having  allowed  a  new- 
foi'med  spear  he  had  invented  to  be  called,  after  his  own  name, 
Lucullian.  But  the  frequent  weakness  of  the  central  power, 
and  the  various  struggles  for  the  empire,  gradually  enfeebled  the 
imperial  power  in  the  distant  provinces,  and  threw  them  into 
disorder.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  Britain.  During  the 
reduction  and  conquest  of  the  lowland  tribes,  the  fierce  Cale- 
donians had  risen  into  so  much  importance,  that  their  name  be- 
gan not  only  to  be  used  for  the  collective  tribes  to  the  north  of 
the  Brigantes,  but  it  was  adopted  very  often  as  a  common  term 
fo-r  the  Britons  in  general — that  is,  for  all  those  who  had  not 
acknowledged  themselves  Roman  subjects.  They  probably 
carried  on  the  same  plan  of  warfare  which  was  continued  by 
their  descendants  to  a  comparatively  recent  period.  Rushing  un- 
expectedly from  their  strongholds  in  the  mountains  and  forests, 
they  swept  over  the  open  country,  plundering,  slaughtering,  and 
burning,  and  disappeared  with  their  booty  before  a  sufficient 
force  could  be  brought  together  to  encounter  them.  In  such 
warfare,  wild  tribes,  who  used  to  move  about  rapidly,  with  no 
])ermanent  residences  or  possessions,  had  great  advantages  over 
a  rich  and  civilized  country,  which  it  required  a  steady  govern- 
ment and  active  and  skilful  commanders  to  protect.  These 
seem  to  have  been  wanting  during  that  period  which  preceded 
the  accession  of  Hadrian,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  successes 
of  the  Caledonians  had  encouraged  some  other  British  tribes  to 
revolt.  The  emperor  Hadrian  visited  Britain  in  person  in  the 
year  120,  and  he  is  said  to  have  found  many  things  that  required 
reformation.  We  have  no  account  of  his  proceedings,  but  it  ap- 
pears that  he  restored  the  island  to  order,  and  that  he  di'ove 
back  the  Caledonians  into  their  fastnesses.     We  are  justified  in 


CHAP.  IV.]  HADRIAN'S  WALL.  125 

believing  that  he  marched  in  person  into  the  northern  wikls, 
from  the  satirical  verses  of  a  contemporary  poet,*  and  we  learn 
from  direct  testimony  that  he  cansed  that  formidable  barrier  to 
l>e  built  across  the  island  from  the  Solway  to  the  Tyne,  of  which 
we  still  trace  the  stupendous  remains  ;  a  massive  wall,  nearly 
seventy  miles  in  extent,  extending  over  plain  and  mountain, 
from  Bowness  on  the  Solway  Firth  to  the  now  celebrated  locality 
of  Wall's  End  on  the  Tyne,  accompanied  on  its  southern  side 
by  an  earthen  vallum  and  a  deep  ditch,  and  fortified  with  a 
formidable  series  of  twenty-three  stationary  towns,  with  inter- 
mediate mile-castles  and  watch-towers.  It  has  been  the  custom 
to  consider  the  wjdl  only  as  the  structure  raised  by  Hadrian, 
while  the  earthen  vallum  or  rampart  was  ascribed  to  Severus ; 
but  I  entirely  agree  with  Mr  Collingvvood  Bruce,  who  has  re- 
cently published  a  most  interesting  volume  on  '  The  Roman 
Wall,'  that  both  are  parts  of  one  work,  erected  by  the  former 
emperor. 

This  immense  work  seems  to  have  been  part  of  a  system  of 
circumvallation  adopted  by  tlie  emperor  Hadrian,  for  it  appears 
that  remains  of  similar  w^alls  are  found  on  the  distant  frontiers 
in  Germany.  I  suspect  it  has  been  rather  hastily  supposed  that  it 
implies  that  this  emperor  relinquished  the  territory  between  it 
and  the  more  northerly  line  of  forts  erected  by  Agricola;  for  the 
towns  and  forts  to  the  north  of  the  wall  seem  still  to  have  been 
kept  up,  and  to  have  been  continued  till  the  decline  of  the  em- 
pire. Perhaps  it  was  intended  to  protect  the  richer  and  more 
highly  cultivated  country  to  the  south  of  the  '  lower  isthmus' 
I'rom  the  sudden  and  destructive  inroads  to  which  it  had  previ- 
ously been  exposed.  We  know  from  the  history  of  the  border," 
at  a  later  period,  how  far,  without  a  barrier  of  this  kind,  the 
ravages  of  the  Scots  might  be  carried,  and  wdiat  damage  might 
be  effected  before  a  surticient  force  could  be  gathered  on  any 
particular  point  to  drive  tlieni  back. 

*  The  historian  Sfartianiis  has  preserved  the  epigram  written  on 
Hadrian  by  the  poet  Florus,  as  well  as  the  enipei'or's  reply.  The  first  was 
foutaiued  in  the  three  lines  : 

Eg'o  nolo  Caesar  esse, 
Ambuhire  per  Britannos, 
Scythicas  pati  pruinas. 
To  which  the  emperor  replied  as  follows  : — 

Eg;o  nolo  Florus  esse, 
Ambulare  per  tabernas, 
Latitare  per  popinas, 
Calices  pati  rotundos. 


126  THE  llOMAXS.  [chap.  iv. 

The  expedition  of  Hndrian  seems  to  liave  been  followed  by  a 
period  of  profound  tranquillity,*  and  we  learn  from  the  historian 
Xiphilinus,  that,  about  twelve  years  afterwards,  the  propi-setor, 
or,  as  he  was  then  called,  the  lei>;ate  of  Britain,  named  Julius 
Severus,  Avas  able  to  carry  away  some  of  his  best  otticers  and 
troops  to  assist  in  the  war  against  the  revolted  Jews.  The 
name  of  another  propreetor  under  Hadrian,  perhaps  the  suc- 
cessor of  Julius  Severus,  Priscus  Liciuius,  has  been  found  in 
inscriptions,  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  him. 

Hadrian  was  succeeded,  in  the  year  138,  by  the  emperor 
Antoninus  Pius.  His  propraetor  iu  Britain,  Lollius  Urbicus, 
was  a  man  of  energy  and  talent,  which  he  was  soon  called  to 
exercise  in  withstanding  a  new  irruption  of  the  northern  bar- 
barians. We  learn,  quite  incidentally,  of  an  insurrection  to  the 
south  of  Hadrian's  wall,  at  this  period. f  The  remains  of  the 
Brigantes  seem  to  have  preserved  a  precarious  independence. 
/  perhaps  in  the  rugged  country  extending  from  the  wilds  of 
/  Lancashire  over  the  lake  district,  in  the  same  manner  as  wild 
Irish  clans  occupied  the  Wicklow  mountains  for  ages  after  the 
surrounding  plains  had  acknowledged  the  domination  of  the 
Anglo-Normans,  and  these  probably  imitated  the  northern 
(Caledonians  in  making  occasional  predatory  outbreaks.  On 
the  present  occasion  these  had  attacked  a  small  tribe  living  under 
Koman  subjection,  called  the  Genuni,  to  which  they  had  per- 
haps been  encouraged  by  the  invasion  of  the  Caledonians 
beyond  the  wall.  The  Brigantes  were  quickly  overwhelmed, 
and  we  are  told  that  the  greater  part  of  the  tribe  was  destroyed. 
The  Homan  arms  were  equally  successful  against  the  Caledo- 
nians, who  were  driven  into  their  mountains,  and  Lollius  Urbi- 
cus caused  a  new  barrier  to  be  raised  for  their  restraint.  We 
have  seen  how,  when  Agricola  had  reduced  the  lowland  districts 
to  subjection,  he  erected  a  line  of  forts  across  what  has  been 
termed  the  upper  isthmus,  from  the  Forth  to  the  Clyde.     Lol- 

(lius  iJrbicus  raised,  on  the  same  site,  a  new  line  of  forts,  and 
joined  them  together  by  an  immense  continuous  rampart,  of 
eai'th  and    turf,  which  from  the  name  of  the  emperor  under 

*  The  expedition  of  Hadrian  to  Britain  was  commemorated  by  several 
coins  in  large  and  middle  brass,  which  are  interesting,  because  some  of 
them  give  on  the  reverse  a  figure  seated  with  a  spear  and  shield,  which, 
as  it  is  surrounded  by  the  word  brittannia,  is  supposed  to  have  been 
intended  for  a  personification  of  Britain.  These  coins,  especially  the  large 
bi'ass,  are  rare: 

f  This  insurrection  and  destruction  of  the  Brigantes  is  mentioned  by 
Pausanias,  Arcad.  lib.  viii.  cap.  43. 


CHAP.  IV.]  LOLLIUS  URBICUS.  12; 

whom  it  was  l)uilt,  is  usually  called  tlie  wall  of  Antoninus. 
It  is  now  called  popularly  Graham's  Dike,  and  alono-  its  course 
are  frequently  found  inscribed  tablets  commemorating-  the  poi- 
tion  built  by  the  different  troops  and  cohorts  of  the  Romai 
army.*  We  learn  from  these  inscriptions  that,  besides  the 
numerous  bodies  of  foreign  auxiliaries  which  were  permanently 
stationed  in  the  north,  the  three  legions  in  Britain,  the  second, 
the  sixth,  and  the  twentieth,  were  all  drawn  from  their  quarters 
to  take  part  in  the  campaign  of  LoUius  Urbicus,  His  successes 
threw  splendour  on  the  reign  of  Antoninus,  and  coins  were 
struck  bearing  on  the  reverse  a  figure  of  Victory  surrounded  by 
the  letters  of  the  word  Britannia. 

In  spite  of  the  ene^'getic  measures  of  Urbicus,  the  Caledo- 
nians soon  reappeared  in  arms,  and  the  circumstance  that  they 
seem  almost  always  to  have  risen  on  the  death  of  the  emperoi-, 
shows  that  the  barbarians  must  have  had  intelligence  among 
their  enemies.  They  calculated,  no  doubt,  that,  amid  the  hesi- 
tating inactivity  which  naturally  followed  such  an  event,  they 
might  make  an  extensive  raid  with  less  danger  of  interruption. 
The  Roman  province  was  thus  invaded  on  the  accession  of 
Marcus  Aurelius,  in  161,  but  the  invaders  Avere  checked  by  a 
new  propraetor,  Aufidius  Victorinus.  An  invasion  of  a  still 
more  formidable  character  followed  the  accession  of  Commodus  ; 
a  Homan  commander,  who  attempted  to  arrest  their  progress, 
was  killed,  and  his  army  cut  to  pieces  ;  and  the  emperor  was 
obliged  to  send  an  officer  who  was  remarkable  for  his  extraordin- 
ary perseverance  and  capability  of  sustaining  the  hardships  of 
war,  named  Ulpius  Marcellus,  to  support  the  authority  of  Rome 
in  this  distant  province.  From  this  man  the  Caledonians  met 
with  terrible  reverses,  and  the  island  Avas  again  restored  to 
peace.  Ulpius  Marcellus  was,  however,  soon  recalled,  for,  in 
1  the  eyes  of  a  tyrant  like  Commodus,  merit  itself  was  a  crime. 
His  departure  was  followed  by  a  mutiny  among  the  troops  in 
Britain,  arising  from  dissatisfaction  at  the  proceedings  of  the 
imperial  favourite  Perenius,  who  displaced  the  men  of  senato- 
rial rank  from  the  commands  which  they  had  always  held,  and 

*  The  following:,  from  a  richly  sculptured  stone  found  iit  West  Kilpa- 
trick,  is  the  usual  fornmla  of  these  inscriptions  ; 

IMP.  C.  T.  AE.    HADKIANO  ANTONINO   AUG.  PIO  P.P.  VEX.    LEG.   XX.  V.  V. 

F.  P.  P.  nil  CDXI. 

To  the  emperor  Cmsar  Titus  ^iius  Hadrianus  Antoninus  Augustm  Fins, 
t he  father  of  his  country.  A  vexillation  of  the  twentieth  legion,  {sur- 
named)  the  valiant  and  victorious,  executed  four  thousand  four  hundred 
and  eleven  paces. 


) 


128  THE  llOMAXS.  [ciiAr.  iv. 

iippoiiited  ill  tlieir  stead  youiifi'er  men  taken  from  the  equestrian 
order.  The  officers  in  Britain  met  and  consulted,  and  they 
finally  sent  an  armed  deputation  of  fifteen  hundred  men  to  lay 
their  grievances  at  the  foot  of  the  throne.  When  they  arrived 
at  the  gates  of  Rome,  Commodus  went  out  to  meet  them,  and, 
aware  that  there  was  discontent  among  his  other  troops,  and 
that  it  mrght  be  dangerous  to  provoke  them,  he  abandoned  his 
minister  to  his  accusers,  and  they  put  him  to  death.  Still  the 
troops  in  Britain  remained  unsatisfied,  and  the  mutiny  con- 
tinued, on  which  Publius  Helvius  Pertinax,  a  commander  of  great 
military  talent,  was  sent  to  appease  them  ;  but  instead  of  return- 
ing to  their  obedience,  they  disclaimed  the  authority  of  Commo- 
dus, and  invited  their  new  commander  to  be  their  emperor. 
This  he  prudently  declined,  and  he  succeeded  in  restoring  order 
in  the  province,  though  not  without  considerable  personal  risk, 
for,  in  opposing  himself  to  the  fury  of  one  of  the  mutinous 
legions,  he  was  struck  down,  and  left  for  dead. 

At  length  Pertinax  obtained  his  recall,  and  was  succeeded  in 
the  proprsetorship  by  Decimus  Clodius  Albinus.  This  governor 
soon  made  himself  popular  in  his  government,  especially  among 
the  troops,  and  he  seems  even  to  have  retained  the  favour  of 
the  emperor  Commodus,  who  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of 
Ctesar.  At  length  an  unfortunate  accident  had  nearly  proved 
his  ruin.  It  was  reported  that  Commodus  was  dead,  and  this 
rumour  quickly  reaching  Britain,  Albinus  assembled  his  troops, 
and  addressed  them  on  the  event.  He  used  some  expressions 
in  his  speech  which,  being  repeated  before  the  emperor,  gave  so 
much  displeasure,  that  an  order  was  immediately  despatched 
for  the  recall  of  the  propraetor,  and  a  creature  of  Commodus, 
named  Junius  Severus,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  But 
the  murder  of  Commodus,  before  the  order  could  be  carried  in- 
to execution,  saved  Albinus  for  a  more  glorious,  if  not  for  a 
liappier  fate. 

The  imperial  throne  was  now  occupied  for  a  moment  by  the 
same  Pertinax  who  had  preceded  Albinus  in  the  government  of 
Britain.  He  was  raised  to  the  purple  by  the  praetorian  guards, 
who,  three  months  afterwards,  rebelled  and  cut  off  his  head,  and 
then  offered  the  empire  for  sale.  The  disgraceful  purchase  was 
made  by  a  rich  but  worthless  merchant,  named  Didius  Julianus. 
Three  commanders,  in  different  parts  of  the  empire,  stepped 
forward  at  this  moment  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  the  pi'aetorian 
soldiery,  and  expel  the,  emperor  of  their  choice;  these  were, 
Severus  in  Pannodia,  Pescennius  Niger  in   Syria,  and  Albinua 


CHAP.  IV.]  THE  EMrEllOR  SKVERUS.  12^ 

ill  Britain.  Severiis,  witli  liis  cliaracteristic  activity,  was  tlu; 
first  in  tiie  field,  and,  inarcliinu;  upon  Rome,  put  to  death  tin; 
usui'per,  deoTaded  the  pra^toiiaii  guards  from  their  privilej^-es, 
and  assumed  the  purple.  Severus  was  a  man  possessing  extra- 
ordinary talents  for  empire,  indefatigable  in  pursuing  the  object 
of  his  ambition,  unscrupulous  in  attaining  the  object  of  it,  and 
merciless  towards  those  who  stood  in  his  way.  He  had  gained 
possession  of  the  empire,  but  he  had  still  two  competitors  in 
the  Held,  against  whose  united  forces  he  Avould  perhaps  have 
been  unable  to  struggle.  It  was  his  policy  therefore  to  sepai'ate 
his  rivals,  and  while  he  prepared  to  march  against  Niger,  he 
pacified  Albinus  with  professions  of  the  warmest  friendship, 
conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Caesar,  and,  making  him  nomi- 
nally his  associate  in  the  empire,  caused  money  to  be  coined  in 
his  name,  and  statues  to  be  erected  in  his  honour.  Albinus 
thus  gained  over,  Severus  proceeded  to  the  east  to  encounter 
Pescenniiis  Niger. 

This  occurred  in  the  year  193.  Niger  was  defeated  in  batthj 
near  Antioch,  and  slain,  and  after  a  protracted  struggle,  Severus 
returned  victorious  to  Rome  in  196,  and  prepared  to  rid  him- 
self of  his  other  rival  Albinus.  The  governor  of  Britain  was  a 
formidable  antagonist ;  he  also  was  a  man  of  great  military  ta- 
lents ;  he  was  popular  in  his  ])rovince  as  well  as  in  Gaid,  and  . 
he  was  closely  allied  by  blood  and  friendship  with  some  of  the  s/ 
greatest  and  oldest  families  in  Rome.  He  was  ambitious,  too, 
and,  though  his  vanity  had  been  flattered  by  the  honours  showered 
on  him  by  Severus,  he  seems  to  have  let  it  be  known  that  he 
was  not  yet  satisfied,  Ind  that  he  aimed  at  securing  for  himself 
tlie  imperial  dignity.  •  We  are  told  that,  during  the  absence  of 
Severus  in  the  east,  Albinus  had  been  invited  to  Rome  to  as- 
sume the  purple,  and  that  it  was  the  knowledge  of  these  in- 
trigues which  deternuned  the  emperor  Severus  to  destroy  him. 
This  was  not,  however,  an  easy  task.  It  is  evident  tliat  the 
Roman  province  of  Britain  had  become  at  this  time  extremely 
populous  and  rich.  Multitudes  of  auxiliary  troops  had  been 
gradually  transplanted  into  it,  and  had  no  doubt  taken  with 
them  or  been  followed  by  colonies  of  their  countrymen.  Mer- 
chants, tradesmen,  artisans,  even  probably  artists,  and  men  of 
letters,  had  sought  their  fortune  where  the  increase  of  commerce 
and  civilisation  opened  a  field  for  their  exertions.  The  strength 
of  the  native  Britons  had  been  drawn  off  to  serve  in  foreign 
countries ;  *  and  that  part  of  the  original  population  which  i-e- 

*  It  was  the  constant  policy  of  the  Romans  to  draught  ofif  the  rising 


>/ 


130  THE  ROMANS.  [cHAr.  iv. 

luained  at  home  had  probably  been  f>-reatly  diminished  in  nnm- 
bers,  and  reduced  to  tlie  condition  of  serfs.  In  fact,  from  this 
time  forward,  when  the  Roman  writers  speak  of  tlie  Britons  who 
existed  in  the  island  as  a  people,  they  include  under  that 
name  only  the  Caledonian  tribes  of  the  north.  Britain  Avas 
thus  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  important 
pi'ovinces  of  the  empire ;  and  its  propraetor,  surrounded  by 
troops  devoted  to  his  person,  with  a  population  which  seems  to 
have  been  always  ambitious  of  an  independent  emperor  of  its 
own,  mig-ht  easily  set  the  court  of  Rome  at  defiance.  Severns, 
therefore,  aware  of  all  these  circumstances,  determined  to  de- 
stroy his  opponent  by  treachery,  and  he  wrote  him  a  letter  in 
terms  of  the  most  affectionate  friendship,  which  was  entrusted 
to  messenf^ers  in  whom  he  could  confide  for  the  execution  of  his 
secret  orders.  These  were,  that  they  should  endeavour  to  ob- 
tain a  private  interview  with  Albinus,  and  if  they  succeeded 
they  were  instantly  to  slay  him  ;  if  they  were  not  adnutted  to  a 
private  interview,  they  were  to  insinuate  themselves  among-  his 
cooks  and  with  the  servants  who  waited  at  his  table,  and  by 
bribing-  them,  convey  a  deadly  poison,  which  the  emperor  had 
g-iven  them  for  that  purpose,  into  his  food.  It  happened  that 
Albinus  and  his  officers  were  well  aware  of  the  treacherous 
character  of  Severus,  and  that  they  were  on  their  guard.  His 
messengers  had  no  sooner  arrived  in  Britain,  than  they  were 
seized,  and  so  strictly  examined,  that  they  made  a  full  confes- 
sion. They  w^ere  at  once  ordered  for  execution,  and  Albinus, 
conscious  that  now  his  only  chance  of  safety  was  immediate 
action,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  emperor,  and  declared 
war  against  Severus.  He  marched  into  Gaul,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  city  of  Lyons,  near  which  was  fought  the  decisive 

population  of  the  conquered  provinces,  and  send  them  to  occupy  stations  ; 
and,  in  fact,  to  form  c(>k)nies  in  other  countries.  It  was,  indeed,  the  most 
effectual  manner  of  destroying;  the  nationality  of  the  people  they  had  suh- 
jecced  to  their  power  ;  for,  holding  no  natural  sympathy  with  the  land  in 
which  they  were  settled,  and  regarded  only  as  Roman  soldiers,  they  gradu- 
ally came  to  consider  themselves  as  a  part  of  Rome.  We  find,  mentioned 
in  old  writers  and  in  inscriptions,  numerous  nice  and  cohorts  of  Britons  in 
various  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.  According  to  the  Notitia,  the  fourth 
ala  of  Britons  was  stationed  in  Egypt.  The  tiventy-sixth  cohort  of 
Britons  occurs  in  Armenia.  A  body  of  the  '  Invincible  Younger  Britons  ' 
were  stationed  in  Spain  ;  and  one  of  the  '  Elder  Britons  '  in  Illyricuni. 
The  '  Younger  British  Slingers  {exculcatores)  '  are  found  among  the  Pala- 
tine auxiliaries.  Other  bodies  of  Britons  are  found  in  Gaul,  Italy,  and 
other  countries.  Britons  of  tlie  tribe  of  the  Horesti  (in  Scotland)  have 
been  traced  by  Mr  Roach  Smith  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  See  his 
'  Collectanea  Antiqua,'  vol.  ii.  p.  134. 


CHAP.  IV.]  BATTLE  OF  LYONS.  131 

battle  which  secured  the  empire  to  Severus,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  ambitious  projects  of  Albinus  by  his  death.  The  power  of 
the  province  of  Britain  was  exhibited  in  the  numerous  and 
excellent  army  which  its  g-overnor  led  into  ihe  field.  The 
ancient  liistorian  from  whom  we  obtain  tlie  most  detailed  ac- 
count of  these  events,  Xiphilinus,  estimates  his  force  at  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousaiul  men,  part  of  whom  probably  were  Gauls  ; 
and,  if  we  suppose  this  to  be  exag-g-erated,  it  is  certain  that  his 
soldiers  were  sufficiently  numerous  and  brave,  to  leave  the  event 
long  doubtful  in  a  contest  with  the  military  force  of  the  empire 
under  the  command  of  the  emperor  himself. 

The  great  battle  of  Lyons  was  fought  on  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 197.  It  appears  probable  that  the  victor  immediately 
appointed  to  the  government  of  Britain  one  of  his  commanders 
who  had  served  in  the  campaign  against  Albinus,  named  Virius 
Lupus,  who  perhaps  led  back  the  shattered  remains  of  the 
British  legions.  At  all  events,  we  find  this  officer  established 
there  as  proprsetor  very  soon  afterwards.  At  this  period  some 
great  change  was  taking  place  in  the  population  of  North  Britain, 
which  we  have  a  difficulty  in  explaining,  though  it  is  su])posed 
to  have  arisen  from  a  large  immigration  of  foreign  tribes,  per- 
haps from  the  north  of  Europe.  The  slight  notices  of  events  in 
Britain  given  by  the  Eoman  writers  throw  no  light  upon  the 
subject,  further  than  showing  us  that  the  Caledonian  tribes  had 
suddenly  become  much  more  numerous  and  formidable,  and  that 
apparently  a  new  tribe  under  the  name  of  Maeatae  had  established  \/ 
themselves  immediately  to  the  north  of  the  barrier  of  Antoninus.  ^ 
Dion  Cassius,  the  historian  of  these  events,  informs  us  that  '  the 
two  greatest  tribes  among  the  Britons  are  the  Caledonii  and  the 
Mseatse,  Ibr  even  the  names  of  all  the  other  tribes  have  in  a 
manner  merged  in  these  two.  The  Mseatse  dwell  close  to  the 
wall  which  divides  the  island  into  two  parts,  and  the  Caledonii 
live  beyond  them.  Each  of  these  people  inhabit  wild  mountains, 
where  there  is  no  water,  and  desert  plains  and  marshes,  where 
they  live  without  walls  or  cities ;  neither  do  they  practise  hus- 
bandry, but  live  by  pasturage,  or  the  chace,  and  on  berries 
which  grow  in  the  woods  ;  for  they  never  taste  fish,  although 
their  lakes  and  rivers  furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply.*  They 
live  in    tents,   naked   and  barefooted,   having  their  wives  in  ' 

*  It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  that  the  apparently  superstitious  aversion       . 
to  the  eating  of  tish  was  pieserved  in  Scuthmd  to  a  very  recent  period;      "'^ 
and  1  am  not  sure  it'  it  does  not  still  to  some  degree  exist  in  the  High- 
lands. 

K 


13'2  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  it. 

common,  aiul  lliey  rear  all  the  cliildren  which  are  born  to  them. 
The  government  of  these  tribes  is  democratic,  and  they  delight 
above  all  tilings  in  pillage.  They  tight  from  chariots,  which  are 
drawn  by  small  swift  horses ;  they  fight  also  on  foot,  run  with 
great  speed,  and  are  most  resolute  when  compelled  to  stand. 
Their  arms  consist  of  a  shield  and  a  short  spear,  which  has  a 
brazen  knob  at  the  extremity  of  the  shaft,  that  when  shaken  it 
may  terrify  the  enemy  by  its  noise.  They  use  daggers  also. 
They  are  capable  of  enduring  hunger,  thirst,  and  hardships  of 
every  description ;  for  they  will  plunge  into  the  marshes,  and 
remain  there  several  days,  with  only  their  heads  above  the  water. 
When  they  are  in  the  woods  they  subsist  on  bark  and  roots  ; 
and  they  prepare  for  all  emergencies  a  certain  kind  of  food,  of 
which  if  they  eat  only  so  much  as  the  size  of  a  bean,  they  neither 
hunger  nor  thirst.' 

Such  were  the  northern  tribes,  as  report,  probably  applying 
the  description  of  those  who  were  in  the  lowest  state  of  civilisa- 
tion to  the  whole,  pictured  them  at  Eoine.  We  have  before 
had  occasion  to  observe  that  the  Caledonians  appear  to  have 
had  quick  intelligence  of  the  condition  of  the  southern  province, 
and  they  seem,  according  to  the  same  policy  which  led  their 
descendants  at  a  much  more  recent  period  to  select  the  moment 
when  the  Edwards  and  Henries  were  absent  in  their  Pi-ench 
wars,  to  make  their  most  formidable  inroads  into  England,  to 
have  chosen  the  moment  of  the  insurrection  of  Albinus,  and  of 
the  troubles  and  weakness  which  followed,  to  invade  the  Roman 
province.  The  history  of  these  invasions  is  extremely  obscure. 
It  appears  to  have  been  the  Mtratse  who  conducted  theni,  and 
the  sudden  turbulence  of  this  people,  their  strength  and  their 
position,  certainly  give  force  to  the  opinion  that  they  were  a 
new  colony  from  Scandinavia  or  from  the  north  of  Germany. 
Virius  Lupus  was  at  length  induced  to  adopt  the  dangerous  ex- 
pedient of  purchasing  peace  with  the  Mseatae,  who  received  the 
money,  and  then,  entering  into  an  alliance  with  the  Caledonians, 
renewed  their  hostilities.  The  propraetor  gave  tliem  more  gold, 
and  they  remained  quiet  during  two  years,  and  then  in  conjunc- 
tion with  their  allies  recommenced  their  predatory  excursions 
with  more  ferocity  than  ever.  At  length,  in  the  year  208, 
A^irius  Lupus  was  so  much  embarrassed  by  the  attacks  of  these 
northern  enemies,  that  he  sent  an  urgent  message  to  the  emperor 
Severus,  praying  for  a  considerable  reinforcement  of  troops,  and 
representing  the  advantage  which  would  arise  from  the  presence 
of  the  emperor  himself. 


CHAP.  IV.]  SEYERUS  IN  BRITAIN.  133 

Severus  had  found  little  happiness  in  the  gratification  of  his 
ambition ;  the  severity  of  his  rule  on  one  hand,  and  the  weak 
indulgence  he  displayed  towards  his  own  family,  had  raised  him 
troubles  both  abroad,  where  he  was  annoyed  by  frequent  insur- 
rections, and  in  his  own  household,  where  his  domestic  hours 
were  ernl)ittered  by  the  undutiful  and  even  cruel  conduct  of  his 
sons  Caracalla  and  Geta.  He  was  not  unwilling,  therefore,  to 
change  his  domestic  torments  even  for  the  hardships  of  a  cam- 
paign in  the  inclement  north,  although  age,  now  advancing  upon 
him,  was  rendered  more  burthensome  by  the  attacks  of  a  cruel 
disease.  When  the  letter  of  Virius  Lupus  arrived,  announcing 
that  the  Roman  province  was  overrun  by  the  northem  plunder- 
ers, the  sound  of  war  seemed  to  stir  up  the  spirit  of  the  old 
veteran,  as  if  he  had  suddenly  recovered  his  youthful  energies. 
He  instantly  assembled  his  army  and  placed  himself  at  its  head, 
and,  ordering  his  sons  to  accompany  him,  he  made  a  forced 
march  through  G-aul,  stopping  nowhere,  although  the  painful 
disease  of  his  joints,  with  which  he  was  habitually  afflicted,  was 
at  this  time  so  severe,  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  carried  on  a 
litter.  He  thus  reached  the  shores  of  Britain  in  an  incredibly  , 
short  space  of  time.  It  was  late  in  the  year  208,  yet,  without  j 
a  moment's  delay,  he  drew  too-ether  the  armies  from  different  ) 
parts,  and,  with  those  he  had  brought  with  him,  concentrated  a  | 
vast  force,  and  marched  at  once  to  meet  the  enemy.  The  latter  / 
were  astonished  at  the  rapidity  of  his  movements,  and  quickly  |^ 
ceasing  their  hostilities,  they  sent  envoys,  who  met  him  perhaps 
at  Eburacum  {York),  begging  for  peace,  and  offering  to  make 
amends  for  their  previous  offences.  But  Severus  had  come  too 
far  to  be  so  easily  satisfied,  and  he  was  resolved  to  deprive  them 
of  the  power  of  further  hostility.  He  detained  their  ambassa- 
dors for  some  time,  and  then  sent  them  away  without  any 
answer  to  their  demands. 

The  emperor  established  his  court  at  Eburacum,  the  second 
city  of  the  island,  and  the  station  of  the  sixth  legion.  He 
there  made  extensive  preparations  for  the  war,  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  209  he  put  his  forces  in  motion.  He  found  it 
necessary  to  separate  his  two  sons,  Avho  not  only  treated  their 
father  with  insolent  disrespect,  but  quarrelled  with  each  other. 
Geta  was  left  to  command  the  southern  province,  assisted  by  a 
council  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  of  the  emperor's 
friends,  while  Caracalla  accompanied  him  into  the  wilds  of 
Caledonia.  They  had  no  sooner  passed  the  boundary  formed 
by  the  Forth  ancl  Clyde,  and  the  wall  of  Antoninus  (ra  irpoi^ip- 


134  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  iv. 

XrjjJU'a  pEv^aTct  rt  Kcil  ^wfjara  rfjc  'Pw^ota;)'  dp-^ijc),  than 
they  were  involved  in  daily  skirmislies  with  the  barbar  ans,  who 
only  showed  themselves  in  small  botlies,  and  manifested  a  reso- 
lution to  avoid  a  g-eneral  eng-agement.  The  Eomans  had  to 
nndergco  extraordinary  hardships,  for  as  they  drove  the  enemy 
before  them  they  were  oblig-ed  to  force  their  Avay  through  thick 
forests  and  immense  morasses,  with  a  climate  to  tlie  asperity  of 
which  they  were  imaccustomed.  But  everything  seemed  to 
yield  to  the  stern  will  of  their  extraordinary  leader,  who,  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  incredible  difficulties  and  hardships,  canstd 
bridges  and  roads  to  be  thrown  over  the  marshy  places,  actually 
filling  some  of  them  up,  so  as  to  give  his  troops  a  solid  footing  ; 
while  he  cut  down  forests,  and  made  roads  over  the  mountains. 
In  the  course  of  these  labours  the  Koman  soldiers  frequently 
fell  into  ambuscades  of  the  natives,  who  exposed  sheep  and 
oxen  a  little  way  out  of  the  line  of  their  march,  and  then  fell 
upon  them  suddenly  when  they  went  to  carry  away  the  booty. 
So  certain  were  they  that  all  stragglers. would  be  killed  without 
mercy,  and  probably  subjected  to  horrible  indignities,  that 
whenever  a  soldier  was  rendered  unable  to  keep  up  with  the 
march  of  his  comrades,  we  are  told  that  they  put  him  to  death, 
rather  than  let  him  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
We  are  assured  by  the  old  writers,  that  the  Komans  lost  not 
less  than  fifty  thousand  men  in  this  invasion.  Yet  neither 
marsh  nor  forest,  rain  nor  storm,  of  Avhicli  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  lack,  averted  the  inflexible  will  of  the  aged  emperor, 
who,  sometimes  on  horseback,  but  more  freqnently  stretched  on 
his  litter,  which  he  was  not  able  to  leave  for  days  together,  con- 
tinued to  advance  nntil  he  reached  the  extreme  northern  coast 
of  Bi'itain.  He  there  observed  the  parallax  of  the  sun,  and  the 
comparative  length  of  the  days  and  nights,  and  he  ascertained 
beyond  a  doubt  that  Britain  was  an  island.  Severus  was  now 
willing  to  treat  with  the  Caledonians,  against  whom  his  opera- 
tions had  often  been  hindered  and  embarrassed  by  the  untilial 
behaviour  of  Caracalla.  At  times  when  the  old  man  was  unable 
to  leave  his  bed,  he  tried  to  persuade  his  son  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops,  and  march  against  the  barbarians.  But 
Caracalla  only  occupied  himself  in  corrupting  the  soldiers,  in 
order  that,  in  case  of  his  father's  death,  he  might  use  them 
against  his  brother  Geta,  and  obtain  the  empire  entirely  for 
himself.  He  was  even  impatient  of  the  lingering  duration  of 
his  father's  life,  and  is  said  to  have  attempted  to  bribe  his  phy- 
sicians and  servants  to  hasten  his  death.     When  he  found  the 


CHAP.  IV.]  SEVERUS  IX  CALEDONIA.  135 

old  kin2,-'s  attendants  too  faithful  to  listen  to  his  proposals,  he 
resolved  to  slay  hiin  himself.  One  day  Severus,  having  had  the 
soles  of  his  feet  punctured,  had  thus  obtained  so  much  relief 
from  his  complaint,  that  he  was  enabled  to  ride  on  horseback. 
He  left  the  camp  with  his  son  and  a  detachment  of  his  forces, 
to  receive  a  surrender  of  arms  from  the  Caledonians  and  to 
confer  with  them  on  terms  of  peace.  The  emperor  rode  for- 
ward towards  the  enemy,  with  his  son  behind  him,  and  the 
troops  following  in  the  rear.  At  this  moment  Caracalla  sud- 
derdy  checked  his  horse,  and,  drawing  his  sw^ord,  prepared  to 
stab  his  father  in  the  back ;  but  the  troops,  who  saw  the 
treacherous  movement,  set  up  a  shout,  which  made  the  emperor 
turn  round,  and  thus  saved  his  life.  Severus  had  seen  the  drawn 
sword,  but,  without  appearing  to  take  any  further  notice,  he 
proceeded  in  his  negotiation  with  the  Caledonians.  When  this 
was  concluded,  he  retired  to  his  tent,  and  seiuling  for  his  son, 
reproached  him  with  his  murderous  intentions  in  the  presence 
of  two  of  his  confidential  friends,  Papinian,  the  celebrated 
lawyer,  and  Castor.  Provoked  at  the  conduct  of  his  children, 
Severus  hastened  the  treaty  with  the  Caletlonians,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  they  sliould  give  up  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
territory  to  the  Romans,  on  condition  that  he  should  retire  with 
his  army  into  the  Roman  province.  He  accordingly  returned 
to  York,  it  is  supposed  towards  the  end  of  the  year  209.  It  has 
been  popularly  supposed  that  the  following  year  was  employed 
in  the  construction  of  that  immense  line  of  fortification  which 
recent  examinations  and  a  careful  consideration  of  ancient  testi- 
monies have  left  little  doubt  was  the  sole  w^ork  of  the  emperor 
Hadrian.  It  is  not,  indeed,  probable  that,  after  having  added 
to  the  Roman  territory  towards  the  north,  a  man  like  Severus 
would  raise  a  barrier  on  the  limits  to  which  the  Roman  power 
had  been  confined,  when  almost  at  its  lowest  ebb.* 

It  is  possible,  however,  that  Severus  may  have  repaired  the 
wall,  and  it  seems  that,  during  his  stay  at  Eburacum,  he  not 
unfrequently  visited  its  towns  and  garrisons.  We  are  told  that 
on  one  of  these  visits  to  the  wall,  he  was  returning  to  the  near- 
est station  (mansio),  when  he  was  accosted  by  an  '  Ethiopian ' 
soldier,  celebrated  among  his  comrades  for  his  wit,f  who  bore 

*  We  owe  the  account  of  the  Caledonian  campaigns  of  Severus  chiefly 
to  the  historian  Herodian,  who  wrote  about  thirty  years  after  they  took 
place.      Some  particulars  are  added  by  a  later  writer,  Xiphilinus. 

t  /Ethiops  quidaiii  e  nuinero  militari,  clarte  inter  scurras  famse,  et  cele- 
bratorum  semper  j<jcov\im.—^Eli us  Spartianus,  de  Vit.  ISever.  c.  22. 


136  ~  THE  ROM  AX?.  [chap.  iv. 

a  crown  of  cypress,  niid  who,  wlicii  the  empei-or  seemed  od'eiided 
bv  what  he  looked  upon  as  an  ill  omen,  addressed  him  in  a  tone 
of  vulg-ar  adulation,  '  You  have  been  evervthlng,  and  conquered 
everythino-;  noAV  then  be  a  god.'*  Other  fatal  omens  accom- 
panied the  em])eror's  progress,  one  of  which  occurred  atEbnra- 
cum,  when  on  his  return  thither  he  went  to  offer  saci-itice  in 
the  temple  of  Bellona.  While  he  was  there,  confiding  in  the 
solemn  promises  of  the  northern  bai-barians  to  preserve  the 
peace,  news  suddenly  arrived  that  the  Mseata3  had  again  united 
with  the  Caledonians,  and  that  they  had  recommenced  their 
/  predatory  inroads.     The  emperor  w^as  fnrious  at  the  faithlessness 

I  of  the  barbarians,  and  raising  himself  up,  to  order  his  officers 
to  prepare  for  a  new  campaign,  he  addressed  them  in  the  words 
of  Homer — 

'Vciw  fit'}  Ti?  vTTf.Kfpityoi  aiTrvv  oXtQpnv 

ILovpou  kovTa  cpipui,  /jlijS'  cis  tpuyoi  aiirvi/  oAttipoi'. 

which  is  translated  by  Cowper — 

Die  the  race  ! 
May  none  escape  us  !     Neither  he  who  flies, 
Nor  even  the  infant  in  the  mother's  womb 
Unconscious. 

But  Severus  was  sinking  rapidly  under  his  bodily  infirmities, 
and  he  Avas  at  this  moment  suffering  nnder  so  severe  an  attack 
of  liis  disease,  that  he  w^as  nnable  to  "walk  or  ride.  The  troops, 
murmuring  at  his  absence,  and  agitated  by  the  intrigues  of  his 
worthless  son,  saluted  Caracalla  with  the  imperial  title  of 
Augustus.  When  this  was  told  to  Severus,  all  the  energies  of 
the  w^arrior  were  roused,  and,  causing  himself  to  be  placed  on 
the  tribunal,  he  commanded  the  new  emperor,  Caracalla,  with 
all  w^ho  liad  joined  in  the  act  of  insubordination,  wdiether  tri- 
bunes, centurions,  or  private  soldiers,  to  appear  before  him. 
Then  suddenly  acklressing  tlieni,  he  said,  '  Soldiers,  it  is  not  the 
feet,  but  the  head,  which  discharges  the  duties  of  a  general ; ' 
and  in  the  same  breath  he  gave  the  order  to  march  against  the 
enemy.  But  the  old  man's  effort  was  fatal  to  him.  He  relaps- 
ed into  a  state  of  helpless  weakness,  was  carried  back  to  his 
palace,  and  died  in  Eburacum,  or  York,  on  the  4th  of  February, 

*  We  have  not  much  difficulty  in  fixing  the  scene  of  this  anecdote.  A 
detachment  of  Moors  was,  as  we  learn  from  the  '  Notitia  Imperii,'  stationed 
at  Aballaba  ( JVatch-cross  ?),  which  was  no  doubt  the  town  where  the  em- 
peror on  this  occasion  sought  a  lodging. 


CHAP.  IV.]  THE  EMPEROR  CARACALLA.  137 

211.  By  his  will,  his  two  sons,  Caracalla  and  Geta,  Avere  to 
share  between  thein  his  enormous  treasures  and  the  Eoman 
empire. 

Caracalla,  eag'er  to  secure  the  grand  object  of  his  ambition, 
and  to  possess  alone  his  father's  empire  and  his  treasures,  seems 
to  have  kept  the  real  state  of  the  health  of  Severus  from  the 
knowledge  of  his  mother  and  brother  until  his  death.  He  then 
caused  most  of  the  officers  of  his  father's  household  to  be  put 
to  death,  and  tried  to  corrupt  the  army ;  but  they  remained 
faithful,  and  insisted  on  acknowledging  the  two  brothers  as 
equal,  according  to  their  father's  will.  Failing  in  his  attempt 
upon  the  soldiery,  Caracalla  made  a  hurried  peace  Avith  the 
barbarians,  and,  pretending  to  acquiesce  in  the  will  of  Severus, 
he  hastened  to  tlie  south  to  join  his  brother  and  mother.  The 
body  of  the  late  emperor  Avas  consumed  on  a  funeral  pile  at 
York,  and  the  ashes  having  been  placed  in  an  urn  of  alabaster, 
they  carried  it  with  them  to  Eome. 

Such  were  the  events  which  have  given  a  classic  celebrity  to  \ 
the  city  of  York.  A  long  period  passed  over,  and  many  em-  \ 
perors  sat  on  the  throne,  before  Britain  is  again  mentioned  in 
the  ancient  historians.  The  government  seems  to  have  been 
carried  on  with  a  silent  tranquillity,  which  leaves  us  to  suppose 
that  the  island  prospered,  and  that  it  was  visited  by  no  great 
dangers  or  troubles  to  excite  attention  at  Home.  In  fact,  the 
next  great  events  that  we  shall  have  to  contemplate  are  not  over- 
whelming attacks  of  the  barbarians,  but  revolts  of  the  island 
ngainst  the  imperial  government,  Tavo  or  three  inscriptions 
found  in  different  parts  of  England  refer  distinctly  to  this  period, 
and  as  they  belong  principally  to  dedications  and  restorations 
of  buildings,  they  seem  to  confirm  the  supposition  that  the  is- 
land remained  in  peace.  One  of  these,  raised  by  the  troop  of 
Asturians  stationed  at  Cilurimm  on  the  Wall  (C/iesters),  relates 
to  the  rebuihling  of  a  temple,  and  shoAvs  us  not  only  that  in 
221,  under  the  reign  of  Heliogabalus,  Marius  Valerianus  Avas 
l)ropra)tor  of  Britain,  but  that  the  troops  and  people  in  this  dis- 
tant province  took  so  much  interest  in  the  revolutions  at  Rome, 
that  no  sooner  had  Heliogabalus  been  deposed  and  assassinated, 
than  his  name  Avas  erased  from  the  inscription,  in  this  remote 
and  comparatively  obscure  toAvn.  iVnother  inscription,  foimd 
in  CunUjerland,  shows  that  the  propraetor  of  the  emperor  Gor- 
dian,  in  the  year  243,  Avas  Nonnius  Philippus. 

Amid  the  disorder  and  anarchy  of  the  reign  of  Gallienus  (260 
to  268).  a  number  of  usurpers  arose  in  different  parts  of  the 


-h 


138  THE  ROMANS.  [ch.ip.  iv. 

empire,  who  were  popularly  called  the  thirty  tyrants,  of  whom 
Lollianus,  Victorimis,  Postumus,  tlie  two  Tetrici,  and  Marius, 
are  believed  on  g'ood  grounds  to  have  assumed  the  sovereignty 
in  Britain.  Perhaps  some  of  these  rose  up  as  rivals  at  the  same 
time,  and  from  the  monuments  bearing  the  name  of  Tetricus, 
found  at  Bittern,  near  Southampton,  we  are  perhaps  justified  in 
supposing  that  the  head-quarters  of  that  commander  lay  at  the 
station  of  Clausentum  and  along  the  neighbouring  coasts.  We 
have  no  information  of  the  state  of  Britain  at  this  time,  but  it 
must  have  been  profoundly  agitated  by  these  conflicting  claim- 
ants to  empire.  Yet,  though  so  ready  to  rise  in  support  of  their 
own  leaders,  the  troops  in  Britain  seem  to  have  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  all  solicitations  from  without.  When  an  ofhcer  in  the 
Homan  army,  named  Bonosus,  born  in  Spain,  but  descended  of 
a  family  in  Britain,  proclaimed  himself  emperor,  in  the  reign  of 
Aurelian,  and  appealed  for  support  to  the  western  provinces,  he 
found  no  sympathy  among  the  British  troops.  Another  usurper, 
whose  name  has  not  been  recorded,  had  taken  advantage  of  his 
appointment  to  the  government  of  tbe  island  by  the  emperor 
Probus  to  assume  the  purple.  The  frequency  of  such  usurpa- 
tions within  the  island  seem  to  show  a  desire  among  the  in- 
habitants to  erect  tliemselves  into  an  independent  sovereignty. 
We  are  told  that  a  favourite  courtier  of  Probus,  named  Yic- 
torinus  Maurusins,  had  recommended  this  usurper  to  the  pro- 
prietorship, and  that,  when  reproached  on  this  account  by  the 
emperor,  Victorinus  demanded  permission  to  visit  Britain. 
When  he  arrived  there,  he  hastened  to  the  propraetor,  and  sought 
his  protection  as  a  victim  who  had  narrowly  escaped  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  emperor.  The  new  sovereign  of  Britain  received 
him  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  in  return  was  murdered  in 
the  niglit  by  his  guest.  Victorinus  returned  to  Rome  to  give 
the  emperor  this  convincing  proof  of  his  '  loyalty.'  Probus 
was  succeeded  in  the  empire  by  Cams,  and  he  was  followed  by 
Dioclesian,  who  began  his  reign  in  the  year  2,84,  and  who  soon 
associated  witli  himself  in  the  empire  the  joint  emperor  Max- 
imian.  Their  reign,  as  far  as  regards  Britain,  was  rendered 
remarkable  chiefly  by  the  successful  usurpation  of  Carausius. 

About  this  time  another  great  change  was  taking  place  among 
the  independent  tribes  in  the  north,  the  particulars  of  which  are 
lost  in  tlie  obscurity  of  history.  It  is  supposed  that  the  Dal- 
readic  colony,  under  a  leader  wiiom  tradition  in  the  time  of  Bede 
named  Keuthi,  now  passed  over  from  Ireland  into  the  wilds  of 
Lorn  and  Kintire,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  people  who 


CHAP.  IV.]  CARAUSIUS.  139 

ultimately  gave  to  the  whole  of  North  Britain  the  name  of  Scot- 
land. It  is  certain  that,  after  the  period  of  which  we  are  now 
speaking,  we  lose  sight  of  the  old  name  of  Caledonians,  and  even 
of  the  more  recent  one  of  Mfsatse,  and  in  their  place  appear  those 
of  Picts  and  Scots,  with  a  tribe  which  was  apparently  of  older 
date,  and  which  now  gained  notoriety  for  its  savage  fei-ocity,  the 
Attacotti.  At  the  same  time  the  eastern  "and  south-eastern 
coasts  of  Britainbegan  to  be  infested  with  the  predatory  incursions 
of  the  Saxon  seafarers  from  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe.  To  oppose 
these  it  was  found  necessary  not  only  to  erect  a  series  of  for- 
tresses along  the  coast,  but  to  establish  and  keep  up  a  strong 
Heet  in  the  channel,  which  had  its  places  of  rendezvous  at  Grcs- 
soriacum  {Boulogne),  and  in  the  ports  on  the  coasts  of  Kent, 
Sussex,  and  Hampshire.*  Among  the  officers  of  this  fleet  who 
distinguished  themselves  most  against  the  enemy,  was  a  Mena- 
pian  of  low  birth,  probably  of  the  Batavian  tribe  of  the  Menapii, 
named  Carausius,  whose  talents  soon  caused  him  to  be  singled 
out  from  his  fellow-soldiers,  and  he  was  eventually  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  whole  fleet.  His  ambition  seems  now  to 
have  been  flxed  on  a  higher  aim,  and  he  appears  to  have  formed 
leagues  and  alliances,  the  object  of  which  could  hardly  be  mis- 
luiderstood.  He  showed  his  military  and  naval  skill  in  his  fre- 
quent victories  over  the  German  pirates  ;  but  information  was 
carried  to  the  emperors  that  the  plunder  which  he  recaptured 
from  the  barbarians  Avas  seldom  restored  to  those  from  whom  it 
had  been  flrst  taken,  and  it  was  even  intimated,  that  instead  of 
preventing  the  attacks  of  the  enemy,  he  always  contrived  to  let 
them  flrst  load  themselves  with  plunder,  and  then  attacked  them 
and  deprived  them  of  their  prey.  By  these  or  other  means 
^  Carausius  collected  enormous  wealth,  which  also  was  reported 
to  Maximian,  who  sent  orders  to  put  the  commander  of  the 
British  fleet  to  death.  Carausius  was  soon  informed  of  the  em- 
peror's intentions,  and  became  aware  that  he  had  only  one  chance 
of  safety.  He  seems  to  have  been  extremely  popidar  among  the 
soldiery  both  on  land  and  in  the  fleet ;  his  great  wealth  gave  J 
liim  the  means  of  attaching  the  mercenary  to  his  fortunes  ;  and, 
making  use  of  both  these  advantages,  he  entered  into  an  alliance 
with  the  Franks,  on  whose  borders  he  seems  to  have  been  born, 

*  The  British  fleet  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  found  at  Lymne,  thn 
Fort  as  LemaNi's,  one  of  the  Roman  ports  on  the  southern  coast ;  it  is  the 
dedication  of  an  altar,  probably  to  Neptune,  by  Aufidius  Pantera,  prajfoct 
of  the  British  fleet  .  .  ,  .  iv  .  .  .  aram  ....  avfiuiv  pantera  praefect 

CLAS.  BRIT. 


a40  the  ROMAXS.  [chap.  iv. 

niui  witli  other  German  tril)es,  seized  tlie  great  naval  station  of 
(iessoriacnni,  and  proclaimed  himself  one  of  the  emperors  of 
Jiome.  Embarrassino-  revolts  in  other  parts  of  the  empire  en- 
coiirao-ed  him  in  his  desia'Ti. 

Having  thus  proclaimed  himself  the  equal  and  colleague  of 
Dioclesian  and.  Maximian,  the  talents  of  Carausius  enabled  him 
to  retain  his  usurped  sovereignty  during  a  period  of  seven  years. 
History  has  left  us  no  account  of  the  manner  in  vi^hich  his 
government  Avas  carried  on,  but  he  was  evidently  a  man  of  very 
extraordinary  abilities,  for  it  is  said  that,  during  this  period,  he 
not  only  set  the  poAver  of  Eome  at  detiance,  but  that  he  protected 
his  subjects  from  the  Saxons,  and  that  he  compelled  the  bar- 
barians of  the  north  to  keep  within  the  limits  of  their  woods 
and  marshes.  One  of  the  most  extraordinary  characteristics  of 
the  short  reign  of  Carausius  is  the  number  and  variety  of  his 
coinage.  Upwards  of  three  hundred  ditferent  types  are  known, 
and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  there  are  many  othei's  yet 
luiknown.  These  authentic  monuments  throw  some  liy-ht  on 
his  character  and  history,  and  we  have  every  reason  to  hope, 
that,  in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  antiquary,  they  will  some  day  be 
rendered  still  more  available.*  Of  the  great  variety  of  reverses 
found  on  these  coins,  many,  no  doubt,  refer  to  historical  events. 
One  of  these,  with  the  legend  expectate  veni,  is  supposed  to 
have  been  struck  on  his  arrival  in  Britain,  after  having  assumed 
the  imperial  title  at  Gessoriacum ;  the  tigure  beneath  the 
inscription  represents  the  genius  of  Britain,  with  a  trident  in  her 
hand,  welcoming  the  new  emperor.  A  number  of  coins  having 
such  inscriptions  as  adventvs  caeaysi,  adventvs  avgvsti, 
&c.,  with  others  inscribed  victokia  avgvsti,  and  viiiTVS 
avgvsti,  seem  to  have  been  struck  on  his  return  from  success- 
ful expeditions  against  his  enemies.  One,  with  a  tigure  of  a 
trophy  between  two  captives,  and  the  inscription  victoria  gee, 
perhaps  commemorated  some  exploit  on  the  coast  of  Germany. 
His  care  to  conciliate  the  troops  is  shoAvn  not  only  in  coins  with 
the  inscriptions  concordia  militvm  and  eides  militvm,  but 
in  others  struck  in  honour  of  each  particular  legion.  The 
second  legion,  with  its  badge  the  capi'icorn,  and  the  twentieth, 
with  its   badge  the  boar,  are  thus   commemorated,  as  well  as 

*  The  antiquary  Stukeley  published  a  '  Medallic  History  of  Carausius,' 
which,  although  it  displays  too  much  of  that  writer's  hasty  speculations 
and  conclusions,  shows  us  with  how  much  advantag:e  the  coins  might  be 
made  to  illustrate  the  history.  My  friend  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  announced 
a  work  on  the  coins  of  Carausius  and  Allectus,  which  we  may  be  sure  will 
be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  early  history  of  this  island. 


CHAP,    IV.] 


C.VRAUSIUS. 


141 


several  leii'ions  or  parts  of  le<i;ions  stationed  in  Gaul,  which  no 
doubt  took  part  with  the  usurper.      Other  inscriptions,  such  as 

VBERTAS  AVG,  AEQVITAS  AVG,  FORTVNA  AVG,  FELICITAS  AVG, 
HTLARITAS  AVG,  LAETITIA  AVG,  PAX  AVG,  PIIOVIDENTIA  AVG, 
RESTITVT  SAECVLI,  SAECYLI  FELICITAS,  TEMPORVM  FELICITAS, 

no  donl)t  were  intended  to  proclaim  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  the  province  under  the  rule  of  Carausius.  When  embarrass- 
ments in  other  parts  of  the  empire  oblig'ed  Maximian  to  leave 
iiiin  for  a  while  to  the  enjoyment  of  his  assumed  dignity,  and 
even,  it  is  said,  to  ag'ree  to  a  treaty  of  friendship  with  him, 
Carausius  proclaimed  himself  an  associate  in  the  empire  by 
coins  with  inscriptions  such  as  caravsivs  et  fratres  svi 
(round  the  three  heads  of  Carausius,  Dioclesian,  andMaximian), 

PAX  AVGGG,   SALVS    AVGGG,   PIETAS    AVGGG,  &C.,  the    three    g'S 

indicating  the  tliree  emperors,  l^ut  the  most  curious  of  all  the 
coins  of  Carausius  yet  discovered,  is  one  which  was  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  my  friend,  Mr  E-oach  Smith,  and  which, 
contrary  to  the  universal  practice  of  the  earlier  Roman  coiuage, 
gives  the  emperor's  head  with  a  f'rout  face,  instead  of  a  profile. 
From  this  circumstance,  and  from  its  superior  execution,  Mr 
Smith  is  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  struck  expressly  as  a 


V 


correct  portrait  of  this  remarkable  man,  and  as  thus  it  forms 
one  of  the  most  interesting  records  of  our  history,  it  is  here 
given  from  his  '  Collectanea  Antiqua,'  where  it  was  first  pub- 
lished. This  unique  coin  is  in  small  brass,  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation,  and  was  found  at  Wroxeter,  in  Sliropshire,  the 
site  of  the  Homan  town  of  Uriconium.* 

We  have    said  that  Carausius  held    the  supreme  power  in 
Britain  during  nearly  seven  years  (from  287  to  293).     In  292,    ^ 
the  two  emperors,  Maximian  and  Dioclesian,  strengthened  their 
government  by  the  appointment  of  two  Csesars,  Constantius  and 

*  This  coin  is  now,  with  Mr  Roach  Smith's  collection  of  antiquities 
from  Roman  London,  in  the  British  Museum. 


142  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  it. 

Galerius ;  and  Constantiiis,  to  whose  lot  the  provinces  of  tlie 
west  fell,  prepared  immediately  to  reduce  the  island  chieftain. 
We  have  the  account  of  the  events  that  followed  chiefly  from 
imperial  panegyrists,  who  conceal  all  the  circumstances  advan- 
tageous to  the  usurper,  but  their  outline  is  no  doubt  correct. 
Constantius  having  collected  a  very  powerful  army,  made  a  rapid 
march  to  Gessoriacum,  and  laid  siege  unexpectedly  to  the  grand 
naval  station  of  Carausius.  Then,  as  now,  this  port  could  only 
be  entered  at  full  tide,  and  Constantius  took  advantage  of  the 
ebb  to  block  it  up  entirely  with  an  embankment  of  piles  and 
stones.  Before  this,  however,  had  been  effected,  Carausius, 
Avho  Avas  in  Gessoriacum  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Constan- 
tius, took  to  his  ships  and  sailed  away  to  Britain. 

Gessoriacum  soon  surrendered  to  the  imperial  arms,  but 
Constantius  found  a  greater  obstacle  to  his  immediate  success 
iu  the  want  of  ships.  Four  years  passed  away  in  the  construc- 
tion of  a  fleet,  in  the  course  of  which  Carausius  himself  had 
ceased  to  live.  The  empty  bauble  of  empire  had  excited  the 
ambition  of  Allectus,  an  officer  whom  Carausius  had  placed  at 
the  head  of  his  fleet,  and  who  basely  and  treacherously  mur- 
dered his  master.  Allectus  immediately  seized  the  imperial 
authority,  and,  without  the  abilities  of  Carausius,  attempted  to 
follow  in  his  course.  During  three  years,  while  Constantius  re- 
mained inactive,  or  only  occupied  in  reducing  to  obedience  the 
Franks  and  other  allies  of  the  usurper,  Allectus  was  allowed  to 
remain  undisturbed.  His  coins  include  some  which  are  different 
from  those  of  his  predecessor,  and,  considering  the  duration  of 
his  reign,  they  are  almost  as  numerous.  At  length,  in  the  year 
296,  Constantius  had  completed  his  vast  preparations  for  inva- 
sion, and  he  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  set  sail.  His 
])rincipal  force,  under  the  command  of  the  praefect  Asclepiodotus, 
Avhich  had  assembled  in  the  mouth  of  the  Seine,  immediately 
followed,  and  directing  their  course  towards  the  western  coast  of 
Britain,  were  enabled  by  a  thick  fog  to  elude  the  fleet  of  Allec- 
tus, which  was  stationed  off  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It  was  after- 
wards said  in  praise  of  Asclepiodotus,  that  he  ventui-ed  out  to  sea 
on  a  stormy  day,  with  a  side  wind  (which  was  then  considered 
bold  seamanship),  and  that  when  he  landed  on  the  British 
coast,  he  burnt  his  galleys,  that  his  troops  might  find  their  only 
safety  in  victory. 

Meanwhile  Allectus,  Avho  expected  that  the  imperial  forces 
would  cross  over  directly  into  Kent,  had  taken  up  a  position  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  London.     He  no  sooner  received  intelli- 


CAW.  IV.]  CONSTANTIUS.  143 

<>'ence  of  tlie  landing  of  Asolepiodotiis,  than  lie  Imrried  hastily 
to  meet  hiin,  carrving-  with  him  only  a  part  of  his  troops,  and 
those  chiefly  his  Frankish  anxiliaries.  The  consequence  was 
that  he  was  defeated  in  his  first  engagement  with  his  enemies, 
and  he  was  himself  slain  in  the  battle.     As  much  of  his  army  P  ^ 

as  escaped  fled  to  London,  plundered  that  rich  city,  and  pre-  -^r 
pared  to  sail  with  the  spoils  to  the  continent.  But  they  were 
so  closely  pursued  hy  the  imperial  army,  that  the  greater  part 
of  them  are  said  to  have  been  slain  in  the  streets  of  the  capital. 
According  to  the  panegyrists,  the  population  of  Britain  hailed 
the  day  of  the  arrival  of  Constantius  as  that  of  their  redemption 
from  an  oppressive  and  ci'uel  tyranny.  The  imperial  com- 
mander took  up  his  residence  in  York,  from  which  we  may 
perhaps  assume  that  he  had  been  called  to  the  north  to  repress 
the  turbulence  of  the  Picts  and  Scots.  But  all  we  know  of  his 
proceedings  is  tiie  simple  fact,  that  he  had  been  in  Britain 
nine  years  when,  in  the  year  305,  the  resignation  of  Dioclesian  and 
Maximian  left  the  lloman  empire  to  Galerius  and  Constantius. 

Constantius,  who  is  usually  known  by  the  name  of  Constan- 
tius Chlorus,  was  the  father  of  C'onstantine  the  Great ;  but  the 
story  that  his  wife  Helena  was  of  British  origin  appears  to  be  a 
mere  fable.  At  the  time  of  his  father's  accession  to  the  empire 
of  the  West,  Constantine  was  serving  in  the  army  under  Gale- 
rius, in  Nicomedia,  aiul  it  is  supposed  that  Galerius,  who  would 
willingly  have  been  without  a  partner  in  the  empire,  intended 
to  keep  him  as  a  hostage  for  his  father.  But  Constantine 
made  his  escape,  and  travelling  with  extreme  rapidity,  reaclK^d 
Gessoriacura  in  safety,  and  finding  his  father  there,  passed  with 
him  into  Britain,  Avhere  he  assisted  in  the  government,  and  soon 
ingratiated  himself  with  the  troops  and  with  the  people.  They 
proceeded  immediately  to  the  north,  to  direct  an  expedition 
against  the  barbarians,  but  Constantius  was  already  struck  with 
disease,  and,  after  this  expedition,  on  the  25th  of  July,  306,  he 
died  at  York.  The  soldiers  immediately  saluted  his  son  Con- 
stantine as  their  emperor,  and  Galerius  was  induced  to  yield  to 
their  wishes.  Constantine  remained  resident  in  our  island, 
though  his  acts  are  not  recorded,  until,  six  years  afterwards,  he 
was  called  away  to  enter  upon  the  contest  which  ended  in  mak- 
ing him  sole  ruler  of  the  Ronuui  world. 

Britain  now  enjoyed  a  continued  calm  of  more  than  thirty 
years.  Tiie  emperor  Constans  paid  a  visit  to  Britain  in  347,  but 
we  know  not  for  Avhat  purpose ;  though  it  is  probable  that  the 
British  legions  had  begun  again  to  show  an  inclination  to  throw 


lU  THE  ROMANS.  t^HAP.  iv. 

off  tlieir  dependence  on  Eonie.  Tliree  years  after  his  retiini 
tVom  l^ritain,  Constans  i'ell  a  sacrifice  to  tlie  ambition  and  trea- 
son of  Magnentins,  one  of  his  officers,  a  Triton  by  birth.  The 
troops  in  Britain  probably  snpported  the  canse  of  Magnentins, 
and,  after  that  usurper's  defeat  and  deatli,  in  853,  the  province 
snifered  severely  from  the  anger  of  the  conqueror.  The  historian 
Aminianus  MarceUinus  tells  us  that  a  Spanish  notary,  named 
Paulas,  who  had  gained  by  his  cunning  and  astuteness  the  sur- 
name of  Catena  (the  chain),  was  sent  to  Britain  to  institute 
proceedings  against  those  who  had  espoused  tlie  cause  of  Mag- 
nentins. Baukis  made  use  of  the  powers  which  had  been  given 
him  by  the  emperor  in  so  cruel  and  oppressive  a  manner,  that  he 
became  an  object  of  general  detestation  ;  and  when  the  civil 
ruler  of  the  island,  whose  name  was  Martin,  interfered  in  favour 
of  his  victims,  he  attempted  to  involve  him,  and  many  of  his 
officers,  under  the  same  accusations.  Ammianus  tells  us  how 
Martin  tried  to  save  himself  and  his  friends  Ijy  slaying  the  im- 
perial accuser,  but  failing  in  the  attempt,  he  immediately  killed 
himself  with  his  own  sword.  '  Paulus  returned  to  court  steeped 
in  British  blood,  and  dragging  Avith  him  a  multitude  of  wretched 
victims  loaded  with  chains,  whose  looks  depicted  the  hopeless- 
ness of  their  destiny.  Some  of  these  suffered  horrible  toi'tiu-es 
at  the  hands  of  the  executioners  ;  while  others  were  proscribed 
and  exiled,  and  others  had  their  heads  struck  from  theii'  bodies 
on  the  scaffold.' 

The  visitation  of  Paulus  Catena  was  followed  by  one  of  a 
diffei'eut  kind,  but  no  less  disastrous  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
province.  The  Picts  and  Scots  joined  together,  and  began  to 
carry  their  ravages  far  into  the  south.  Britain  had,  no  doid)t, 
been  robbed  of  much  of  its  military  force  in  the  recent  struggles 
for  empire,  and  it  had  been  further  weakened  by  the  severities 
of  Paulus  ;  its  troops,  therefore,  Avere  insufficient  for  its  defence, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  send  over  into  Gaul  to  ask  assistance 
of  Julian,  to  whom  Constantius  had  entrusted  the  defence  of 
that  province  against  the  incursions  of  the  Germans.  Julian 
sent  to  Britain  his  vtagister  armornni,  or  camp  marshal,  Lupi- 
cinus,  a  brave  and  experienced  officer,  who  took  with  him  some 
light  auxiliary  troops,  with  a  few  companies  of  the  Heruli, 
MiBsians,  and  Batavians,  and  hastened  over  from  Gessoriacum 
to  Rutupise,  and  thence  to  London.  We  have  no  further  account 
of  his  expedition,  but  he  probably  retabated  severely  on  the 
northern  invaders,  for  the  island  seems  to  have  had  again  along- 
period  of  undisturbed  tranquillity. 


CHAP,  v.l         THE  ITIXEKARIES  OF  BRITAIN.  U5 


CHAPTEE  V. 


A  Journey  throufjli  Roman  Britain— Londinium — Great  Road  from  Lon- 
diniuin  to  Seg'ontium — Verulamiuin  ;  Uriconiuiii,  &c. — Direct  North- 
ern Road  from  Londinium  ;  Durobrivae,  Lindum,  Danum,  Ebura- 
cum,  Isurium — Passa<;-e  of  the  two  Walls — Stations  on  the  Wall — 
Branch  to  Ltig-uballium  and  Blatuiu  Buliiium — Eastern  Road  ;  Camu- 
lodunum,  Camboricum  —  From  Londinium  to  Calleva  —  Branch  to 
Corinium  and  Glevum ;  Isca,  and  Maridunum  —  From  Glevum  by 
Mag-na  to  Deva,  and  thence  throug'h  Coccium  to  the  North — Cross 
Roads — Salinas  and  other  towns — The  Western  Road,  from  Calleva  to 
Sorbiodunum,  Durnovaria,  and  Isca  Dumnoniorum — Aqute  Solis — 
The  trnjeetus  to  Wales,  and  the  Sarn  Helen — The  Road  on  the 
Southern  Coast ;  Venta  Belgarum,  Clauscntum,  Fortus  Magnus. 
Regnum,  Anderida,  Fortus  Lemanis. 


At  the  period  we  have  now  reached,  the  face  of  the  island  was 
strang-ely  altered  from  that  which  it  ])reseuted  when  visited  by 
Caesar.  Well  inhabited  and  well  cultivated,  it  "was  divided  like 
a  network  by  innumerable  roads,  many  of  tliem  wide  and  all  of 
excellent  construction,  wliich  formed  a  communication  between 
a  multitude  of  nourishing  cities  and  towns.  Several  principal 
lines  of  roads  carried  the  traveller  into  and  across  the  island  in 
different  directions.* 

*  Two  impei'fect  itineraries,  giving  us  the  names  and  distances  from  each 
other  of  the  towns  and  stations  on  the  principal  military  roads,  have  been 
preserved.  The  first  is  contained  in  the  great  Itinerarium  of  the  Roman 
empire,  which  goes  under  the  name  of  Antoninus,  and  is  believed  to  have 
been  compiled  about  a.d.  320.  The  other  is  contained  in  the  work  of 
Richard  of  Cirencester,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  copied  by  a  monk  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  from  an  older  itinerary  or  map.  They  ditt'er  a 
little  from  each  other,  and,  though  our  faith  in  Richard's  Itinerary  is  not 
strong,  it  is  certain  nearly  all  the  roads  he  gives  which  are  not  in  Antoni- 
nus have  been  ascertained  to  exist.  Traces  of  many  Roman  roads  are 
found  all  over  the  country,  not  mentioned  in  these  itineraries,  and  names 
of  a  areat  number  of  towns  found  neither  in  Antoninus  nor  in  Richard,  v 
are  given  by  an  anonymous  geographe)*  of  Ra\ennu,  who  wrote  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventh  century  ;  but  as  he  has  placed  them  in  no  regulai- 
Older,  it  is  very  difficult  uow  to  identify  their  sites. 


146  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

Tlie  stranger  wlio  embarked  at  Gessoriaciun,  on  the  eoast  of 
Gaul,  was  carried,  <>-uided  at  night  by  the  light  from  the  lofty 
pharos  of  Dubrae  (Dover),  into  the  port  of  Rutupiie,  celebrated 
for  its  oysters,  Avliich  was  the  usual  place  of  landing  from  the 
Continent.  The  citadel  of  Rutupiae  stood  on  an  elevation  com- 
manding the  beach,  and  its  massive  walls  still  remain  at  Kich- 
borougli,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  north-east  of  the 
modern  town  of  Sandwich.  From  the  masses  of  white  marble 
that  have  been  scattered  about,  it  is  evident  that  this  citadel  was 
adorned  with  handsome  buildings.  The  town  lay  behind  the 
citadel,  spread  over  a  gentle  declivity,  while  at  the  top  of  the 
hill  to  the  north  are  still  seen  the  remains  of  its  amphitheatre, 
llutupiae  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  isle  of  Thanet,  separated  from 
the  rest  of  Cantium  by  a  creek  which  ran  through  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames,  where  its  entrance  was  defended  by  another 
town  and  citadel,  named  Eegulbium,  now  Keculver,  of  which  a 
portion  of  the  walls  still  remains.  Another  Roman  port  s.-ems 
to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  harbour  of  Ramsgate.* 

From  Rutnpisethe  traveller  crossed  over  the  water — the  place 
whence  the  Rutupine  oysters  were  taken,  and  where,  in  digging, 
the  remains  of  the  oyster-beds  are  still  found — to  the  site  of 
tlie  present  town  of  Sandwich,  and.  here  he  entered  the  high 
road,  which  led  directly  over  the  downs,  by  the  present  village 
of  Ash,  to  a  hu'ge  town  called  Durovernum,  which  occupied 
probably  the  whole  site  of  the  modern  city  of  Canterbury.  Part 
of  the  Roman  walls  were  standing  a  century  ago,  and  tesselated 
pavements  and  other  antiquities  discovered  tliere  at  different 
times,  show  its  importance.  It  was  the  point  from  which  sever- 
al roads  branched,  communicating  with  the  towns  on  the  coast, 
Regnlbium,  Rutupise,  Dubrse,  and  the  Portus  Lemanis.  The 
road  leading  to  the  interior  of  the  island  left  Durovernum  on  the 
north-east,  and  proceeded  over  the  high  grounds  of  tiie  forest  of 
Blee,  by  a  town  named  Durolewan,  ilie  probable  site  of  which 
seems  to  be  Davington,  but  which  was  apparently  one  of  those 
imimportant  stations  that  have  left  scarcely  a  trace  behind,  to  a 
more  important  town  named  Durobrivae,  on  the  site  of  the  pre- 
sent city  of  Rochester,  situated  on  a  river  then  called  the  Madus. 
now  the  Medway.     The  road  then  proceeded  across  towards  the 

*  On  the  antiquities  )i  Rutupiae  and  Reg:ulbiuin,  the  reader  should  con- 
sult the  excellent  work  by  Mr  Roach  Smith,  '  The  Antiquities  of  Rich- 
boroiigh,  Reculver,  and  Lyinne,'  in  which  tliey  have  been  inve-;tigated 
with  remarkable  skill  and  care.  It  is  itself  almost  a  manual  of  Roman 
antiquities. 


CHAP,  v.]  ROMAX  LONDON.  147 

banks  of  tlie  Thames,  where  the  traveller  arrived  at  a  town  named 
Vag-niacae,  the  situation  of  which  is  also  somewliat  douljtfid, 
thoug-h  it  is  g-enerally  believed  to  have  stood  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Southfleet.  Traces  of  Roman  settlements  are  found 
tliicklv  scattered  along  the  line  of  this  road,  and  betw-si^'n  it  and 
the  Thames.  Prom  Vagniacse  the  road  proceeded  by  Dartford, 
over  Shooter's  Hill,  across  Blackheath,  and  to  a  town  in  the 
territory  of  the  ancient  tribe  of  the  Regni,  called  Noviomagus, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  stood  on  the  side  of  Holwood  II ill, 
in  tlie  parish  of  Bromley.  Fifteen  Roman  miles  to  the  north 
brought  the  traveller  again  to  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  at  the 
foot  of  the  bridge  by  which  he  entered  the  great  commercial 
town  of  Londinium. 

Roman  London  was  built  on  the  elevated  ground  on  both 
sides  of  a  stream,  known  in  after  time  by  the  name  of  Wall- 
brook,  which  ran  into  the  Thames  not  far  from  Southwark 
Bridge,  and  extending  Avestward  to  the  edge  of  a  hill  overlook- 
ing another  stream,  called  in  later  times  Holbourne,  and  on  the 
east  almost  to  the  Tower.  Its  walls  were  identical  with  those 
which  enclosed  the  mediaeval  city  of  London.  At  this  time  it 
seems  to  have  had  two  principal  lines  of  streets,  one  running 
from  the  bridge  northward  in  the  line  of  Bishopsgate-street, 
the  other  branching  from  it,  and  running  along  or  near  tiie  line 
of  the  modern  Watling-sti-eet,  till  it  left  the  city  by  Ludgate. 
At  the  western  end  of  this  street  the  principal  temples  and 
public  buildings  seem  to  have  stood,  crowning  the  hill,  and 
occupying  the  side  Avhich  sloped  down  to  the  river.  The 
northern  and  north-eastern  parts  of  the  town  were  occupied 
with  extensive  and — to  judge  by  the  remains  which  have  been 
brought  to  light— magniftcent  mansions.  Londinium  had  in- 
creased much  in  extent  since  it  had  been  founded  by  the 
Romans.  It  has  been  supposed  by  a  recent  writer  that  the 
iirst  town  was  confined  to  the  hdl  on  the  east  of  Wallbrook.* 
Mr  Roach  Smith  discovered,  in  excavations  on  the  site  of  the 
Royal  Exchange,  pits  which  had  been  receptacles  of  the  rubbish 
from  the  shops  and  houses  of  Roman  London  at  an  earlier 
period  of  its  existence,  and  which  had  been  afterwards  filled  up 
and  built  over.  At  the  period  to  which  our  last  chapter  has 
brought  us,  the    city  had  extended   to  the  other  side  of  the 

*  This  notion  on  the  earliest  form  of  Londinium  was  published  in  an 
essay  on  the  original  site  of  Roman  London,  by  Mr  Arthur  Taylor,  in  the 
thirty-third  volume  of  the  '  Archaeolojiia. ' 


MS  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

Tliames,  and  tlie  boroiig'li  of  Soutluvark  stands  upon  o-roimd 
M'hicli  covers  tlie  floors  of  Roman  liouses  and  the  paving-s  of 
Eoman  streets.* 

Two  principal  roads  led  out  of  Londinium  on  the  nortli  side 
of  the  Thames  ;  one  apparently  in  the  direction  of  Bishopsg-ate, 
tlie  other  westward,  through  Ludgate,  across  Holbonrne,  and  in 
the  direction  of  Fleet-street  and  the  Strand.  Without  New- 
gate, on  each  side  of  this  road,  the  principal  sepulchral  monu- 
ments of  the  citizens  of  Londinium  appear  to  have  stood.  It  was 
the  grand  route  to  the  west  of  Britain  ;  hut  somewhere  near 
the  present  site  of  Knightsbridgc  another  large  road  branched 
off  northward,  and  proceeded  in  a  direct  line  along  the  modern 
Kilbnrn  road,  until  the  traveller  arrived  at  a  town  named 
SulloniacPB,  the  traces  of  which  are  now  found  on  an  elevation 
called  Brockley  Hill,  a  little  south  of  Elstree,  on  the  borders 
of  Hertfordshire.  Hence  the  road  continued  its  direct  course, 
through  a  rich  and  varied  country,  to  the  grand  municipal  city 
of  Verulamium,  the  extensive  walls  of  which  are  still  traced  in 
the  neiglibourhood  of  St  Albans.  A'^erulamium  was  the  fashion- 
able town  of  the  south-east,  and  possessed,  wliat  probably  few 
towns  in  Britain  did,  a  theatre. 

From  Verulamium  the  road  proceeded  through  the  same  rich 
country,  nearly  straight,  to  a  town  named  Durocobrivse,  which 
must  have  stood  at  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  modern 
town  of  Dunstable,  which  is  marked  as  an  ancient  station  by 
the  number  of  tumuli  and  intrenchments  in  the  neighbourhood. 
It  was  apparently  the  great  market  of  tliese  agricidtural  dis- 
tricts, over  which  the  goddess  Diana  presided,  as  it  was  known 
also  by  the  name  of  Forum  Dianse.  On  leaving  this  place  the 
traveller  continued  his  route  across  the  beautiful  country  to  the 
south  of  Woburn  till  he  entered  a  more  open  valley,  where  he 
reached  the  town  of  Magiovintum,  supposed  to  have  stood  at 
the  place  where  the  road  crossed  the  river  Ousel,  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Fenny   Stratford.     The  road  then  again 

*  Numerous  particulars  relating;  to  Roman  London  will  be  found  in 
papers  by  Mr  Roach  Smith,  scattered  throug-h  the  volumes  of  the  '  Arclne- 
olofj:ia,'  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  other  archfeological  works.  See 
'also  a  paper  on  this  subject  in  my  '  Aichseological  Album.'  Whenever 
excavations  are  made  witliin  the  limits  of  the  city  of  London,  the  workmen 
come  to  the  Roman  floors  at  a  depth  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  or  twenty 
feet  under  the  present  level.  Since  the  first  edition  of  this  volume  was 
published,  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  given  to  the  public  his  valuable  work  on 
tiie  early  antiquities  of  the  capital  of  Britain,  entited  '  Antiquities  of 
Roman  London.' 


CHAP,  v.]  THE  XORTH-WESTERX  ROAD.  140 

mounted  higher  gTOimd,  passing  over  the  site  of  Stoney  Strat- 
ford, and  so  on  to  Lactodorum,  a  town  occupyino;  the  site  of 
the  modern  Towcester.  The  road  then  turned  slightly  north 
to  Weedon,  at  which  point  a  cross  road  turned  off  leading  to 
what  some  have  considered  two  towns,  Isannavaria  and  Benna- 
venta,  wliich  have  been  placed  at  Burnt  Walls  and  Burrow  Hill, 
;:ncient  sites  near  Daventry,  though  others  have  imagined  this  to 
be  one  town  under  two  different  names.  The  main  road  con- 
tinued its  course  from  Weedon  in  a  straight  line  across  an  open 
country  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  modern  town  of  Lilburne, 
where  it  crossed  the  river  Avon  at  Dove  Bridge.  Here  stood  a 
town  called  Triponthnn,  which  must  have  possessed  something 
remarkable  in  its  bridge  or  bridges  across  the  river.  Tumuli 
and  earthworks,  scattei'ed  over  the  country  around,  again  mark 
it  as  a  place  of  some  importance.  The  country  now  became 
more  uneven,  and  the  road  proceeded  till  it  reached  the  top  of  a 
liill  witliin  tlie  borders  of  Leicestershire,  where  stood  the  town 
of  Benonae,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  High  Cross. 
The  next  town  at  which  the  traveller  arrived  was  Mandues- 
sednm,  occupving  the  slope  of  a  hill  over  the  river  Anker,  and 
surrounded  by  high  grounds.  The  site  of  this  town  is  now 
called  Manceter  (in  the  county  of  Warwick),  and  the  square 
intrenchments  of  the  ancient  station  are  still  seen,  while  the 
hills  to  the  south  are  covered  with  tumuli.  After  leaving 
Mandiiessedum,  the  traveller  passed  through  a  continuation  of 
rich  agricultural  district,  open  to  tlie  north,  but  rising  into  a 
fine  hilly  country  to  the  south,  the  road  generally  taking  the 
higher  grounds,  until  it  readied  the  town  of  Eteocetum.  The 
last  traces  of  its  buildings  have  long  disappeared,  but  the  tra- 
dition of  them  appears  to  be  preserved*  in  the  modern  name  of 
the  site.  Wall,  in  Staffordshire.  The  road  turned  hence  west- 
ward, proceeding  direct  through  Stretton,  till  it  crossed  the 
little  river  Penk,  where  stood  the  town  of  Pennocrucium.  The 
road  now  went  through  a  more  wooded  and  hilly  country,  until 
the  traveller  arrived  at  Uxaconium,  a])parently  but  a  small  un- 
important town,  which  has  been  placed  by  some  at  Bed  Hill,  a 
little  to  the  north-east  of  Shiflnall,  in  Shropshire,  and  by  others 
at  Oaken -gates,  near  Wembridge.  It  proceeded  thence,  turn- 
ing slightly  south,  to  the  important  town  of  Yiroconium  or 
Uriconium,  the  remains  of  which  are  found  at  the  modern 
village  of  Wroxeter.  Important  excavations  have  been,  during 
the  last  few  years,  made  on  this  site,  which  have  thrown  con- 
siderable light  on  the  earlv  history  of  our  island.     Uriconium 


< 


150  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

was  one  of  tlie  Inr^-est  Roman  cities  in  Britain.  It  was  snr- 
rounded  by  a  wall  and  toss,  the  remains  of  which  maybe  traced 
all  round,  and  are  npwards  of  three  miles  in  extent;  and  inclose 
a  space  of  about  double  that  of  Roman  London.  The  town 
occupied  a  pictnresque  and  strono^  position,  at  the  foot  of  the 
celebrated  Shropshire  hill  of  the  Wrekin,  which,  pei'haps,  o"ave 
its  name  to  the  place,  and  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Severn,  just 
where  it  is  joined  by  the  Tamar.  It  was  evidently  of  con- 
siderable importance,  and  well  inhabited ;  it  had  a  forum  of 
great  extent,  and  it  possessed  a  theatre  of  considerable  size 
in  the  heart  of  the  town,  as  well  as  an  amphitheatre  outside.* 
Here  one  branch  of  the  g'reat  road  crossed  the  Severn,  and 
])roceeded  in  a  north-westwardly  direction  to  Rutunium,  a 
Roman  town,  the  site  of  Avhicli  is  generally  placed  at  Rowton, 
in  Shropshire,  after  which  it  entered  Wales,  passing  under  the 
north  end  of  the  Breidden  mountain,  to  a  town  called 
Mediolanum,  situated  where  the  road  crossed  the  river  Tanad. 
The  traveller  then  pursued  his  way  among  the  wild  mountains 
of  North  Wales,  till  he  approached  the  majestic  heights  oi 
Ivlons  Heriri  {S note  don) ,  and  halted  at  a  station  of  that  name, 
the  intrenchments  of  which  are  still  observed  at  a  place  named 
from  them.  Tomen-y-mur,  in  the  valley  of  Maentwrog.  Thence 
the  road  led  down  to  the  coast,  where  the  traveller  entered 
Segontium,  one  of  the  most  important  Roman  towns  in  Wales, 
the  walls  of  which  are  still  visible  at  Caer  Seiont,  near  Caer- 
narvon, on  the  coast  of  the  Irish  Sea. 

If  the  stranger  were  not  bound  for  the  midland  districts,  he 
might  leave  Londiuium  by  the  gate  known  in  later  times  by  the 
name  of  Bishopsgate,  and  pursue  the  great  road  to  the  noith.. 
His  way  at  first  ran  through  woods  and  corn  districts,  and  the 
traveller  passed  over  considerable  distances  without  meeling 
with  towns  or  stations.  His  Hrst  halting- place  was  a  small 
station  named — we  are  not  certain  Avhy — Ad  Fines,  the  site  of 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been  at  Broughing,  in  Hertfordshire, 
at  the  confluence  of  two  streams,  the  Rib  and  the  Quin. 
Thence  the  road  proceeded  in  a  direct  line  to  Durolipons,  the 
site  of  which  is  fixed  without  doubt  at  Godmanchester,  on  the 
river  Ouse.     The  traveller  had  noAv  entered  upon  the  low,  flat 

*  I  have  published  an  account  of  these  excavations,  and  of  the  discoverit  s 
made  in  the  course  of  them,  in  a  rather  large  volume  entitled  '  Uiiconiuiii  ; 
a  Hist(«rical  Account  of  the  Ancient  Roman  City,  and  of  the  Excavations 
made  upon  its  site  at  Wroxeter,  in  Shropshire,  forming-  a  sketch  of  the 
Condition  and  History  of  the  Welsh  Border  during  the  Roman  Period. 
By  Thomas  Wright,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  8vo.  London,  1872.' 


cn.vp.  v.]  TOWNS  IX  THE  NORTH  ROAD.  lol 

oountrv  on  the  borders  of  tlie  fens,  to  avoid  which  the  road 
turned  a  little  west,  and  then  continuinii;  its  dreary  course  to 
the  north  reached  a  district  covered  with  potteries,  in  the  midst 
of  which  he  entered  a  rich  and  ele^-ant  town  named  Durobrivpe, 
situated  on  one  of  the  sluo'g'ish  rivers  of  this  district,  which  in 
modern  times  is  called  the  Nen,  and  the  site  of  the  Eoman 
town  is  now  occupied  by  an  obscure  villao'e  called  Castor.* 
Hence  the  road  contiiuied  nearly  north,  with  a  slig'ht  cnrve,  to 
another  town  of  some  importance,  named  Causennse,  or,  accord- 
in^- to  other  authorities,  Isir.Ee,  situated  on  slig-htly  elevated  gTOund. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  th:it  this  town  occupied  the  site  of  the 
modern  Ancaster,  Avhich  has  been  celebrated  for  its  Roman 
antiquities  since  the  time  of  Leland.f  Another  stag-e  brouii'ht 
the  traveller  to  Lindum,  a  noble  city,  both  for  the  elegance  of 
its  buildings,  and  its  position  on  a  lofty  isolated  hill,  command- 
ing extensive  views  on  every  side  over  the  flat  country  around. 
Its  modern  representative  is  easily  recognized  in  the  city  of 
Lincoln. 

The  traveller  Avho  is  not  willing  to  follow  the  dreury  road 
we  have  been  describing,  might  take  another  route,  which, 
though  less  direct,  lay  through  a  more  beautiful  country,  in 
Avhich  the  towns  wei-e  more  numerous  and  interesting.  He  left 
Londinium  by  its  western  gate,  and,  proceeding  along  the  road 
already  described,  he  passed  through  Sulloniacse,  Verulamiuni, 
Hurocobrivae,  Magiovintum,  Lactodorum,  and  Tripontium,  to 
Venonre.  There,  instead  of  continuing  his  route  to  Manduesse- 
dum,  he  took  another  gi-eat  road  which  turned  off  to  the  north- 
east, and  proceeded  direct  to  llita?,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
important  of  the  midland  cities,  adorned  with  rich  mansions 

*  The  very  inferestinj?  antiquities  of  this  Roman  town  were  explored  by 
the  late  Mr  E.  Tyrrell  Artis,  of  Castor,  who  published  them  in  a  series  of 
expensive  plates,  but  which  were  not  accompanied  with  a  text. 

t  Leland,  in  his  Itinerary,  vol.  i.  pp.  28,  29,  has  left  us  the  following- 
note  on  the  antiquities  discovered  at  Ancaster  in  his  time  : — '  In  tymes 
past  it  hath  bene  a  celebrate  toune,  but  not  waullid,  as  far  as  I  could' per- 
ceive. Tlie  buildini>-  of  it  lay  in  leu,2:hth  by  south  and  north.  In  the 
s(mth  ende  of  it  be  often  tymes  founde  in  ploughing-  great  square  stones  of 
old  buildinges  and  lloniayne  Coynes  of  brasse  and  sylver.  In  the  west 
ende  of  it,  where  now  meadowes  be,  ar  founde  yn  dichiug;  grreat  vaultes. 
...  An  old  man  of  Ancaster  told  me  that  by  Ureby,  or  Roseby,  a  ploug-h- 
man  toke  up  a  stone,  and  found  iinother  stone  under  it,  wherein  was  a 
square  hole  having  Romaine  quoin  in  it.  He  told  me  also  that  a  plough- 
man toko  up  in  the  felde-  of  llarleshm  a  2  miles  from  Granteham  a  stone, 
under  the  which  was  a  potte  of  brasse,  and  an  helmet  of  gold,  sette  with 
stones  in  it,  the  which  was  presentid  to  Catarine  princes  dowajjer.  There 
were  bedes  of  silver  in  the  potte,  and  writings  corruptid.' 


152  TllK  ROMAXS.  [chai>.  v. 

and  temples,  and  other  public  buiklino-s.*  Its  site  is  now 
occupied  by  the  town  of  Leicester.  Thence,  keeping'  to  tlu^ 
eastward  of  tlie  gTeat  forest  of  Charnwood,  the  road  proceeded 
over  a  rich  country  to  Yerometuin — a  town  supposed  to  have 
stood  in  the  immediate  neifrhl)ourhood  of  Willoughby,  on  tlie 
borders  of  Nottinghamshire.  A  few  miles  more  brou<i-ht  the 
traveller  to  a  town  on  the  river  Trent,  named  Margidunum, 
supposed  to  have  stood  at  or  near  Bri(Ii>vford,  and  next  he 
reached  a  station  on  the  same  river,  called,  no  doubt  from  its 
bridge  over  tlie  river,  Ad  Pontem,  believed  to  have  stood  near 
the  modern  village  of  Earndon.  The  next  halting-place  was 
Crococolana,  a  town  supposed  to  have  stood  at  Brough,  in 
Lincolnshire,  from  \\hich  another  stage  took  him  to  Lindum.f 

Here  he  again  took  the  north  road  from  Londinium,  and 
soon  after  leaving  Lindum  he  turned  off  westwardly,  and,  aftei* 
a  short  stage,  repassing  the  river  Trent,  halted  at  the  town  of 
Segelocum,  or  Agelocum,  on  the  site  of  the  modern  town  of 
Littlcborough.  Thence,  still  keeping  a  little  westward,  the  road 
brought  him,  after  a  somewhat  longer  stage,  to  the  more  im- 
jDortant  station  of  Danum,  a  site  now  known  by  the  somewhat 
celebrated  name  of  Doncaster.  From  Danum  the  road  turned 
north,  and  after  a  shorter  stage,  reached  Legiolium,  supposed  to 
have  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  village  of  Castleford,  at 
the  continence  of  the  Ayr  and  the  Calder,  and  proceeded  thence 
to  the  town  of  Calcaria,  which  probably  received  its  name  from 
its  lime-works,  and  is  now  represented  by  Tadcaster,  the  last 
station  before  reaching  Eburacum,  the  second,  if  not  the  first, 
city  in  Britain, 

There  was  another  road  from  Lindum  to  Eburacum.  It  pro- 
ceeded in  a  direct  line  from  the  former  place  to  a  town  or  station 
on  the  Humber  {Abus),  called — no  doubt  from  the  great  river 
near  which  it  stood — Ad  Abum,  supposed  to  have  been  at  Win- 
terton.  The  traveller  arrived  here  in  two  stages,  stopping  only 
at  a  half-way  station,  the  only  name  of  which   that  has   come 

*  The  importance  and  beauty  of  Ratai  are  evinced  by  the  numerous  fine 
tesselated  pavements  that  have  been  found  tliere.  Some  of  its  public 
buildings  appear  to  have  been  standing  in  the  time  of  Geuflrey  of  Mon- 
mouth, who  speaks  of  a  subterranean  temple  of  Janus  :  '  In  quodam  sub- 
terraneo  quod  sub  Sora  tluvio  intra  Legecestriam  fieri  prajceperat.  Erat 
autem  subterraneum  illud  c(mditum  in  honorem  bifrontis  Jani.' — Galf. 
Hon.  Hist.  Brit.,  lib.  ii.  c.  14. 

t  The  Roman  towns  between  Rata3  and  Lindum  have  been  less  a]mo.*t 
than  any  others  examined  by  modern  antiquaries,  and  their  sites  are  only 
iixed  by  conjecture. 


c^\r.  v.]  EBUEACUM.  1.33 

down  to  us  is  one  taken  from  its  position,  In  Medio.  From 
Ad  Abum  the  traveller  crossed  the  Hnmber  in  a  boat,  and 
landed  at  another  town,  called,  from  the  river  on  which  it  stood, 
Ad  Petuariam,  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  Broug-li, 
on  the  Hnmber,  where  interesting-  Eoman  antiquities  have  been 
found.  From  Brough  the  road  seems  to  have  proceeded  to 
Eburacum  without  any  intermediate  station,  a  distance  esti- 
mated in  the  ancient  Itinerary  at  forty-six  Roman  miles,  so  that 
it  perhaps  went  by  a  circuitous  route,  joining  some  one  of  the 
roads  from  Eburacum  to  the  coast. 

Ebnracnm,  or  Eboracum*  (as  its  name  was  difl'erently  spelt), 
occupietl  the  i)anks  of  a  navigable  river  called  the  Urus  (now 
the  Ouse).  AVithin  its  walls,  which  were  of  considerable  extent, 
stood  the  imperial  palace,  and  no  doubt  other  magnificent  edi- 
fices, and  both  within  and  without  were  temples  to  most  of  the 
Roman  gods,  as  well  as  to  the  eastern  deities,  Serapis  and 
Mithras.  Ontside  the  Avails,  the  city  was  surrounded  with  ex- 
tensive and  well-built  suburbs. f 

Many  roads  branched  off  from  Ebnracnm  in  different  direc- 
tions. Several  of  these  ran  towards  the  coast,  and  communicat- 
ed no  donbt  with  trading  ports.  Of  these  the  principal  was  a 
military  road,  leading  by  two  towns,  named  Derventio  and 
Delgovitia,  to  an  apparently  important  town  on  the  coast  called 
Praetonmn.  Various  positions  have  been  fixed  for  these  towns, 
chieHy  on  the  assumption  that  Praetorium  stood  at  Flamborough 
Head.  There  are  extensive  remains  of  an  important  Roman 
station  at  Old  Malton,  on  the  river  Derwent,  and  as  we  know 
that  there  was  a  Derventio  in  the  interior  of  the  island  on  a 
river  called  the  Derwent,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  station 
at  Old  Malton  may  have  been  Derventio.  But  the  Roman  an- 
tiquities of  East  Yorkshire  have  as  yet  been  very  imperfectly 
explored. 

The  great  north  road  which  we  have  been  pursuing,  after 
leaving*  Ebnracnm,  tnrned  westAvard,  in  the  direction  of  the 
Ouse,  until  at  the  end  of  a  comparatively  short  stage,  the  tra- 

*  Eburacum  is  the  spelling-  g-iven  in  the  Itinerary  of  Antoninus,  in 
Ptolemy,  and  in  the  geo(^rapher  of  Ravenna,  while  an  inscription  fonnerly 
found  at  York,  but  not  preserved,  as  well  as  the  llonian  histoi'ians  who 
mention  this  place,  call  it  Eboracum.  The  weight  of  authority,  however, 
.^eeins  to  be  turned  in  favour  of  the  former,  by  an  inscription  more  recently 
discovered,  and  certainly  reading  ehvk. 

t  An  excellent  volume  on  the  Roman  antiqiiities  of  York  was  pub- 
lished by  the  Rev.  C.  Wellbeloved,  of  that  city,  under  the  title  of  '  Ebura- 
cum, or  York  under  the  Romans,'  which  is  reconuucnded  earnestly  to  the 
student  of  the  history  and  antiquities  of  the  Romans  iu  Britain. 


]'54  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

veller  arrived  at  another  larg-e  and  well-built  town,  Isiiriiun, 
the  walls  of  which  are  still  traced  at  Aldboroiigh,  and  within 
them  the  excavator  meets  continually  with  the  tesselated  floors 
of  the  Roman  houses.*  A  long'cr  sta<^-e  carried  the  traveller  to 
Cataracto,  or  Cataractoniuni,  the  ancient  name  of  which  has 
been  preserved  by  the  villag-e  of  Catteric,  on  the  river  Swale, 
and  a  few  miles  further  the  road  crossed  the  river  Tisa  [the  Tees), 
it  is  supposed  at  Piercebridge,  near  Darlington,  where  there 
was  also  a  station.  The  traveller  had  now  entered  the  modern 
countv  of  Durham,  and  the  road  pursued  its  course  nearly  north, 
through  a  rich  and  interesting  country,  to  Viiiovium,  a  town  of 
some  extent,  of  which  there  are  considerable  remains  in  the 
modern  hamlet  of  Binchester,  near  Bishop  Auckland.  The 
next  town  on  this  road  was  Epiacum,  which  occupied  a  lofty 
brow  on  a  tongue  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  small 
streams  on  the  west  side  of  the  modern  village  of  Laiichester, 
where  abundant  remains  of  the  Roman  town  have  been  found. 
It  appears  by  inscriptions  fouml  on  this  site,  that  this  town 
had  its  basilica  or  court-house,  and  its  public  baths  and  arsenal, 
and  other  important  buildings.  The  road  now  turned  west- 
wardly  again  till  it  reached  Vindomora,  which  is  supposed  to 
be  the  station  traceable  at  Ebchester,  on  the  borders  of  North- 
umberland, f  A  few  miles  further  he  came  to  the  town  of  Cor- 
stopitum,  the  modern  site  of  which  is  called  Corchester,  near  Cor- 
bi'idge  on  the  Tyne,  and  before  he  reached  it,  a  bridge,  of  which 
the  remains  are  still  to  be  traced,  carried  the  traveller  over  the 
river  Tina.  He  was  now  only  about  two  miles  from  the  great 
wall  erected  by  the  emperor  Hadrian,  which  the  road  passed  at 
an  opening  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  station  of  Hunnum.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  wall  the  road  separated  into  two  branches,  one 
of  which  turned  oil"  towards  the  coast,  while  the  other  proceeded 
to  the  town  of  Habitancum  (now  Risingham),  situated  on  a 
pleasant  stream,  in  a  small  valley,  sheltered  by  surrounding 
hills.  An  inscription  found  in  this  place  commemorates  the 
rebuilding,  in  the   reign  of  Caracalla,  of  the  gate   and   of  the 

*  A  series  of  very  carefully  executed  plates  of  the  tesselated  paveruents 
of  Isurium  were  published  by  Mr  H.  Ecroyd  Smith,  who  has  since  pub- 
lished a  quarto  volume,  illustrated  with  numerous  engravings,  on  the  An- 
tiquities of  Aldborough. 

t  Some  doubt  has  been  thrown  on  the  appropriation  of  these  two  last 
sites,  though  it  does  not  appear  to  be  well  founded.  No  other  sites  answer 
so  well  to  Epiacum  and  Vindomoi-a,  and  we  can  tind  no  other  names  for 
what,  by  the  reuiains  still  visible,  were  evidently  towns  of  considerable 
importance. 


CKAP.  v.]  THE  TOWN  OF  LUGUBALLIUM.  loo 

walls,  which  liad  become  ruinous  by  age  :  tlie  remains,  which 
al'ter  so  many  centuries  still  present  themselves,  show  that  they 
were  rebuilt  well.  A  very  little  further  stood  the  town  of  Ere- 
menium,  which  an  inscription  identities  wdth  the  modern  villao-e 
of  Hig'h  Rochester.  Here  also  a  bridge  passed  over  tlie  river. 
The  traveller  then  pursued  his  way  by  longer  stages  by  Trimon- 
tium,  which  has  been  fixed  at  Eildon,  and  Curia,  placed  by 
some  at  Currie,  and  by  others  at  Borthwick  Castle,  to  the  east- 
ern end  of  the  vallum  of  Antoninus,  and  passing  it,  if  he  were 
bound  to  the  far  north,  he  proceeded  to  the  towns  of  Alauna, 
Lindum,  Victoria,  and  Orrea. 

In  the  course  of  the  great  road  from  Eburacum  to  the  north, 
it  had  several  smaller  offsets  or  branches.  One  of  these  led 
apparently  from  Vinovium  to  the  important  town  of  Pons  ^^lii, 
or  Newcastle,  and  another  to  the  stations  which  commanded  the 
mouth  of  the  Tyne,  at  Jarrow  and  South  Shields.  A  larger 
branch  turned  oft"  a  little  beyond  Cataracto,  and  carried  the 
ti'aveller  westward  to  the  town  of  Lavatrae,  which,  there  seems 
little  reason  for  doubt,  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Bowes.  A  few  miles  further  he  reached  Verterae,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  liave  stood  on  the  site  of  the  town  of  Broiigh  in 
Westmoreland,  where  many  lloman  antiquities  have  been  found 
at  different  times.*  He  was  now  on  the  confines  of  the  mount- 
ainous district  which  had  formed  the  stronghold  of  the 
Brigantes  ;  to  the  south  rose  the  heights  of  Stanemoor,  while  to 
the  west  were  seen  the  stdl  nobler  mountains  of  the  lake  dis- 
trict, Avhich  he  approached  nearer  as  he  reached  the  neit  town 
of  BrovonacfB,  supposed  to  have  stood  at  the  modern  villao-e  of 
Kirby-Thore,  where  Roman  antiquities  are  found,  and  Bro- 
cavium,  which  its  position  and  the  niunerous  antiquities  found 
tliere  seem  to  identify  with  Brougham. f  Another  stage  and 
the  traveller  arrived  at  the  important  city  of  Luguballium,  or 
Luguvalliuin,   with  its  temples  and  palaces,  and  other  public 

*  In  the  time  of  Leland,  Brough  seems  to  have  been  proverbial  for 
the  antiquities  continually  found  there.  He  says; — '  Borow,  now  a 
vyllage,  set  in  Lunesdale  a  vi.  myles  beneth  the  foote  of  Dentdale,  hath 
heene  by  likelyhod  sum  notable  town.  The  ploughnienne  find  there 
yn  ering  lapides  qnadratos,  and  many  other  straung  thinges  ]  and 
this  place  is  much  spoken  of  the  inhabitants  there' —Itinerary ,  vol.  vii. 
p.  48. 

t  '  At  Burgham  is  an  old  castel  that  the  commune  people  ther  sayeth 
dith  synke.  Abovvt  this  Burgham  plowghmen  fynd  in  the  feldes  niany 
.-({uare  stones,  tokens  of  old  buildinges.  Tlie  castefis  set  in  a  stronge  place 
by  reasons  of  ry  vers  enclosing  the  cuntery  ihanihowt.'' —Leland' is  Itinerani. 
vul.  vii.  p.  49.  '^' 


\r,r,  THE  IIOM.ANS.  [cHAr.  v. 

edifices.  Tlicre  can  be  no  (loiil)t  tliat  the  modern  eity  of  Car- 
lisle starids  upon  its  ruins.*  From  Liig-uballiuui  the  road  a^i'ain 
passed  the  Avail  of  Hadrian,  proceed ini;'  by  the  Castra  Explora- 
torvim,  Avliich  is  identified  with  the  nodern  Ketherby,  where 
numerous  antiquities  have  been  found,  T51atuni  Bulg'ium,  which 
is  placed  at  Middleby,  and  Uxelum,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
stood  at  Castlcover,  and  so  on  to  Colania,  the  modern  Lanark, 
and  Yanduaria,  or  Paisley,  where  it  passed  the  western  extremity 
of  the  o-reat  barrier  of  Antoninus,  and  ended  at  the  remote 
town  of  Theodosia,  or  Pumbarton.f 

The  traveller  in  Britain  has  thus,  l)y  two  different  roads, 
passed  the  Avail  of  Hadrian,  and  the  more  northern  earthen 
vallum  of  Antoninus.  The  first  of  these  monuments  must 
have  attracted  his  attention  by  its  extraordinary  chai"acter,  and 
he  Avould  be  tempted  to  cross  the  island  by  the  great  road  which 
accompanied  its  course.  As  he  approached  it  from  Eburacum 
he  entered  a  populous  region,  which  marked  the  great  com- 
mercial importance  of  the  stations  on  the  Tyne.  Strong  posts 
commanded  the  entrance  to  the  river  both  on  the  south  and  on 
the  north.  One  of  these  stood  at  Tynemouth,  where,  as  we 
learn  from  a  mutilated  inscription  still  preserved,  the  usurper 
Maximinus,  then  an  officer  in  the  sixth  legion,  erected  some 
public  buildings,  Avhich  included  a  basilica,  as  Avell  as  a  temple. 
Avhich  seem  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the  famous  abbey  of 
after  ages.     A  few  miles  up  the  bank  of  the  river  brought  the 

*  There  is  a  curious  passage  in  Bede's  Life  of  St  Cuthbert  (oliap.  27). 
where  the  saint  is  described  as  visiting  the  city  of  Lugubalia.  and  as  being 
taken  by  the  citizens  to  see  the  Roman  walls,  and  the  wonderful  fountain 
which  had  been  built  there  by  the  Romans.  '  Venit  ad  Lugubaliaiu 
civitatem  (qua3  a  populis  Anglorum  corrupte  Luel  vocatur). 
Postera  autem  die  deducentibus  eum  civibus  ut  videret  moenia  civitatis, 
fontemque  in  ea  miro  quondam  Romanorum  opereexstructum.'  This  was 
in  the  seventh  century.  Leland,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
speaks  of  the  numerous  antiquities  found  at  Carlisle  in  his  time  (Itt>i., 
vol.  vii.  p.  54).  'In  diggying  to  make  new  building  yn  the  towne  often 
tymes  hath  bene,  and  now  a  late,  fownd  diverse  fundations  of  the  old  cite, 
as  pavimentes  of  streates,  old  arches  of  dores,  coyne,  stones  squared, 
paynted  pottes,  mony  hid  yn  pottes  so  hold  and  muldid  that  when  it  was 
stronly  towchid  yt  went  almost  to  mowlder  ;  as  yn  M  .  .  .  glalbyls  howse 
yn  digging  for  the  squaryng  ....  his  gardin  and  orchard,  the 
M'hich  ston  .  .  .  eth  much  sowth.  The  hole  site  of  the  towne  is  sore 
chaungid.  For  wher  as  the  stretes  where  and  great  edifices  now  be  vacant 
and  garden  plottes.  In  the  feldes  abowt  Cairluel  yn  plowghing  hath  be 
found  diverse  cornelines  and  other  stony s  well  entayled  for  seales,  and  in 
other  places  of  Cumbarland  in  plowinge  hath  be  fownd  brickes  conteyn- 
inge  the  prints  of  antique  workes.' — Page  54. 

f  The  Roman  antiquities  of  Scotland  have  been  collected  in  a  volume, 
entitled  '  Caledonia  Romana,'  by  Robert  Stuart.     Edinburgh,  1845. 


cUAi'.  v.]  THE  WALL  OF  IIADrjAX.  lo7 

traveller  to  the  town  or  station  of  Seo-edniuim.      Here  tlie  wall 
of  Hadrian   beg-an,  and   from  this  cireunistance   the  spot  has 
received  in  modern  times  the  name,  now  so  widely  celebrated, 
of  AVallsend.     The  wall  was  a  massive  work  of  masonry,  vary-    , 
iiig-  from  six  to  nearly  ten  feet  in  thickness,  and  from  eighteen    ] 
to  nineteen  feet  high.      On  the  north  it  was  accompanied  by  a  i 
foss  thirty-six  feet  wide,  and  fifteen  feet  deep.     To  the  sonth 
was  another  lesser  foss,  Avith  a  triple  entrenchment  of  earth  and 
stones.     At  no  great  distance  apart,  along  the  line  of  the  wall, 
were  stations  or  towns,  erich  consisting  of  a  citadel,  strongly 
walled,  with  streets  and  habitations  within,  and  often  extensive 
subni'bs  without.     Between  these  towns  stood  smaller  fortresses, 
which,  from  the  circumstance  of  their  occurring  at  the  distance 
of  one  Eoman  mile  irom  each  other,  have  been  termed  mile- 
casth's  ;  and  between  each  of  these  again  were  ibur  small  sub-      ^ 
sidiary  buildings,  which  for  distinction  have  been  termed  watch-      A 
towers. 

The  wall,  as  we  have  just  stated,  began  on  the  east  at  Seg-e- 
dununi.  It  there  advanced  to  the  south  into  the  river  Tyne,  as 
far  as  the  low-water  mark,  while  it  pursued  its  course  westwardly 
to  a  town  of  great  extent  and  commercial  importance,  named, 
from  its  bridge  across  the  river  Tyne  built  by  Hadrian,  Pons 
JElu,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Newcastle. 
Little  more  than  two  miles  from  this  place  brought  the  traveller 
to  Condercum,  a  town  beautifully  situated  on  an  elevated  knoll, 
which  commaiuls  views  of  the  valley  of  the  Tyne  to  the  south- 
west, and  northwardly  of  the  distant  and  lofty  Cheviots.  The 
houses  and  walls  of  the  ancient  town  may  still  be  traced  in  the 
unevenness  of  the  sod  Avhicli  covers  them,  at  a  spot  which  is  now 
called  Benwell.  Thence  the  wall  proceeded  over  hill  and  vale, 
for  the  country  was  here  much  varied,  to  the  next  town,  which 
appears  to  have  been  of  less  importance,  and  Avas  called  Vindo- 
bala  ;  its  site  is  now  called  Rutchester.  The  next  town  which 
presented  itself  to  the  traveller  was  named  Hunnnm,  apparently 
a  handsome  a)id  Avell-inhabited  place,  the  deserted  site  of  which 
may  now  be  distinctly  traced  at  Halton-Chesters.  He  now  cross- 
ed the  great  road  which  passed  the  wall  in  its  way  from  York, 
and,  pursuing  the  course  of  the  wall,  crossed  the  northern  Tyne 
by  a  bridge,  of  which  the  piers  still  remain,  and  entered  the  large 
town  of  Cilurnmu,  the  extensive  ruins  of  which,  Avell  described 
as  a  British  Pompeii,  are  visible  near  the  modern  hamlets  of 
Chesters.  This  station  also  had  its  temples  and  public  build- 
ings, which,  to  jutlge  from  the  broken  statues  and  fragments  of 


158  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

jircliitectural  decoration  wliicli  are  found  there,  must  have  been 
distiu<>-uished  by  tlieir  beauty.  The  next  town,  Procolitia,  dis- 
tant only  a  sliort  stag'e,  is  traced  at  the  spot  now  called  Carraw- 
burgli.  Another  stage,  al)out  the  same  lengtli,  brought  tlie 
traveller  to  the  fine  town  of  Boi-covicus,  perhaps,  after  Pons  ^Elii, 
the  largest  on  the  wall,  the  very  extensive  remains  of  which  are 
found  at  a  place  now  named  Housesteads.  He  was  now  among 
the  hills,  surrounded  with  magnificent  scenery,  and  might  con- 
template in  the  distance  the  rugged  mountains  which  sheltered 
the  northern  enemies  of  Eome.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Borco- 
vicus,  he  left  the  wall  to  proceed  a  short  distance  south,  to  the 
town  of  Vindolana,  the  site  of  which  is  now  marked  distinctly 
by  tlie  remains  of  walls  and  houses  at  Chesterholm.  He  tlien 
regained  the  wall,  and  arrived  at  ^Esica,  the  walls  of  which  are 
still  seen  at  Great  Chesters.  The  wall  now  again  ran  its  course 
through  the  mountains,  in  some  places  rising  up  or  descending 
precipitous  heights,  which  struck  the  traveller  with  astonishment 
and  even  with  terror.  The  ground  was  unfit  for  towns,  and  the 
next  he  came  to.  Magna,  was  built  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
wall,  on  the  ground  belong  at  a  place  now  called  Carvoran,  on 
a  little  river,  and  by  the  side  of  a  high  road  which  ran  south- 
ward to  the  town  of  Aliona,  which  is  believed  to  have  stood  at 
Whitley  Castle,  about  two  miles  to  the  north  of  Alston,  and 
northward  into  the  country  betu^een  the  two  walls.  Hence, 
follow^ing  the  valley,  the  traveller  came  soon  to  Amboglanna,  a 
larger  town,  of  which  there  are  very  extensive  remains  at  Bird- 
oswald,  in  a  rich  valley  on  the  river  Irthing.  Further  on,  a 
little  south  of  the  wall,  stood  Petriana,  at  a  place  now  called 
Cambeck  Fort,  and  a  short  distance  south-east  of  this,  on  a  road 
which  led  from  Magna  direct  to  Luguballium,  thus  avoiding 
the  circuit  here  made  by  the  wall,  Wiis  another  station,  named 
Bremetenracum,  the  intrenched  area  of  which  is  supposed  to  be 
still  traced  in  the  park  at  Brampton.  The  next  town  on  the 
wall  was  Aballaba,  supposed  to  have  stood  at  Watch-cross,  though 
its  site  is  not  quite  certain.  The  traveller,  in  following  the 
course  of  the  wall,  now  passed  successively  the  towns  of  Con- 
gavata,  near  which  the  wall  joined  the  city  of  Luguballium, 
Axelodunum,  Gabrosentae,  and  Tunnocelum,  where  it  ended 
on  the  coast  of  the  estuary  of  Ituna  {the  Solwai/  Frith).  The 
last-mentioned  town  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  site  of 
Bowness  ;  the  others  are  doubtful,  but  they  have  been  placed  by 
conjecture  at  Burgh-upon-Sands  and  l)nind)urgh.  A  road  from 
Luguballium  led  through  a  series  of  tou^ns  which  were  evidently 


CHAP,  v.]  CAMULODUNU.\r.  159 

connected  with  tlie  wall  as  a  system  of  defence  an'ainst  tlie  in- 
cursio.is  of  the  northern  barbarians  and  their  allies  from  Hibernia. 
This  road  proceeded  from  Lngnballiuin  to  Olenacum,  which  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  strong*  station  now  seen  at  Old  Carl- 
isle ;  Virosidum,  supposed  to  be  identical  with  the  Eoman  r^;- 
niains  at  Marvport  and  the  adjacent  village  of  EllenborouL!;h,  on 
the  coast  of  Cumberland ;  and  Glanovanta,  the  site  of  which  is 
more  doubtful.* 

The  stranger  who  was  desirous  of  visiting  the  eastern  districts 
of  Britain,  the  old  territory  of  the  Trinobantes  and  the  Iceni, 
might  have  proceeded  from  the  south  to  Lindum  by  a  more 
circuitous  route.  Leaving  the  great  northern  road  soon  after 
it  quitted  Londinium,  he  proceeded  by  a  road  wliich  took  an 
easterly  direction,  till  he  reached  a  town  named  Durolitum,  or 
Durositum,  which  is  believed  to  have  stood  near  Romford  in 
Essex.  The  next  town  he  came  to  was  called  Csesaromagus, 
and  is  generally  identified  with  the  modern  Chelmsford.  Cano- 
nium,  whi{;h  followed,  is  usually  placed  in  the  vicinity  of  Kelve- 
don,  on  the  river  Pant.  From  thence  the  traveller  approached 
tlie  grand  city  of  Camulodunum,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Itine- 
rary, Camalodimum,  the  capital  of  the  British  princes  after  they 
had  submitted  to  the  Romans,  and  the  first  Roman  city  in  the 
island  which  was  honoured  with  the  rank  of  coloula.  History 
speaks  of  its  temples  and  public  buildings  ;  and  if,  at  any  earl; 
period  of  its  history,  it  was  exposed  to  attack  without  walls  of 
defence,  that  want  was  so  well  supplied  at  a  subsequent  period, 
that  the  ponderous  masonry  of  its  walls  has  endured  to  the 
present  day,  and  ought  never  to  have  allowed  anybody  to  hesitate 
in  placing  the  site  of  this  ancient  city  at  Colchester. f     A  few 

*  No  district  in  England  is  so  interesting  for  its  antiquities  as  that  of  the 
wall  of  Hadrian.  It  has  been  made  the  subject  of  an  excellent  and  most 
instructive  volume,  by  the  Rev.  J.  CoUingvvood  Bruce,  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  under  the  title  of  '  The  Roman  Wall :  a  historical,  tt)pographical, 
and  descriptive  Account  of  the  Barrier  of  the  Lower  Isthmus,  extending 
from  the  lyne  to  the  Sol  way,  deduced  from  numerous  personal  Surveys.' 
The  Wall  district  shows  us  in  a  remarkable  manner  the  effect  of  modern 
cultivation  in  destroying  ancient  monuments.  From  Newca.stle  to  the 
ancient  Amboglanna  {Birdosivald),  which  extends  over  a  wild  and  insecure 
country,  the  stations  and  posts  are  easily  identified,  and  buildings  of  all 
kinds  lie  in  masses  of  ruins,  which  are  only  slightly  cohered  by  the  accu- 
mulation of  earth.  To  the  west  of  Amboglanna,  the  country  has  been  more 
highly  cultivated,  and  the  plough  has  so  completely  obliterated  the  trace  of 
Roman  work.s,  that  we  can  only  guess  at  the  sites  of  ancient  towns,  and 
the  positions  of  all  the  western  stations  of  the  wall  ai'e  very  doubtful. 

t  The  only  good  a(T-(»unt  of  the  Roman  antiquities  of  Colchester  will  be 
found  in  a  paper  by  Mr  Roach  Smith,  in  the  '  Journal  of  the  Archaeological 
Association,'  vol.  ii.  p.  29. 


IGO  THE  ROMAXS.  [chap.  v. 

miles  to  the  north  of  Caimilodiinum,  the  road  crossed  the  river 
Sturiiis  {Si our),  where  there  was  a  station  called  Ad  Ansam, 
snpposed  to  liave  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  village  of 
Stratford.  The  traveller  then  proceeded  by  longer  stag-es  to  the 
towns  of  Conibretonium  and  Sitoinagus,  which  are  conjectnred 
to  have  stood  at  Bnrgli,  near  Woodbridge,  and  at  Dnnwich,  on 
the  coast.  The  conrse  of  this  road  is,  however,  at  present  very 
uncertain,  and  we  only  know  that  it  ended  at  the  eastern  Yenta, 
or  Venta  of  the  Iceni,  which,  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt, 
stood  at  Caistor,  near  Norwich.  From  Yenta  the  Itinerary 
brings  us,  without  any  intermediate  station,  to  Camboricum, 
which  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  town  of  Cambridge. 
Another  road  from  Colchester  led  by  Yilla  Paustini,  the  position 
of  which  seems  to  be  exceedingly  doubtful,  to  Iciani,  a  town 
which  has  been  conjectnred,  perhaps  only  from  a  fancied  resem- 
blance of  name,  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  Ickling- 
ham,  and  in  that  case  the  road  seems  there  to  have  joined  the 
other  road  from  Yenta  to  Candjoricum.  There  Avas  also  a  direct 
road  from  Camulodunnm  to  Camboricum,  of  which  the  Itine- 
raries give  no  account.  Camboricum  w^as  w^ithout  doubt  a  very 
important  town,  which  commanded  the  southern  fens.  It  had 
three  forts  or  citadels,  the  principal  of  Avhich  occupied  the  dis- 
trict called  the  Castle-end,  in  the  modern  town  of  Cambridge, 
and  appears  to  have  had  a  bridge  over  the  Cam  or  Granta ;  of 
the  others,  one  stood  below  the  town,  at  Chesterton,  and  the 
other  above  it,  at  Granchester.*  Numerous  roads  branched  oft" 
from  this  town.  One  of  these  proceeded  to  Durolipons  (God- 
ma/i Chester),  where  it  joined  the  great  north  road,  and  proceeded 
by  it  to  Lindum.  Another  ran  north  into  the  Pens,  towards 
Ely  and  Lynn.  Others  proceeded  to  Yenta  of  the  Iceni  and  to 
Camulodunmn.  Another  proceeded  southward  to  London, 
having  stations  at  Chesterford  and  perhaps  at  other  places  in  its 
course.  Lastly,  a  continuation  of  the  road  from  Yenta  ran  in 
a  south-w-esterly  direction  towards  the  fashionable  districts  of 
Gloucestershire  ami  Somerset.  Bede  calls  the  representative  of 
Candjoricum,  in  his  time,  '  a  little  deserted  city,'  and  tells  us 
how,  when  the  nuns  of  Ely  wanted  a  coffin  for  their  saintly  ab- 
bess, Etlieldreda,  they  found  a  beEuitiful  sculptured  sarcophagus 
of  white  marble  outside  the  city  walls  of  the  Roman  town.f 

*  A  very  valuable  essay  on  the  Roman  antiquities  of  Cambridf^e,  and  on 
the  Roman  roads  branching  from  it,  by  a  well-known  and  distinguished 
antiquary,  Mr  C.  C.  Babington,  was  published  by  the  Cambridge  Anti- 
quarian Society,  8vo.  1853. 

t  '  Veuerunt  ad  civitatulam  quandam  desolatam,  non  procul  indo  sitam, 


CHAP,  v.]  WESTERN  TOWXS-GLEVUM.  ir.i 

If  the  traveller,  wlieii  he  entered  Britain,  desired  to  visit  the 
■western  parts  of  the  island,  he  left  Londiniuin  by  its  western 
gateway,  and  proceeded  along"  the  great  road,  leading  througli 
the  present  towns  of  Brentford  and  Honnslow  to  Staines,  where 
it  crossed  the  Thames  over  the  bridge,  from  which  the  Roman 
town  at  this  place  took  the  name  of  Pontes.  Having  here 
passed  the  river,  the  traveller  came  to  a  town  named  Bibracte, 
the  position  of  Avliich  is  not  known,  and  then  continued  his 
way  through  a  rich  and  varied  country  to  the  great  town  of 
Calleva,  the  walls  of  Avhich,  as  they  still  remain  at  Silchester, 
on  the  northern  border  of  Hampshire,  enclose  an  area  three 
miles  in  circuit.  Thence  he  proceeded  over  hilly  grounds  and 
heaths  to  a  town  named  Spina?,  the  name  of  whicli  seems  to  be 
preserved  in  the  modern  village  of  Speen,  in  Berkshire.  Tlie 
road  then  carried  him  over  a  more  level  and  open  country, 
after  a  long  stage,  to  Corinium,  a  town  tilled  with  magniticent 
houses  and  public  buildings,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the 
modern  Cirencester.  Some  of  the  richest  and  most  elegant 
mosaic  pavements  in  tiiis  island,  dug  up  here,  show  its  ancient 
splendom*.*  Another  stage  conducted  the  traveller  over  the 
hills  to  the  large  colonial  city  of  Glevum,  now  represented  by 
Gloucester. 

Glevum  was  a  town  of  great  importance,  as  standing  not 
only  on  the  Severn,  near  the  place  where  it  opened  out  into  the 
Bristol  Channel,  but  also  as  being  close  to  the  great  Eoman 
iron  district  of  the  Porest  of  Dean.  A  road  passed  the  Severn, 
and  ran  north-westward  over  the  hilly  country  on  the  east  of 
the  forest  to  the  town  of  Ariconium,  the  great  station  of  the 
iron  manufactures  of  this  district,  a  tine  position,  commanding 
an  extensive  prospect  over  the  surrounding  country.  Its  site 
is  now  called  Weston,  at  a  short  distance  to  the  south-east  of 
Ross.  The  road  proceeded  hence  across  the  beautiful  country 
on  the  banks  of  the  Wye,  among  hills  covered  with  cinders  and 
iron  furnaces,  to  the  town  of  Bbstiuni,  which  antiquaries  agree 
in  placing  at  Monmouth,  on  a  bend  of  the  river.  Thence  the 
old  road,  continuing  nearly  in  the  same  direction,  carried  the 
traveller  to  Burrium,  another    considerable  town,  the  remains 

quie  lmp:ua  Anglorum  Grantacestir  vocatur ;  et  mox  invenerunt  juxta 
muros  civitatis  locellum  de  niarmore  albo  pulcherrime  factum,  operculo 
quoque  similis  lapidis  aptissiiue  tei;tuin.' — Bedce  Hist.  EccL,  lib.  iv. 
c.  19. 

*  See  the  recently  published  work  on  the  Roman  antiquities  of  Ciren- 
ooHter,  by  Messrs  Buckman  and  Newraarch,  entitled  '  Illustrations  of  thti 
llomains  of  Roman  Art,  in  Cirencester,  the  site  of  Aucieat  Coriuium.' 


162  THE  ROMANS.  [cnAP.  v. 

of  wliicli  have  been  found  at  Usk.  This  heantiful  conntrv,  aiul 
all  the  southern  coast  of  Wales,  were  well  inhabited.  After  a 
short  sta<4-e  the  traveller  arrived  at  the  g-rand  city  of  Isca,  the 
head-quarters  of  the  second  leg-ion,  remarkable  for  its  theatre, 
its  temples,  and  its  palaces.*  It  stood  on  the  river  Usk,  in  a 
deep  bottom,  surrounded  by  lofty  lulls.  Part  of  its  massive 
walls  still  remain  at  Caerleon.  The  road  proceeded  hence  to  a 
station  on  tlie  banks  of  the  river  Tibia  \tlie  Taaf),  which  it 
crossed,  and  continued  its  course  to  the  town  of  Bovium,  which 
is  supposed  to  have  stood  at  Ewenny,  and  to  that  of  Nidum, 
the  name  of  which  appears  to  be  preserved  in  that  of  Neath. 
A  shorter  stage  than  the  two  last  brought  the  traveller  to  the 
town  of  Leucarum,  the  name  of  which  is  again  preserved  in  the 
village  of  Llychwr,  on  the  borders  of  the  counties  of  Glamorgan 
and  Caermarthen.  Another  stage  conducted  him  to  the  more 
important  town  of  Maridunum,  finely  situated  on  a  beautiful 
river.  Its  site  is  occupied  by  the  modern  town  of  Caermarthen. f 
Twenty  Eoman  miles  further  west  was  a  station,  which  was 
probably  of  too  little  importance  to  have  a  name  of  its  own,  r.s 
it  is  simply  designated  in  the  Itinerary  as  Ad  Vigesimum, 
which  we  may  translate  '  at  the  twentieth  milestone.'  Its 
site  is  supposed  to  be  the  spot  now  called  Castle  Flemish. 
The  traveller  next  arrived  at  the  town  of  Menapia,  represented 
by  the  modern   city  of  St  David's,  on  the  point  of  the  pro- 

*  A  large  portion  of  the  buildings  of  Isca  seem  to  have  been  standing  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  Giraldus  wrote.  He  speaks  oi 
splendid  palaces,  a  gigantic  tower,  public  baths,  a  theatre,  temples,  sub- 
terranean buildings,  aquteducts,  or  sewers,  and  he  remarks  the  ingenious 
method  of  warming  the  houses  by  means  of  hypocausts  ;  '  Erat  autem  h;ec 
urbs  antiqua  et  autentica,  et  a  Romanis  olim  coctilibus  muris  egregie  con- 
structa.  Videas  hie  multa  pristinae  nobilitatis  adhuc  vestigia  ;  palatia 
immensa  aureis  olim  tectorum  fastigiis  Romanos  fastus  imitantia,  eo  quod 
a  Romanis  principibus  primo  constructa  et  sedificiis  egregiis  illustrata 
fuissent ;  turrim  giganteam ;  thermas  insignes ;  templorum  reliquias ;  et 
loca  theatralia  muris  egregiis  partim  adhuc  extantibus,  omnia  clausa. 
Reperies  ubique,  tarn  intra  muroruni  ambitum  quam  extra,  aediiicia  sub- 
terranea,  aquarum  ductus,  hypogeosque  meatus.  Et  quod  inter  alia  notabile 
censui,  stuphas  undique  videas  miro  artificio  consertas,  lateralibus  qui- 
busdam  et  pra^angustis  spiraculi  viis  occulte  calorem  exhalantibus.'  — 
Girald.  Cainh..,  Itiner.  Camhrixe^  lib.  i.  c.  5.  Recent  discoveries  of  con- 
siderable interest,  made  on  the  site  of  Isca,  have  been  described  by  Mr 
John  Edward  Lee,  of  Caerleon,  in  a  quarto  volume,  entitled  *  Delineations 
of  Roman  Antiquities  found  at  Caerleon,'  and  in  a  supplemeatary  volume, 
entitled  '  Descripticm  of  a  Roman  Building  and  other  Remains  lately  dis- 
covered at  Caerleon.' 

t  The  Roman  walls  of  Maridunum  were  partly  standing  in  the  time  of 
Giraldus  Cambrensis,  who  says  :  '  Est  igitur  haic  urbs  antiqua  coctilibus 
muris  partim  adhuc  extantibus  egregie  clausa. —/^i>i.  Cainb.^  lib.  i.  c.  10. 


CHAP,  v.]  THE  WELSH  BORDER.  163 

montoiy  called  by  Ptolemy  Octopitarvim  Promontoriinn.  Tin's 
was  one  of  the  ports  from  wliicli  ships  passed  over  into  Ireland. 

Prom  Burriuin,  a  branch  road  turned  off  to  the  north-east, 
and  carried  the  traveller  towards  the  mountains  of  the  interior 
of  Wales,  until  he  reached,  at  the  foot  of  lofty  hills,  a  town  of 
no  great  magnitude,  named  Gobannium,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Abergavenny. 
Thence,  returning  eastwardly,  he  entered  a  fine  open  country 
surrounded  with  hills,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  town  of 
much  larger  dimensions,  which  probably,  from  that  circumstance, 
was  called  Magna.  Its  site  is  still  to  be  found  at  Kenchester, 
near  Hereford,  where  its  tesselated  floors  are  found  in  digging. 
The  traveller  here  joined  the  direct  road  which  had  proceeded 
from  Ariconium,  through  the  rich  country  now  forming  the 
county  of  Hereford,  to  Magna,  and  thence  it  continued  its 
course  northwardly  to  Bravinium,  a  Roman  town,  supposed  to 
have  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Teme,  near  the  village  of 
Leintwardine.  The  road  proceeded  thence  to  Uriconium,  or 
Wroxeter,  on  the  Severn,*  and  so  continued  its  course  north- 
wardly. But  the  traveller  might  at  Uriconium  take  the  north- 
eastern road,  which  has  been  followed  before,  to  Eutunium,  the 
modern  Rowton,  or  Ruyton,  from  whence  another  branch  road 
carried  him  first  to  a  town  named  Bovium,  and,  at  a  later 
period,  Banchorium,  which  later  name  seems  to  be  preserved 
in  that  of  the  modern  village  of  Bangor  on  the  border  of  Plint- 
shire,  and  thence  to  the  great  city  of  Deva,  the  station  of  the 
twentieth  legion,  the  interesting  remains  of  whose  labours. are 
still  found  at  Chester,  on  the  Dee. 

Deva,  as  may  be  supposed  from  its  importance,  both  in  a 
military  and  in  a  commercial  point  of  vicAV,  was  the  centre  of 
an  extensive  system  of  roads.  One  of  these  proceeding  west- 
wardly,  carried  the  traveller  first  to  Yarse,  which  stood  at  the 
modern  Bodfari,  the  pass  tlirough  the  range  of  mountains  which 
bound  the  Vale  of  Clwyd,  and  then  to  Conovium,  a  town,  of 
wiiich  the  remains  are  found  at  Caer-lmn  in  the  vale  of  the 
Conway,  at  the  northern  foot  of  the  mountain  range  of  Snow- 
don.  Another  sta^e  carried  him  to  Segontium.  If  the  tra- 
veller  had  taken  the  ^vestern  road  from  Deva,  at  the  end  of  tlie 
first  stage,  he  would  have  reached  the  town  of  Co  idate,  sup- 
posed to  be  Kinderton  in  Cheshire.  Here  he  joined  the 
nortliern  road  from  Uriconium,  and  proceeded  by  it  to  Man- 

*  See  before,  p.  150. 


164  TUE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

€uniiun,  now  Manchester,  and  to  the  important  town  of  Coccium, 
the  site  of  which  is  found  at  Eibchester,  celebrated  for  its 
Roman  antiquities.*  The  next  town  on  this  road  was  near  the 
sea,  and  was  called,  no  doubt  from  the  river  on  which  it  stood, 
Ad  Alaunam.  Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  Lancaster,  lloads 
from  tliis  town  and  from  Coccium  met  at  Bremetonacae,  Avhich 
has  been  placed  at  Overborough  in  Lancashire.  Thence,  in  one 
direction,  the  road  continued  straight  to  Bronovacse,  and  so 
forwards  to  Luguballium.  The  other  road  turned  into  the  lake 
district,  and  proceeded  first  to  the  town  of  Galacum,  supposetl 
to  have  stood  at  or  near  Kendal,  then  to  Alonae,  which  has  been 
identified  with  Ambleside,  at  the  head  of  Windermere,  thence 
to  Galava,  which  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the 
modern  town  of  Keswick,  and  so  on  to  Gilanoventa  and  the 
coast  towns  at  the  entrance  of  the  Solway. 

Prom  Coccium  a  road  led  eastwardly  to  the  coast,  where  a 
port-town  named  Portus  Sistuntiorum  is  supposed  to  have 
occupied  the  site  of  the  town  of  Freckleton  in  Lancashire. 
Eastwardly  from  Coccium  this  road  passed  over  a  ridge  of  hills 
on  the  borders  of  Yorkshire,  where,  in  one  of  the  passes,  was  a 
station  named  from  them  Ad  Alpes  Penninos,  to  a  town  appa- 
rently of  some  importance  called  Olicana,  now  Ilkley  in  York- 
shire, from  whence  there  was  a  road  direct  to  Isurium,  and 
another  by  Calcaria  to  Eburacum.  Another  road  from  Olicana 
led  the  traveller  back  to  Mancunium,  which  also  was  the  centre 
of  several  roads.  One  of  these  led  eastward  to  Cambodunum, 
which  seems  to  be  rightly  placed  at  Slack  in  Yorkshire,  whence 
branch  roads  proceeded  to  Calcaria  and  to  Danum.  We  will 
return,  however,  by  the  southern  road  to  Condate,  whence  the 
road  proceeded  by  another  Mediolanum,  which  is  placed  at 
Chesterton  in  Staffordshire,  to  Eteocetum,  or  Wall,  on  the 
north-western  road.  Hence  a  road  proceeded  south,  through 
an  intermediate  station,  of  which  the  name  is  lost,  to  the  town 
of  Salinas,  remarkable  then  for  its  salt-works  and  its  salt-baths.f 

*  An  altar  found  at  Ribchester,  and  now  preserved  in  St  John's  College, 
ranibridge,  which  has  only  recently  been  correctly  read,  seems  to  identity 
Ribchester  with  Bremetonacae,  in  which  case  the  Roman  topogra^jhy  of 
this  district  requires  a  new  investigation  and  arrangement. 

f  In  a  very  curious  Latin  tract  on  the  marvels  of  Britain,  attached  in 
manuscript  to  the  pretended  history  of  Nennius,  and  as  old,  no  doubt,  as 
the  earlier  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  we  have  an  account  of  a  warm 
bath  at  Wich,  or  Druitwich,  the  walls  of  which  were  built  of  tiles  and 
stones,  and  in  which  the  bather  always  found  the  water  of  the  temperature 
he  wished  :  *  Tertium  miraculum  ;  stagnum  calidum  quod  est  in  regione 


I 


CHAP,  v.]  WORCESTER.  165 

Its  site  has  still  the  same  celebrity,  and  is  called  Droitwich. 
Ptolemy,  at  a  much  earlier  period  of  the  Roman  rule,  mentions 
a  town  called  Saliiiae,  which  he  seems  to  place  in  the  south  of 
Jiincoliishire;  but  this  may  possibly  be  an  error  of  his  copyists. 
The  Salinae  of  which  we  are  speaking  was  a  place  of  import- 
ance, on  account  of  its  salt  trade,  and  several  Roman  roads  are 
stOl  traced  from  it ;  one  of  these  led  eastwardly,  by  another 
town  called  Alauna,  now  Alcester,  on  the  river  Alne  in  Warwick- 
shire, crossing  the  river  Avon  at  Stratford-upon-Avon.  An- 
other road  led  southerly,  from  Salinse  to  a  town  of  which 
the  name  is  lost  in  the  ancient  Itinerary,  but  which  we  can 
hardly  doubt  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  city  of  Worcester. 
Tliis  last  place  stood  on  the  verge  of  the  iron  district,  and  seems 
to  have  been  distinguished  by  its  forges,  as  Alauna  was  by  its 
smiths.*  The  road  next  crossed  the  Avon  at  a  station  named, 
froui  the  river,  Ad  Antonam,  and  so  continued  its  course  to 
Glevum.  The  station  on  the  Avon  was  the  first  stage  in  pro- 
ceeding from  Glevum  to  Alauna,  and  so  to  Benonae  and  Ratse, 
and  to  Lindum.  The  road  by  Salina3  and  Eteocetum  was  also 
continued  northerly,  to  a  town  called — also,  no  douOt,  from  a 
river — Ad  Trivonam,  supposed  to  have  stood  at  Bury,  in  the 
parish  of  Bramsion  in  Staffordshire.  Thence  the  road  pro- 
ceeded to  Derventio,  Avhich  occupied  the  site  of  the  hamlet  of 

Huich,  et  muro  aiubitur  ex  latere  et  lapide  facto,  et  in.  eo  vadunt  homines 
per  oinne  teinpus  ad  lavaiiduni,  et  unicuique  sicut  placuerit  illi  lavachruiu 
sic  fiat  sibi  secundum  voluntatem  suani  ;  si  voluerit  lavachrum  frigiduni, 
erit,  si  calidum,  calidum  erit.' 

*  A  very  curious  legend  relating:  to  the  destruction  of  this  town,  isg-iven 
in  the  life  of  St  Eg-win,  the  founder  of  Evesham,  in  Capgrave's  '  Nova 
Legenda  Anglife.'  The  inhabitant>;,  we  are  told,  were  an  arrogant  race, 
given  to  every  kind  of  luxury.  '  Erat  namque  juxta  Eoveshain  ad  octo- 
milliaria  castrum  Alnecester,  regale  tunc  mansum,  cujus  loci  habita tores 
quanto  rerum  opulentia  et  temporalium  abundantia  affluebant  tanto  ma2:is 
gulce  et  luxuriaB  dediti,  studentes  avaritise  et  cupiditati  misericordia  Dei 
se  indignos  efficiebant.' — They  were  principally  workers  in  iron,  and  when 
the  saint  came  to  preach  to  them,  in  contempt  of  his  doctrine  they  beat 
upon  their  anvils  with  a  great  noise. — '  Et  cum  castrum  illud  veluti 
nemoribus  undique  consitum  conflandi  ferrum  locus  esset  aptissimus,  et 
fabris  et  ferri  exclusoribus  maxime  replcretur,  gens  incredula  incudes 
ferreis  malleis  tanto  strepitu  continue  percutiebat,  ut  beati  viri  sermo  nou 
audiretur  et  a  castro  recedere  cogitaretur.' — Upon  this,  he  addressed  his 
prayers  to  Heaven, — '  contra  artein  fabrilem  castri  illius  dominum  impre- 
catus  est.' — And  the  town  was  immediately  destroyed.  '  Et  ecce  subito 
castrum  ipsum  terra  absorbuit,  ita  quod  novo  super  veteri  qualitercumque 
rccfdificato  usque  in  hodiernum  diem  in  construetione  novarum  domorum 
in  fundamentis  antiqua  iedificia  reperiuntur.  Nunquam  enim  postea  in 
loco  illo  aliquis  artem  fabrilem  recte  exercuit,  nee  aliquis  earn  exercere 
vulena  ibi  v.gere  potuit.' 


IOC  TriE  TvOMAXS.  [chap,  v 

Little  Chester  on  the  Derwent.  The  road  now  entered  tlie 
g-reat  miniiio-  district  of  the  mountains  of  the  Peak,  and  con- 
ducted the  traveller  to  the  town  of  Lutudaruin,  now  Chester- 
field, where  the  metals  were  brought  to  be  transported  to  the 
south  or  the  north.  The  road  continued  its  course  thence 
through  the  town  of  Morbium,  supposed  by  some  to  have 
occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  Templeboroug-h  in  Yorkshire, 
to  Leg'iolium,  and  so  on  to  the  city  of  Eburacum.  Morbium 
was  on  the  western  coast,  a  Not'dla  station.  It  is  identified  in 
Moresby  by  an  inscription  recording  the  Cataphracteridae  locatetl 
there.* 

The  central  districts  of  Roman  Britain  appear  to  have  been 
traversed  in  every  direction  by  cross  roads.  The  traveller,  in 
his  return  to  the  south,  when  he  reached  Eteocetum,  might 
turn  by  the  great  road  south-eastward  towards  Londinium,  till 
he  reached  Tripontium,  whence  he  turned  off,  by  Benaventa  and 
Isannavaria,  south-westward  to  the  town  of  Brinavse,  which  is 
believed  to  have  stood  at  a  place  called  Black  Ground,  near 
Chipping  Norton,  Avhere  considerable  remains  are  found.  The 
country  he  now  entered  was  thickly  populated,  and  seems  to 
have  been  covered  with  small  towns  and  elegant  villas.  Two 
of  the  former  stood  near  together  at  Bicester  and  Alcester,  in 
Oxfordshire.  The  latter  is  considered  to  be  the  Boraan  ^lia 
Castra,  the  next  station  on  this  road,  which  proceeded  thence 
over  Ottmoor  to  Dorocina,  which  is  identified  with  Dorchester 
in  Oxfordshire.  Six  Roman  miles  hence  the  road  passed  the 
Thames  to  a  station  which,  if  we  could  suppose  the  number  in 
the  old  Itinerary  was  wrong",  might  be  the  post  on  Sinodun  Hill, 
Avhich  has  been  celebrated  for  its  antiquities  ever  since  the  days 
of  Leland,t  otherwise  we  must  either  place  it  at  or  near  Wall- 
ingford.  The  Itinerary  of  Richard  of  Cirencester  calls  it  Tamesis. 
Hence  the  road  proceeded  direct  to  Calleva,  but  the  Itinerary 
mentions  no  intermediate  station. 

The  traveller  from  the  metropolis  passed  through  this  city  on 

*  Horseby  is  in  error  in  placing  all  these  towns  and  stations  in  ekv  e 
sequence.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  station  at  Templeborough,  but  the 
name  is  not  known. 

+  '  From  Walingford  to  Sinodune  a  mile  and  a  half.  This  place  is 
wonderful  dikid  about,  and  stondith  on  a  hille  in  Barkshir,  hanging  over 
the  Tamise.  It  is  yn  by  estimation  half  a  mile.  And  withyn  it  hath 
beene  sum  toune,  or,  as  the  commune  voice  sayith,  a  castello  in  the 
Britannes  tyme,  defacid  by  lyklihod  by  the  Danes.  At  this  tyme  it  berith 
very  plentifuUye  both  barley  and  whete,  and  itumismata  Jioma/ior?t)n  be 
ther  found  yn  ploughyng.  About  this  Sinodune  beginnith  the  fruteful 
vale  of  Whitehorse.' — Lela)td'is  Jtin.,  vol.  ii.  p.  14. 


CHAP,  v.]        TOWNS  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  DISTRICTS.  167 

liis  Wcav  to  tlie  western  extremities  of  the  island.  From  Calleva 
lie  had  a  choice  of  two  routes  ;  one  led  him  to  the  southern 
Venta,  or,  as  it  was  called,  from  the  tribe  in  whose  district  it 
stood,  Venta  Bel^•arum,  an  important  town,  represented  by  the 
modern  city  of  Winchester.  Ilence  the  same  road  proceeded 
to  the  post  of  Clausentnm,  now  Bittern,  on  the  Southampton 
Water,  from  whence  he  might  sail  over  to  the  Isle  of  Vectis,  or 
Wiffht.  Between  Venta  and  Clausentnm  was  a  small  town  or 
station  called  Ad  Lapidem.*  Another  road  proceeded  westward 
from  Venta  to  the  town  of  Brigis,  or  Brig-e,  supposed  to  have 
stood  at  or  near  ]3roughton,  in  Hampshire,  and  soon  after  leav- 
ing this  place  the  traveller  approached  the  commanding  fortifi- 
cations of  Sorbiodunum,  surrounding  the  summit  of  a  bold  hill 
in  the  midst  of  a  valley,  and  now  called  Old  Sarum.  The  other 
road  from  Calleva  ran  direct  by  a  town  called  Vindomis,  sup 
posed  to  have  stood  near  Finkley  beyond  Whitchurch  and 
St  Mary  Bourne,  over  the  eastern  part  of  Salisbnry  Plain  to 
Sorbiodunum.  The  main  road,  leaving  Sorbiodunum,  proceed- 
ed to  a  town  called  Vindogladia,  the  traces  of  which  are  believed 
to  be  visible  on  the  Dorsetshire  Downs,  near  the  Gussages,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Blandford.  The  next  town  of  importance 
was  Dnrnovaria,  now  Dorchester,  but  there  appears  to  have  been 
an  intermediate  station,  the  name  of  which  is  lost.  The  road 
now  passed  nearer  the  coast,  and,  after  a  long  stage,  in  which 
there  were  probably  some  intermediate  stations  the  names  of 
which  are  not  known,  reached  the  town  of  Moridunum,  placed 
by  some  at  Honiton  and  by  others  at  Seaton,  and  then  pursued 
its  course  to  the  western  Isca,  called,  from  the  British  tribe 
which  inhabited  the  district,  Isca  Dnmnoiiiorum,  a  rich  and 
important  city  on  the  borders  of  the  mining  districts.  Its  repre- 
sentative is  the  modern  Exeter,  remarkable  for  the  number  of 
lloman  antiquities  which  have  been  from  time  to  time  dng  up 
in  it.  The  road  next  made  a  bend  southward  to  avoid  the 
wilds  of  Dartmoor,  crossed  the  river  Durius  {the  Dart),  where 
there  was  a  station,  arid   there  appear    to   have   been  others 

*  This  place,  whicli  no  doubt  received  its  name  from  some  remarkable 
monumental  stone  which  was  standing  in  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxcms, 
was  still  known  by  its  Roman  name  in  the  time  of  Bede,  who  tells  us  how 
the  two  young  brothers  of  Oswald,  king  of  Wight,  were  carried  thither  to 
be  concealed  from  their  enemies— perhaps  among  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
town  :  '  Ubi  cumdelali  essent  in  locum  qui  vocatur  Ad  Lapidem,  occuleu- 
dos  se  a  facie  regis  victoris  credidissent.'  —  i^tW.  Hist.  Ecc,  lib.  iv.  c.  16. 
The  memory  of  the  monument  that  gave  name  to  the  Roman  station,  seems 
to  be  pieserved  in  its  present  name  of  Stoneham. 


IOC 


Trie  ftn;« « . 


!ri 


1  br    Tvmd    CI 

■Kslrm   1 
OS  to 


«l   «l  A    I 


of  \Uc   lorn 


CHAP,  v.]       TOW.Xi  IN  THE  SOUL 

his  way  to  the  \vest<*m  extrrv. 

he  had  a  choice  of  ' 

A  enta,  or,  as  it  v"< 

stood,  Veiita  IttL 

modern  city  of  Wine 

to  the  post  of  C!    ^ 

Water,  from  when 

Wijjht.     l^etween  VenU 

station  called  Ad  ' 

from  Venta  to  th^  : 

stood  at  or  near  ]iTon. 

inir  this  place  the  travt-lhr  apprtjo, 

cations  of  Sorbiod- 

in  the  midst  of  a  \ 
road  from  Cailcva  ran dir 
posed  to  ltav<     *~    ' 
St  Mar\'  lioiji 
Sorbiodunnm.     The  i 
ed  to  a  town  called  Vi 
to  be  visible  on  the  1 

thenein^hbonrhoo*! 

was  Pii    ,   \ 
an  int(  1  II    ,_ . 

now  r»o<;Qp([    jjj 


9 


169 


»■  the  towns  of 
Ixonjan  anti- 
>uirh,  and  Vt-r- 
it  Hiuhfii'lil,  in 
I'loni  A(]u;e 
Vvon  called  Ad 
placed  at  liit- 
of  the   Avon, 
Ad  Sabrinnni, 
distance  from 
•i"oss  the  estn- 
^t  at  a  station 
'   'I  -^pot  now 
■      '■    ui'cat    road 
I  ""  iru   JKlcn,  or 
'     I  press  of  that 
ii;ht  him  to  ;i 
distin-^niish  it 
\  tnta  Silnrnm. 
^K'  mi^Hit  pro- 
•ulhcni  road, 
•       ''■'    Jo  Alcnapia; 
"I   (M)l)annium 

't.\  traced  across 

tolemy^vliirh,  from  its 

'«"«iii(»,  iiCardi^ranshire, 

and   thicc  in  a  direc- 

Con()V.in  and  ^e-on- 


}Vl|i   the  traveller 

riveic  might   havu 

rst  sl|e  on  this  road 


ed. 
pton 
iie  fin 

•cnsive  an  massive  walls 
'  '  •  The  nejstai^re  bron^rjit 
sented  by  tl  modern  Chi- 
^  .le  river  Avonvas  a  station, 
lied,  from  itt]istance  from 
ich  no  traces  ^  left  to  mark 
•im  to  the  imp-tant  port  of 
ly  be  a  donblis  Pevensev, 
li?  remains  of  loman  build- 
•oss  the  w..al(ito  Novioma- 

e  in  the  Roman  aa  at  Pevensev. 


I 


1G8  THE  KOMANS.  [chap.  v. 

where  the  road  crossed  the  rivers  Tamara  {the  Trnmr),  Yohiba 
{the  Fowey),  and  Cenia  (  the  Fal),  on  its  way  to  the  extremity 
of  Cornwall.  This  was  a  wild  country,  and  perhaps  thinly  in- 
habited. 

The  extensive  and  rich  district  between  Sorbiodnnum  and 
Glevum  was  covered  in  every  direction  with  extensive  and 
magnificent  villas,  marking*  it  out  as  the  most  fashionable  part 
of  the  island.  In  its  centre  stood  a  city  remarkable  for  its 
splendid  edifices,  its  temples,  its  buiklings  for  public  amuse- 
ment, and  still  more  so  for  its  medicinal  baths.  For  this  latter 
reason  it  was  called  Aquae  Solis,  the  Waters  of  the  Sun,  and  for 
the  same  cause  its  representative  in  modern  times  has  received 
the  name  of  Bath.  Kemains  of  the  Eoman  bathing-bouses  have 
been  discovered  in  the  course  of  modern  excavations.  Among 
its  temples  was  a  magnificent  one  dedicated  to  Minerva,  wlio  is . 
supposed  to  have  been  the  patron  goddess  of  the  place.*  Prom 
inscriptions  found  at  different  periods,  it  appears  that  military 
commanders,  high  municipal  officers,  and  other  persons  of  rank, 
frecpiented  this  city  for  the  benefit  of  its  waters,  and,  perhaps,  to 
mix  in  its  fashionable  society. 

As  might  be  expected,  Aquse  Solis  was  the  centre  of  many 
roads,  which  communicated  with  every  part  of  the  island.  One 
road  went  northwardly  to  Corinium  {Cirencester),  whence  the 
traveller  might  proceed  across  the  island  to  Lindum  {Lincoln), 
or  he  might  go  to  (ji\Q\mn  [Gloucester)  and  to  the  towns  on  the 
Severn,  or  he  might  turn  eastward  towards  London.  The  road 
from  Corinium  to  Aquae  Solis  continued  its  course  southwardly 
from  the  latter  place  to  another  bathing  town  called  Ad  Aquas, 
and  now  known  by  the  somewhat  similar  name  of  Wells.  Here 
the  road  separated  into  two  branches,  one  of  which  proceeded 
to  a  town  called,  from  the  river  on  which  it  stood.  Ad  Uxellam, 
now  Bridgewater,  and  thence  to  Isca  {Exeter) ;  the  other  led  by 
a  town  of  some  importance  named  Ischalis,  now  Ilchester,  to 
Moridunum  on  the  southern  coast.  The  traveller,  who  woidd 
proceed  direct  from  Londinium  to  Aquae  Solis,  followed  the 
western  road  till  he  reached  the  town  of  Spinae  {Speen),  where 

*  The  temple  of  Minerva,  at  Bath,  is  mentioned  by  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth {Hist.  Brit.,  lib.  ii.  c.  10),  and  it  was,  perhaps,  standing?  in  his 
time.  The  ruins  of  it  were  found  in  the  course  of  excavations  for  the  found- 
ations of  a  new  Pump  Room,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century.  A  magnifi- 
cent volume  on  the  Roman  antiquities  of  Bath,  was  published  by  Samuel 
Lysons,  and  forms  a  part  of  his  Reliquice  Romano- jBritannicce.  Leland 
[Itin.,  vol.  ii.  j).  34)  describes  a  considerable  number  of  Roman  sculptures 
then  (in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.)  built  up  in  the  town-walls  of  Bath. 


DiiAP.  v.l  SOUTH  WALES.  169 

l\e  turned  oft'  by  a  branch  road  which  led  iiim  by  the  towns  of 
Cunetio,  the  site  of  which  has  been  traced,  by  Eoman  anti- 
quities found  there,  at  Polly  Farm,  near  Marlborough,  and  Ver- 
lucio,  which,  for  similar  reasons,  has  been  fixed  at  Highfleld,  in 
Sandy  Lane,  near  Heddington,  to  Aquae  Solis.  From  Aquse 
the  same  road  was  continued  to  a  station  on  the  Avon  called  Ad 
Abonam,  or  Abona,  which  seems  to  be  correctly  placed  at  Bit- 
ton,  and  thence  to  another  post  on  the  banks  of  the  Avon, 
where  it  enters  the  Bristol  Channel,  thence  called  Ad  Sabrinam, 
and  believed  to  have  stood  at  Sea-Mills,  a  short  distance  from 
]3ristol.  Hence  was  the  trajectas,  or  passage,  across  the  estu- 
ary, and  the  traveller  landed  on  the  opposite  coast  at  a  station 
called  Ad  Trajectum,  supposed  to  have  stood  on  a  spot  now 
called  Severn- Side.  He  now  entered  upon  the  great  road 
through  Wales,  called  still  by  the  Welsh  the  Sarn  Helen,  or 
road  of  Helen,  from  a  notion  that  a  Iloman  empress  of  that 
name  caused  it  to  be  made.  A  short  stage  brought  liim  to  a 
sti'ongly  fortified  town,  name  Venta,  and  often,  to  distinguish  it 
from  other  towns  of  the  same  name  in  the  island,  Yenta  Silurum. 
Its  walls  are  still  seen  at  Caerwent.  If  he  liked  he  might  pro- 
ceed hence  to  Isca  {Caerleon),  and  so  along  the  southern  road, 
which  is  called  by  some  old  writers  the  Via  Julia,  to  Menapia ; 
but  his  direct  road  lay  by  Burrium  (Usk),  and  Gobannium 
{Abergavenui/),  whence  the  Sarn  Helen  is  distinctly  traced  across 
the  mountains  to  the  Luentinum  of  Ptolemy,  which,  from  its 
remains  that  have  been  discovered  at  Llanio,  in  Cardiganshire, 
seems  to  have  been  an  important  post,  and  thence  in  a  direc- 
tion parallel  to  the  western  coast  up  to  Conovium  and  Segon- 
tium. 

One  road  only  remains  to  be  noticed.  When  the  traveller 
was  at  Clausentum,  on  the  Southampton  river,  he  might  have 
returned  eastward  along  the  coast.  The  first  stage  on  this  road 
carried  him  to  Portus  Magnus,  the  extensive  an(l  massive  walls 
of  which  are  still  standing  at  Porchester.  The  next  stage  brought 
him  to  Regnum,  a  large  town,  represented  by  the  modern  Chi- 
chester. Wiiere  the  road  passed  the  river  Avon  was  a  station, 
probably  a  mere  posting  place,  called,  from  its  distance  from 
llegnum,  Ad  Decimum,  but  of  which  no  traces  are  left  to  mark 
its  site.  The  road  then  carried  him  to  the  important  port  of 
Anderida,  which  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  is  Pevensey, 
a  place  remarkable  for  its  imposing  remains  of  Roman  build- 
dings.*     A   road  went    hence  across  the  Wv*ald   to  Novioma- 

*  Considerable  excavations  were  made  in  the  Roman  area  at  Pevensey, 


+ 


170  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  v. 

gus  and  Londhiiiim,  having  a  station  in  the  inidst  of  the  forest, 
which  from  it  was  called  Silva  Anderida.  The  coast  road,  after 
leaving  Anderida,  proceeded  to  a  post,  or  station,  on  the  Lymne 
river,  named  Ad  Lemanum,  and  then  running  across  the  land  to 
avoid  the  low  marshes  on  the  coast,  about  ten  miles  further  it 
readied  the  Portus  Lemanis,  at  the  place  now  called  from  it 
Lymne,  where  so  many  interesting  discoveries  have  recently  been 
made.*  The  road  next  passed  behind  Folkestone,  where,  though 
not  mentioned  in  the  Itinerary,  there  was  probably  a  small  town, 
perhaps  the  elevated  entrenchments  now  called  popularly  Caesar's 
Camp,  which  contained  a  lighthouse  or  pharos.  At  the  next  station, 
Dubrae,  now  Dover,  the  pharos  itself,  within  somewhat  similar 
entrenchments,  is  still  standing.  The  road  now  conducted  the 
traveller  to  Rutupiae,  whence,  havhig  thus  traversed  the  whole 
island,  and  viewed  the  excellence  of  its  roads,  its  flourishing 
towns,  the  highly-cultivated  plains  of  the  interior,  its  forests  and 
mountains  rich  in  mineral  productions  and  game,  he  might  em- 
bark and  return  to  Gaul. 

in  1852,  under  the  direction  of  Mr  Roach  Smith,  and  have  been  described 
ill  his  'Report  on  Exc<ivations  made  upon  the  site  of  the  Roman  Castrum 
at  Pevensey,  in  Sussex,  in  1852,'  4to,  1858. 

*  Tbe  account  of  the  recent  excavations  on  this  interesting  site  is  given 
in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  '  Antiquities  of  Richborough,  Reculver,  and  Lymne,' 
and  in  a  separate  volume  by  the  same  well-known  antiquary,  entitled  a 
'  Report  on  Excavations  made  on  the  site  of  the  Roman  castrum  at  Lymne 
in  Kont,  in  1850,'  4to,  1852. 


J 


CHAP.   VI.]  THE  ROMAN  TOWNS.  171 


CHAPTEE  VL 


A  Roman  Town  in  Britain — Its  Walls,  Towers,  and  Gates — Materials  and 
Modes  of  Construction — The  Houses — Their  Plan  and  Arrangement 
— The  Tesselated  Pavements  and  Frescoed  Walls — Method  of  AVarni- 
ing  the  Houses  ;  the  Hypocausts — The  Baths — Windows  and  Roofs 
— Distribution  of  the  Houses  in  Streets — Public  Buildings  ;  Temples, 
Basilica?,  Theatres,  Amphitheatres— The  Suburbs  and  Burial-places 
— Sanitary  Arrangements;  Sewers,  Rubbish-pits. — The  Language  of 
Britain. 


We  have  seen  in  the  precedins:  chapter  liow  thickly  Roman 
Britain  Avas  studded  with  towns,  even  if  we  only  reckon  those 
marked  in  the  official  Itineraries,  which  have  perhaps  come  down 
to  us  themselves  in  an  imperfect  form.  When  we  look,  on  one 
hand,  at  the  description  of  Britain  in  the  anonymous  cosmogra- 
phy of  the  seventh  century,  where  many  names  occur  that  are 
not  mentioned  elsewhere  ;  and  when  we  consider,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  numerous  sites  of  Roman  towns  or  stations  that  may 
still  be  traced  in  different  parts  of  the  island,  which  are  not 
mentioned  in  the  Itineraries,  we  are  still  more  struck  with  the 
picture  of  Roman  Britain  as  it  thus  presents  itself  to  us.  The 
English  reader  of  the  nineteenth  century  will  naturally  be  curi- 
ous to  have  some  notion  of  the  appearance  of  these  towns,  and 
of  their  comparative  magnitude  and  comforts ;  and  fortunately, 
although  much  remains  to  be  done  by  the  anticjuary  in  this  re- 
spect, accidental  discoveries  have  furnished  us  with  considerable 
materials  for  gratifying  his  wish. 

We  havK  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  periods  at  which,  or 
the  circiunstances  under  which,  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain 
were  built.  The  Roman  Camulodunum  we  know  was  founded 
by  a  body  of  disbanded  veterans,  and  the  other  towns  seem  to 
have  been  built  in  the  same  manner  by  bodies  of  troops,  Romans 
or  auxiliaries,  as  they  advanced  in  the  occupation  of  the  island. 
We  learn  from  the  earlier  historians,  that,  though  the  troops  had 
here  and  there  fortitied  stations — castiu  or  cadclla — the  towns 


172  THE  KOMAX.^.  [chap.  vi. 

Avere  not  suiTonnded  Avitli  wnlls,  &ioh  Avas  the  case  with  Camii- 
lodimum,  Londiniinn,  and  Yerulaminm.  But  subsequently — 
we  cannot  fix  the  period,  tlioug'li  it  was  no  doubt  at  the  time 
when  the  towns  rose  into  political  importance — they  were  all 
surrounded  with  walls,  and  these  walls,  Avhicli  were  so  massive 
in  character  that  in  some  instances  they  liave  outlived  sixteen 
centuries,  must  have  formed  so  prominent  an  object  in  the  out- 
ward appearance  of  the  town,  that  they  will  naturally  first  attract 
our  attention. 

The  more  usual  form  of  the  enclos\u'e,  following-  that  of  the 
Eoman  camp,  was  a  paralleloo-rara  more  or  less  elongated,  but 
in  some  cases,  especially  in  large  towns,  such  as  Calleva  (Sll- 
c/iester),  Magna  {Ke?tckester) ,  Uriconium  {JFroxeter),  and  per- 
haps Durovernum  {Canterhury),  the  walls  inclosed  an  area  of  a 
very  irregular  form.  When  the  town  stood  on  the  coast,  or  on 
the  banks  of  a  large  river,  there  were  usually  walls  only  on  three 
sides,  the  side  to  the  sea  or  river  being  open.  From  their 
ruinous  condition  in  modern  times,  w^e  are  imperfectly  accpiainted 
with  the  altitude  of  the  walls  of  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain. 
The  Avails  of  Rutupise  {lliclihoromjli),  Avhere  most  perfect,  are 
nearly  thirty  feet  high,  but  this  was  perhaps  an  unusual  eleva- 
tion. The  Avails  of  Gariannonum  {Burgh  in  Suffolk),  Avhere 
they  appear  to  be  of  nearly  their  original  height,  have  an  ele- 
vation of  only  fourteen  feet.  The  great  wall  of  Hadrian  Avas 
not  above  eighteen  or  nineteen  feet  high.  The  highest  part  of 
the  Avail  at  Lymne  is  about  twenty-three  feet.  At  Lymne,  the 
Avails  are  about  fourteen  feet  thick ;  those  at  Eichborough  are 
at  the  bottom  between  eleven  and  tAveh^e  feet  thick,  and  diminish 
I  slightly  toAvards  the  top  ;  Avhile  those  at  Burgh,  in  Sufiblk,  are 
not  more  than  nine  feet  in  thickness 

The  Avails  Avere  supported  at  the  corners,  and  at  certain  dis- 
tances along  their  face,  by  toAvers,  either  square  or  round.  At 
Richborough,  there  Avere  round  toAvers  at  the  corners,  and  two 
square  towers  at  each  side  wall.  The  round  toAvers  have  been 
here  so  entirely  destroyed  that  their  existence  Avas  only  ascer- 
tained by  excavations.  The  ciit  on  the  next  page  represents  the 
lower  part  of  the  tower  at  the  south-west  angle,  as  thus  brought 
to  light,  Avith  a  part  of  the  adjacent  Avail.  It  Avill  be  seen  that 
the  angle  of  the  wall  Avas  built  first,  and  that  the  tower,  which, 
as  far  as  it  remains,  is  a  solid  mass  of  masonry,  was  added 
afterwards.  The  square  towers  along  the  face  of  the  Avail  seem 
to  have  been  attached  much  in  the  same  Avay  ;  they  projected 
only  about  eight  feet  from  the  Avail,  and  were  solid  to  the  height 


CU/.F.  TI.j 


TOWEES  AND  GATEWAYS. 


^7d 


of  eight  foet  fVoin  the  fouiulatiou,  after  which  tliey  Averc  hollow 
in  the  centre   and  thev  were  built  into  the  main  wall  at  tlif^ 


Wall  and  Tower  at  Ricliborouyh  {liutujAai). 

top.  This  was  probably  the  case  with  the  round  towei's  also. 
At  Burgh  Castle  the  towers  are  all  round,  and  they  are  singidar 
in  their  construction.  From  the  foundation  to  about  one  half 
their  elevation,  that  is,  to  the  height  of  about  seven  feet,  they 
are  entirely  detached  from  the  wall,  but  at  that  height  they 
become  enlarged  in  diameter,  so  as  to  join  to  the  Avail.  They 
consist  of  solid  masonry,  with  the  exception  of  a  hole  in  the 
centre  of  the  upper  surface,  two  feet  deep,  and  as  many  wide, 
tlie  object  of  which  is  by  no  means  evident.  The  towers  at 
Lymne  appear  to  have  been  quite  solid.  The  most  perfect  of 
them  is  represented  in  the  cut  on  the  next  page.  It  remains 
about  ten  feet  in  height,  and  seems,  like  those  at  Richborough, 
to  have  been  built  separate  from  the  wall ;  the  other  towers  at 
Lymne  have  been  segments  of  circles,  joined  to  the  wall.  In 
other  instances  we  find  no  round  towers,  but  only  square  but- 
tresses ;  at  Aldborougli  and  York  these  seem  to  have  been  small 
hollow  towers.  At  Caerwent  the  Avail  is  supported  by  a  series 
of  pentagonal  towers  or  buttresses,  perfectly  solid,  and  built  up 
against  the  Avail,  and  not  into  it,  tliough  they  may  have  been 
attached  at  the  top.  At  York,  the  large  multangular  tower 
which  occupied  one  corner  of  the  walls  is  still  standing. 


174 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    VI. 


Each  fortress  or  town  had  g:enerally  one  principal  entrance 
g-ate,  wln'ch,  for  its  importance,  was  usually  called  the  decuman 
j^ate  {jjorta  deciiiiuuia).     Sufficient  remains   of   the   principal 


Tower  at  Lymne  [Portus  Lemanis). 


t>*ateway  have  been  preserved  in  very  few  instances  in  Eritain  to 
enable  us  to  understand  its  form,  probably  because  it  was  often 
composed,  more  or  less,  of  larger  stones,  which  offered  a  tempt- 
ation to  mediaeval  builders.  At  Lymne,  the  great  entrance 
gateway  stood  about  the  middle  of  the  eastern  wall.  It  con- 
sisted of  two  semicircular  solid  towers,  Avith  the  gate  probably 
in  a  curtain  between  them.  It  was  raised  upon  a  solid  plat- 
form of  immense  stones,  and,  when  recently  uncovered,  the 
stones  wdiich  formed  the  pavement  bore  distinct  impressions, 
worn  by  the  wheels  of  the  carriages  which  had  passed  over 
them.  Our  engraving  represents  the  ruins  of  this  gateway  as 
they  appeared  after  the  earth  which  covered  them  had  been  dug 
away.  The  lower  part  of  the  tower  on  the  left  was  well  pre- 
served, and  the  stones  of  the  lower  course  of  the  other  Avere 
in  their  place  when  first  opened,  but  they  were  soon  cleared 
away  or  covered,  and  the  tower  is  only  represented  by  a  small 
mound  of  shapeless  masonry.  The  stones,  partly  displaced, 
which  formed  the  platform,  are  seen  in  front ;  the  stones  of  the 
gateway  were  thrown  in  confusion  in  a  deep  hollow  behind. 
Some  of  them  appeared  by  their  mouldings  to  have  formed  the 


c. 


o 


CHAP.  vr.  ROMAN  TOWN  GATES.  177 

lintels  ;  one  seemed  to  be  the  base  of  a  column,  and  in  others 
were  found  holes  still  containini»-  masses  of  lead  whicli  had  fixed 
the  ironwork  of  the  hin<>-es  of  the  ^-ate.  On  the  left  is  seen 
the  wall  as  it  joined  up  to  the  g-ateway  tower.  The  most 
singular  circumstance  in  the  structure  of  this  o-ateway  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  semicircular  towers  joined  the  wall.  The 
latter  was  cut  off  vertically  at  ri^rht  ang-les,  and  the  corner  of 
the  tower  joined  the  corner  of  the  wall,  so  that  the  inner  flat 
surface  of  the  tower  was  in  a  line  with  the  outer  surface  of  the 
wall.  Thus  the  tower  and  the  wall  did  not  support  each  other, 
and  if  there  was  nothing  else  to  strengthen  them,  an  enemy 
might  have  broken  his  way  through  the  point  of  junction  with 
the  greatest  ease.  This,  however,  is  probably  to  be  explained 
by  supposing  that  the  gate  itself  was  an  edifice  built  of  large 
blocks  of  stone,  and  forming  the  continuation  of  the  wall,  and 
that  the  two  towers  were  only  facings  or  supports  to  it. 

The  decuman  gate  at  Richborough  was  in  the  middle  of  the 
western  wall,  and  excavations  have  shown  that  it  also  stood 
on  a  platform  of  large  stones.  The  wall  adjoining  to  it  has 
been  much  damaged  and  broken,  but  it  appears  to  have  been 
cut  through  by  a  small  opening  in  its  whole  height,  in  which 
opening  a  gateway  was  built  of  larger  stones.  There  are  no 
traces  of  its  having  had  towers  as  at  Lymne.  At  Pevensey 
{Anderida),  the  principal  gateway  stood  at  one  corner  of  the 
angular  area,  and  had  side  towers,  as  at  Lymne.  The  founda- 
tions of  the  buildings  of  this  gateway  have  been  laid  open  in 
the  course  of  recent  excavations.  The  most  perfect  example 
of  a  Roman  gateway  now  existing  in  this  country  is  that  called 
the  Portway  gate,  at  Lincoln,  which  is  represented  in  our  cut 
on  the  next  page.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  this  difiers 
essentially  from  those  we  have  been  describing,  and  in  fact  it 
is  not  the  decuman  or  principal  gate  of  the  Roman  city  of 
Lindum,  but  one  of  the  subordinate  entrances.  The  two  actual 
entrances,  one  for  carriages  and  the  other  for  foot  passengers, 
are  well  preserved,  and  the  wall,  running  off  inwardly  at  right 
angles  between  them,  appears  to  have  formed  part  of  the  portal 
buildings,  containing  guard-rooms  and  other  offices.  At  Col- 
chester, Mr  Roach  Smith  discovered  verv  interestinor  remains 
of  the  buildings  attached  to  one  of  the  gates  of  Camulodunura. 
It  was  the  gate  on  the  west  side  of  the  town,  and  consisted  of 
a  chief  entrance  for  horses  and  carriages,  and  a  subordinate 
archway,  apparently  on  each  side,  for  foot  passengers.  It  was 
protected  bv  advanced  bastions.     The  chief  entrance  was  not 


i7n 


THE  ROMANS. 


[CllXP.   VI. 


quite  twelve  feet  wide.  The  subordinate  arcliway  on  the  riffht 
hand  on  entering-  is  preserved  in  comparatively  a  perfect  state, 
the  upper  part  of  it  entirely  composed  of  long-  tJle?.     By  the 


Roman  Gate  at  Lincoln  [Lindum). 


su!e  of  it  is  a  room  in  the  form  of  a  quadrant,  twenty-six  feet 
in  length  by  fourteen  in  widtli,  entered  by  a  large  arched  door- 
way, and  which,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  ^vas  a  guard-room. 
At  Borcovicus  (Housesteads),  on  the  wall  of  Hadrian,  the  gate- 
ways, especially  that  on  the  western  side,  remain  in  a  state  in 
which  we  can  easily  understand  their  details.  This  western 
gateway  had  two  portals  or  passages,  with  a  square  guard-room 
on  each  side.  Its  outer  face  was  level  Avith  the  wall  of  the 
station,  and  each  portal  led  through  a  passage  which  extended 
the  depth  of  the  two  guard-rooms,  which  were  entered  by  doors 
from  the  passage.  At  Colchester,  the  entrance  to  the  guard- 
room was  not  from  the  passage,  but  from  the  interior  wall. 
'  This  gateway,'  says  Mr  CoUingwood  Bruce,  speaking  of  the 
entrance  to  Borcovicus,  '  as  well  as  the  others  which  have 
been  explored,  is,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  double.  Two 
walls  must  be  passed  before  the  station  can  be  entered ;  each 
is  provided  Avith  two  portals,  and  each  portal  has  been  closed 
with  two-leaved  gates.  The  southern  entrance  of  the  outside 
wall  has  alone,    as  yet,  been  entirely  cleared  of  the   masonry 


CHAP.  VI.]  W.\LLED  TOWNS.  179 

wliicli  closed  it.  Tlie  jambs  and  pillars  are  foriiied  of  massive 
stones  of  rustic  masonry.  The  doors,  if  we  may  judg-e  from 
the  fragments  of  corroded  iron  which  have  been  lately  picked 
up,  were  of  wood,  strengthened  with  iron  plates  and  studs ; 
they  moved,  as  is  apparent  from  the  pivot-holes,  upon  pivots 
of  iron.  In  the  centre  of  each  portal  stands  a  strong  upright 
stone,  against  which  the  gates  have  shut.  Some  of  the  large 
projecting  stones  of  the  exterior  Avail  are  worn  as  if  by  the 
sharpening  of  knives  upon  them  ;  this  has  probably  been  done 
by  tlie  occupants  of  the  suburban  buildings  after  the  closing 
of  the  gateway.  The  guard-chambers  on  each  side  are  in  a 
state  of  choice  preservation,  one  of  the  walls  standing  fourteen 
courses  high.  Were  a  roof  put  on  them,  the  antiquary  might 
here  stand  guard,  as  the  Tungrians  did  of  old,  and,  for  a  while, 
forget  that  the  world  is  sixteen  centuries  older  than  it  was 
when  these  cliambers  were  reared.' 

Besides  these  larger  gateways,  there  were  posterns  and  smaller 
gateways,  moi'e  or  less  numerous,  according  to  the  extent  of  the 
walls.  At  Richborongli  there  is  a  well-preserved  postern  gate, 
of  a  peculiar  construction,  in  the  middle  of  the  north-eastern 
wall.  Tlie  gate  is  covered  by  an  advanced  wall,  which  outwardly 
has  the  appearance  of  a  large  square  tower.  The  entrance  is  on 
one  side,  and  runs  first  by  the  side  of  the  main  wall  and  between 
it  and  the  advanced  wall,  and  then  turns  at  a  right  angle  tlirough 
the  main  wall  into  the  inclosure.  It  appears  to  have  been  open 
to  the  top,  without  any  covering.  At  Lynnie  there  appear  to 
have  been  several  small  portals,  and  some  of  what  were  outwardly 
semicircular  towers  had  snuJl  chambers  below. 

From  the  dilapidated  state  in  which  the  walls  of  the  Eomau 
stations  in  this  country  now  present  themselves,  we  cannot  form 
a  perfect  idea  of  their  appearance  when  entire.  The  walls  of 
Chester,  and  probably  those  of  other  places,  were  crowned  with 
an  ornamental  coping,  above  which  perhaps  rose  battlements. 
There  is  an  illuminated  MS.  of  the  Psalter  in  the  British 
Museum  (MS.  Harl.,  No.  603),  which  appears  to  belong  to  the 
latter  end  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,  and  in  which,  we  find 
several  pictures  of  walled  towns,  no  doubt  either  copied  from 
much  more  ancient  drawings  of  such  objects,  or  representing 
the  walls  as  they  were  still  seen.  In  either  case,  though  they 
are  often  defective  in  regard  to  perspective,  and  the  artist,  by  a 
conventional  mode  of  treating  his  subject  which  was  common 
in  the  middle  ages,  represents  the  buildings  of  the  interior  only 
by  a  temple  or  public  edifice,  these  pictures  no  doubt  give  ns  a 


180 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  VI. 


tolerably  accurate  notion  of  tlie  appearance  which  the  walls  of  a 
lloman  town  must  have  presented.  Our  eng-raving  represents 
a  part  of  one  of  these  pictures,  in  which  the  mode  of  represent- 
ing- the  sun  (Apollo)  is  peculiarly  classical.  The  serpentine 
figure  in  the  interior  is  intended  to  represent  water  running  in 
two  streams  from  a  pond  or  reservoir.  The  supporting  towers, 
with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  gateway,  are  here  scpiare,  and 
they  all  appear  to  be,  like  those  in  our  Roman  remains,  solid  up 
to  a  certain  height.  The  diminishing  >of  the  gateway  towers,  as 
they  rise,  is  also  to  be  remarked.  The  principal  gateway  at 
Lymne  must,  when  entire,  have  borne  a  close  resemblance  to 
tho  one  in  this  picture.     Another  similar  gateway  is  shown  in 


x--^ 


Sketch  of  an  ancient  Town-wall,  from  MS.  Harl.  No.  603. 


the  smaller  cut  annexed,  taken  from  the  same  manuscript.  The 
supporting  towers  are  here  round,  still  solid  at  the  bottom,  and 
terminating  at  the  top  in  the  same  manner-as  those  of  the  gate- 
way. The  opening  at  the  bottom  of  the  tower  to  the  right  is 
probably  intended  to  represent  a  postern  entrance,  rather  than 
a  low  window. 

The  masonry  of  Roman  buildings  in  this  country  is  univers- 
ally gootl,  and  the  materials  well  chosen  and  well  prepared. 
The  town  walls  generally  consist  of  two  parallel  facings  of  stones 
and  tiles,  the  interior  tilled  up  with  a  mass  of  mortar  mixed 
with  rubble  and  other  materials.  The  stone  for  building  may 
be  generally  traced  to  neighbouring  quarries  ;  but  if  none  good 
enough  is  found  in  the  neighbourhood,  it  was  often  brought 
from  a  considerable  distance.  Some  of  the  stone  used  for  build- 
ing at  Richborough  is  supposed  to  have  been  brought  over  from 


w 


CHAP.   VI. J 


FACING  STONES. 


13:3 


(rnul.  The  careful  and  exact  manner  111  wliicli  even  the  small 
facing-  stones  of  the  w.ills  are  squared,  shows  them  to  be  tlie 
work  of  excellent  masons.  In  u'eneral,  these  facing  stones  are 
slightly  wedge-shaped,  the  smaller  end  being  placed  towards 
the  interior  of  the  wall,  which  seems  to  have  been  intended  to 
give  them  a  better  hold  on  the  mortar.  In  Hadrian's  Wall,  the 
facing  stones,  which  taper  towards  the  inner  extremity  consider- 
ably, are  remarkably  long  in  comparison  to  the  size  of  the  face 
which  presents  itself  outwardly  ;  the  latter  being  usually  eight 
or  nine  inches  by  ten  or  eleven,  while  the  length  inwardly  is  as 
much  as  twenty  inches.  This  was  no  doubt  designed  for 
strength.  The  part  of  the  stone  exposed  to  the  weather  was 
cut  across  what  masons  call  the  bait,  to  hinder  its  scaling  off 
by  the  lines  of  stratification.  The  facings  of  the  stones  in 
Hadrian's  Wall  are  sometimes  roughly  tooled,  or,  as  it  is  tecli- 
nically  termed,  scabbed  with  the  pick ;  and  in  some  parts  of  the 
line  this  tooling  takes  a  definite  form.  Sometimes  the  pattei-n 
thus  formed  consists  of  upright,  or  nearly  upright,  lines  ;  at  other 


Facings  of  Stones,  Hadrian's  Wall. 


times  tlie  stone  is  scored  with  waved  lines,  or  with  small  squares, 
and  Avith  other  designs.  Of  the  three  examples  here  given,  the 
one  in  the  middle,  which  is  usually  termed  diamond-broaching, 
is  the  most  common.  The  masons'  marks  are  often  found  on  the 
stones  in  Eoman  buildings,  and  resemble  most  closely  those  of 
the  masons  of  tlie  middle  ages.  Sometimes  they  consist  of  a 
letter,  perhaps  the  initial  of  the  mason's  name  ;  but  they  are 
more  usually  crosses,  triangles,  and  other  geometrical  figures. 
The  cut  in  the  next  page  represents  four  of  the  more  connnon 
masons'  marks  on  the  Wall  of  Hadria.'. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  Roman  building 
was  the  extensive  use  of  bricks,  or,  perhaps  more  properly 
speakiug,  tiles ;  for  the  latter  word,  as  we  now  understand  it, 
(ixpresses  more  accurately  the  form  of  the  Koman  building  tiles. 
They  are  always  fiat,  generally  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch,  or 
even  two  inches,  in  thickuess,  and  the  smaller  tiles  are  generally 

N 


184 


THE  ROMi\^'S. 


[CKAP,  vr. 


A  '    -. — :>.i  --SJ^yi^v,.      ,  I  , 


Masons'  Marks,  Hadrian's  Wall. 


about  seven  inches  square.  But  others  are  found  considerably 
laro-er,  and  these  are  often  much  longer  than  broad.  The  old 
writers,  such  as  Pliny  and  Yitruvius,  g-ive  exact  directions  for 
the  making  of  tih^s,  and  in  those  found  in  England  the  clay  has 
evidently  been  prepared  and  tempered  with  great  care  ,  they  are 
most  commonly  of  a  dark  red  colour,  but  in  others  the  colour  is 
much  brighter,  and  tiles  of  the  two  colours  are  mixed  together 
in  a  regular  arrangement,  no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of  ornament. 
Our  cut  on  the  next  page  represents  a  group  of  the  different 
sorts  of  tiles  most  commonly  used  in  Iloman  buildings  in  Bri- 
tain. In  front  are  three  ordinary  building  tiles,  of  different 
shapes  and  dimensions  ;  one,  taken  from  the  remains  of  a  house 
found  at  Dover  {Duhrfe),  has  four  holes,  which  had  been  used 
in  some  way  or  other  to  fix  it  in  its  place.  The  two  standing 
i)ehind  are  flue  tiles,  for  the  passage  of  air  or  water.  These  are 
always  scored,  in  patterns  of  great  variety,  apparently  for  the 
purpose  of  being  fixed  more  tenaciously  by  the  mortar.  Many 
of  them,  for  purposes  which  will  be  explained  hereafter,  hav«^ 
square  holes  at  the  sides.  The  lile  ly-iij,  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^'^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 
edges  turned,  or,  as  it  is  technically  termed,  flanged,  and  was 
used  principally  for  roofing,  though  we  find  these  flanged  tiles 
employed  sometimes  for  forming  the  body  of  drains,  and  they 
are  not  unfrequently  met  with  in  the  bonding  courses  of  Avails, 
probably  when  the  builders  fell  short  of  the  regular  building 
tiles.*     The  other  is  a  ridge  tile. 

*  An  example  of  this  will  be  found  in  the  cut  on  p.  1 7+.  from   Lymne, 
wherA  there  is  a  row  of  flanged  tiles  in  the  walls  adjacent  to  the  tower. 


1 


OT^A**    Vl.j 


llOMAN  TILES. 


1S6 


Tlie  ordinary  building-tiles  often  bear  inscriptions  indicating 
the  troops  or  officials,  by  whom,  or  under  whose  directions,  the 


Roman  Tiles. 


building's  were  erected.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  tlie 
diflereut  legions.  Thus  at  Chester  {Deva)  the  tiles  bear  the 
Uiune  and  title  of  the  twentieth  legion,  leg.  xx.  v.  v.  {legio  xx. 
valens  indrix) ;  at  Caerleon  {Isca)  and  the  stations  thereabouts, 
and  in  South  Wales,  we  find  tiles  with  the  inscription  leg.  ii. 
AVG.  {legio  il.  Aiifjusta)  ;  and  at  York 
{Ehuracmii)  the  inscriptions  on  the  tiles 
are  leg.  vi.  vict.  [Itcjlo  ri.  victrix),  and 
'^/EG.  TX.  msv.  {legio  ix.  Hispanica).  At 
TiVmne  and  Dov^r,  on  the  Kentish  coast, 
the  usual  inscription  on  the  tiles  is  CL. 
^n\.,  which  is  supposed  to  mean  classlar'ii 
Britannki,  the  marines  of  the  British 
fleet.  The  inscriptions  on  tiles  found  in 
London  are  more  difficult  of  interpreta- 
tion. They  read  prb.  lon,  or  ppbr.  lon, 
or  as  it  occurs  in  one  case,  p.  pii.  br. 
This  latter  form  of  the  inscription  occurs 
on  a  flanged  tile,  found  in  excavations 

in  the  city,   which  is  represented  in  the  annexed  cut.     The 

most    probable    interpretation    is   that   which    explains   it  as 

proprator   BritannicB  Londlnii^  the    Propraetor   of  Britain    at 

Londinium.     This  inscription  has  thus  a   peculiar  interest,  as 


Flanofed  Tile  fruiii 
London. 


186 


THE  ROMAXS. 


[CHAP.   VI. 


showing  that  Roman  London  was  the  seat  of  government  of 
the  province. 

The  tiles  were  probably  made  in  the  neighbourhood  of  tlie 
buildings  in  which  they  were  used,  and  the  brick-yards  seem  to 
have  been  unenclosed,  for  we  find  on  the  surfaces  of  many  of 
them  the  indentations  not  only  of  the  feet  of  men,  but  of  a 
considerable  variety  of  animals  which  have  passed  over  them 
before  they  were  baked.  On  bricks  found  at  Wroxeter  (Ut'i- 
couium),  we  find  the  footsteps  of  several  kinds  of  dogs,  of 
sheep,  of  goats,  and  of  pigs.  The  tile  to  the  right  in  the 
annexed  cut,  which  was  found  at  Wroxeter,  has  the  prints  of 
the  feet  of  a  dog ;  the  other,  from  an  extensive  Eoman  villa, 
at  Linley  Hall,  near  Bishop's  Castle,  in  Shropshire,  presents 
the  impressions  of  the  two  shoes  of  a  man  who  has  stood  upon 
it.  They  are  remarkable  for  their  numerous  and  large  nails. 
The  tiles  found  at  Wroxeter  also  present  impressions  of  the  feet 
of  a  cow,  and  of  those  of  apparently  a  colt. 


Homan  Tiles  with  Iinprfssions  of  Foot. 


As  stated  before,  the  Romans  chose  good  stones  for  tlieii 
buildings,  and  squared  them  and  fitted  them  together  witli 
great  care,  and  even  where  the  facings  of  their  walls  have  been 
exposed  to  the  air  so  many  centuries,  if  not  injured  by  the 
hands  of  man,  they  preserve  a  remarkable  freshness  of  appear- 
ance. But  Avherever  they  have  been  biu'ied  by  the  accumula- 
tion of  soil,  when  the  earth  is  removed  the  masonry  appears  as 
fresh  as  if  it  had  been  the  work  of  yesterday.  Such  Avas  the 
<^ase  Avitli  the  town  walls  at  Lymne,  as  well  as  the  lower  parts 
of  the  walls  at  Richborough  as  shown  in  our  cut  on  p.  173. 
(jn  the  walls  of  Cilurnum.  on  Hadrian's  Wall,  as  on  those  of 


CHAP.  VJ.] 


ROMAN  WALLS. 


187 


Pevensey,  the  marks  of  the  trowel  on  the  mortar  are  still  dis- 
tinctly visible,  and  our  cut  annexed  shows  the  reg-ular  appear- 
ance of  the  masonry  at  another  station  on  the  wall,  Borcovicus, 
as  it  appeared  when  uncovered. 


Wall  at  Housesteads  in  Northumberland  {Borcovtcus). 


This  latter  is  a  very  o-ood  example  of  Roman  masonry.  The 
woUs,  even  in  houses,  liarl  generally  one  or  two  set-oft"  courses 
of  stone  at  the  bottom.  Tliere  were  two,  as  we  here  see,  in  the 
walls  of  Borcovicus,  and  tliis  seems  to  have  been  o-euerally  the 
case  o\L  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall.  In  some  instances  the 
second  course  was  bevelled  off  into  a  moidding-.  At  Ricli- 
borough,  as  shown  in  our  cut  on  page  173,  there  was  one  foot- 
ing course  bevelled  off  in  this  manner.  In  the  Wall  of  Hadrian, 
as  we  are  informed  by  Mr  Bruce,  the  foiuulation  had  been  pre- 
pared by  the  removal  of  the  natural  soil  to  the  Avidth  of  about 
nine  feet.  This  excavation  was  at  most  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches  deep.  On  the  outer  and  inner  margins  of  the  ground 
thus  bared,  two  rows  of  flags,  of  from  two  to  four  inches  in 
thickness,  and  eighteen  to  twenty  in  breadth,  v/erc  generally 
hiid  without  mortar.  On  these  lay  the  first  course  of  facing- 
stones,  which  were  usually  the  largest  stones  used  in  the  struc- 
ture. In  higher  courses  the  facing-stones  are  uniformly  of 
freestone,  but  on  the  ground  course  a  whin-stone  is  occasionally 


188  THE  ROMANS.  [ciiAr.  vi. 

introduced.  Tlie  flag'- stones  of  the  foandation  usually  project 
from  one  to  five  inches  beyond  the  lirst  course  of  facing-stones, 
and  these  again  usually  stand  about  an  inch  or  two  beyond  the 
second  course,  after  which  the  wall  is  carried  straight  up.  The 
foundation  of  the  walls  at  Richborough  is  formed  of  two  rows 
of  boulders,  laid  upon,  or  a  very  little  below,  the  suiface  of  the 
natural  soil,  Avhich  is  a  compact  pit-sand.  At  Burgh  Castle,  in 
Suffolk,  the  ancient  Gariannonum,  the  massive  walls  were 
simply  built  upon  the  plain  ground.  The  chalk  and  lime  of  the 
original  soil  was  covered  with  earth  hard  beaten  down ;  upon 
this  were  laid  planks  of  oak  nearly  two  inches  thick,  and  upon 
them  a  bed  of  coarse  mortar,  on  which  the  first  stones  of  the 
superstructure  were  placed.  Some  years  ago,  one  of  the  round 
towers,  undermined  by  a  channel  cut  by  continual  floods  of  rain, 
was  overthrown,  and  thus  the  nature  of  the  foundation  was 
shown,  the  form  and  even  tlie  grain  of  the  oaken  planks  being- 
impressed  on  the  mortar.  At  Wroxeter  [Uriconbi.in),  in  the 
buildings  of  the  town,  the  walls  have  very  deep  foundations  in 
the  ground. 

The  Roman  bricks,  or  tiles,  were  not  used  in  construction  as 
we  use  them  now,  to  form  the  mass  of  the  wall,  but  they  were 
built  in  as  bonding  courses,  or  used  for  turning  arches,  and  for 
various  other  purposes  of  ornament  or  strength.  The  bonding 
courses  of  bricks  are  peculiarly  characteristic  of  Roman  masonry 
in  this  country,  as  well  as  on  the  continent.  They  are  shown, 
as  seen  at  Richborough  and  Lymne,  in  our  cuts  on  pages  173 
and  174.  In  both  these  localities,  the  courses  consist  of  two 
rows  of  tiles  ;  at  Burgli,  in  Suffolk,  tliere  are  three  rows  of  tiles 
in  eacli  course ;  and  at  Colchester  there  are  three  and  four  rows 
of  tiles  in  a  course.  Sometimes  they  are  still  more  numerous. 
In  the  multangular  tower  at  York  there  are  five  rows  in  a 
course ;  and  the  walls  of  a  building  in  LoAver  Thames  Street, 
London,  discovered  in  1848,  were  constructed  entirely  of  tiles 
set  in  mortar,  without  any  courses  of  stones.  At  Richborough 
the  first  bonding  course  of  tiles  commences  at  three  feet  fou. 
inches  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  at  its  present  level,  and 
about  five  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  wall ;  and  they  are  re- 
peated upwards  at  distances  varying  from  three  feet  three  inches 
to  four  feet  three  inches.  The  distances  between  the  bonding 
courses  vary  in  other  places,  and  they  appear  not  to  liave  been 
regulated  by  any  fixed  rule.  In  some  rare  instances  the  rows 
of  tiles  went  through  the  whole  thickness  of  the  wall,  but 
generally  they  only  run  one  tile  deep.     They  are  almost  always 


CHAP.  VI.]  EOMAN  WALLS.  1S9 

multiplied  at  the  angles  and  turning's  of  walls.  At  Ricliborougli, 
in  the  angles,  tliere  are  generally  two  short  courses  between 
each  of  the  regular  courses.  In  some  instances,  more  especially 
in  houses  and  public  buildings,  the  angles  of  the  Avails  are  com- 
posed entirely  of  tiles.  Arches  are  generally  formed  of  tiles 
placed  in  a  position  radiating  from  the  centre.  In  some  in- 
stances, large  arches  and  vaults  are  composed  entirely  of  im- 
mense masses  of  tiles  placed  in  this  manner,  as  in  the  fragment 
called  the  Jury  Wall,  at  Leicester,  and  in  the  arched  gatcAvay 
already  mentioned  at  Colchestcu*. 

The  system  just  described  was  the  one  generally  followed  in 
Eoman  buildings  in  this  country,  though  there  are  exceptions. 
In  the  walls  of  several  Eoman  towns,  as  at  Reculver  {Regnl- 
bhtm),  Silchester  {Calleva),  Kenchester  {Mogua),  Caerwent 
{Venta  Slluruni),  Chester  {Leva),  and  in  Hadrian's  Wall,  and 
all  the  stations  adjacent  to  it,  tiles  are  not  used.  It  is  not 
possible,  with  our  present  knowledge,  to  assign  any  reason  for 
this  deviation  from  the  general  practice.  At  Silchester  there 
are  bonding  courses  of  single  rows  of  large  flat  stones.  At 
Caerwent,  where  the  walls  are  faced  with  limestone,  there  are 
four  bonding  coui'ses  of  red  sandstone,  which  when  fresh  would 
look  like  tiles.  Similar  variations  are  found  in  regard  to  the 
stone-masonry.  The  walls  at  Chester  were  formed  of  large 
squared  stones,  and  must  have  had  a  very  noble  appearance. 
The  walls  of  Burgh  Castle  and  Silchester,  and  those  of  Eich- 
borough,  in  the  interior,  were  faced  with  flints.  At  Silchester, 
the  flints  were  placed  in  what  is  popularly  called  herring-bone 
work.  The  small  remains  of  Avails  at  Kenchester  also  exhibit 
herring-bone  Avork.  A^ariations  like  this  arose  no  doubt  from 
fashion  or  caprice  Avhich  prevailed  in  particular  districts,  or  was 
adopted  by  certain  masons.  The  herring-bone  masonry  is  often 
found  in  Eoman  buildings;  and  Avas  seen  in  its  perfection  in 
the  numerous  houses  brought  to  light  bv  the  excavations  of  ]\Ir 
Artis  at  Castor  {Diirobiivce). 

The  mortar  employed  by  the  Eomans  possesses  several  pecu- 
liarities ;  and  Ave  leai-n  from  the  directions  of  Vitruvius,  that 
the  composition  of  it  Avas  attended  to  Avith  great  care.  It 
strikes  the  ordinary  observer  by  its  extreme  strength  and 
durability ;  he  Avill  bi-eak  Avith  much  greater  ease  the  stones 
tvith  Avhich  the  Avail  is  faced  than  the  mortar  Avhich  holds  them 
together.  As  Ave  find  it  in  Britain,  the  Eoman  mortar  is  genei'- 
ally  composed  of  lime,  pounded  tiles,  sand,  and  gravel,  more  or 
less  coarse,  and  even  small  pebble  stones.     These  ingredients 


^ 


190  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vi. 

vary  in  tlieir  quantities,  but  usually  the  lime  and  pounded  tiles 
predominate,  which  is  the  cause  of  its  exti-eme  hardness.  Oc- 
casionally, as  at  Silchester,  Caerwent,  aud  Keiichester,  the 
pounded  tiles  are  omitted,  and  in  common  buildings,  mortar  of 
an  inferior  description  is  used,  composed  merely  of  sand  and 
N  lime.  At  Richboroug-h,  the  mortar  used  in  the  interior  of  the 
wall  is  composed  of  lime,  sand,  and  pebbles,  or  sea-beach;  but 
the  facing-stones  throughout  are  cemented  with  a  much  finer 
mortar,  in  which  pounded  tile  is  introduced.* 

The  mode  in  whicli  the  wall  was  constructed  seems  to  have 
beeu  as  follows.  The  facing-stones  were  tirst  built  up  to  a 
certain  height,  and  set  in  mortar  of  a  finer  and  better  descrip- 
tion. Then  fresh  liquid  mortar  was  poured  in  in  large  quau- 
tities  in  the  space  between,  heaps  of  rubble  or  stones  were  cast 
in  with  it,  and  the  whole  soon  hardened  into  a  solid  mass.  In 
some  instauces,  the  stones  of  the  interior  of  the  wall  are  placed 
in  layers,  and  are  arranged  with  considerable  precision.     The 

*  '  The  tenacity  of  the  mortar  which  was  used  forms  an  important 
element  in  the  strength  of  the  whole  fabric.  That  which  is  in  use  now  is 
aenerally  spoiled,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances.  The  prevailin<r  prac- 
tice is,  first  of  all  to  slack  the  lime  by  pouring  a  quantity  of  water  upcm  it 
Avhen  lying'  in  a  heap  ;  in  most  cases  this  does  not  sufficiently  pulverize  it ; 
it  is  then  mixed  with  any  earth  bearing  the  least  resemblance  to  sand,  and 
the  two  are  worked  together  very  imperfectly  with  a  shovel.  The  mortar 
thus  made  often  stands  and  hardens,  so  as  to  require  to  be  once  and  again 
niixed  with  water,  and  worked  up  before  it  is  used.  It  thus  becomes  quite 
impoverished  ;  and  after  all,  for  the  ccmvenience  of  the  mas(m,  it  is  em- 
ployed in  so  dry  a  state,  that  the  stone  soon  takes  all  the  moisture  from  it, 
and  it  becomes  little  better  than  powder.  The  gigantic  railway  operations 
of  recent  times  have  driven  men  out  of  the  beaten  track,  and  compelled 
them  afresh  to  discover  the  Roman  method  of  preparing  mortar.  On  the 
authority  of  engineei's  well  acquainted  with  the  Roman  Wall,  I  am  enabled 
to  state,  that  the  mortar  of  that  structure  is  pi-ecisely  similar  to  the  grout 
and  concrete  of  the  railway  mason  of  the  present  day.  Specimens  of  the 
ancient  and  modern  grout  are  before  me,  and  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  as  to 
the  identity  of  their  preparation.  The  following  is  the  mode  in  which  the 
railway  engineer  prepares  his  mortar.  The  lime,  in  the  state  in  which  it 
comes  from  the  kiln,  is  fiist  ground  to  poMder,  and  is  then  mixed  with 
sand  and  gravel,  and  chippings  of  stone.  The  purposes  for  which  ihe 
mortar  is  required,  indicate  the  coarseness  and  quantity  of  the  interming- 
ling gravel.  When  wanted  as  concrete,  to  form,  independently  of  other 
materials,  the  foundation  of  some  heavy  structure,  stony  fragments  of 
larger  size  are  mingled  with  the  lime  than  when  the  mortar  is  to  be  used 
to  cement  chiselled  stones,  or  even  than  when  wanted  to  constitute,  with 
rubble,  the  interior  of  a  wall.  The  mixture  of  pounded  lime  and  gravel, 
when  made,  is  not  mingled  with  water  until  the  moment  of  application  to 
the  work  for  which  it  is  required,  but  it  is  then  intimately  united  with  an 
abundant  quantity  of  it.  When  used  as  concrete,  the  mass  will,  in  thi'ee 
hours,  have  solidity  sufficient  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man,  and  in  about 
three  days  it  will  have  acquired  a  rock-like  firmness.' — Brace's  '■Roman 
Wall;  p.  86. 


CHAP.  VI.]  ROMAN  MORTAR.  H'l 

interior  of  the  walls  at  Lymne  is  composed  cliiefly  of  the  hard 
stone  of  the  neig-hbourhood,  Avhich  has  been  tlirown  into  the 
mortar  in  rongli  pieces  as  quarried.  In  the  Wall  of  Hadrian, 
whin-stones,  as  the  material  most  abundant  in  the  district,  were 
'  puddled  in  '  amongst  tlie  mortar  to  fill  up  the  interior  of  the 
wall.  When  this  had  been  done,  more  courses  of  facing-stones 
were  built  up,  and  then  the  interior  Avas  filled  in  in  the  same 
manner,  and  when  the  whole  was  finished  it  formed  a  solid, 
compact  mass.  In  the  walls  at  llichborough,  and  at  other 
places,  we  trace  a  number  of  small  holes  on  the  face  of  the 
walls,  Avhich  were  probably  made  to  support  scaffolding-.  In 
some  cases,  where  the  avails,  as  in  the  buihlings  at  Wroxeter 
(  Uncoidum) ,  were  not  more  than  three  feet  thick,  these  holes  go 
light  through. 

In  some  parts  of  the  Roman  walls  in  Britain  w^e  observe 
irregularities,  which  seem  to  have  arisen  from  the  accidental 
deficiency  of  particular  kinds  of  materials.  In  the  pharos  at 
Dover,  when  the  masons  ran  short  of  the  large  tiles  which  are 
so  plentifully  employed  in  its  construction,  they  hewed  pieces 
of  the  Tolkestone  rock  into  the  form  of  tiles,  and  used  them 
instead.  In  other  instances,  we  find  roof  or  other  tiles  used 
instead  of  building  tiles.  An  instance  has  been  already  noticed, 
and  will  be  seen  in  our  engraving  of  the  tower  at  Lymne, 
on  p.  171,  where,  at  the  bottom  of  the  wall,  on  the  left,  tiles 
with  turned  or  Hanged  edges  are  used  along  with  the  plain  Hat 
tiles. 

Having  thus  examined  the  walls,  Avith  their  towers  and 
gates,  let  us  pass  through  the  latter,  and  survey  the  interior. 
A  to^n  consisted  then,  as  now,  of  its  private  and  its  public 
buildings,  the  former  of  which  Avould  naturally  vary  much  in 
form  and  magnitude,  according  to  the  caprice  as  well  as  the 
([uality  of  those  for  whom  they  Avere  built.  The  discovery  of 
the  buried  city  of  Pompeii  first  tlirew  any  considerable  light  on 
the  domestic  arrangement  of  Roman  houses,  yet  difference  of 
climate,  and  many  other  causes,  existed  in  this  island  which 
should  make  us  cautious  in  applying  to  Roman  houses  in  Britain 
the  rules  which  we  know  were  observed  in  Italy.  The  only 
instance  with  which  we  are  acquainted  of  a  small  separate  house 
in  a  Roman  town  in  this  country,  is  one  recently  discovered  at 
Lymne,  in  Kent,  a  plan  of  which  is  here  given.  This  house, 
which  stood  north  and  south  (the  semicircular  projection  looking 
due  south),  was  about  fifty  feet  (east  and  west;,  and  thirty  feet 
in  the  transverse  direction,  exclusive  of  the  semicircular  part 


H»2 


THE  llOMA^^S. 


[CHAT.  VI. 


and  the  eastern  recess.     Tlie  walls  evidently  remain  only  to  tlie 
level  of  what  was  originally  the  floors,  and  we  have  no  indiea- 


Plan  of  a  lioiiso  at  Lymne  {Partus  Lemams). 

tion  of  the  position  of  doors  or  windows  ;  bnt,  from  an  examin- 
ation of  the  motion  that  mnst  have  been  given  to  the  ruins  Ijy 
the  ancient  landslip  which  rednced  them  to  their  present  con- 
dition,* it  is  probable  that  this  house  stood  on  the  south  side 
of  the  street  at  the  entrance  of  the  principal  gateway,  and 
therefore  that  the  entrance-door  of  the  house  stood  at  its 
northern  wall,  Avhich  was  supported  by  buttresses.  The  arrange- 
ment of  this  house  was  very  simple,  for  it  seems  that  it  con- 
sisted of  four  rooms  of  about  the  same  dimensions.  We  have 
no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  it  had  any  upper  story,  but 
there  seems  little  doubt  that  it  was  a  detached  house.  The 
accompanying  engraving  of  Koman  foundations  laid  open  at 
Aldborough   in    Yorkshire,   clearly   represents  a  long  row  of 

*  At  some  period  long  after  the  Roman  town  at  Lymne  had  been  ruined 
and  deserted,  an  extensive  landslip  took  place  on  the  site,  which  is  easilj' 
explained  by  geologists,  the  consequence  of  which  was  that  a  great  part  of 
rhe  walls  has  been  overthrown,  and  much  of  the  interior  appears  to  have 
been  entirely  defaced  and  destroyed.  The  house  of  which  the  plan  is  given 
above  had  suffered  less  than  most  of  the  other  buildings,  and  although  the 
walls  were  in  part  dislocated,  it  was  easy  to  restore  them  in  the  plan 


9/4 


vA  m'Mi 


v^K'if 


</■' 


hkmn' 


a 


CHAP,  vr.]  ROMAN  HOUSES.  195 

houses,  tlioiig'li  tliey  are  by  no  means  easily  explained.  The 
corner  to  the  left  appears  to  have  been  a  little  shop,  and  the 
other  rooms  in  a  line  with  it  may  perhaps  have  served  the  same 
purpose. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  Roman  houses  in  this 
country  were  built  of  stone  and  brick  np  to  the  roof,  or  whether 
they  were  only  raised  a  little    above  the  floor,  to  support  a 
superstructure  of  wood.     It  is  a  remarkable  circnmstance  that, 
in  most  of  tlie  numerous  villas  Avliich  at  different  times  have 
been   discovered  and  examined,  the  walls  are  fonnd  remaining 
about  as  high,  or  very  little  higher,  than  the  floors,  and  that 
tliey  do  not  terminate  in  a  broken  line  as  though  the  walls  had 
been  thrown  down,  but  in  a  regular  level  through  the  whole 
building.     We  must,  however,  take  into  consideration,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  circumstance  that  the  upper  walls  would,  in  the 
middle  ages,  be  gradually  carried  aAvay  for  materials  down  to 
the   then  level  of  the   ground  ;  and  instances  have  occurred, 
especially  in  the  larger  country  villas,  where  the  walls  remain  at  a 
greater  elevation  in  some  parts  than  in  others,  and  in  which  they 
have  evidently  been  broken  away.     Walls  of  timber,  too,  would 
hardly  have  supported  such   heavy  roofs  as   those  formed  of 
Hags,  and  we  might  expect  to  find  more  distinct  indications  of 
them.     Perhaps  the  safest  conclusion  to  which  we  can  come  is, 
that  in  houses  of  people  of  wealth   and  importance  the  walls 
were  of  masonry,  while  in  the  more  ordinary  houses  the  masonry 
of  the  walls  may  have  risen  oidy  two  or  three  feet  above  ground, 
and  sometimes   not  so  much,   to   support  a  superstructure  of 
timber.     In  exposed  districts,  and  more  especially  in  the  north, 
houses   of  stone  were   no  doubt  more   common.     Mr   Roach 
Smith    discovered  a  Roman  house  in  the  neighbourhood    of 
Hadrian's  Wall,  the   walls  of  which,  budt  of  stone,  are  still  » / 
standing   to  an  elevation  above  the  doors   and  windows,  the    ' 
openings  of  which  remain.'^ 

Generally,  however,  the  only  parts  of  a  Roman  house  which 
lemain  perfect  are  the  floors  and  snbstructui-e,  which,  therefore, 
will  naturally  first  attract  our  attention.  We  invariably  find 
tliat  in  a  certain  number  of  the  rooms  of  a  Roman  house  in 
Britain  the  floors  were  supported,  not  on  the  solid  ground,  but 
upon  a  number  of  short  thick   columns,  arranged  in  regular 

*  An  engraving  of  this  house  is  given  in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  Collectanea 
Atitiqna,  vol.  ii.  p.  188. 


196  THE  ROMANS.  [ciiAr.  vi, 

rows,  with  narrow  passages  between  them.  These  formed  what 
were  called  the  hvpocanst  (from  a  Greek  word  signifying-  liter- 
ally ,//*e  or  heat  nnderneath) ;  it  was  the  Roman  method  of  warm- 
ing a  house.  Tliese  pillars  were  generally  formed  of  piles  of 
square  tiles  ;  sometimes,  as  in  a  building  found  at  Inverness  in 
Scotland,  described  in  Stuart's  '  Caledonia  Romana,'  in  one 
found  at  Wroxeter  [Urlcouuim),  and  described  in  the  ninth 
volume  of  the  '  Archseologia,'  and  in  other  instances,  the  co- 
lunms  supporting  the  floor  were  of  stone,  or  stone  columns 
mixed  alternately  or  irregularly  with  brick  pillars.  Along  with 
these  supporting  pillars  were  rows  of  flue  tiles,  chietly  against 
the  walls,  and  flue  tiles  of  various  forms  were  laid  against 
the  walls  above,  so  as  to  distribute  the  hot  air  over  the  building. 
These  flue  tiles  have  square  holes  on  one  side  to  admit  hot  air 
or  smoke,  from  the  Arcs  of  the  hypocaust.  Sometimes,  but  this 
is  of  rarer  occurrence,  instead  of  these  pillars,  the  floor  Avas  sup- 
ported on  parallel  walls  of  masonry,  with  passages  in  which  the 
fires  were  made,  and  through  wdiich  the  heat  was  conducted. 
Tlie  fire  was  made  under  the  arch  in  the  outer  wall  below  the 
level  of  the  ground,  and  appears  to  have  been  approached  from 
without  by  the  servants  who  had  the  care  of  the  fires,  in  the 
same  manner  that  we  now^  approach  the  stoves  of  hot-houses. 
Similar  arches  in  the  foundations  of  the  walls  communicated 
between  the  hypocaust  of  one  room  and  that  of  another.  In 
our  plan,  just  given,  of  the  house  at  Lymne,  the  two  rooms  on 
the  right  had  hypocausts  with  pillars  of  square  bricks,  the  lower 
parts  of  most  of  which  Avere  found  when  the  covering  of  earth 
was  first  cleared  awMy.  At  T  and  i  were  the  passages,  built  in 
rougher  masonry  than  the  walls,  which  led  to  the  fire-places 
under  the  two  arches  indicated  in  the  walls.  Three  other  arches, 
through  the  wall  which  divided  these  two  apartments,  all  neatly 
turned  with  the  large  flat  tiles,  formed  the  connnunication  be- 
tween the  hypocausts.  Another  similar  arch  in  the  Avestern 
wall  of  the  moi-e  northerly  of  these  two  rooms  communicated 
with  the  parallel  walls  of  rough  masonry  which  formed  a  hypo- 
caust under  a  part  of  the  room  marked  b.  The  small  recessed 
room  at  the  south-eas-t  corner,  supported  by  much  thicker 
columns  of  bricks  than  those  of  the  other  hypocaust,  may  per- 
haps have  served  as  the  kitchen,  or  cooking  room.  The  ar- 
rangement of  the  hypocaust  will  perhaps  be  better  understood 
by  the  annexed  cut  of  one  of  these  structures  found  in  a  Roman 
house  at  Cirencester,  which  ^ve  give  because  it  presents  several 


CHAP.   VL] 


ROMAV  HYPOCAUSTS. 


197 


peculiarities.    One  of  the  supports  here  is  a  stone  pillar,  another 
stands  upon  a  stone  base.     Between  the  last  row  of  pillars  and 


Hypocaust  at  Cirencester  [Coi  inium). 

the  side-Avall,  is  a  row  of  npright  flue-tiles,  and  in  the  wall  itself 
are  two  apertures,  intended  no  doubt  to  convey  the  hot  air  iiilo 
the  upper  part  of  the  building;.  In  this  instance  the  hypocaust 
only  extended  under  one  half  of  the  room,  the  pavement  of  the 
other  half  resting  upon  a  prepared  solid  foundation.*  The  room 
marked  B,  in  the  plan  of  the  house  at  Lymne,  seems  to  have 
had    a    similar   arrangement   in  this  respect.       The  more  we 

*  We  should  avoid  giving  refined  and  unnecessary  explanations  where 
very  simple  ones  are  sufficient.  In  Messrs  Bucknian  and  Newinarch's 
woric  on  the  Roman  remains  at  Cirencester,  from  which  our  cut  of  the 
hypocaust  is  taken,  the  circumstance  of  the  hypocaust  extending  under  one 
half  only  of  the  floor,  is  explained  by  considering  that  '  the  two  parts  of 
the  room  were  intended  for  use  at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  and  that  it 
vfK^  t\iQ  tricliiiiHm  oi  the  house ;  that  portion  over  the  hypocaust  being 
the  triclinium  hybernu))),  and  the  other  end  the  tricliiiinm  (cstivumior  U'^e 
in  warm  weather.'  It  seems  to  nie  very  easy  to  understand  how  a  room 
may  be  perfectly  well  warmed  by  a  hypocaust  on  one  side  only,  but  I  do 
not  perceive  how  this  arrangement  would  make  one  half  of  the  room  warm 
and  the  other  half  cold,  which  I  presume  is  the  meaning  of  this  explana- 
tion. If  there  were  in  summer  no  fire  in  the  hypocaust,  it  would  be  quite 
as  cool  over  it  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  room  ;  and  if  there  were  a  fire  in 
it,  no  part  of  the  room  could  be  cool. 


198  THE  ROAfAXS.  [(-hap.  vi. 

examine  tlie  remains  of  Eoman  building-s  in  Britain,  the  more 
we  are  struck  with  the  care  and  ingenuity  displayed  in  pro- 
viding- for  internal  warmth,  as  well  as  for  other  comforts.  In 
many  instances,  the  subterranean  hypocausts  are  elaborately 
arranged.  The  excavations  in  the  large  villa  at  Woodchester, 
in  Gloucestershire,  at  the  latter  end  of  the  last  century, 
brought  to  light  a  hypocaust  which  is  represented  in  an  engrav- 
ing in  our  next  chapter.  It  consisted  of  parallel  walls,  pierced 
with  an  elaborate  system  of  flues,  formed  of  ridge  tiles  placed 
two  and  two  together,  so  as  to  form  pipes.  Eows  of  flanged 
tiles  were  placed  along  the  sides  of  the  -walls,  thus  making  hol- 
lows through  wdiich  the  hot  air  was  distributed  equally  over  the 
whole  interior  surface  of  the  walls  of  the  apartment. 

In  laying  the  floors,  a  layer  of  large  flat  tiles  was  first  placed 
on  the  columns  of  the  hypocaust.  Flanged  tiles  were  not  un- 
frequently  used  for  this  purpose,  with  the  flanged  edges  some- 
times turned  upwards  and  sometimes  downwards,  perhaps 
according  to  the  caprice  of  the  builder.  Sometimes  there  were 
two  layers  of  tiles,  and  in  some  cases,  where  tiles  were  probably 
not  at  hand,  thin  flag-stones  were  used  instead.  Upon  these 
was  laid  a  mass  of  flue  mortar  or  concrete,  generally  about  six 
inches  thick,  in  the  surface  of  which  the  pavement  was  set. 
This  pavement  was  variously  constructed  according  to  the 
richness  and  elegance  of  the  house,  and  to  the  purposes  for 
which  the  apartment  Avas  designed.  In  rich  houses  the  principal 
floors  were  beautifully  ornamented  Avith  figured  pavements, 
composed  of  very  small  cubes  or  tesserae  of  ditterent  colours. 
In  less  expensive  houses,  the  ornament  Avas  plainer,  and  formed 
of  mucli  larger  tesserae.  Ordinary  floors  Avere  usually  paved 
Avith  tesserae  of  brick,  Avhich  Ave  should  perhaps  rather  call 
small  tiles,  one  or  tAvo  inches  square.  In  a  fcAV  instances  a 
mere  floor  of  flao--stones  has  been  found  laid  reg'ularlv  over  the 
mass  of  concrete. 

It  is  quite  impossible,  in  the  condition  in  Avhich  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Roman  houses  are  found,  even  to  otter  a  probable 
conjecture  on  the  use  or  objects  of  the  several  rooms  Avhich  we 
are  enabled  to  trace  by  them.  We  can  have  little  doubt  that 
the  principal  rooms  Avarmed  by  hypocausts  Avere  those  in  Avliich 
the  masters  of  the  house  Avere  accustomed  to  assemble  together, 
or  receive  visitors.  In  the  larger  country  villas  it  has  been  ob- 
served that  the  rooms  Avith  hypocausts  lie  often  on  the  southern 
part  of  the  building,  and  it  has  therefore  been  assumed  that 
they  were  the  Avinter  apartments,  while  the  summer  apartments 


rkAP.  VI.  1  ROOMS  OF  A  HOUSE.  .y9 

were  placed  with  a  more  northern  aspect,  and  were  without 
hypocausts ;  but  this  observation  does  not  liold  good  in  all 
cases.  There  is  one  peculiarity  Avhicli  is  observed  almost  in- 
variably in  Eoman  houses  in  Britain  ;  one  room  has  always  a 
seniicircidar  recess  or  alcove,  and  in  some,  but  rarer,  instances, 
more  than  one  room  possesses  this  adjunct.  It  is  not  omitted 
even  in  the  little  house  at  Lymne,  of  which  we  have  given  a  plan. 
There  is,  generally,  as  in  the  example  just  cited,  at  each  side 
where  it  joins  the  room,  an  advancing  piece  of  wall  or  pier,  as 
though  a  curtain,  or  something  of  that  kind,  had  been  drawn 
across  to  separate  the  recess  from  the  room.  In  a  suburban 
villa,  which  was  partially  excavated  in  Leicester  {RatcB),  a  shrat 
pillar  was  found  lying  upon  the  tesselated  pavement  of  the 
semicircular  recess,  which  seemed  to  have  served  as  an  altar,  or 
to  have  supported  a  small  statue,  and  it  has  been  conjectured 
that  this  recess  served  as  the  sacrarium,  or  place  of  domestic 
worship,  where  the  image  of  the  patron  god  of  the  family  was 
placed.  A  Roman  house  of  any  extent  generally  presents  to 
view  such  a  numerous  assemblage  of  crowded  and  very  small 
rooms,  that  w^e  are  led  to  believe  that  some  of  the  transverse 
walls  have  only  been  raised  to  a  slight  elevation  above  the  floor, 
and  that  they  served  for  seats  or  other  purposes  in  the  middle 
or  at  one  side  of  the  room.  In  one  or  two  instances  low  pro- 
jections have  been  observed  in  the  interior  of  the  wall  of  a  room, 
which  have  every  appearance  of  having  been  intended  for  stone 
seats.  Drains  and  gutters  are  often  found  in  and  under  the 
floors,  for  carrying  off  water,  and  these  are  sometimes  ingeni- 
ously, and  even  elaborately,  constructed ;  generally  of  tiles ; 
pieces  of  leaden  pipe  have  also  been  found,  formed  by  turning 
a  thin  plate  of  lead  rounded  into  the  form  of  a  cylinder. 

]\Iany  writers  have  concluded  hastily,  that  every  house  with 
a  hypocaust  was  a  public  bath  ;  but  it  required  very  little 
observation  and  comparison  to  expose  this  error.  In  some 
instances,  but  more  especially  in  country  villas-^  we  find  baths 
belonging  to  the  house,  generally  \\\  a  room  \\^hich  seems  to 
have  been  set  aside  for  them.  Two  such  baths  were  observed 
in  the  villa  excavated  at  Ilartlip,  in  East  Kent.  One  of  these, 
which  is  represented  m  the  cut  annexed,  was  of  very  small 
dimensions,  being  only  three  feet  six  inches  in  length  by  three 
feet  one  inch  in  width,  and  about  two  feet  deep.  At  the 
bottom,  on  one  side,  was  a  seat  six  inches  and  a  half  wide.  A 
moulding  of  plaster  ran  round  the  floor  and  up  the  angles,  aiMi 
the  irterior  was  originally  covered  entirely  with  stucco,  pauitea 


v^ 


TEE  ROMANS. 


(cu*^.  "■" 


huih.  in  a  Villa  at  Hartlip,  Kern. 

of  a  pink  or  red  colour,  as  appeared  by  portions  of  it  stil] 
reinaining".     From  the    size  of  this  I  ath,  it  must  have  bet'ij 


Second  ButL  in  the  Villa  at  Hartlip. 

intended  for  partial  immersion  and  ablution;  in  fact,  after 
the  use  of  the  hot  vapour  bath,  which  was  usually  m  an 
adjacent  room.  Adjoining  was  another  bath,  i^presented 
m  our  second  cut,  of  larger  dimensions  than  the  former. 
u   .vas  six   feet  two  inches  in  length,  by  fourteen  in  wuit.i, 


ci:ap.  VI.]  rATNTINGS  OF  THE  WALLS.  203 

but  it  Avas  only  fourteen  inclies  deep.  Eotli  batlis  were  J)(m-- 
liaps  deeper  when  the  buildin<>;  was  perfeet.  This  bath  also 
had  a  seat  extending-  the  whole  length  of  one  side,  but  it  was 
composed  of  hollow  flue-tiles,  placed  leiigtliAvays,  and  coated 
over  with  a  thick  layer  of  cement ;  the  sides,  as  in  the  former, 
had  been  stuccoed  and  painted,  and  a  simdar  moulding  ran 
round  the  bottom.  Both  had  leaden  pipes  still  remaining, 
which  condncted  the  water  from  the  baths  through  the  external 
wall  of  the  house.  There  was  no  pipe  or  channel  of  any  kind 
for  conducting  water  to  either  of  these  baths,  so  that  either  hot 
or  cold  water  must  have  been  brought  when  wanted  in  buckets 
or  other  vessels.  A  room'  adjoining  Avas  probably  open  to  the 
baths ;  a  recess  in  the  wall  of  this  room  is  supposed  by  Mr 
Roach  Smith  to  have  held  a  cistern  for  warm  water. 

Internally,  the  walls  of  the  apartments  were  invariably  covered 
with  a  thick  coating  of  plaster,  or  stucco,  composed  of  lime, 
sand,  and  small  stones,  so  tempered  as  to  harden  into  a  very 
solid  and  firm  mass.  The  surface  of  this  was  made  perfectly 
smooth,  and  upon  it  was  laid  a  very  thin  coating  of  fine  cal- 
careous cement.  On  this,  while  moist,  the  various  designs 
were  painted,  and  the  whole  became  so  durable,  that  on  the 
broken  fragments  we  pick  up  among  the  ruins  of  the  houses 
and  villas  in  this  country,  the  colours  often  look  as  bright  and 
fresh  as  if  they  had  but  just  been  laid  on.  The  accompanying- 
engraving,  from  Mr  Roach  Smith's  valuable  work  on  Roman 
London,  represents  the  process  of  painting  the  walls  in  fresco 
as  sculptured  on  the  sepulchral  monument  of  a  Roman  painter, 
found  at  Sens  in  France  {SerioiKp).  'The  subject,'  Mr  Smith 
says,  'represents  the  decoration  of  a  corridor  in  fresco  paint- 
ing. A  low  scafi'old  is  constructed,  partly  on  tressels,  and 
partly  resting  upon  the  basement  of  the  corridor.  Upon  this 
scaffold  are  the  painter  and  his  plasterer.  The  latter  is  on  the 
right  side  of  the  relief,  and  is  exhibited  in  the  act  of  laying  on 
the  thin  finishing  coat  of  plaster  (mtonaco)  for  the  painter,  who 
is  folloAving  him.  He  has  his  Jfoat  in  his  left  hand,  and  is 
passing  it  over  the  wall,  while  his  right  hand  is  thrust  downward 
into  a  pail  of  Avater,  most  likely  to  reach  a  brush  to  sprinkle 
the  rough  coat  or  ground  so  as  to  render  it  sufficiently  moist  to 
receive  the  iutoiiaco,  or  thin  cement  of  lime,  which,  in  general, 
Avould  not  be  thicker  than  a  crown  piece.  The  painter  is 
following  the  plasterer,  to  lay  on  his  colours  while  the  plaster 
is  still  Avet.  He  appears  as  if  resting  one  foot  upon  a  stool, 
Avliich,  p?rha))s,  has  also  a   tablet  of  mixed   coloiu's  upon   it. 

o 


201  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vi. 

Peliind  him  is  a  cylindrical  box,  in  wliicli,  it  may  be  imag-ined, 
he  has  his  rolls  of  paper  or  parchment  with  designs  of  the 
work  he  is  engaged  upon.  There  is  a  short  la(hler  to  mount 
the  scaffold,  by  the  side  of  which  is  a  stool,  with  a  tablet  of 
colour  upon  it;  and  close  by  this  clie  painter's  assistant  is 
mixing  tints;  and  his  action  is  energetic,  no  doubt  to  indicate 
liaste.  This  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  modern  practice  of 
fresco -painting,  which  requires  every  department  to  be  con- 
ducted with  rapidity  as  well  as  wdth  skill.  The  assistant  must 
always  have  the  tints  ready  mixed,  and  in  sufficient  quantity 
for  the  work.  Under  the  arch  of  the  corridor,  at  the  left  side 
of  the  relief,  is  the  director  or  master-designer.  He  is  seated 
with  an  open  book  or  tablet  before  him,  and  appears  to  be 
studying  or  reviewing  the  design.''^'  Some  of  the  fragments 
found  among  the  ruins  of  Koman  houses  in  Britain  belong  to 
w^alls  painted  of  a  uniform  colour ;  others  are  striped,  or  made 
to  represent  arabesques  and  other  patterns.  Some  fragments 
in  the  museum  of  Mr  Roach  Smith  (now  in  the  British 
Museum),  taken  from  the  site  of  a  large  building  near  Crosby 
Hall,  in  London,  exhibit  a  sort  of  decorated  trellis-w^ork  on  a 
red  ground,  in  the  divisions  of  which  are  stars,  or  flowei's,  in 
yellow,  white,  and  dark  blue  colours,  with  a  man  carrying  a 
staff"  and  wdiat  appears  to  be  a  basket ;  the  whole  pattern,  man 
and  all,  being  repeated  over  the  face  of  the  wall,  and  enclosed 
in.  a  dark  border,  upon  which  is  a  stripe  of  white.  The  cut  in 
the  next  page  represents  a  fragment  of  this  design,  drawn  on  a 
scale  of  one-third  the  actual  size.  Other  fragments  are  painted 
ill  imitation  of  coloured  marbles.  A.  considerable  variety  of  rather 
elegant  patterns  were  fovmd  in  the  ruins  of  a  Roman  villa  at 
Chesterford,  in  Essex,  among  which  were  some  representing 
portions  of  the  human  figure.  The  most  remarkable  of  the 
latter  was  the  foot  of  a  female,  as  large  as  life,  with  drapery 
flowing  round  it.  In  one  of  the  larger  I'ooms  of  the  villa  at 
Coml)e-End,  in  Gloucestershire,  the  lowei-  part  of  tlie  wall 
remained  covered  with  the  fresco  painting,  on  which  were  a 
row  of  feet,  also  as  large  as  life,  which  had  belonged  to  the 
figures  in  some  grand  historical  painting  that  had  once  adorned 
the  walls  of  this  af)artment.  In  one  of  the  rooms  of  a  building 
at  Wroxeter  {Uriconium),  the  walls  w^ere  tesselated,  the  tessellre 
being  half-an-inch  by  three-fifths  in  dimension,  and  of  alternate 
colours,  so  as  to  produce  the  effect  of  chequer  work. 

*  Illustrations  of  Roman  London,  by  Charles  Roach  Smith,  p.  61. 


CHAP.  VI.]        RO:^IAN  DOORS  AXD  WINDOWS.  206 

"Where  we  find  the  opening's  of  doors,  they  are  in  general 
narrow,  and  they  appear  to  have  been  sqnare-headed,  like  tiie 


Roman  Wall- Painting,  from  London. 

ordinary  doors  of  the  present  day.  Amono;  the  stations  ou 
Hadi'ian's  Wall,  where  the  materials  of  the  bnildings  have  not 
been  so  extensively  cleared  aAvay,  ornamental  heads  of  doors 
and  windows  in  stone  have  been  fonnd,  and  some  of  them  are 
engraved  in  Mr  Brnce's  '  Roman  AVall.'  We  seldom  open 
llotnan  honses  of  any  extent  withont  finding  abnndant  frag- 
ments of  window-glass,  so  that  there  can  be  no  donl)t  that  the 
Roman  windows  were  glazed.  Some  fragments  of  very  thin 
window -glass  were  picked  np  under  the  walls  of  the  houses 
within  the  Roman  town  of  Lymne,  where  the  walls  had  no 
doubt  been  pierced  with  windows  above.  At  Wroxeter,  on  the 
contrary,  the  Roman  window-glass  hitherto  found  is  very  thick, 
some  slightly  exceeding  the  eighth  of  an  inch.  We  have  little 
information  on  the  nature  of  the  ceilings  and  roofs  of  the 
Roman  houses  in  Britain,    Supporting  columns,  and  fragments 


106 


THE  ROMANS. 


[CHAF.   TI. 


oC  ornamtnt  and  plaster,  found  in  some  of  the  villas,  seem  to 
show  that  the  more  important  apartments  Avere  sometimes 
vaulted ;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  ceiling  was  more  usually 
Hat.  In  the  midland  and  southern  parts  of  Britain,  the  houses 
appear  to  have  been  most  commonly  roofed  with  tiles,  consist- 
iii«i  of  parallel  courses  of  flanged  tiles,  with  the  flanges  turned 
u]  wards,  and  the  joints  covered  with  ridge  tiles.  This  arrange- 
ment will  be  best  understood  bv 
the  accompanying  cut.  In  other 
cases,  especially  in  the  northern 
parts  of  England,  the  houses  were 
roofed  with  slates.  In  the  stations 
on  the  wall,  thin  slabs  of  free-stone 
slate,  with  nail-holes  in  them,  as 
well  as  the  nails  themselves,  are 
*ound  on  the  ground.  Sometimes 
the  roofing  was  formed  of  flags  of 
stone,  shaped  into  hexagons,  as  at 
fig.  b  in  our  next  cut,  with  half-flags  {a)  for  the  top.  These 
overlapped  one  another,  so  as  to  form  a  pattern  of  lozenges,  as 


A-rrangcment  of  Roof  Tiles. 


Arrangement  of  Roof  Flags. 

i'epresented  in  the  cut,  the  ridge  being  no  doubt  covered  with 
a  row  of  ridge-tiles.  This  kind  of  roof  seems  to  have  been 
common  at  Wroxeter  {Urlconium),  where  the  fallen  Hags  are 
found  scattered  about  in  great  abundance,  Avith  the  iron  nails 
which  held  them  to  the  woodwork  still  remaining.  These  flags, 
at  Wroxeter,  are  formed  of  the  micaceous  laminated  sandstone 
found  on  the  edge  of  the  North  Staflbrdshire  and  Shropshiie 
coal-field,  and  must  have  given  the  houses  a  very  glittering- 
appearance  in  the  sunshine.  At  Maryport,  in  Cumberland, 
when  some  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  station  were  excavated, 
it  Avas  found  that  the  houses  had  been  roofed  with  Scotch 
slates,  which,  with  the  pegs  that  fastened  them,  1;  y  scattered 
about  in  the  streets.      In   the  Iloman  villas   in   the  soutiv,  we 


CHAP.  VI.]      ARRAXGEMEXT  OF  HOUSES  IX  STREETS.      207 

often  find  the  roofinp;  tiles  scattered  over  the  floors  of  the  rooms 
ill  the  same  manner. 

We  have  few  opportunities  of  examinino;  the  internal  ar- 
nngements  of  a   Roman  town,  and  until  the  uncovering   of 
l^ompeii,   our  knowledg-e  on   this    subject  was    very  limited. 
Where  a  modern  town  stands  on  the  site  of  an  ancient  town, 
which  is  the  case  with  most  of  the  more  important  Roman 
cities  in  Britain,  it  is  of  course  impossible  to   excavate ;  and 
where  such  is  not  the  case,  there  have  usually  been  so  many 
difficulties  to  contend  with  in  obtaining  permission  to  dig,  and 
raising  the  necessary  funds,  that  very  little  progress  has  yet  been 
made.     Yet  there  are  many  localities  in  this  island,  where  the 
site   of  an   ancient  city    of  great  extent   lies  merely  covered 
with  earth,  and  that  not  very  deep,  and  in  which  excavations 
would,  no   doubt,  lead    to    very  interesting  results.     Among 
the  more   remarkable  of  these,  we   may  enumerate  Silchester 
(Calleva),  Old  Verulam  {Vendamium),  Aldborough  {Isnrluni), 
E,ibchester    (supposed    to    be     Cocclnni),    Caerwent    (^Fe)ita,) 
Wroxeter*  {Uriconiiim),  Kenchester  {Magna),  and  some  others. 
Some  of  the  towns  on   Hadrian's  Wall,  though  not  so  large 
or  magnificent  as  these  great  cities,    appear,  from   the    com- 
parative  neglect   in  which   their   ruins    were  left,  to  promise 
perhaps  more  than  some  of  the  larger  sites.     It  has  been  often 
assumed  by  some  that  the  streets  of  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain 
were  arranged  with  great  regularity,  and  by  others  that  the^^ 
were  in  general  identical  with  the  streets  of  the  modern  towns 
that  occupy  their  sites  ;  but  both  seem  equally  erroneous.     At 
Wroxeter  (Uricouliim),  as    far  as  the  excavations    have    been 
carried,  the  streets  appear  to  have  run  at  right  angles  to  one 
another,  and  to  have  been  tolerably  wide.     They  are  paved 
with   small   cobble-stones,  like   the   streets    of   our  mecliaeval 
towns.      A  variety   of  excavations,    however,  in    the  city   of 
London  have  proved  that  the  principal  streets,  such  as  Cheap- 
side,  Cornhill,  &c.,  are  in  almost  every  instance  traversed  by 
masses  of  Roman  liouses  underneath.      We  have  learnt  from 
the  discoveries  at  Pompeii,  that  Roman  streets  were  arranged 
irregnlarly,  and  they  were  there  in  general  narrow.      Perhaps 
even  in  Roman  London  there   were  only  two  or  three  lines  of 
streets  through  which  any  kind   of  carriage   could  pass,  and 

*  It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that  very  important  excavations  have 
now  been  made  at  this  place  under  the  direction  of  the  author  of  the  pre- 
sent volume;  and  a  volume  has  been  published  under  the  title  of  '  Uri- 
citnium  :  a  Histoi-ical  Account  of  the  Ancient  Roman  City,  and  of  the 
Excavations  made  npni  its  site  at  Wroxeter,  in  Shroj^shire  ;  '  by  Thomas 
Wriglit.     Londor,  187J. 


2Gi 


TJIF.  iiO.MA>\^. 


U'HA}.  r:. 


the  rest  were  only  narrow  alleys.     A  small  part  oi  the  Roman 
town  of  Cilurnum,  at  Chesters  in  Northumberland,  has  been 


Plan  of  Houses  at  Chesters  in  Northumberland  {Cilurnnni) . 

uncovered,  and  presents  us  with  a  curious  example  of  these 
small  alleys  and  houses.  A  plan  of  it  is  given  in  the  cut 
on  the  present  pag-e.  Eigiit  apartments  are  here  repre- 
sented, which  belonged  to  at  least  two,  if  not  to  three, 
houses.  Descending  a  few  steps  at  l,  we  enter  a  street  or 
alley,  three  feet  wide  at  one  extremity,  and  four  at  the  other. 


CHAP.  VI.]  ruiJLiU  BUILDINGS.  209 

*.r.  II,  'inothev  straet  runs  off  at  right  angles,  whidi  is  about 
tbur  feet  wide.  At  d,  an  entrance  door,  approached  by  steps, 
leads  into  tlie  room  e,  wliich,  as  well  as  the  other  rooms 
with  Avhicli  it  communicates,  is  paved  with  thin  flag-stones, 
and  has  a  hypocanst  underneath.  There  is  one  of  the  semi- 
circular recesses  at  G,  which  has  an  aperture  through  the 
wall,  perhaps  one  of  the  fire-places  of  the  hypocausts,  though 
]\Ir  Bruce  tells  us  that  the  furnace,  which  warmed  the  suite 
of  apartments,  stood  near  F,  at  the  south-eastern  extremity  of 
the  building.  When  these  hypocausts  w^ere  first  opened,  the 
soot  in  the  fines  was  found  as  fresh  as  if  it  had  been  pro- 
(hiced  by  fires  lighted  the  day  before.  In  the  room  to  tlie 
north  of  that  we  first  entered,  at  c,  was  found  a  bath,  in  good 
preservation,  covered  with  stucco,  which  was  painted  red. 
Near  it,  at  b,  the  exterior  wall  of  the  house  had  been  broken 
in,  and  among  the  rubbish  was  found  the  statue  oi' a  river  god. 
The  pavements  had  been  damaged  by  the  falling  in  of  the  roof. 
The  steps  at  d  were  much  worn  by  the  tread  of  feet,  and  stones 
had  been  inserted  in  place  of  others  which  had  been  worn  out, 
which  also  were  partially  worn;  hence  Mr  Bruce  thinks  that  this 
was  a  public  building  of  some  kind.  Outside  the  circular  recess, 
A,  there  seemed  to  have  been  a  larger  open  space  than  the  street 
first  mentioned.  A  door  nearly  opposite  that  at  d  led  into  the 
house  I,  of  which  two  apartments  were  uncovered,  both  having 
similar  floors  and  hypocausts.  The  street  h  d  appears  to  com- 
municate by  a  narrow  passage  with  another  transverse  sti'eet,  but 
the  ground  beyond  has  not  been  cleared  away.  The  rooms  of 
the  house  i  are  in  dimension  each  abont  twenty-four  feet  by 
seventeen  ;  that  at  E  about  nineteen  feet  by  fifteen.  The  walls 
of  the  latter  house  had  been  covered  internally  with  a  stucco 
painted  dark  red. 

At  Maryport,  in  Cumberland,  where  excavations  were  made 
in  1766,  the  streets  were  found  to  be  paved,  like  those  at  Cilur- 
num,  with  large  flag-stones,  wliich  we  are  told  '  were  much  worn 
by  use,  particularly  the  steps  into  a  vaulted  room,  supposed  to 
have  been  a  temple.'  The  foundations  at  Aldborough,  repre- 
sented in  our  plate,  at  p.  193,  seem  evidently  to  have  belonged 
to  a  row  of  houses,  apparently  Avith  shops  in  front ;  but-the  artist 
has,  by  an  oversight,  represented  them  as  parallel  to  the  town 
wall,  whereas  in  reality  they  are  at  an  angle  to  it.  They  have 
not  been  excavated  to  any  extent  backwards;  but  there  are 
reasons  for  supposing  that  in  the  more  impoi-tant  towns, 
the   great  dwelling-houses    stood,  as  at   Pompeii,  back    from 


210  THE  ROMANS.         '  [chap.  vi. 

the  street,  and  tliat  each  was  inclosed  ontwardly  with  small 
honses  and  shops.  At  Durol)nvfe  {Castor),  as  far  as  we  can 
jud^-e  fi'oni  Mr  Artis's  plan,  the  honses  were  scattered  abont  in 
no  regular  order. 

The  nnmerons  pieces  of  sculptured  stone  Avhich  are  found 
about  the  ruins  in  the  remains  of  Roman  towns,  show  that  the 
houses  did  not  want  in  architectural  ornament.     Capitals  and 
shafts  of  columns,  cornices,  moulding's,  and  other  fragments,  are 
frequently  met  with  ;   but  as  these  materials  were  in  after  times 
much   more  usefid,   and  more    easily  carried   away,   than  the 
masonry  on  the  walls,  it  seldom  happens  that  there  is  a  sutHcient 
quantity  left  to  enable  us  to  form  a  notion  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  bidldino-  was  adorned.      It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  these 
architectural  fragments,  although  often  very  elegant,  are  seldom 
of  pure  style  ;   instead  of  plain   or  simply  fluted  columns,  we 
often  have  them  covered  with  scales,  or  leaves,  or  other  designs, 
as  if  the  models  had  been  brought  from  Egypt  or  India ;   and 
the  bases  and  capitals  are  sometimes  profusely  ornamented.   The 
same   circmnstance  of  the  utility  of  the  materials  caused  the 
public  buildings  to  disappear  sooner  than  the  dwelling-houses, 
and  there  are  iew  cases  in   which  they   have  been   distinctly 
traced  out  in  modern  times.     Lysons  discovered  so  many  archi- 
tectural fragments  of  the  Temple   of  Minerva  at  Aquae  Solis 
{Bath),  that  he  was  enabled  to  make  a  restoration  of  the  build- 
ing.; and  considerable  remains  are  said  to  have  been  found,  and 
perhaps  still  exist  under-ground,  of  the  temple  of  the  same  god- 
dess at  Coccium  {Rlbcheder).     No  doubt,  every  town  had  its 
temples,  of  greater  and  less  raagniticence,  which  were  tilled  with 
the  votive  altars  that  are  discovered  so  numerously   in  some 
parts  of  the  country.     A  few  inscriptions  have  been  found  re- 
cording the  building  or  repairing  of  such  editices.     At  Regnum 
{CJilchester),  a  temple  was  dedicated  to  Neptune  and  Minerva.* 
At  Condercum,  on  Hadrian's  Wall  {Bemoell),  an  officer  stationed 
there  '  rebuilt   from    the   ground '   a    temple  dedicated  to  the 
Dere  Matres,  and  to  the  genius  who  presided  over  his  troops. f 
At  Cilurnum  {Chesters),  a  temple  which  was  dilapidated  through 
age,  was  rebuilt  in  the  year  221,  during  the  reign  of  Helio- 
gabilus.|       At     Petriana    {Cambeck   Fort),     a  temple   to   the 

*  See  the  commemorative  inscription  in  our  note  on  p.  51. 

t    MATRIHVb  ....    TEMPLVM    A     SOLO     KESTITVIT. — BrUCe" S     '  Wall, 

p.  140. 

X   TEMPLVM    VETVSTATE    COXLAPSVM    RESTITVEllVXT. — BrUCe,   p.  186. 


CHAP.  VI.]  rUBLIC  BUILDIXG?.  211 

deities  '  of  all  nations,'  whidi  had  througli  r.gc  fallen  into 
deoay,  was  similarly  restored.* 

Such  slabs  were  generally  placed  against  the  walls  of  the 
building  they  commemorated,  and  it  was  not  always  thought 
necessary  to  describe  in  them  the  nature  of  the  building  itself, 
so  that  they  are  now  often  useless  for  identification.  Yet  in 
some  instances  public  buildings  are  commemorated  by  name. 
Thus  an  inscription  found  at  Habitancum  {Risingham),  comme- 
morates the  restoration  of  the  gate  and  walls. f  We  learn  also, 
from  such  inscriptions,  that  at  Epiacum  {Laiichester),  the  pub- 
lic baths  and  basilica  (or  court-house)  were  built  from  the 
foundations  in  the  reign  of  Gordian ;  %  that  some  other  build- 
ings (the  name  is  partly  obliterated),  Avith  a  basilica  and  temple, 
were  built  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Tynemouth ;  §  that  public 
baths  and  a  basilica  were  rebuilt  at  Coccium  {Ilihchestei') ;  || 
that  the  public  baths  at  Lavatrae  {Bo?ces)  had  been  burnt  down, 
and  rebuilt  and  dedicated  to  the  goddess  Fortune  (they  were 
probably  joined  with  a  temple),  under  the  propraetor  Virrius 
Lupus ;  IF  and  that,  at  the  Reman  town  which  occupied  tlie 
site  of  Netherby  in  Cumberland,  a  basilica  for  riding,  which 
appears  to  have  taken  some  time  in  building,  avcs  completed  imder 
Severus  Alexander  (a.d.  221 — 235).*  *  As  well  as  its  basilica 
and  public  baths,  Epiacum  {Lanchedei')  had  an  arsenal  and  a 
building  for  the  commanding  officer,  or  governor's  lodgings. ft 

It  appears  from  these  inscriptions  that  every  town  of  any 
importance  had  a  basilica,  or  court-house,  and  public  baths, 
and  that  these  were  usutdly  placed  together,  and  joined  often 
with  a  temple.  In  several  of  our  ancient  Roman  towns,  as  at 
Leicester,  and,  formerly,  at  Kenchester,  masses  of  masonry 
within  the  town,  which  it  has  not  been  easy  to  account  for, 
may  have  formed  part  of  these  combined  buildings.      Remains 

*  .    .    .    OMNIVM    GEXTIVM   TEMPLVM    OLIM    VETVSTATE    COXLAUSVM. — 

llorsley. 

+   PORTAM    CVM    MVRIS    VETVSTATE   DILAPSIS. — BvUCC,  p.  331. 

X   BALNEVM    CVM    RASILICA   A    SOLO    INSTKVXIT. — Li/SOItS. 

§    .    .    .    .     GYRVM     CVM     RASI     ET     TEMPLVM    FECIT. — BniCC,    p.    319,    SO 

i>^;id  by  Mr  Bruce  ;  Hoi'sley  read  it  cvrvm  ;  but  on  examining-  this  altar, 
wliieh  is  in  the  collection  of  the  Society  of  Antiquarians,  with  Mr  Roach 
Smith,  I  agree  with  him  that  the  true  reading  seems  to  be  cypvm  (for 
cippuiu)  CVM  BASi  ET,  &c.     The  stone  is  much  worn  in  the  upper  part. 

II    RALINEVM     RKPECT    .    .    .     ASILICAM     VETVSTATE      COXLABSAM      SOI.O 

Restitvtam. —  Whitakcr. 

^    BALINEVM    VI    IGNIS    EXVSTVM.  —  HorsJe;/. 

*  *   BASILICAM     EQVESTREM     EXERCITATORIAM      lAMPRIDEM     A     SOLO 
COEPTAM    AEDIFICAVIT    CONSVMMAVITQVE. — Ll/SOi/S. 

t  t   PRINCIPIA   ET   ARMAMENTARIA   CONLAPSA    RESTITVIT. — LyS0}iii. 


"in  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vt. 

of  public  baths  liave  been  found  in  excavations  iu  some  of  tlie 
Roman  towns  in  Britain,  as,  for  instance,  at  Silcliester.  The 
basilica  and  public  baths  of  Uriconium  {Wroxeter)  have  been 
uncovered;  the  former  was  226  feet  long,  and  the  batV? 
covered  a  square  of  about  200  feet.  Of  other  public  buil'lino's 
we  know  little.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  speaks  vaguely  of  build- 
ings for  theatrical  purposes  at  Caerleon,  but  perhaps  he  only 
meant  the  amphitheatre.  A  theatre  of  considerable  extent, 
and  elaborate  construction,  has  been  brought  to  light  at  Yeru- 
lamium  (near  St  Albans).*  A  theatre  has  also  been  found  at 
Wroxeter.  The  Romans  were  everywhere  passionately  addicted 
to  gladiatorial  exhibitions,  and  almost  every  station  had  its 
amphitheatre.  We  need  only  mention  those  at  Richborough, 
Colchester,  Silchester,  Dorchester,  Cirencester,  Wroxeter,  and 
Caerleon.  The  amphitheatre  at  Richborough  has  been  recently 
excavated,  and  it  was  then  found  that  it  was  not,  as  had  been 
supposed,  a  mere  raised  circle  of  earth,  but  that  it  had  been 
surrounded  with  walls,  and  had  doubtless  seats  and  passages 
of  masonry.  The  same  was  probably  the  case  with  the  other 
amphitheatres  just  referred  to.  At  Aldborough  there  are 
remains  of  a  stadinm,  and  perhaps  also  at  Leicester. 

The  walls  of  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain  varied  much  in 
extent.  Those  of  Silchester,  which  are  three  miles  in  circuit, 
inclose  an  area  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  acres;  th.3 
Avails  of  Wroxeter  are  upwards  of  three  miles  in  circuit ;  those 
of  Kenchester  inclosed  about  twTnty-one  acres ;  the  walls  of 
Colchester  included  a  hundred  and  eight  acres ;  wdiile  the  walls 
of  Lymne  inclose  only  twelve  acres,  and  those  of  Richborough 
not  more  than  four.  It  is  evident  that,  in  cases  like  the  latter, 
we  must  consider  the  fortress  as  a  mere  citadel,  and  suppose 
that  the  town  stood  around.  In  the  other  instances,  the  wa,.'.' 
surrounded  the  town.  In  many  cases,  however,  the  popula- 
tion became  gradually  too  large  to  be  contained  within  the 
inclosure,  and  then  suburbs  were  built  outside.  Most  of  the 
stations  along  Hadrian's  wall  appear  to  have  consisted  of  an 
inner  town  and  an  outer  town.  There  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  the  walls  of  Roman  London  were  erected  at  a  later  date, 
when  that  city  had  reached  its  full  extent,  and  hence  we  cannot 
trace  that  it  had  any  suburbs  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
Thames ;    but  it  had  apparently  a  large  one  on  the  southern 

*  An  account  of  this  discovery  was  published  in  a  pamphlet  entitled 
'  A  Description  of  the  Roman  Theatre  of  Verulam,'  by  Mr  R.  Gro\  e 
Lowe,  of  St  Albans,  under  whose  care  the  excavations  were  carried  on. 


CHAP.  VI.]  THE  SUBITRP.S.  213 

bank.  Eburiicum  had  been  probably  fortified  earlier,  and  it 
had  increased  more  rapidly,  and  accordingly  we  find  tli:it  it 
had  extensive  subnrbs  at  each  of  its  gates.  That  on  the  side 
towards  Calcaria  (^Tadcaster)  extended,  as  we  are  informed  by 
Mr  Wellbeloved,  as  much  as  a  mile  along  the  road,  and  the  one 
on  the  road  to  Isuriiim  {Aldboi'ongh)  was  nearly  as  long.  Ex- 
tensive subnrbs  have  also  been  traced  round  Caerleon,  and  it  is 
the  tradition  of  tlie  place,  that  the  ancient  city  filled  a  circuit 
of  nine  miles.  Considerable  suburban  buildings  have,  in  like 
manner,  been  discovered  at  Leicester. 

Tlic  suburbs  were  probably  not  built  so  closely  as  the  town 
itself,  but  consisted  often  of  detached  villas.  They  were  also 
the  site  of  the  cemeteries,  and  the  tombs  generally  stood  along- 
each  side  of  the  road.  The  principal  sepulchral  monuments  of 
the  Roman  citizens  of  London  appear  to  have  stood  outside 
Ludgate,  where  inscribed  stones  have  been  found  ;  but  we 
know  also  that  there  was  a  large  cemetery  at  the  outside  of 
Eishopsgate.  At  York,  the  burial-places  were  without  all  the 
gates,  but  the  road  leading  to  Calcaria  has  been  called  empha- 
tically, on  account  of  the  great  number  of  interments  found 
along  it,  the  Street  of  the  Tombs. 

Before  we  quit  the  Eoman  towns,  Ave  must  notice  one  of 
their  important  features,  the  sanitary  precautions.  We  have 
seen  how  careful  the  inhabitants  were  to  keep  themselves  warm 
and  dry,  and  they  seem  not  to  have  neglected  cleanliness. 
Traces  of  pipes  and  drains  are  found  in  their  houses,  which 
were  no  doubt  intended  to  carry  off  superfluous  water  and  filth. 
AYe  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  how  the  streets  were  drained, 
but  we  seldom  carry  on  excavations  long  on  the  sites  of  Roman 
towns  without  meeting  with  large  and  extensive  sewers.  At 
Wroxeter  one  of  the  streets  has  a  gutter  running  down  the 
sides,  well  formed  of  hewn  stones,  and  something  like  those 
still  found  in  old  towns  like  Salisbury.  A  large  drain  of  this 
description  was  found  outside  the  town  at  Hunnum,  on  the 
Wall  {HaUon-CJiesters).  'My  informant,'  Mr  Bruce  tells  us, 
'  crept  along  it  for  about  one  hundred  yards ;  the  bottom  of  it 
was  filled  with  hardened  mud,  imbedded  in  which  were  found 
a  lamp  and  many  bone  pins,  such  as  those  with  which  the 
Romans  fastened  their  Avoollen  garments.'  The  Roman  sewers 
at  Lincoln  are  still  in  good  preservation,  and  are  constructed 
of  excellent  masonry.  They  are  covered  with  large  flags  of 
stone.  A  smaller  transverse  drain  brought  down  the  waters 
from  each  house.     The  accompanying  cut,  representing  a  part 


2U 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap. 


of  tlie.  interior  of  one  of  these  sewers,  with  the  mouths  of  two 
transverse  drains,  is  taken  from  a  sketch   by  ]\lr  Roach  Smith, 


Interior  of  a  Sewer  at  Lincoln  {Lindiini). 

who  walked  up  it  .nhont  a  hundred  yards.  Mr  Smith  tells  me 
that  the  sewers  of  the  city  of  Treves  (tlie  Eoman  Trevir),  sti'i 
in  use,  bear  a  clos3  reserahirm'^r,  to  thnse  of  Lincohi,  an'l  the^y 
are  probably  of  lloraan  orio-in. 

As  far  as  we  can  judg-e  by  existing-  remains,  water  was  not 
conducted  into  the  Roman  houses.     It  was  probably  bi'ougdit 
by  aquecUicts   or  watercourses  to  a  foinitain   or  conduit  in   the 
town,  whence  the  inhabitants  fetched  it  in  buckets.     We  learn 
from   Bede,   how    St   (kithbert   Avas   shown   the   extraordinary 
Roman  fountain  at  Carlisle,  which,  no  doubt,  had  supplied  the 
citizens   of   Lugubalhum  with  water.      Girahlns    Cambrensis 
speaks  of  watercourses  at  Caerleon,  but,  as  his  words  are  some- 
M'hat  vague,  these  may  perhaps  have  been  merely  sewers.     But 
on  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall,  we  still  see  the  curious  water- 
course which  supplied  tlie  Roman  town  of  ^sica  {Great  Ches- 
ters),  and  which  was  worked  through  a  tortuous  course  of  six 
miles.       In  a   similar   manner,   an   aqueduct  (or   rather   two 
aqueducts),  of  considerable  extent  and  labour,  was  constructed 
to  bring  the  water  from  a  distant  stream  to  Epiacum  (Lanc/i&s- 
te?')  ;  they  delivered  their  water  into  a  reservoir  outside  the  walls, 
near  the  south-west  corner  of  the  station,  and  there,  no  doubt, 
the  inhabitants  went  to  take  it  for  their  domestic  purposes 


CHAi-.  VI.]  IlCJBBISIl  PITS.  21.5 

One  circvimsiance  remains  to  be  noticed  with  regard  to  the 
ecuiioniy  of  the  Iloinan  towns.  We  have  as  yet  discovered  no 
arrangements  about  the  Roman  liouses  for  personal  easement, 
but  close  at  the  outside  of  Roman  towns  are  found  numbers  of 
deep  and  very  narrow  round  wells,  which,  no  doubt,  are  the 
remains  of  conveniences  for  this  purpose.  The  discovery  of 
such  wells  is  the  sure  sign  of  the  proximity  of  a  Roman  station. 
They  are  numerous  at  Richborough  and  at  Winchester,  and 
have  indeed  been  observed  in  many  other  places,  and  they  are 
rich  mines  for  the  antiquary,  from  the  great  number  of  mis- 
cellaneous articles  they  contain.  In  fact,  they  appear  to  have 
been  common  depositories  for  refuse  of  every  description,  such 
as  animals'  bones,  broken  pottery,  and  a  variety  of  other  articles 
which  have  been  dropped  in  by  chance,  or  thrown  in  iriten- 
tionally,  and  they  have  hence  been  very  properly  termed 
rubbish  holes.  The  earth  taken  from  the  bottom  of  those  at 
Richborough,  on  being  examined  by  an  experienced  chemist, 
was  pronounced  to  be  the  remains  of  stercoraceous  matter. 
These  pits  are  formed  so  carefully,  and  are  some  of  them  so  small 
in  diameter,  and  at  the  same  time  so  deep,  that  we  might 
almost  suppose  that  they  had  been  made  with  a  large  cheese- 
scoop.  Perhaps  they  were  originally  covered  with  some  light 
structure.  Some  antiquaries,  from  finding  broken  urns  in 
them,  have  imagined  that  these  pits  were  sepulchral,  but  they 
have  probably  been  misled  by  erroneous  impressions  of  acci- 
dental circumstances  connected  with  them.* 

There  is  one  other  question  of  great  interest  and  importance 
connected  with  the  towns  of  Roman  Britain, — the  origin  and 
formation  of  our  lan"uao-e. 

It  is  remarkable  how  generally  in  the  earlier  ages  of  peoples, 
fable  usurps  the  place  of  history.  iVnd  even  long  after  the 
memory  of  the  past  has  assumed  a  form  wdiich  we  look  upon  as 
history,  it  still  continues  to  be  little  more  than  legend  and 
romance.  It  is  one  of  the  great  results  of  the  deeper  and  more 
comprehensive  studies  of  the  present  day,  to  dispel  by  degrees 
the  dark  clouds  of  error  thus  formed,  and  drag  from  behind 
them  the  truth  which  has  been  so  long  hidden. 

*  See  a  paper  in  the  '  Arcbaeologia,'  vol.  xxxii.,  on  such  pit.'?,  found  at 
Ewell,  by  Dr  Diamond,  and  another,  in  vol.  xxxiv.,  on  a  similar  pit  found 
at  Stone,  Bucks,  by  Mr  Akerman.  In  the  latter  it  is  stated,  erroneously, 
that  sepulchral  deposits  were  found  in  the  wells  at  Richborough ;  they 
were  carefully  examined  by  good  antiquaries  as  they  were  cut  away  by 
the  railway  excavators,  and  most  certainly  there  was  nothinc:  sepulchral 
about  them ;  they  hud  literally  been  receptacles  of  filth  and  refuse. 


7^ 


-f 


216  THE    ROMANS.  [chap.  vi. 

Tliere  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  history  which  has  been  moi-e 
obscured  by  the  causes  aUuded  to  tlian  that  of  the  Eomau  and 
post-Eomau  period  of  our  island,  and  yet  it  is  one  in  wliich  we 
must  all  feel  the  greatest  interest.  Our  old  histories  represent 
the  Romans  as  finding  the  isle  of  Britain  occupied  by  an  ab- 
orig-inal  population  of  Celtic  races,  formed  into  tribes  under  a 
number  of  great  chieftains,  whom  with  much  trouble  they  re- 
duced to  subjection,  in  which  subjection  they  remained  dui-ing 
the  Roman  period,  and  then,  when  the  Romans  departed  from 
the  island,  they  recovered  their  old  position  of  British  chief- 
tains, and  retained  it,  till  they  fell  before  the  Saxon  invaders. 
Various  researches  and  discoveries,  but  especially  a  more  com- 
prehensive study  of  the  written  records  of  history,  and  a  more 
extensive  examination  of  the  remaining  monuments  of  the  Ro- 
man age  of  our  island,  have  shown  us  that  most  of  our  common 
notions  of  our  condition  during  that  period  are  very  erroneous,  s/ 
I  will  endeavour  to  put  this  in  a  more  correct  light. 

The  Romans  appear  to  have  had  an  especial  regard  for  the 
Western  provinces  of  the  Empire,  and  the  natural  consequence 
was  that  those  provinces  soon  became  far  more  entirely  Roman- 
ised than  the  provinces  of  the  East.  This,  indeed,  was  more 
easy  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other ;  for  the  Eastern  Empire 
was  fouiuled  upon  bygone  civilisations  which  far  exceeded  that 
of  Rome  itself,  whereas  the  population  of  the  Western  Empire 
consisted  chiefly  of  only  half-civilised  tribes,  which  hai'dly  had 
one  common  system  of  action,  and  which,  therefore,  were  more 
easily  acted  upon.  The  province  of  Gaul  was  especially  Roman, 
both  politically,  and  in  the  extent  of  its  Roman  civilisation. 

This  province  of  Graul  had  already  been  completely  formed 
under  the  rule  of  the  emperor  Augustus.  It  was  then,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  covered  with  towns  and  cities  connected  with 
each  other  by  admirable  roads.  The  cities  were,  in  every  re- 
spect, Roman  cities,  tilled  with  noble  buildings,  and  other  ob- 
jects, displaying  the  perfection  of  Roman  art.  The  population 
was  dressed  in  the  Roman  costume,  and  their  manners  were 
entirely  Roman.  The  only  language  talked  through  the  pro- 
vince, with  the  exception  of  two  remote  districts  the  conditions 
of  wdiich  are  explained  by  other  causes,  was  Latin.  This  was 
the  case  in  all  the  Roman  provinces  of  the  West,  and  was  in- 
sisted upon,  at  all  events  in  theory,  in  the  East  also.  The 
emperor  Claudius,  who  was  himself  a  native  of  Lugdunum 
(Lyons),  the  capital  of  Gaul,  is  said  to  have  been  especnally 
tirm  in  insisting  upon  the  use  of  the  Latin  language.      We  are 


+ 


s/ 


CHAP.  VI.]     THE  LATIN  LANGUAGE  IX  BRITAIN.  217 

informed  by  the  historian  Dio  Cassiiis,  t1iat  a  Koman  citizen 
from  Lycia,  having  been  sent  by  his  province  on  a  deputation 
to  the  emperor,  and  not  being-  able  to  reply  to  his  questions 
in  Latin,  was  immediately  deprived  of  his  rights  of  citizenship. 
'  No  man,'  said  Claudius,  '  can  be  a  citizen  of  Eome  who  is 
ignorant  of  the  language  of  Rome ! '  Claudius  is  understood  _, 
to  have  introduced  the  common  use  of  the  Latin  language  into  / 
Ih'itain. 

Not  only  did  the  Latin  language  become  that  of  the  towns 
in  the  provinces,  and  no  doubt  that  of  the  people  also,  but  art 
and  literature  sprang  up  and  to  some  degree  tiourished  among 
them.  One  or  two  well-known  Latin  writers  of  tlie  later  Eo- 
man  period  came  from  the  provinces.  I  need  hardly  say  that 
the  almost  classic  poet  Ausonius  was  a  native  of  BurdigahiY/ 
{Bordaaux).  And,  in  fact,  all  the  writing  we  can  trace  in 
(ji-aul  during  the  Roman  or  post-Roman  period,  was  undoubt- 
edly in  the  Latin  tongue.  It  continued,  indeed,  long  after  the 
overthrow  of  the  Roman  empire  in  the  West  to  be  the  ver- 
nacular language  of  the  people  of  Gaul,  and  it  was  by  the 
Gauls  themselves  called  Roman — in  fact,  they  then  considered 
themselves  Romans — and  so  firmly  was  it  identified  with  them, 
that  even  the  conquests  of  the  Franks,  whose  language  of 
course  was  Teutonic,  not  unlike  our  Anglo-Saxon,  did  nothing  y 
towards  unseating  it.  We  have  a  curious  record  of  this  con- 
dition of  the  Latin  language  in  Gaul  so  late  as  the  middle  of 
the  9th  century;  when,  at  a  great  meeting  at  Strasbourg,  in 
the  March  of  the  year  842,  Charles  le  Cliauve,  king  of  France, 
and  his  brother  Louis,  the  king  of  Germany,  made  mutually  a 
solemn  oath  for  their  two  peoples,  Louis  made  liis  oath  in  Gei*- 
man,  while  Charles  made  his  in  Latin,  or,  as  they  call  it, 
Roviana  lingua,  and  Charles's  Roman  is  still  pure  Latin  in  y 
words,  though  it  has  undergone  a  certain  amount  of  degrada- 
tion in  form.  After  tlie  11th  century,  this  language,  still 
under  the  name  of  Romaue,  begins  to  come  out  largely  in 
literature;  it  still  preserves  the  remains  of  Latinity  in  form. 
This,  in  the  abundance  of  literary  monuments  of  the  ages  which 
follow,  goes  on  softening  down,  until  the  memory  of  Romanism 
itself  is  lost,  and  then  it  is  called  French. 

Thus  was  formed  gradually  the  French  language  of  the  pre- 
sent day  from  the  Roman  or  Latin  language  as  talked  in  Gaul. 
There  is  mixed  with  it,  in  its  modern  form,  a  German  element, 
derived  from  the  Franks,  but  no  Gallic  (Celtic)  element  that  I 
am  aware  of.      In  this  same  manner  have  been  formed  the 


i^ 


^ 


/ 


2i8  THE  I10MA>^S.  [chap,  vi, 

modern  jangiinji'es  of  all  the  Roman  provinces  of  the  Western 
Empire,  and  they  all  betray  their  origin.  The  Latin,  or  Koman, 
languag-e  as  talked  in  the  Sonthern  Peninsula  produced  the 
Italian,  that  of  Aquitaiiia  pi-oduced  the  rroven9al,  and  that  of 
Hispania  the  Spanish.  All  these  languages  were  known  in  the 
n.i(klle  ages  to  those  who  spoke  them  by  the  name  of  Romcuie 
tongues.  It  is  a  name  which  plays  an  interesting  paiTln"  the 
mediaeval  literary  history  of  Western  Enro]:)e.  There  is  onlv 
one  exception  to  what  I  have  just  been  describing,  and  that  is 

I  found  in  the  instance  of  the  province  of  Britain.  It  is  a  vei'V 
interesting  and  important  question,  which  is  worthy  of  our  con- 
sideration. 

•When  the  Eomans  came  to  Britain,  they  found  the  island 
occupied  by  a  number  of  independent  tribes,  under  different 
chieftains,  the  greater  part  of  which  appear  to  have  been  of 
Celtic  race,  talking  a  Celtic  tongue,  but  to  judge  from  the 
accounts  they  have  left,  there  Avere  some  tribes  of  a  ditferent 
origin.  Such,  for  instance,  were  the  Belgae,  who  no  doubt  had 
passed  over  from  Gaul,  and  spoke  the  language  of  the  Belgai 
there.  To  the  latter  they  applied  the  term  JFcelisc  or  Wcehc. 
I  In  the  German  of  the  middle  ages,  the  Erench  language 
was  always  spoken  of  as  W(bIscJi,  and  it  is  the  name  used 
to  signify  Italian  in  the  German  of  the  present  day.  In 
fact  fKe~princIpal  foreigners  to  them  were  the  provincials 
of  the  Eoman  provinces,  whom  they  always  found  speaking- 
Latin.  So,  Avhen  our  Anglo-Saxon  forefathers  came  to 
I^ritain,  they  called  the  Roman  population  they  found  here 
TFahc,  or  Welsh,  no  doubt  on  account  of  the  language 
they  spoke.  Thus  all  circumstances  combine  to  show  that 
Latm  was  the  language  spoken  in  the  Roman  pi-ovince  of 
Britain.  I  have  a  strong  suspicion,  from  difterent  cir- 
cumstances I  have  remarked,  that  the  towns  in  our  island 
continued,  in  contradistinction  frorii  tlie  country,  to  use  the 
Latin  tongue  long  after  the  empire  of  Rome  had  disappeared, 
and  after  the  country  had  become  Saxon,  and  they  settled  in 
our  south-Avestern  counties,  Hampshire,  Wiltshire,  and  Somer- 
setshire. The  Belgae,  no  doubt,  talked  Latin,  and  it  Avas 
equally  the  language  of  their  colonists  in  Britain ;  and  there, 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  island,  Latin  Avas  no  donbt  the  language 
•*y^  talked  in  the  Roman  provinces  and  towns.  We  have  evidence 
'  of  this  in  the  fact  that  in  exploring  the  Roman  remains  here, 
whether  in  town  or  country,  Avhen  we  meet  with  inscriptions, 
they  are  invariably  expressed  in  Latin.     Even  in  Wales,  Avheie 


I 


CHAP.  VI.]  THE  LANGUAGE.  219 

Iloman  inscriptions  are  tolerably  abundant,  I  have  never  heard 
of  one  which  was   Romano-Celtic.     And,  in  fact,  the  existence 
of  anything;  of  tliis  kind  is  so  rare,  that  I  think  we  may  con- 
sider it  doubtful  if  we  have  now  any  authentic  sample  left  of 
the  lanp;uage  which  the  Eritons  talked  when  the  Romans  came 
to  our  ishmd.     It  was  no  doubt  a  Celtic  dialect,  but  it  seems 
to  be  only  preserved  to  us  in  the  formation  of  the  names  of 
places  which  are  older  than  the  Anglo-Saxon,  chiefly  of  moun- 
tains and  rivers,  and  we  are  rather  led  to  believe  that  it  closely 
resembled  the  languages  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.     I  confess 
that  I  am  much  inclined  myself  to  the  opinion  that  the  Welsh 
language  has  a  diiferent  origin,  which  may  perhaps  be  accounted 
for  as  follows  :    It  seems  to  be  commonly  acknowledged,  that 
the  Welsh  is  the  same  dialect  of  Celtic  as  the  Breton  tongue  of 
Armorica,  and  several  stories  are  told  in  connection  with  the 
Peninsular  War  of  the  earlier  part  of  the  present  century,  of  the 
ease  with  Avhich  the  AVelsh   soldiers   in  our  army  understood 
and  conversed  with  the  Bretons  our  allies.     There  can  be  little 
doubt  that,  during  the  period  at  which  the  Saxon  settlement 
of  our  island  took  place,  the  Bretons  of  France  were  great  ad- 
venturers on  the  sea.     At  a  very  early  period,  but  rather  later 
than  this,  they  were  the  principal  visitors  to  Newfoundland  ; 
and  I  think  it  more  than  probable  that  in  the  time  of  which 
we  are  speaking  they  sent  expeditions  to  the  coasts  of  Britain 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  Angles  and  Saxons,  and  as  it  was 
in  a  manner  the  part  of  the  island  which  looked  to  them,  just 
as  the  others  regarded  at  this  time  the  various  peoples  of  the 
northern  race.     Thus  the  Bretons  formed  their  establishment 
in  Cornwall  and  Wales,  and  the  Welshmen,  to  whom  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  gave  a  name  which  signified  strangers,  and  the  Cornish, 
who  speak  the  same  dialect,  began  soon  to  considei'  themselves 
as  the  original  inhabitants  of  Britain,  and  have  been  so  con- 
sidered ever  since.     This  belief  was  strengthened  by  the  circum- 
stance that  the  settlers  had  brought  with  them  from  Brittany 
their  national  legends,  which  seem  to  have  formed  the  mass  of 
the  early  British  poetry  in  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  and  that  clasps 
of  writers.      Thus  I  myself  feel  very  strongly  the  belief  that 
the  Welshmen  of  the  present  day  are  not  the  descendants  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  our  island,  but  a  later  Celtic  colony  ^ 
,    from  Armorica,  and  this  explains  how  they  became  so  familiar 
'^  wi*h  the  Bretons  of  the  maritime  districts  of  the  north-west  of 
I     France. 

On  a  fair  consideration  of  all  these  facts,  I  am  led  to  the 


1/ 


220 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chat 


VT. 


+ 


belief  that  tlie  lano;ua2:e  spoken  throug-liout  the  isles  of  Britain 
was  Latin,  and  that  if  the  Angles  and  Saxons  had  never  come, 
•\ve  should  have  been  now  a  people  talking  a  Neo-Latin  tongne, 
closely  resembling  French.  The  Irish  or  Gaelic  has  perhaps 
the  best  claim  to  be  considered  as  representing  the  lanjniai'je  o\ 
the  Ancient  Britons.     ^ 


V 


H 


if'" 


> 


/-^ 


^ 


Ir'^ 


A 


CHAP.  vri.l  EOMAN  ROADS.  22 i 


CHAPTEU  VIT. 

The  Country — Roman  Ro.ads,  and  their  Construction — Milliaria:  the 
Roman  Mile — Bridges — Roman  Villas;  Woodchester,  Bignor,  &c. — 
Tesselated  pavements,  and  the  Subjects  represented  on  them — Rustic 
Villag:es — Agriculture  and  Farming — Country  Life;  the  Chase — 
British  Dogs. 

With  the  imperfect  view  which  we.  have  thus  been  able  to 
obtain  of  a  Eoman  town  in  Britain,  we  see  enough  of  comfort 
and  elegance  to  convince  us  that  the  island  was  then  in- 
habited by  a  population  which  had  reached  a  high  degree  of 
civilisation  and  refinement.  Of  this  we  shall  find  still  more  re- 
markable traces  when  we  leave  the  town  and  proceed  into  the 
country.  The  first  objects  that  would  there  attract  attention 
were  the  roads,  which  were  constructed  with  such  ex:lraordinarv 
skill  that  even  now  many  of  the  best  roads  in  England  are  laid 
upon  the  ancient  Eomau  foundation. 

Vitruvius  has  given  exact  directions  for  making  a  road. 
Tliey  began,  it  appears,  by  making  two  parallel  furrows.,  the 
intended  width  of  the  road,  and  tlieu  removed  all  the  loose 
earth  between  them  till  they  came  to  the  hard  solid  ground, 
and  they  filled  up  this  excavation  with  fine  earth  hard  beaten 
in.  This  first  layer  was  called  the  pavlmentiim.  Upon  it  was 
laid  the  first  bed  of  the  road,  consisting  of  small  squared  stones, 
nicely  ranged  on  the  ground,  which  was  sometimes  left  dry, 
but  often  a  large  quantity  of  fresh  mortar  was  poured  into  it. 
This  layer  was  termed  datiimeii.  The  next  was  called  rudus  or 
ruderatio,  and  consisted  of  a  mass  of  small  stones,  broken  to 
pieces  and  mixed  with  lime,  in  tlie  proportion  of  one  part  of 
broken  stones  to  two  of  lime.  The  third  layer,  or  bed,  which 
was  termed  nucleus,  was  formed  of  a  mixture  of  lime,  chalk, 
pounded  or  broken  tiles,  or  earth,  beaten  together,  or  of  gravel 
or  sand  and  lime  mixed  with  clay.  Upon  this  was  laid  the 
surface  or  pavement  of  the  road,  which  was  called  technically 
summum  dorsum,  or  summa  crusta.     It  was  composed  some- 


222  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vit. 

times  of  stones  set  like  the  paving  stones  in  our  streets,  and 
sometimes  of  flag-stones  cut  square  or  polyg-onally,  and  also, 
probably  oftener,  of  a  firm  bed  of  gravel  and  lime,  Tht  loads 
were  thus  raised  higher  tlian  the  surrounding  grounds,  .iiid  on 
this  account  the  mass  was  termed  cKjger. 

The  residt  of  the  above  process  would  be  a  Eoman  road  of 
tlie  most  perfect  description  ;  but  we  must  not  suppose  that  in 
any  part  of  the  empire  tliese  directions  Avere  always  strictly  ad- 
hered to.  On  the  contrary,  there  arc  \t\\  Roman  roads  exist- 
ing which  do  not  in  some  way  or  otiier  vary  from  them  ;  some 
^  are  entirely  without  the  nucleus,  in  otliers  there  was  no 
\|  datumsu..  Nevertheless,  there  is  always  found  a  sufficiently 
close  resemblance  between  the  structure  of  the  old  Roman 
roads  as  they  exist,  and  the  directions  given  above.  They  are 
often  found  in 'our  island  in  an  extraordinary  degree  of  per- 
fection ;  where  they  have  been  used  to  the  present  time  as  high- 
I'oads,  they  are  naturally  worn  down,  and  it  is  only  at  rare  in- 
tervals that  we  can  find  any  characteristic  to  identify  them, 
except  it  be  the  extraordinary  straightness  of  the  course;  but 
where  the  course  of  the  road  has  been  changed  at  a  subsequent 
period,  and  especially  where  it  runs  along  an  uncultivated 
heath,  the  ancient  Roman  road  often  presents  itself  to  our  view 
in  an  imposing  embankment  for  several  miles  together.  When 
they  came  upon  higher  ground,  the  Romans  were  not  in  the 
habit  of  entrenching,  but  they  often  raised  the  embankment 
higher  even  than  in  the  plain,  probably  as  a  measure  of  pre- 
caution. Thus,  on  the  summit  of  the  Gogmagog  hills,  near 
Cambridge,  the  embankment  of  the  Roman  road  is  very  lofty 
and  remarkably  perfect.  They  seem  seldom  to  have  turned  out 
r»f  their  course  to  avoid  a  hill,  and,  in  some  instances,  we  find 
tiie  Roman  ]'oad  proceeding  direct  up  an  acclivity  which  we 
should  not  encounter  at  the  present  day.  A  Roman  road  runs 
over  the  top  of  one  of  the  mountains  of  Westmoreland,  almost 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  which  is  named 
from  it,  High  Street. 

The  roads  here  described  are  of  course  to  be  looked  upon  as 
the  grand  military  roads  of  the  empire,  those  along  which  the 
lines  of  the  Itineraries  are  traced,  and  Avhich  formed  the  direct 
communication  between  the  towns  in  this  island  which  have 
been  enumerated  in  a  former  chapter.  But  there  were  numer- 
ous other  roads  in  all  parts  of  the  island,  such  as  the  Romans 
termed  vice  viciuales,  branch  roads,  private,  private  roads, 
agrarice,   country   roads,  device,  by-roads.      These  were    con- 


CHAP.  VII.]  ROMAX  ROADS.  223 

strncted  with  mncli  less  labour  than  tlie  others,  yet  they  were 
still  sufficiently  ii,-ood  and  durable  to  have  left  distinct  traces 
down  to  the  present  time.  They  were  sometimes  paved  with 
Hau'-stones,  as  is  the  case  with  one  over  the  hills  near  Mon- 
mouth,  where  the  stones  are  fitted  tog'ether  with  care,  thouo-h 
tliey  are  of  all  shapes  and  sizes.  This,  as  it  has  been  already 
observed,  was  probably  a  common  way  of  pavino;  the  streets  of 
towns.  The  Roman  road  leadino^  direct  from  Lymne  to  Can- 
terbury, seems,  by  old  accounts,  to  have  been  paved  in  this 
manner,  and  it  is  still,  no  doubt  from  that  circumstance,  called 
Stone  Street.  The  stones  themselves,  in  the  course  of  ag-es, 
have  been  carried  away  for  various  purposes  of  utility.  Other 
larg-er  roads,  which  seem  to  have  traversed  nearly  the  whole 
island,  and  which  were  not  constructed  in  tlie  same  laborious 
manner  as  the  military  roads,  Avere  probably  intended  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  such  as  those  which  branch  from  the  salt  (lis-  . 
tricts  of  Droitwich,  and  from  the  mining  districts.  Antiquaries  "V 
seem  often  to  have  been  so  misled  by  their  dissimilitude  to 
the  great  Roman  military  roads,  as  to  imagine  many  of  these 
to  have  been  British.  It  is  not  very  probable  that  the  older 
inhabitants  of  the  island,  such  as  CiBsar  found  them,  divided 
into  separate  and  hostile  tribes,  which  seem  often  to  have 
changed  their  boundaries,  as  they  were  pressed  forwards  by 
other  colonies,  should  liave  been  great  road-makers. 

We  know  that  the  Roman  roads  were  constructed  and  regu- 
lated at  an  enormous  expense,  and  we  learn,  from  ancient 
writers,  that  the  office  of  curator  vlarum  was  one  which  implied 
considerable  honour.  Nearer  the  centre  of  the  empire,  if  not 
in  the  distant  provinces,  there  were  from  place  to  place  muta- 
t'iones,  or  places  where  post-horses  might  be  taken,  which  were 
termed  agm'maleH,  and  which  were  conducted  by  vereda?'ii,  or  pos- 
tilions. The  keepers  of  these  stations  were  called  statores.  It 
was  by  m^eaus  of  these  posts  that  Constantine,  the  son  of  Con- 
stantius  Chlorus,  made  his  rapid  and  celebrated  progress  from 
the  east  to  join  his  father  in  Britain,  and  as  they  appear  to  have 
been  continued  to  the  coast  of  Gaul,  it  is  probable  that  they 
were  also  established  in  this  island.  There  were  also  found  by 
the  road-side  dlversor'ia,  caupona,  or  tahernm  dlversorice,  places 
of  entertainment  for  man  and  horse,  which  were  kept  by  diver- 
sores  and  caupoiies.  Further,  at  stated  intervals,  stood  iiiait- 
siones,  the  keepers  of  which,  named  manclpes,  stopped  the  pas- 
sengers to  examine  their  diploDiata,  or  passports. 

Through  all  the  immense  systems  of  great  roads  which  thus 


224  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vii. 

run  over  the  whole  Koinan  empire,  tlie  distances  were  marked 
out  with  the  <>'i'eatest  care,  and  at  the  end  of  eacli  miUe  pansKS, 
or  Roman  mile,  was  erected  a  milliary  cohmm  or  milestone, 
{iiilUiarmni),  with  an  inscription,  indicating  the  distance  from 
the  next  town.  These  milestones  usually  consisted  of  a  lari>e 
plain  cylinder  of  stone,  raised  on  a  l)ase  ;  and  the  insciiptiou 
stated  tlie  name  of  the  emperor  under  whose  reig-n  it  was 
erected,  so  that  they  were  probably  often  changed,  in  order  to 
honour  a  new  emperor's  name.  After  the  Romans  had  departed 
from  the  island,  these  monuments  were  gradually  taken  for  th^r; 
material,  and  only  a  few  of  them  have  been  preserved,  which  is 
to  be  lamented,  as  they  would  have  thrown  great  light  on  the 
lionian  topography  of  Britain.  The  only  perfect  example  known 
at  present  in  this  country  is  one  preserved  in  the  local  museum 
at  Leicester,  and  its  inscription,  which  is  as  follows,  states  that 
it  was  set  up  under  the  emperor  Hadrian,  at  the  distance  of  two 
juiles  from  llatse. 

IMP    CAESAR 
DIV  TRAIAN    PARTH    F    DIV 

TRAIAN    HADRIAN    AVG 

PONT    IV    COS    III    A    RATIS 

II. 

It  is  a  perfect  cylinder,  three  feet  six  inches  in  height,  and  five 
feet  seven  inches  in  circumference,  and  was  dug  np,  in  1771, 
by  the  side  of  the  ancient  Roman  road,  called  the  Foss-Avay, 
about  two  miles  to  the  north  of  Leicester,  thus  identifying  the 
Roman  name  of  tliat  town.  There  is  another  with  an  inscrip- 
tion nearly  perfect,  at  Caton,  near  Lancaster,  also  erected  under 
Hadrian.  These  milestones  have  been  found  more  numerously 
in  Gaul,  and  one  of  them,  discovered  near  the  town  of  Vic-sur- 
Aisne,  lias  the  following  inscription,  stating  that  it  was  raised 
in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Caracalla,  or  a.d.  212,  at 
the  distance  of  seven  leagues  from  Soissons. 

IMP    CAES 
M    AVRELIO    AN 

TON IN O  PIO 
AVG    BRIT  ANN  I 

CO  MAX  TRIE 

POT  XIIII  IMP  II 

COS    III    PPPRO 

COS  AB    AVG 

SVESS    LEVa 
VII. 


CHAP.  VII.]  EOMAN  ROADS.  225 

It  will  be  seen  by  tliis  last  inscription,  that  in  ancient  Gaul, 
as  in  modern  France,  they  reckoned  by  leagues,  and  not,  as  in 
Britain,  by  miles.  If  we  had  but  two  consecutive  milliaria 
remaining  in  their  places,  we  should  be  able  at  once  to  solve 
the  much-debated  question  of  the  length  of  the  Eoman  mdes 
in  Britain  ;  but,  unfortunately,  no  such  discovery  has  yet  been 
made.  We  know  that  the  mile  consisted  of  a  thousand  passns, 
QY  paces,  which,  accorduig  to  D'Anville,  was  equivalent  to  756 
French  toises,  or  4S3'1"28  English  feet.  The  English  mile  is 
5380  feet.  We  gain,  however,  not  much  in  knowing  the  exact 
measure  of  the  Roman  mile,  because  we  cannot  place  trust  in 
the  numbers  given  in  the  Itineraries.  The  Eoman  numerals 
were  easily  altered  by  careless  copyists,  and  they  are  found  to 
be  so  often  wrong  in  the  texts  of  the  Itineraries  as  they  now 
exist,  that  we  can  place  no  confidence  in  them,  at  all  events  as 
far  as  regards  Britain,  and  the  only  safe  method  of  applying 
them  to  the  actual  sites  is  first  to  find  the  traces  of  the  stations, 
and  then  compare  them  with  the  Itinerary. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  Eoman 
roads  is  the  extraordinary  straightness  of  their  course.  The 
great  military  roads  may  often  be  traced  for  many  miles  without 
a  single  deviation  from  the  direct  line.  When  there  is  a 
deviation,  if  between  two  stations,  it  Avas  for  some  very  import- 
r.nt  reason,  and  may  generally  be  explained  by  the  circumstances 
o'i  the  locality.  As  avc  have  before  remarked,  hills,  even  when 
of  considerable  elevation,  presented  no  obstacle  to  the  course  of 
the  road.  The  Eoman  engineers  even  drained  or  filled  iq) 
marshes,  when  they  stood  in  their  way,  if  there  were  any 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  passing  across  them.  We  have 
many  proofs  that  the  rivers  in  this  country  were  passed  by  an 
extensive  system  of  bridges — it  is  probable,  indeed,  that  a  mili- 
tary road  seldom  passed  a  river  without  one.  Some  of  tlieV 
more  important  Eoman  bridges  remained  till  a  recent  period, 
forming  the  foundation  of  the  modern  structures  which  replaced 
tliem.  Such  was  tlie  case  little  more  than  twenty  years  ago  at 
London,  and  when  the  old  bridge  over  the  Tyne  at  Newcastle 
was  taken  down  in  1771,  the  piers  were  found  to  be  Eoman 
masonry.  The  foundation  Avas  laid  upon  piles  of  fine  black  oak, 
Avhich  were  in  a  state  of  perfect  preser\'ation.  The  remains  of 
three  bridges  are  found  along  the  line  of  the  Wall.  When  the 
old  Teign-bridge  in  Devonshire,  by  which  the  Eoman  road 
crossed  the  Teign  in  its  way  to  Totness  and  Plymouth,  was 
taken  down  in  1815,  the  Eoman  work  beneath  was  found  in  a 


~f 


2Z6  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vii. 

remarkable  state  of  preservation.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Mr  Bruee 
and  of  other  antiqnaries  tliat  the  hridg-e  at  Newcastle,  as  well  as 
the  otliers  in  the  Wall  district,  had  no  arches,  but  that  a  liori- 
zontal  roadway  of  timber  was  laid  on  the  piers.  '  The  founda- 
tions of  the  piers  of  three  Roman  bridges  in  the  region  of  the 
AVall,'  Mr  Bruce  tells  us,  'still  remain;  one  across  the  Tyne 
at  Corstopitum,  one  across  the  North  Tyne  at  Cilurnum,  and 
another  across  the  Rede-water  at  Habitancum  ;  an  examination 
of  these  has  induced  me  to  believe  that  they,  at  least,  had  no 
arches.  The  piers  are  of  a  size  and  strength  sufficient  to  with- 
stand the  thrust  of  the  waters  without  the  aid  of  an  arch ;  and 
in  one  at  least  of  these  cases,  the  requisite  spring  of  the  arch 
would  have  raised  the  road  to  an  inconvenient  height.  An  ex- 
perienced mason,  who  examined  carefully  the  ruins  of  the  bridge 
at  Habitancum,  told  me  that  he  observed  that  all  the  stones 
which  encumbered  the  spot  were  square,  none  of  them  having 
the  shape  of  stones  used  in  building  arches.  It  is  certain  that 
in  the  mediaeval  period  the  Newcastle  bridge  had  a  road  of 
timber.'  We  cannot  doubt,  nevertheless,  that  many  Roman 
bridges  had  arches.  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  pointed  out  a  very 
tine  semicircular  arched  bridge  over  the  little  river  Cock, 
near  its  entrance  into  the  Wharfe,  about  half-a-mile  below 
Tadcaster,  on  the  Roman  road  leading  southward  from  that 
town  (the  ancient  Calcaria),  which  he  considered  as  Roman. 
The  masonry  of  this  bridge  is  massive,  and  remarkably  well 
preserved,  and  the  stones  are  carefully  squared  and  shai'ply  cut, 
and  on  some  of  them  the  mason's  mark,  an  R,  is  distinctly 
visible.  The  roadway  was  very  narrow.  The  Saxons  seem  to 
have  preserved  carefully  the  bridges  they  found  in  existence, 
though  they  probably  built  few  themselves ;  and  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  that  most  of  the  bridges  in  this  country  at  the  time 
of  the  Norman  conquest  w^ere  Roman.  The  preservation  of 
these  ancient  bridges  was  considered  of  so  much  importance, 
that  the  charge  of  them  was  often  thrown  upon  the  hundred, 
or  on  the  county.  Thus,  at  Cambridge,  the  county  was  bound 
to  see  that  the  bridge  was  kept  in  repair,  and  certain  lands  were 
allotted  for  the  expense  of  the  repairs ;  and  I  have  very  little 
doubt  that  the  bridge  Avhich  in  the  thirteenth  century  was  in 
such  a  ruinous  condition,  that  people's  carts  used  to  fall  over 
into  the  river,  was  the  ancient  bridge  of  the  Roman  town  of 
Caraboricum.*     It  was  probably  from  a  broken  Roman  bridge, 

*  Dicunt  quod  reparatio  et  refcotio  magni  pontis  Cantebrigiae  pertinent 
ad  couiitatuui  Cantebrigise,  et  quidam  de  comitatu  prsedicto  tenent  terras 


CHAP.  VII.]  ROMAN  VILLAS.  227 

the  remains  of  whicli  seem  to  liave  been  visible  in  the  time  of 
Leland,  that  the  town  of  Pontefract,  in  Yorkshire  {pons  fracttis) 
derived  its  name. 

The  objects,  however,  which  must  liave  struck  the  traveller 
most  forcibly  as  he  passed  along  the  road  between  one  town 
and  another,  were  the  numerous  country  villas  or  mansions, 
many  of  them  magnificent  palaces,  covering  as  much  ground  as 
a  wliole  town.  Modern  discoveries  have  shown  us  how  mar- 
vellously the  country  was  covered,  especially  in  some  of  tiie 
southern  and  midland  districts,  with  these  great  rural  residences, 
which  will  be  better  understood  by  the  reader,  if  we  describe 
the  relative  positions  of  two  or  three  known  groups.  Perhaps 
the  largest  and  most  magnificent  Roman  villa  yet  discovered  in 
England  is  that  at  Woodchester,  in  Gloucestershire.  Wood- 
chester  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley  in  the  high  grounds 
bordering  on  the  vale  of  Gloucester,  on  the  bank  of  a  stream  which 
runs  down  thence  into  the  plain  to  join  the  Severn,  and  at  about 
four  miles  from  the  Roman  road  from  Corinium  {Clrenceder')  to 
the  trajectus  Augicstl  {Aiist  Fassage)  across  the  Channel.  It 
was  about  twelve  miles  from  the  town  just  mentioned,  and  the 
same  distance  from  Glevum  {Gloucester).  If  we  left  Corinium 
by  the  ancient  road  just  mentioned,  we  should  first  have  seen 
on  a  hill  to  the  right,  between  this  road  and  the  road  to 
Glevum,  a  villa  of  some  extent,  the  remains  of  which  have 
been  discovered  at  Daglingworth,  about  three  miles  to  tlie 
north-west  of  Cirencester.  Close  to  the  road  on  tlie  left,  under 
a  hill  about  five  miles  from  Corinium,  was  a  Roman  station,  or 
building,  at  a  place  now  called  Trewsbury.  About  two  miles 
further,  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road,  stood  another  hand- 
some villa,  which  has  been  excavated  to  some  extent  at  Hoc- 
berry,  in  the  parish  of  Rodmarton.  Two  miles  more  brought 
us  to  a  villa  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road,  and,  like  the  last, 
close  to  it,  which  has  been  discovered  in  the  parish  of  Chering- 
ton.  About  six  miles  further,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road, 
extensive  buildings  have  been  found  at  a  place  called  Kingscot, 
which  belonged  either  to  a  villa  or  to  a  station.  About  half- 
way between  the  two  last  places,  a  by-way  probably  ]e:l  to  tlie 

g'cldabiles  qui  debent  pontem  reficere  qiiando  pons  indiget  reparatione  et 
refectione.  Dicunt  etiani  quod  pons  praedictus  debilis  est,  fractus,  et  dis- 
solutus,  ita  quod  carectae  magnatuuni  et  alioruin  ibidem  transitum  facientes 
cadunt  in  aqua,  ita  quod  taui  homines  quam  equi  emergunt  ad  majrnum 
pevieulum  et  dampnum  ibidem  trausieutium. — Hundred  Rolls  vol.  ii 
p.  392. 


228  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vii. 

villa  at  Woodchester,  among'  the  liills  to  the  right.  Eight  or 
nine  miles  from  Kingscot,  at  a  place  called  Croom-hall,  remains 
of  another  villa,  or  mansion,  have  been  found,  close  to  the  left- 
hand  side  of  the  road,  where  it  passes  over  an  eminence.  A 
few  miles  carried,  the  traveller  hence  to  the  shores  of  the  Bristol 
Channel.  If  we  had  taken  the  road  from  Corinium  to  Glevum, 
we  should  first  have  seen  the  villa  at  Dagiingworth,  on  the  hill 
to  the  left,  and  then,  on  the  right  hand,  and  near  the  road, 
about  seven  miles  from  Corinium,  we  should  have  seen  a  fine 
villa  which  has  been  discovered  at  Combe-end.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  road,  in  a  fine  valley  among  the  hills,  about  half-way 
between  the  road  and  Woodchester,  was  another  rich  villa,  the 
remains  of  which  have  been  discovered  at  a  place  called  Brown's 
Hill.  In  the  vale  of  Gloucester,  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  about 
four  miles  to  the  west  of  Woodchester,  stood  another  handsome 
villa,  or  perhaps  a  small  town,  at  Procester.  All  these  places 
are  within  a  very  small  circuit,  and  have  been  discovered 
accidentally,  so  that  there  may  be  others  within  the  same 
compass. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  Somersetshire,  and  take  as  a  centre  the 
ancient  town  of  Somerton,  situated  on  a  Eoman  road  leading 
from  Ilchester  in  the  direction  of  Glastonbury.  If  we  follow 
this  road  towards  Ilchester,  two  miles  from  Somerton,  two  ex- 
tensive Roman  villas  have  been  traced  in  the  parish  of  Kings- 
don,  one  near  the  Roman  road,  the  other  a  little  to  the  east,  on 
the  bank  of  a  small  stream  called  the  Cary.  Further  east,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  stream,  a  third  villa  has  been  found  at 
Lytes  Cary.  These  three  villas  are  included  in  a  distance  of 
about  a  mile.  In  the  parish  of  Hurcot,  joining  Somerton  to  the 
east,  two  villas  have  also  been  found,  one  near  Somerton,  the 
other  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  north-east.  Barely 
half  a  mile  to  the  south-east  of  the  latter  is  another  extensive 
Roman  villa  at  Charlton  Mackrel ;  and  in  the  opposite  direction, 
somewhat  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  Hurcot  villa,  is  an- 
other at  Copley.  To  the  east  of  this,  in  the  parish  of  Littleton, 
close  to  the  Roman  road  just  mentioned,  a  group  of  several  Roman 
villas  has  been  found.  Proceeding  along  the  road  northwardly, 
at  about  four  miles  from  Somerton,  we  arrive  at  Butleigh 
Bottom,  where  a  Roman  villa  of  considerable  extent  has  been 
traced.  Villas  are  found  in  equal  abundance  within  two  or 
three  miles  to  the  west  of  Somerton,  among  which  the  most 
extensive  is  that  at  Pitney,  covering  an  acre  and  a  half  of 
ground,  and  containing  a  very  remarkable  pavement.     It  may 


CHAP.  VII.]  ROMAN  VlLl.AS.  229 

be  remarked  that  tlie  walls  of  the  villas  in  this  district  abound 
in  herring'-bone  work.  We  might  give  similar  examples  of  the 
profusion  with  which  the  Eoman  villas  were  scattered  over 
the  country  in  Hampshire  and  Oxfordshire.  In  the  latter 
county,  two  uoble  villas  stood  within  a  mile  of  each  other, 
in  the  parishes  of  Stouesfield  and  North  Leigh,  near  the 
Roman  road  now  called  the  Akeman  Street.  The  splendid 
Roman  villa  at  Bignor,  in  Sussex,  at  the  foot  of  tlie  hills  to  the 
north  of  Arundel,  close  by  the  Roman  road  from  Rcgnum 
{Chichester)  (o  London,  has  a  situation  something  like  that  of 
Woodchester.  Over  the  hills,  between  two  and  three  miles  to  the 
north-west  of  Bignor,  a  villa  has  been  traced  near  the  church 
at  Duncton.  To  the  north-east,  by  the  side  of  the  Roman 
road  to  London,  at  about  two  miles  distant  from  Bignor,  traces 
of  Roman  occupation  are  found,  and  about  three  miles  further, 
in  the  parish  of  Pulborough,  there  has  been  a  Roman  station. 
Rather  more  than  six  miles  to  the  south  of  Bignor,  the 
discovery  of  a  Roman  sepulchre  at  Avisford  seems  to  indi- 
cate the  vicinity  of  another  villa ;  about  six  miles  eastwardly 
from  this  place  a  villa  has  been  found  in  the  parish  of  Ang- 
niering  :  and  another  villa  has  been  found  on  the  coast  of  Bog- 
nor,  about  seven  miles  to  the  southward  of  Avisford.* 

While  we  are  thus  speaking  in  general  terms  of  villas  scat- 
tered over  the  country  so  thickly,  few  will  imagine  what  an  im- 
mense pile  of  building  a  Roman  villa  usually  was.  I  will, 
therefore,  proceed  to  describe  one  of  the  largest  in  this  country, 
that  of  Woodchester,  which  was  opened  partly  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr  Lysons  during  the  years  from  1793 
to  1796.  Nothing  could  be  finer  than  the  site  which  the 
Roman  proprietor  had  here  chosen  for  his  residence.  A 
square  level  platform,  Avith  a  little  narrow  gorge  on  the  north, 
down  which  a  small  stream  ran  into  the  larger  stream  that 
washed  the  foot  of  its  eastern  declivity,  was  backed  by  a 
hill  Avhich  sheltered  it    from    the    damp  -winds    of   the  west. 

*  The  "villas  of  "Woodchester  and  Bignor  formed  the  subject  of  very 
splendid  publications  by  Lysons.  An  account  of  the  Pitney  villa  and 
pavement  was  published  by  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare,  in  a  thin  8vo  volume, 
printed  in  1832.  A  description  of  the  North  Leigh  and  Stonesiield  villas 
was  printed  in  1836,  by  Mr  Henry  Hakewill,  in  a  similar  form.  The 
great  collection  by  Lysons  contains,  in  addition  to  Woodchester  and 
llignoi-,  accounts  of  villas  at  Littlecote  in  AViltshire,  Frampton  in  Dorset, 
Witliington  in  Gloucestershire,  Horkstow  in  Lincolnshire,  and  some 
others,  all  illustrated  with  magnificent  plates  of  pavements,  &c.  Accounts 
ui  other  villas  will  be  found  in  the  various  volumes  of  the  Archseologia  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 


2?>0 


THE  ROMANS. 


[ofiAi.  vn 


It  was  also    sheltered    from    the  east  winds  by  a  hill  which 
rose  on  the  opposite  side    of   the    stream.     Tlie  main  valley 


Plan  of  tlie  Roman.  Villa  at  "Woodchester. 

ran  north  and  west,  and,  curiously  enough,  what 
appear  to  have  been  the  principal  apartments,  lay 
with  a  north-westerly  aspect.  The  arrang-ement  of 
this  extensive  building*  will  be  the  best  understood 
by  the  accompanying  plan.^  The  apartment  marked 
1,  was  a  room  nearly  fifty  feet  square.  It  lay  under 
the  churchyard  at  Woodchester,  and  the  sextons,  in 
digging  graves,  had  at  various  periods,  during  more  than 
two  centuries,  brought  to  liglit  and  destroyed  portions  of  its 
splendid  pavement.     This  consisted  of  a  central  circular  com- 


*  Tho  rooms  in  wliich  mosaic  pavements  were  found,  are  shaded   in 
iLe  n.un. 


CHAP.  VII.]  VILLA  AT  WOODCIIESTER.  i>31 

partment  of  about  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter,  consisting;  of 
an  outer  border  formed  of  a  Yitruvian  scroll,  edgtjd  on  each 
side  by  a  g-uiHoche,  and  enriched  with  foliag'e  proceedins; 
from  a  mask  of  Pan,  having;  a  beard  of  leaves.  Immediately 
within  this  border  was  a  wide  circular  band  containing-  repre- 
sentations of  twelve  different  animals,  on  a  white  g-round,  with 
trees  and  flowers  between  them.  Within  this  circle  was  a 
smaller  band,  sepai'ated  from  it  by  a  guilloche  and  a  border  of 
acorns,  and  containing-  representations  of  birds  on  a  Avhile 
ii'round.  Amony;  them  was  a  fi2;ure  of  a  fox.  On  the  southei'u 
side  was  a  fig-ure  of  Orpheus  playing  on  the  lyre.  This  band 
was  bounded  internally  by  a  twisted  guilloche,  and  within  was 
a  central  hexagon  about  ten  feet  in  diameter.  This  centre  had 
been  entirely  destroyed  long  before  the  time  of  the  opening  of 
the  villa  by  Lysons,  but  some  old  drawings,  made  on  former 
partial  openings,  show  that  tlie  field  was  covered  with  figures 
of  fish  and  sea  monsters.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was 
a  little  lower  than  the  rest  of  the  pavement,  and  formed  the 
floor  of  a  shallow  reservoir  ibr  water.  Tlie  circular  compart- 
ment I  have  been  describing  was  inclosed  in  a  square  IVame, 
consisting  of  twenty-four  compartments,  enriched  with  a  great 
variety  of  guilloches,  scrolls,  frets,  and  other  ornaments,  edged 
on  the  inside  with  a  braided  guilloche,  on  the  outside  with  a 
labyrinth  fret,  between  a  single  fret  and  a  braided  guilloche.  In 
the  four  angular  spaces  between  the  great  border  of  this  "^ov- 
geous  pavement  and  the  great  circular  compartment  were  the 
remains  of  female  figures,  two  of  which  appear  to  have  occupied 
each  space ;  they  had  evidently  been  naiads.  At  the  fonr 
inner  corners  of  the  s(juare  were  found  sufficient  indications  that 
they  had  once  been  occupied  by  columns,  which  had  no  doubt 
supported  the  roof,  which  was  probably  vaulted.  It  was  found 
that  the  pavement  was  supported  by  a  hypocaust,  or  system  of 
flues,  intended  to  warm  the  room. 

On  each  side  of  this  large  apartment  was  found  a  passage, 
twenty-nine  feet  four  inches  long  by  seven  feet  and  a  half  wide, 
the  entrance  into  which  was  by  a  door  tliree  feet  wide.  The 
floor  of  these  passages  was  paved  with  coarse  mosaic  work,  orna- 
mented with  a  double  labyrinth  fret  of  a  dark  bluish-grey  on 
a  white  ground,  surrounded  by  a  plain  red  stripe.  Curiously 
enough,  at  the  extremity  of  the  eastern  of  these  passages,  part 
of  another  pavement  was  discovered  laid  over  it,  a  foot  above  its 
level,  formed  of  much  coarser  materials  than  the  original 
one,  and  very  ill  executed ;  the  design  being  merely  stripes  of 


232  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vh. 

white,  blue,  and  red,  very  irregularly  put  together.  It  had  evi- 
dently been  an  alteration  made  at  a  late  period. 

To  the  southward  of  these  two  passages,  were,  on  each  side 
of  the  great  apartment,  two  rooms,  of  which  that  nearest  to  the 
great  apartment  on  eacli  side  had  a  mosaic  pavement,  of  the 
same  degree  of  coarseness  as  the  passnges,  but  of  a  simple  and 
elegant  design,  consisting  of  a  mat  of  tliree  colours,  dark  grey, 
red,  and  white,  surrouuded  by  a  double  red  border. 

These  were  the  first  discoveries  made,  aud  they  led  to  a  more 
extensive  investigation.  On  the  south  of  the  great  apartment 
a  gallery  was  discovered,  a  hundred  and  fourteen  feet  in  lengtli, 
by  ten  iu  width,  except  where  it  passed  the  wall  of  the  great 
pavement,  where  it  was  only  nine  feet  wide.  The  mosaic  was 
of  the  same  degree  of  coarseness  as  that  of  the  other  passages, 
but  it  was  ornamented  with  a  great  variety  of  patterns,  con- 
sisting cliietly  of  labyrinths,  mats,  and  stars,  for  the  most  part 
in  a  good  taste,  forming  square  compartments,  with  a  single 
twisted  guilloche  and  two  plain  red  stripes  running  round  the 
whole  of  tlieni.  Those  parts  of  the  wall  of  this  gallery  whidi 
remained  on  the  south  side  were  two  feet  thick,  and  beyond  it 
towards  the  south  was  a  hard  terrace  floor.  As  the  pavement 
of  the  gallery  was  destroyed  at  the  centre,  and  no  foundations 
of  the  wall  remained  there,  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  if 
there  had  been  any  entrance  from  this  gallery  immediately  into 
the  room  of  the  great  pavement. 

Excavations  were  now  commenced  at  the  end  of  the  southern 
gallery  running  from  the  large  apartment,  and  the  room  to  the 
north  of  that  marked  No.  2  was  found.  This  apartment,  which 
had  been  a  square  of  twenty-two  feet  ten  inches,  appeared  also 
to  have  been  new  floored,  for  on  excavating  to  the  depth  of 
three  feet,  the  workmen  came  to  a  floor  of  very  hard  cement  or 
terrace,  on  removing  some  of  which  a  small  fragment  of  mosaic 
pavement  was  discovered,  six  inches  below  the  level  of  that 
floor.  The  whole  of  the  terrace  floor  was  then  removed,  .not 
without  much  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  extreme  hardness  ot 
the  cement.  Under  it  were  found  four  fragments  of  a  mosaic 
pavement,  which  had  been  partly  broken  up.  They  were  in  a 
very  good  style,  and  the  design  had  consisted  of  five  octagonal 
compartments,  containing  figures  on  a  white  ground,  surround- 
ed by  a  double  labyrinth  fret ;  immediately  within  which,  on 
the  north  side,  was  a  scroll  of  flowers,  with  a  vase  in  the  centre. 
In  the  remains  of  the  compartments,  at  the  north-west  and 
south-east   corners,  Avere  fragments   of   Bacchanalian  figures. 


CHAP.  vTi.]  VILLA  AT  WOODCHESTER.  233 

The  octagon  il  compartment  at  tlie  south-west  comer  was  entire, 
and  contained  figures  of  two  boys  holding-  up  a  l)asket  of  fruit 
and  leaves,  with  the  inscription  bonvm  eventvm  under  tliem, 
in  large  capital  letters.  The  compartment  at  the  north-east 
corner  had  been  nearly  destroyed,  but  the  letters  biinii  c  .  .  . 
remained,  evidently  for  bhnh  colite,  the  Greek  H  being  used 
for  the  Latin  E,  of  which  there  are  other  examples.  The 
inscription,  when  entire,  would  thus  be,  Bouum  Eve)dum  beue 
colite,  a  recommendation  to  worship  well  Bonus  Eventus,  one 
of  the  twelve  deities  who  presided  over  the  aftairs  of  husbandry.* 
The  walls  of  this  room  were  two  feet  thick,  formed  of  stone, 
roughly  hewn,  and  remained  to  the  height  of  about  three  feet 
on  every  side.  Fragments  of  stucco,  painted  in  fresco,  lay 
scattered  about.  On  the  west  side  the  wall  was  double,  witli 
a  space  of  six.  inches  between,  to  secure  the  room  against 
humidity.  Another  system  of  flues  for  warming  was  found 
under  this  room,  the  passages  being  about  four  feet  deep. 

The  room  adjoining.  No.  2,  had  no  tesselated  pavement,  but 
the  same  hypocaust  of  flues  extended  under  it,  and  outside  the 
wall  was  the  fire-place  communicating  with  them.  The  apei'ture 
under  the  wall,  where  the  fire  seemed  to  have  been  placed,  Avas 
formed  by  bricks,  one  foot  five  inches  long,  one  foot  wide,  and 
two  inches  thick ;  it  was  one  foot  eleven  inches  wide  at  the 
bottom,  and  six  inches  at  the  top,  where  a  sort  of  arch  was 
formed  by  the  edges  of  the  bricks  gradually  advancing  beyond 
each  other.  This  fire-place  had  walls  one  foot  eight  inches 
thick  on  each  side ;  they  were  four  feet  two  inches  apart,  and 
projected  outwards  four  feet  from  the  wall.  A  considerable 
quantity  of  skulls  and  bones  of  animals,  chiefly  sheep,  were 
found  near  the  fire-place. 

To  the  south  of  the  room  marked  2,  was  another  apartment, 
twenty  feet  long,  by  twelve  feet  eight  inches  wide,  which  con- 
tained a  mosaic  pavement,  of  a  tasteful  design.  It  consisted 
of  a  circular  compartment,  between  two  oblong  ones,  united 
together  by  a  single  twisted  guilloche,  with  a  border  formed  by 
a  labyrinth  fret,  between  which  and  the  wall  was  a  considerable 
space  filled  up  with  plain  red  tesserae,  rather  more  than  an  inch 

*  So  we  are  informed  by  Varro,  de  Re  Rustica,  lib.  i.  There  was  a 
temple  of  Bonus  Eventus  at  Rome,  and  Pliny  mentions  statues  of  this 
deity,  which  represented  him  holding  a  patera  in  the  right  hand,  and  an 
ear  of  corn  and  a  poppy  in  the  left.  He  is  represented  in  the  same  shape 
on  the  reverse  of  a  coin  of  Titus ;  and  the  reverse  of  one  of  Geta  has  a 
ff^male  tigure  holding  a  dish  of  fruits  in  her  right  hand,  and  ears  of  corn 
ic  iier  left,  with  the  inscription  liONi  eventvs. 


£34  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vir. 

square.  The  circular  coinpartinent  was  Tiearly  (iesivoved,  "but 
it  had  probably  contained  a  fi<>ure.  This  floor  was  also  sup- 
ported by  a  hypocaust,  and  it  had  a  fire-place  outside  the  wall, 
near  which  was  found  a  coin  of  Magnentius. 

Two  rooms  were  subsequently  opened,  between  the  room 
No.  2,  and  the  large  room  No.  1,  and  the  one  adjoining  to  the 
latter  had  a  tesselated  pavement,  consisting  of  two  square  com- 
partments, filled  Avith  labyrinths,  and  united  together  by  a 
braided  guilloche,  on  the  outside  of  which  were  tAVO  narrow  red 
stripes.  The  parts  of  the  building  next  explored  Avere  the 
large  rooms,  numbered  9  and  10,  and  the  room  to  the  left  of 
the  latter.  One  of  them  AA^as  thirty-eight  feet  square;  another 
Avas  thirty-eight  feet  by  forty- six ;  and  the  third  Avas  thirty- 
eight  feet  by  fifty-one.  The  Avails  remained  in  several  places, 
to  the  height  of  four  feet  from  the  foundation.  Those  on  the 
north  side  were  two  feet  tAvo  inches  thick,  and  Avere  in  some 
places  lined  with  brickwork ;  the  south  walls  w(?re  one  foot  t(;n 
inches  thick.  These  Avails  Avere  in  several  places  plastered  on 
the  outside,  and  painted  of  a  dull  red  colour.  Many  frag- 
ments of  the  stucco  which  had  covered  the  walls  internally, 
and  had  been  painted  in  fresco,  Avitli  various  colours,  Avere 
found  among  the  rubbish.  Some  of  them  were  painted  Avith 
large  ca])ital  letters,  Avhich  had  formed  parts  of  inscriptions. 
These  rooms  appeared  to  have  had  tesselated  pavements,  Avhich 
had  been  broken  up ;  and  several  slices  of  marble  of  different 
sorts,  but  chiefly  foreign,  Avere  also  found.  These  had,  per- 
haps, been  employed  to  encrust  the  Avails,  a  practice  Avhich  Ave 
know  prevailed  among  the  Konians.  Some  of  these  pieces  of 
marble  Avere  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  Parts 
of  tAVo  stone  columns,  and  fragments  of  statuary,  Avere  subse- 
quently found  in  the  room  No.  10,  and  in  the  room  adjoining 
it  to  the  left ;  on  digging  trenches  across,  several  inner  walls, 
two  feet  four  inches  Avide,  Avere  discovered  running  in  the 
directions  indicated  by  the  light  outlines  in  our  plan.  These 
walls  were  covered  Avith  large  flat  stones  on  the  top,  which  did 
not  rise  higher  than  the  foundations  of  the  other  Avails,  so  that 
it  is  probable  that  they  supported  a  floor,  and  that  their  object 
Avas  to  prevent  humidity  in  the  apartment  above.  Among  the 
ruins  of  this  room  Avere  found  quantities  of  tesserse,  many  frag- 
ments of  the  figured  Samian  Avare,  and  of  glass  vessels,  and 
portions  of  two  statues  in  Samian  marble,  Avhich  seemed  to 
have  belonged  to  figures  of  Diana  Lucifera  and  Meleager.  At 
the  east  end  of  the  room,  No.  9,  great  part  of  an  arch  was 


CHAP.  VII.]  VILLA  AT  WOODCIIESTER.  23-5 

discovered,  about  three  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
which  was  doubtless  connected  with  the  substructure  of  the 
floors. 

From  the  autumn  of  1795  to  the  summer  of  1796,  the 
excavations  were  carried  on  more  to  the  south,  and  the  g'reat 
coiu't,  B,  was  traced,  with  the  various  apartments  round  it. 
On  the  west  side  was  a  mass  of  building-s,  containing  twelve 
rooms,  which  had  been  entered  from  the  court  by  a  vestibule, 
l)et\ve3n  the  rooms  marked  18  and  19.  In  this  vestibule  a 
iVagment  of  a  beautiful  group,  in  Avhite  marble,  of  Cupid  and 
Psyclie,  was  found,  which  had  evidently  been  copied  from  the 
same  model  as  a  well-known  group  of  sculpture  in  the 
Museum  Florentinum.  The  walls  in  this  part  of  tlie  building 
were  of  stone,  with  bonding  courses  of  brick ;  and  among  the 
ruins  were  found  thin  slabs  of  stone,  of  an  irregnhxr  hexagonal 
form,  whicli,  no  doubt,  belonged  to  the  roof.  Pieces  of  stags' 
horns,  several  of  them  saAved  off  at  the  ends,  were  also  found 
here ;  and  several  human  bones  were  met  with  in  the  buildings 
on  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  great  court.  Many  coins, 
chiefly  in  small  brass,  were  found  here  and  in  various  parts  of 
the  building. 

A  wall  extended  along  the  wliole  length  of  the  south  side  of 
the  great  court,  B,  near  the  centre  of  which  were  discovered  the 
foundation  walls  of  three  rooms,  or  perhaps  of  a  gateway,  with 
a  door  on  each  side  (No.  21).  Here,  as  in  many  other  parts 
of  the  building,  the  walls  were  destroyed  down  to  the  founda- 
tion, so  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  the  width  of  more 
than  one  of  the  doorways,  wliich  was  four  feet  wide.  Frag- 
ments of  large  columns  were  found  here,  which  showed  that 
there  had  been  an  imposing  display  of  architectural  ornament. 
A  little  to  the  west  of  these  foundations,  and  attached  to  the 
long  southern  Avail,  Avere  the  remains  of  a  singular  building, 
consisting  of  tAvo  parallel  Avails,  three  feet  distant  from  each 
other,  connected  by  two  transverse  Avails,  having  an  opening 
between  them.  At  the  bottom  of  this  opening  there  Avas  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  coal  ashes,  and,  at  the  Avest  end,  at  the 
height  of  fifteen  inches  from  the  bottom,  Avas  a  small  tine  through 
the  Avail.  This  building  is  described  as  presenting  very  much 
the  appearance  of  having  held  a  boiler, 

Considerable  remains  of  buildings  Avere  also  discovered  on 
the  eastern  side  of  this  great  court.  A  gallery  first  presented 
itself,  marked  24  in  our  plan,  and  measuring  sixty-five  feet 
eight  inches  in  length,  by  ten  feet  four  inches  wide.'    The  en- 


236  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vii. 


trance  from  tlie  court  was  eig-ht  feet  eip;lit  inches  wide.  Another 
opening  in  the  east  wall,  immediately  opposite  and  nearly  of 
the  same  dimensions,  led  into  what  appears  to  liave  been  a 
court,  c,  surrounded  with  apartments.  In  one  of  these  rooms, 
to  the  east  of  the  court,  there  were  two  pai'allel  narrow  walls 
(tifteen  inches  wide),  running  the  whole  length  of  the  room, 
and  square  projections  from  the  west  wall.  As  these  walls 
rose  no  higher  than  the  foundation  part  of  the  other  walls,  they 
])robably  suppoi-ted  a  pavement.  At  the  north  end  of  this 
room  was  found  the  leg  of  a  statue,  of  white  marble,  and  not 
far  from  it  was  a  foundation  of  square  stones,  which  appeared 
to  have  been  intended  as  a  pedestal.  The  outward  Avail  on  the 
east  side  of  this  range  of  building  was  entire  to  the  height 
of  from  four  to  tive  feet.  It  was  three  feet  thick,  and  built  of 
stones  roughly  hewn,  with  six  projections  on  the  outside,  which 
were  evidently  buttresses.  We  may,  therefore,  suppose  that 
this  was  the  exterior  of  the  whole  building  on  this  side. 

At  the  north  end  of  the  range  of  rooms  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking,  at  No.  22,  were  found  the  remains  of  what 
Jjvsons  considered  to  be  a  lacouictim,  or  sweating-room.  At 
the  depth  of  five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  the  ex- 
cavators met  with  a  very  hard  cement  Hoor,  eight  feet  ten 
inches  wide,  and  nine  feet  ten  inches  long.  On  removing  this 
Hoor,  wdiich  was  eight  inches  thick,  a  layer  of  bricks  was  dis- 
covered under  it,  which  proved  to  be  the  covering  of  flues  that 
ran  under  the  floor.  The  flues  were  two  feet  two  inches  in 
depth,  and  one  of  them  was  longitudinal,  and  four  transverse. 
The  longitudinal  flue  was  one  foot  nine  inches  wide  at  the 
bottom,  and  sev^en  inches  at  the  top.  The  transverse  flues  were 
six  inches  wide  at  the  top,  and  one  foot  six  inches  at  the 
bottom.  They  were  built  partly  of  unhewn  stone,  and  partly 
of  brick,  forming  rude  kind  of  arches.  The  intermediate 
space  between  the  transverse  flues  was  filled  up  with  ridge 
tiles  formed  into  funnels,  and  placed  between  layers  of  brick 
and  stone  ;  while  the  interstices,  which  were  much  wider  than 
is  usual  in  walling,  were  filled  with  a  reddish  clay.  The  fun- 
nels were  -on  an  average  eighteen  inches  long,  and  four  and 
a-half  in  diameter,  some  formed  by  only  one  of  the  curved 
tiles.  A  row  of  perpendicular  funnels  extended  along  the 
north  and  south  walls,  and  seemed  to  have  been  carried  up  to 
the  top  of  the  building.  This  elaborate  hypocaust  is  shown, 
as  it  appeared  wdien  opened,  in  our  accompanying  plate,  whicli 
is  a  view   taken  from   the  south-west   corner,  and  exhibits   a 


Hypocaust  in  the  Roman  Villa  at  VYoodcliester. 


1 


CHAP.  VII.]  VILLA  AT  WOODCIIESTER.  239 

frag'ment  of  tlie  cement  floor,  as  well  as  the  floor  of  another 
room  on  the  east.  The  latter  has  no  flues  or  hypocaust  under- 
neath, but  at  the  north-east  corner  was  a  sort  of  basin  hol- 
lowed in  the  floor,  from  which  a  leaden  pipe  passed  through 
the  wall.  From  the  opposite  corner  of  this  room  was  a  pas- 
sage, with  a  floor  of  cement,  rising  towards  the  west,  to  more 
than  three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  other  part.  The  upper 
part  of  it  is  destroyed,  but  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the 
great  court  is  a  passage,  which  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the 
entrances  to  it. 

From  excavations  made  in  diff^erent  parts,  it  appeared  that 
the  great  court,  b,  had  been  laid  with  a  coarse  sort  of  terrace 
pavement.  Further  excavations  outside  the  southern  wall  of 
the  great  court,  brought  to  light  a  continuation  of  the  western 
wall,  with  an  apartment  in  the  corner,  No.  27,  and  further  on 
a  range  of  rooms,  at  28.  The  excavations  were  next  carried 
on  from  the  north-east  corner  of  the  great  court,  B,  along  the 
eastern  side  of  the  court,  A,  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  a 
ncAv  series  of  apartments,  Nos.  3  to  8,  with  traces  of  pave- 
ments and  hypocausts.  These  and  the  corresponding  rooms 
on  the  west  side  were  carefully  examined.  In  the  room.  No. 
11,  were  found  eight  square  stone  pillars,  two  feet  nine  inches 
and  three-quarters  high,  which  seemed  to  have  been  the  sup- 
ports of  a  hypocaust.  On  each  side  of  the  court  was  a  gallery, 
sixty-two  feet  five  inches  long,  and  eight  feet  five  inches  wide, 
each  of  which  had  possessed  handsome  mosaic  pavements,  and 
Avhich  joined  up  to  the  great  gallery  on  the  north  side  of  the 
conrt.  These  galleries  had  had  flues  under  them,  and  on  the 
outside  of  the  walls  of  each,  within  the  court,  were  short 
parallel  walls,  that  appeared  to  have  been  the  fire-places  to 
hypocausts.  In  some  of  the  rooms  on  the  west  side,  remains 
of  very  haiulsome  mosaic  pavements  were  discovered.  The 
floors  on  the  east  side  of  the  court  appeared  to  have  been 
much  more  thoroughly  destroyed  than  on  the  west.  The  walls 
of  the  apartment.  No.  3,  Avere  continued  northwardly,  but 
could  not  be  traced  except  at  intervals,  as  they  ran  under  the 
churchyard  and  tlie  church ;  and  it  was  evident  that  the  whole 
mass  of  buildings  had  extended  much  further  in  that  direction. 
Perhaps  there  was  another  court.  A  transverse  wall  below  the 
room.  No.  27,  appeared  also  to  lead  to  other  buildings,  so  that 
in  spite  of  the  immense  extent  of  the  building  thus  uncovered, 
it  appears  that  it  was  by  no  means  the  whole  villa. 

Our  cut  on  page  237  gives  a  plan  of  as  much  of  this  exten- 


240  THE  ROMANS.  [cirAP.  vii. 

sive  building  as  lias  been  explored,  and  will  furnish  us  with  a 
•general  notion  of  its  arrangeuients.  It  covers  an  area  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  by  above  three  lumch'ed  feet.  The  ap- 
proach was  by  a  level  platform  from  the  south,  with  outbuild- 
ings on  the  left,  if  not  also  on  the  right.  Here  the  visitor 
approached  apparently  a  long  dead  wall,  witli  tlie  grand  portal 
in  the  centre.  On  passing  through  the  entrance  gateway,  he 
found  himself  in  an  immense  court,  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  square,  Avith  masses  of  buildings  on  each  side.  In  front 
of  him  was  another  gateway,  which  led  him  into  a  second 
court,  ninety  feet  square,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  gallery, 
or,  as  the  ancients  called  it,  cri/ptoportlcns,  whicli  was,  no  doubt, 
either  closed  in,  or  capable  of  being  closed  in,  as  the  hypo- 
causts  under  it  show  that  it  was  intended  to  be  warmed.  Op- 
posite tlie  gate  by  Avhich  the  visitor  entered,  was  probably 
another  portal  that  led  him  through  the  northern  ci-yptoporticus 
into  the  gTand  hall,  No.  1,  whicii  was  decorated  with  every 
kind  of  ornamentation,  and  perhaps  with  a  fountain  or  basin 
of  water  in  the  middle.  It  is  possible  that  beyond  this  there 
was  another  small  court,  surrounded  by  buildings,  the  founda- 
tions of  which  lie  under  the  churchyard  and  church.  A.  simple 
ghince  at  the  plan  is  sufticient  to  show  us  that  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  give  any  explanation  of  the  mass  of  rooms  which 
surround  these  different  courts.  It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  more  elegant  and  private  apartments  were  those  built 
round  the  inner  court,  a.  The  apartments  round  the  little  side 
court,  c,  were  perhaps,  as  Lysons  supposed,  baths  and  rooms 
for  purposes  connected  with  them.  Perhaps  those  on  the  other 
side  of  the  court  were  rooms  for  recreation  and  conversing,  and 
they  seem  to  have  been  adorned  with  sculptures,  and  perhaps 
with  pictures,  ornamental  pottery,  and  plants.* 

The  only  counnon  feature  in  the  Roman  villas  in  Britain 
seems  to  have  been  the  large  courts  round  which  the  buildings 
were  grouped  :  and  it  is  in  this  alone  that  they  bear  any  close 

*  The  Roman  villas  no  doubt  long  remained,  as  imposing  ruins,  after 
the  departure  of  the  Romans,  The  earth  gradually  accumulated,  till,  at  a 
much  later  period,  the  upper  parts  of  the  walls  were  cleared  away  for  the 
materials,  leaving  the  substructure  underneath.  The  pavements  have 
sutfered  most  from  being  accidentally  discovered,  from  time  to  time,  by  the 
ignorant  peasantiy,  who  broke  them  up,  imagining  that  treasures  wtrj 
concealed  under  them.  Perhaps  the  Caledonian  or  Saxon  invaders  oft*  n 
destroyed  the  pavements  for  the  same  cause.  The  early  Saxons  imagined 
that  all  statues  and  busts  were  implements  of  magic,  and  that  the  dan- 
gerous spell  could  only  be  broken  by  breaking  them.  Hence,  we  seldom 
find  more  than  frasuients  of  statues. 


£^  W 


> 


CHAr.  vir.]  ROMAN  VILLAS.  243 

resemblance  to  the  directions  given  bv  Vitruvius.*  In  the  villa 
at  Big-nor  there  were  also  two  courts,  larp;er  even  than  those  at 
Woodchester,  hut  they  ky  with  a  different  aspect,  runniiiii; 
north-west  and  south-east,  instead  of  nearly  north  and  south. 
The  inner  court  at  Big-uor  was  surronnded  hy  a  more  perfect 
aud  extensive  cryptoporticus  than  that  at  Woodchester.  The 
court  itself  was  a  parallelog-ram,  not  quite  perfect,  as  the 
northern  side  was  a  little  louger  that  the  side  opposite.  The 
southern  cryptoporticus  measured  a  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
feet  nine  inches  in  length,  and  eight  feet  in  width.  The  westeru 
cryptoporticus,  extending  across  the  width  of  the  court,  was 
niuety-six  feet  long,  by  ten  wide.  The  great  outer  court  ajj- 
])eared  not  to  have  had  buildings  round  it,  although  traces  oi 
buildings  were  found  towards  the  middle  of  the  area.  Therr 
appears  to  have  been  a  large  entrance  gate  from  the  ontside  ol 
the  building  into  the  inner  court  on  its  sonthern  side.  The 
baths,  which  were  more  extensive  and  more  clearly  defined  than 
at  Woodchester,  were  attached  to  the  inner  conrt,  near  its  sonth- 
eastern  corner.  The  cryptoporticus  of  the  villa  at  Bignor  had 
had  tesselated  pavements  ;  the  level  of  the  floor  on  the  northern 
side  was  more  elevated  than  the  others,  and  at  the  northern 
corner,  where  this  northern  cryptoporticns  joined  the  western 
one,  there  was  a  small  sqnare  room,  with  a  very  elegant  pave- 
ment, throngh  which,  by  means  of  steps,  people  passed  from  one 
into  the  other.  The  accompanying  plate  represents  this  room 
as  it  appeared  when  first  discovered.  The  painted  stucco 
remained  fresh  on  the  wall.  The  end  of  the  floor  of  the 
riorthern  crypto]iorticus  is  seen  to  the  right.  It  is  singular  that 
nnder  the  middle  of  the  court  at  Bignor,  fonndations  of  old 
walls  were  fonnd,  which  appeared  to  have  belonged  to  a  pre- 
vious villa  that  had  been  rebuilt  on  a  different  plan.  At  North 
Leigh,  in  Oxfordshire,  the  stone  materials  of  a  former  building 
had  been  made  nse  of,  for  the  stones  of  an  arch  which  were 
found  in  one  of  the  larger  rooms,  had  been  made  out  of  frag- 
ments of  columns,  and  the  monldings  of  bases  and  capitals  still 
remained  on  the  back.  The  inner  quadrangle  only  of  this  villa 
has  been  explored,  if  it  ever  consisted  of  more  than  one.  There 
was  a  large  entrance  gateway  with  several  rooms  adjoining  on  the 
south-eastern  side,  and  the  apartments  round  the  other  three 

*  Lysons  iittempted  to  trace  out  the  clesi<rn  of  the  villa  at  Woodchester, 
by  api)lying'  the  rules  <>iveii  by  Vitruvius,  but  I  think  without  much  suc- 
c^^ss.  ahhdugh  that  villa  is  uiore  re^-nlar  in  its  plan  than  most  of  the 
others.     To  most  of  them  the  rules  of  Vitruvius  seem  quite  inapplicable. 


214  THE  ROM.VXS.  [cha-.   vn. 

sides  are  very  numerous.  Tlu^  (juadning-le  is  not  an  exact 
square  ;  tlie  dimensions  of  its  four  sides  being,  north-east,  a 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet ;  south-east,  a  hundred  and 
eighty-six  feet ;  soutli-west,  a  lumdred  and  lifty-three  feet ;  and 
north-west,  two  hundred  and  thirteen  feet. 

Many  of  the  Eoman  villas  hitherto  discovered  in  this  country 
appear  to  have  been  of  nearly  equal  extent  with  those  described 
above,  and  we  derive  an  extraordinary  notion  of  tlie  condition 
of  the  island  at  this  period  from  the  number  of  these  extensive 
and  evidently  magnificent  buildings  which  have  been  discovered. 
As  these  discoveries  have  generally  been  the  result  of  accident, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  we  are  only  acquainted  with  a 
small  number  of  the  villas  which  were  scattered  over  the  soil  of 
Britain.  The  number  already  discovered  amounts  proba])ly  to 
not  less  than  a  hundred.  Some  of  the  most  magnificent  lay  in 
the  south-west.  In  Gloucestershire,  besides  the  great  villa  at 
Woodchester,  and  the  extensive  group  wliich  has  already  been 
mentioned  as  scattered  over  the  country  around  it,  large  villas 
liave  been  discovered  at  Lidney  Park,  Great  Witcombe,  Eod- 
niarton.  Combe-end,  Withington,  Bisley,  and  Stancombe  Park, 
near  Dursley.  No  less  extensive  villas  have  been  found  in 
Somersetshire,  at  Combe  St  Nicholas,  East  Coker,  and  Wellow ; 
in  Wiltshire,  at  Bromham,  Littlecote  Park,  Pitmead  near 
Warminster,  and  RudgenearProxfield;  in  Dorset,  at  Prampton, 
Lenthy  Green  near  Sherborne,  and  Halstock  ;  in  Hampshire, 
at  Bramdean,  Crondall,  West  Dean,  and  Thruxton  ;  in  Sussex, 
at  Bignor,  and  in  other  places  ;  at  Basildon,  in  Berkshire  ;  in 
Oxfordshire,  among  many  other  places,  at  North  Leigh, 
Stonesfield,  Great  Lew,  and  Wigginton ;  in  Northamptonshire, 
at  Cottersbook,  AVelden,  Burrow  Hill,  Harpole,  &c. ;  in  Not- 
tinghamshire, at  Mansfield  Woodhouse.  Kent  and  Essex  appear 
to  have  been  covered  with  extensive  villas,  but  they  seem  to 
have  been  generally  less  magnificent  than  those  in  tlie  west, 
and  no  fine  tesselated  pavements  have  yet  been  found  in  them. 
Li  the  former  of  these  two  counties  they  lay  thickly  scattered 
along  the  road  from  Canterbury  to  London,  and  on  the  banks 
of  the  Medway  towards  Maidstone,  as  well  as  on  the  southern 
coast.  Among  the  principal  villas  found  in  Essex  are  those  at 
West  Mersey,  discovered  long  ago,  and  those  explored  more 
recently  in  tlie  north-west  of  the  county,  at  Icklington,  Chester- 
ford,  and  Hadstock.  Lincolnshire  appears  to  have  been  a 
rich  and  important  district,  and  large  villas  with  magnificent 
pavements  have  been  found  at  Horkstow,  Winterton,    Roxby 


CHAP.  VII J  ROMAN  VILLAS.  245 

near  the  Huinber,  Hasehy,  Storton,  Scampton,  and  Grantham. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Lincolnshire  is  comparatively 
unexplored,  and  so  are  most  of  the  northern  and  midland 
counties.  Yorkshire  must  have  contained,  many  fine  country 
mansions  of  this  kind,  yet  I  am  only  aware  of  the  discovery  of 
one,  at  Hovingham,  in  the  North  Riding.  Some  years  ago, 
remains  of  a  Roman  villa  were  found  at  Buxton,  in  Derbyshire, 
which  seems  even  at  that  early  period  to  have  been  visited 
for  its  mineral  waters ;  and  several  have  been  found  on  the 
AVelsh  border  in  Shropshire  and  Herefordshire,  as  well  as  in 
North  and  South  Wales. 

Many  of  the  villas  which  have  been  opened  present  unequi- 
vocal traces  of  having  been  plundered  and  injured  by  the 
violence  of  invaders,  and  sometimes  they  bear  traces  of  having 
been  burnt.  Here  and  there  human  bones  have  been  found, 
and  while  many  of  these  may  be  accounted  for  by  subsequent 
interment,  yet  in  some  cases  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  of 
tlieir  having  belonged  to  persons  who  were  slain  when  the 
building  was  attacked.  In  1833,  some  excavations  at  Silchester 
brought  to  light  Roman  baths,  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
having,  like  the  baths  discovered  in  the  villas,  leaden  pipes  to 
carry  off  the  water.  In  one  of  these  pipes  were  found  two 
hundred  Roman  coins  in  brass,  and  in  the  bath  lay  a  human 
skeleton,  which,  with  a  slight  stretch  of  the  imagination,  may 
be  supposed  to  have  been  that  of  an  inhabitant  of  Calleva,  who 
had  sought  refuge  there  when  the  city  was  invaded  by  the 
enemy,  in  the  hope  of  saving  his  little  treasure  by  concealing  it 
where  no  one  would  think  of  seeking  for  it.  Perhaps,  if  we 
carefully  noted  the  articles  of  domestic  use  which  are  dug  up  in 
the  excavations,  we  might  at  least  form  probable  conjectures  on 
the  purposes  of  the  rooms  in  which  they  were  found.  The 
number  of  such  articles  found  at  Woodchester  was  much  less 
than  might  be  expected  from  the  space  excavated ;  they  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  several  knives  and  choppers,  a  weight,  a  key, 
some  fibulae  and  buckles,  and  several  hair-pins,  and  other  small 
personal  ornaments  of  this  kind ;  two  spears,  and  parts  of 
weapons,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  pottery,  and  a  certain 
number  of  coins.  The  latter  are  always  found  scattered  about. 
"We  are  often  tantalised  by  finding  mere  fraji-ments  of  what 
might  have  given  us  the  most  important  information  relating  to 
the  occupiers  of  these  villas.  Such  are  the  fragments  of  in- 
scriptions on  the  walls  found  at  Woodchester.  Inscribed  stones 
were  found  within  the  quadrangle  of  the  villa  at  Pitney,  but 


246  THE  ROMAXS.  [chap.  vii. 

tliey    also    proved    mere   fragments,    one  of   tliem  having  the 
words  : — ■ 

PATER 
PATRI 
SANC 

The  other,  whicli  appears  to  have  been  a  sepulchral  inscriptioa 
and  to  commemorate  probably  some  member  of  the  household 
who  had  been  buried  in  the  court,  had  the  impeifect  inscrip- 
tion : — 

VIXI    SIN 
TRIGINTA 
Q,V,^    CAPI 
KOXO    A 

The  most  interesting  portion  of  the  villas,  as  they  now  re- 
main, is,  however,  the  tesselated  pavements.  These  are  beau- 
tiful as  works  of  art,  and  interesting  for  the  subjects  they  re- 
present ;  and  they  must  have  been  the  result  of  immense  labour 
and  great  skill.  These  tesselated  pavements  Avere  not  confined 
to  the  country  villas,  but  were  used  in  the  better  mansions  in 
the  towns,  and  examples  have  been  found  in  London,  Ciren- 
cester, Gloucester,  Caerleon,  Caerwent,  Kenchester,  Leicester, 
York,  Aldborough,  Lincoln,  Colchester,  Canterbury,  Dorchester, 
&c.  Some  of  those  found  in  London,  Circencester,  and  Leices- 
ter,* are  of  very  superior  execution.  As  I  have  stated  before, 
these  pavements  are  formed  with  a  number  of  small  tesserae,  or 
cubes,  set  into  a  tine  cement,  and  arranged  in  patterns  or  sub- 
jects, somewliat  in  the  manner  of  Berlin  wool  patterns;  but  in 
the  pavements  the  cubes  are  of  different  sizes,  which  enabled 
the  artist  to  give  far  more  freedom  to  his  lines  and  effect  to  his 
])icture.  The  cubes  were  made  of  different  substances,  in  order 
to  produce  various  shades  of  colour  ;  some  being  of  stone,  others 
of  terra-cotta,  and  others  again  of  glass.  Professor  ]^uckman, 
in  his  description  of  the  beautiful  pavements  found  in  Cirences- 
ter, has  given  us  an  excellent  analysis  of  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed.  Six  of  the  colours  employed  there  are 
natural  substances,  and  show  us  how  skilfully  the  Eoman  artist 
turned  to  account  the  materials  furnished  by  the  neighbourhood. 

*  Part  of  an  extremely  fine  Roman  tesselated  pavement  lias  been  un- 
covered in  the  cellar  of  a  grocer  in  Leicester,  who  has  kept  it  open,  and 
show's  it  to  visitors  at  a  shilling  each.  It  is  well  worth  visiting.  The 
jiriacipal  pavements  at  Bignor,  in  Sussex,  have  also  been  kept  open,  and 
tiiey  are  protected  by  buildings  erected  over  them. 


jiiiiiiiife 


D 


-    SECTION    - 


Tessellated  Pavements  at  Wroxeter,  No.  1. 


i 


ciiAi'.  VII.]  TESSELATED  PAYEMEXTS.  24S 

White  wns  produced  by  small  cubes  of  chalk,  which,  ou  account 
of  its  softness,  was  used  very  sparingly,  and  oidy  where  it  was 
necessary  to  produce  very  high  relief.     The  hard,  fine-grained 
free-stone  from  the  quarries  round  Cirencester  furnished  a  cream 
colour,  and,  when  it  had  been  exposed  to  a  certain  degree  of 
heat,  it  served  for  a  grey.      Tellow  was  furnished  by  tlie  oolite 
of  the  gravel  drift  of  the  district.     The  old  red  sandstone,  from 
Herefordshire,  Avas  used  to  produce  a  chocolate  colour;  and 
slate-colour  was  furnished  from  the  lime-stone   bands  of  the 
lower  lias  in  the  vale  of  Gloucester.     Three  colours,  light  red, 
dark  red,  and  black,  were  produced  by  terra-cotta  ;  and  one,  a 
transparent  ruby,  by  glass.     Other  materials  are  used  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  the  coloured  glass  being  always  the 
rarest.     '  When  the  tessercTe  were  all  set,  and  the  cement  hard- 
ened, the  finish  appears  to  have  been  given  by  polishing  over 
the  surface  of  the  whole,  which  not  only  gave  a  j)erfectly  smooth 
surface  to  the  floor,  but  increased  the  brilliance  of  the  effect ; 
the  cream-coloured  and  grey  stones,  from  their  hardness,  took  a 
fine  polish,  whilst  we  may  conceive  that  the  reds,  being  made  of 
terra-cotta,  would  remain  opaque,  and  this  very  contrast  tended 
to  heighten  the  effect,  which  was  perhaps  the  reason  why  sub- 
stances capable  of  high  polish  were  not  chosen  in  all  instances.' 
AVhen  the  tesselated  floor  had  no  hypocaust  under  it,  it  was 
usually  laid  on  a  very  substantial  foundation.    Mr  George  Maw, 
of  Benthall  Hall,  near  Broseley,  who  carefully  examined   the 
fragments  of  tesselated  pavements  recently  discovered  at  Wrox- 
eter,  in  the  corridor  of  the  large  building  supposed  to  be  the 
basilica  of  Uriconium,  has  given  me  the  folloAving  account  of  its 
structure,  with  the  drawings,  from  which  the  illustrations  in  our 
two  plates  are  engraved  : — 'As  one  of  the  numerous  evidences 
of  the  great  interest  the  Eomans  entertained  for  this  tesselated 
work,  the  care  and  expense  they  w^ent  to  in  the  preparation  of 
the  foundations  may  be  noticed.     At  AVroxeter  they  consist  of 
four  distinct  strata  of  materials,  forming  together  a  bed  between 
two  and  three  feet  in  thickness.     Ou  the  native  ground  they 
first  placed  a  layer  of  large  lumps  of  sandstone,  rather  irregu- 
larly disposed,  and  above  eighteen  inches  thick  {e  e  in  the  sec- 
tion in  our  first  plate),  the  uneven  surface  of  which  was  made 
tolerably  smooth  by  a  bed  of  soft  concrete  or  mortar  {d  d),  ex- 
actly like  that  now  used  in  ordinary  building.     In  breaking  up 
the  foundations,  its  surface,  pressed  in   between    the    broken 
stones,  looks,  after  an  existence   of  fifteen  hundred  years,  as 
fresh   as  the  day  ou  which  it  was  prepared.     On  this  bed  of 


250  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vii. 

mortar  was  placed  the  stratum  (c  c)  on  which  the  tesserae  were 
laid,  about  two  aud  a  half  inches  thick,  exceeding-lv  hard  and 
evidently  composed  of  a  mixture  of  roug-hly- pulverised  burnt 
clay  and  lime,  prepared  with  more  care  than  the  others,  being 
of  a  very  uniform  thickness,  and  having  its  upper  and  under 
surfaces  perfectly  level.  On  this  hard  and  even  stratum  the 
tesserae  {a  a)  were  bedded  in  a  layer  of  wliite  and  very  hard 
cement  (b  b),  not  more  than  half  an  inch  thick.  The  patterns 
of  these  Wroxeter  pavements  are  all  of  a  very  simple  descrip- 
tion, and  not  comparable  either  in  design  or  execution  to  many 
existing  specimens.  They  are  mostly  very  simple  arrang(!ments 
of  geometrical  forms,  surrounded  by  fret  borders  or  plain  bands, 
consisting  for  the  most  part  of  but  two  materials,  viz.,  a  cream- 
coloured  compact  limestone  or  marble,  and  a  bluish-black  lime- 
stone. It  is  probable  that  both  these  materials  have  been 
brought  from  a  distance,  or  perhaps  imported,  as  they  occur 
nowhere  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  light  stone  is  identical 
with  that  of  a  similar  colour  composing  the  Roman  mosaics 
found  on  the  continent  and  the  mediaeval  mosaics  of  Italy,  where 
it  is  called  palombino-  The  dark  stone  appears  to  have  been 
sparingly  used,  as  though  it  were  difficult  to  procure.  In  the 
plain  dark  margins  next  the  walls  it  is  replaced  by  a  much 
coarser  stone  of  a  dark  green  colour  (travertine),  obtained,  I  be- 
lieve, at  the  foot  of  the  Wrekin,  close  at  hand.  I^'ragments  of 
this  stone  also  occur  interspersed  here  and  there  in  the  body  of 
the  pavements,  probably  used  to  repair  them.  In  addition  to 
these  three  materials,  bits  of  red  earthenware  are  introduced  in 
a  guilloche  border  surrounding  one  of  the  panels.' 

In  the  subjects  represented  on  these  pavements,  we  observe 
a  considerable  variety ;  though,  as  far  as  the  discoveries  go,  two 
or  three  subjects  seem  to  have  been  more  popular  than  the 
others.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  subjects  thus  chosen  may 
have  had  some  reference  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  room  was 
designed.  One  of  the  most  popular  subjects  hitherto  observed, 
is  that  of  Bacchus  seated  on  a  tiger  or  leopard,  which  perhaps 
indicates  a  love  of  conviviality  among  the  people  to  whom  these 
extensive  residences  belonged.  This  subject,  which  usually 
forms  the  centre  of  a  pavement,  was  found  in  the  fine  pavement 
discovered  in  Leadenhall-street,  in  London ;  in  the  pavement  at 
Thruxton  ;  and  in  others  at  Stonesfield  and  Frampton.  Another 
very  popular  central  subject  was  Oi'pheus  playing  on  the  lyre, 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite,  because  it  gave  the  oppor- 
tunity of  picturing  birds  and  beasts  in  the  field  of  the  pavement. 


i 


Tessellated  Pavements  at  Wroxeter,  Xo.  2. 


i 


CHAP.  VII.]  TESSELATED  PAVEMEXTS.  253 

This   subject  lias  been   found  in  pavements  at    Woodcliester, 
Horkstow,  Winterton,  and  Littlecote.     A  field    covered  with 
fishes  and  sea  monsters  is  also  not  an  uncommon  subject,  and 
has    been   found  at   Witcombe,  Cirencester,  Withington,  and 
F^romham    in    Wiltshire.     The   four    seasons    formed    anotlier 
favourite  subject,  which  has  been  fbund  at  Thruxton,  Littlecote, 
and  Cirencester;  in  the  latter  place, the  seasons  are  represented 
bv  heads  in  medallions,  in  a  circle  alternating  with  four  other 
medallions,  of  which  two  are  destroved,  but  the  two  which  re- 
main contain  respectively  Bacchus  on  the  ti^^-er,  and   Actseon. 
At  Littlecote,  the  seasons  are  represented    by  female  fi^-ures 
ridin'j-  on    difterent  animals   in   a  circle  round   the   fi<rure   of 
Orpheus.     The  Gorgon's  head  forms  a  centre  piece  in  pave- 
ments found  at  Bignor  and  Bramdean ;  an  Amazon  encounter- 
ing a  tiger,  at  Framptou ;  Actseon,  at  Cirencester;  Mercury, 
at  Dorchester  ;  and  Hercules  and  Antaeus,  at  Bramdean.      A 
iine  pavement  at  Horkstow  was  divided  into  compartments,  each 
containing  a  group  of  mythological  and  emblematical  figures ; 
along  the  side  were  represented    chariot  races,  enlivened   by 
accidents,  one  carriage  being  overthrown  by  tlie  wheel  going 
off,  and  another  with  tlie  horse  fallen  down.     The  pavement  at 
East  Coker  represented  hunting  scenes,  and,  on  a  fragment  pre- 
served from  destruction,  w^ere  seen  the  attendants  carrying  home 
the  slaughtered  deer.     On  one  of  the   pavements  at  Bignor 
there  is  a  border  of  winged  Cupids,  or  Genii,  in  the  characters 
of  gladiators,  in  armour,  with  sliields,  swords,  and   tridents. 
The  large  pavement  at  Frampton  was  also  divided  into  compart- 
ments containing  mythological  subjects,  such  as  Bacchus,  ISFep- 
tune,  Diana   hunting,   &c.     On   the  sides  of   a  compartment 
containing  a  large  bearded  head  of  Neptune,  was  an  inscription, 
intended  evidently  for  verse,  and  relating  to  the  picture  ;  on  one 
side  are  the  lines, — 

KEPrVNl VERTEX  REG MEN 
SORTITI  MOBILE  VENTJS 

On  the  other,- - 

SCVLTVM  CVI  CERVLEA  EST 
DELFINIS  CINCTA  DVOBVS 

Under  a  compartment,  which  was   neai'ly  desti'oyed,  was   the 
fragment  of  another  inscription, — 

.       .       .       NVS  PERFICIS  VI.LVM 
.       .       .       .       GNARE  CVPIDO.* 

•  Lysons  supplies  it:  '■facinus perjicis  ullnm  .  .  .  ignare  citpido.*     The 


254  THE  ROMANS.  [CHAr.  vii. 

A  pavement  at  Thruxton  bore  an  inscription,  wliicli  seems  to 
have  commemorated  the  person  for  whom  the  vilhi  was  built ; 
but  unfortunately  only  a  portion  of  it  remains  perfect,  whicli 
is  distinctly  read  as  follows  : — qvintvs  natalivs  natalinvs 
ET  BODENi.  Of  the  line  at  the  other  side  of  the  pavement 
(the  continuation  of  the  inscription),  frag-ments  only  of  two 
letters  were  found,  apparently  a  V  and  an  O,  and  some  anti- 
quaries have  rather  hastily  concluded  that  these  must  have  be- 
longed to  the  word  voto,  and  propose  to  read  the  whole  Qniu.- 
tiis  Natfdlus  Natal'uiHS  et  Bodeni  fccerunt  ex  voto^  i.e.,  Quintus 
Natalius  Natalinus  and  the  Bodeni  have  made  this  in  fulfilment 
of  a  vow.  But  there  are  strong  reasons  against  such  an  inter- 
pretation :  it  is  not  probable  that  this  is  a  votive  offering ;  the 
l^odeni  seem  to  be  an  invention  of  the  interpreter,  and  a  com- 
parison of  the  space  with  the  number  of  letters  in  the  tirst 
half  of  ihe  inscription  and  the  position  of  the  fragments,  will 
show  that  there  must  have  been  more  letters  in  the  lost  part 
than  ai'e  here  supplied,  and  that  the  last  o  of  the  supposed  voto 
was  not  the  end  of  the  inscription.  We  should  perhaps  have 
found  a  letter  or  two  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  line,  which 
would  have  completed  the  name  of  the  Avife  of  Quintus  Nata- 
lius Natalinus.* 

It  must  be  observed  that,  when  we  compare  the  different 
pavements  representing  the  same  subject,  we  do  not  find  them 
copied  after  the  same  model,  or  treated  in  the  same  manner. 
It  is  also  curious  that  the  subjects  most  frequently  repeated 
were  the  same  on  the  continent  as  in  Britain,  The  central 
Orpheus,  with  his  circle  of  animals,  has  been  found  in  a  pave- 
ment at  St  Colombe,  in  Prance,  and  in  one  at  cr  near  Friburg, 
in  Switzerland ;  the  Gorgon's  head  has  also  been  found  in 
pavements  in  France ;  and  a  pavement  of  fishes  and  sea  mon- 
sters was  found  at  Pan.  Perhaps  the  artists  who  made  the 
pavements,  carried  about  with  them  a  professional  list  of  sub- 
jects which  they  ottered  for  choice,  if  their  employer  had  not  a 
subject  of  his  own  to  propose. 

It  is  impossible  to  discover,  from  the  appearance  of  these 
villas,  to  what  class  of  the  comnumity  they  usually  belonged, 
but  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  their  owners  were  men  of  wealth, 

meaning:  these  inscriptions  were  intended  to  convey,  is  more  evident  than 
the  construction  of  the  words. 

*  Tlie  interpretation  alluded  to  was  proposed  by  the  late  Dr  Ingram,  of 
O.K.ford,  and  has  been  recently  published  under  the  sanction  of  the  Ar- 
chajological  Institute  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Salisbury 
meetiu';-  of  1849. 


CHAP.  vilI         the  state  OF  AGRICULTURE.  2o,^ 

who  souglit  here  that  splendid  country  retirement  to  which  we 
know  the  Roman  gentry  were  much  attached.  When  we  con- 
sider the  great  nnmber  of  rooms  which  were  grouped  round  the 
different  courts,  we  must  be  convinced  that  the  lord  of  the 
mansion  had  a  numerous  household,  troops  of  slaves,  and 
ineiiials,  and  clients  ;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  of  the 
buildings,  more  distant  from  the  domestic  apartments  of  the 
lamily,  were  separate  dwellings,  tenanted  by  his  farmers,  and 
even  by  their  labourers.  But  the  peasantry  in  general,  no 
doubt,  lived  in  huts,  slightly  constructed,  and  of  perishable 
materials,  either  separately,  or  grouped  together  in  villages. 
These  villages  are  apparently  the  settlements,  the  nature  of 
which  has  been  described  in  a  former  chapter,  and  which  have 
been  commonly  called  British  villages.  The  coins  and  other 
remains  found  in  them,  show  that  they  belonged  to  the  Roman 
period,  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  peasantry  who  inhabited 
them  were  chiefly  of  the  old  British  race. 

We  know  very  little  of  the  state  of  agriculture  in  this  island 
under  the  Romans,  though,  as  it  was  celebrated  for  its  fertility, 
it  was  probably  extensively  and  highly  cultivated.  When 
Cirsar  visited  the  island,  he  remarked  chiefly  the  large  herds  of 
cattle,  which  are  the  principal  wealth  of  uncivilised  peoples, 
but  under  the  Romans  it  appears  to  have  been  celebrated  for 
the  production  of  corn.  The  emperor  Julian,  in  one  of  his 
orations,  states  that  when  he  commanded  in  Gaul,  about  the 
year  360,  agriculture  had  been  so  entirely  interrupted  in  the 
countries  bordering  on  the  Ehine,  by  the  ravages  of  \va\\  that 
the  population  was  in  danger  of  perishing  by  famine.  In  this 
emergency,  Julian  caused  six  hundred  corn-ships  to  be  built 
on  the  Rhine,  with  timber  from  the  forest  of  the  Ardennes,  and 
these  made  several  voyages  to  the  coast  of  Britain,  and,  return- 
ing up  the  Rhine  laden  with  British  corn,  distributed  it  among 
the  towns  and  fortresses  on  that  river,  and  he  thus  obtained  a 
sufficient  supply  to  prevent  the  threatened  calamity.  Gibbon 
has  supposed  that  each  of  Julian's  corn-ships  carried  at  least 
seventy  tons,  which  I  am  told  is  a  very  low  estimate.  But 
taking  this,  and  reckoning  wheat  at  sixty  pounds  a  bushel,  the 
six  hundred  vessels  would  have  carried  at  eacli  voyage  a  hun- 
dred and  ninety-six  thousand  quarters,  which  would  not  be 
a  very  large  export.  But  as  we  are  ignorant  of  the  number  of 
voyages  tliey  made,  and  the  estimate  of  tonnage  is  perhaps  too 
small,  we  are  justified  in  supposing  that  the  expoit  was  large 
enough  to  prove   that  this  country  was  vrny  extensively,  and, 


2o6 


THE  no  MAX  S. 


[chap.    VII. 


perliaps,  for  the  a,2,-e,  very  well  cultivated.  In  many  parts  of 
Jiritain  wc  find  distinct  marks  of  former  cultivation  o.i  laud 
which  is  now  common,  and  has  certain'y  lain  fallow  for  ages, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  that  it  may  have  been  the  work  of  the 
lloman  ploughshare.  A  curious  legend  has  been  told  in  some 
parts  to  explain  these  appearances  of  ancient  cultivation  ;  it  is 
pretended  that  when,  in  the  time  of  king  John,  the  country  lay 
under  an  interdict,  the  pope's  ban  fell  expressly  on  all  cultivated 
laiul,  and  that  the  superstitious  peasantry,  imagining  that  the 
lauds  which  were  not  cultivated  when  the  bull  was  written  were 
excepted  from  its  eti'ects,  left  their  cultivated  lands,  and 
>Y  ploughed  the  wastes  and  commons  as  long  as  the  interdict 
lasted.  The  suggestion  made  above  is  at  least  as  probable  an 
explanation  as  the  legend.  Mr  Bruce  observed  similar  traces  of 
cultivation  on  the  waste  lands  in  Northumberland,  and  he  is 
probably  right  in  attributing  them  to  the  Eomans.  '  A  little 
to  the  south  of  Borcovicus,'  he  says,  'and  stretching  w^estward, 
the  ground  has  been  thrown  up  in  long  terraced  lines,  a  mode 
of  cultivation  much  practised  in  Italy  and  the  East.  Similar 
terraces,  more  feebly  developed,  appear  at  Bradley  ;  I  have  seen 
them  very  distinctly  marked  on  the  banks  of  the  Eede-water,  at 
old  Carlisle,  and  in  other  places.'  It  is  probable  that  Julian's 
corn-ships  came  for  theii*  cargoes  to  the  Tyne  or  the  Humber. 


Bronze  of  a  Roman  Plouiihuiau. 


To  judge  by  the  accompanying  cut,  the  plough  used  in  Roman 
Britain  was  rather  of  a  primitive  construction.  It  represents  a 
lloman  bronze,  said  to  have  been  found  at  Piersebridge  in 
Yorkshire,  and  now  in  the  collection  of  Lord  Londesborough. 


CHAP.  VII.]  HUNTING.  257 

The  %ure  of  the  ploughman  f^ives  us  probably  a  correct  picture 
of  the  costume  of  the  Eomano-British  peasant.  Fruit-trees 
were  also  cultivated  with  care,  and  the  Komans  are  said  to  have 
introduced,  among  others,  the  cherry.  We  may  probably  add 
the  vine. 

One  of  the  chief  occupations  of  country  life  among-  the  higher 
classes  was  the  chase,  to  which  the  Romans  were  much  attached. 
If  we  cast  our  eyes  over  the  map  of  Roman  Britain,  we  per- 
ceive considerable  tracts  of  land  which  the  great  roads  avoided, 
and  in  which  there  were  apparently  no  towns.  These  were 
forest  districts,  represented  by  the  mediaeval  forests  of  Cham- 
wood,  Sherwood,  and  others,  which  abounded  in  beasts  of  the 
chase.  Some  of  the  more  extensive  forests  were  inhabited  by 
wild  boars,  and  even  by  wolves.  The  chase  of  the  boar  appears 
to  have  been  a  favourite  pursuit  in  Britain.  An  altar  was 
found  at  Durham,  dedicated  to  the  god  Silvanus,  by  the  prefect 
of  an  ala  of  soldiers,  who  had  slain  an  extraordinary  fine  boar, 
which  had  set  all  the  hunters  before  him  at  defiance.*  At 
Birdoswald  in  Northumberland  {Jmboglanna),  was  found  a 
small  altar  dedicated  also  to  Silvanus  by  the  hunters  of  Banna.f 
Tlie  Roman  pottery,  made  in  Britain,  was  frequently  ornamented 
with  hunting  scenes,  in  which  the  stag  or  the  hare  is  generally 
the  victim,  and  it  gives  us  pictures  of  the  dogs  for  which  Britain 
was  famous. I  These  are  at  times  represented  with  something 
of  the  character  of  the  modern  bull-dog  or  mastiff,  Avhile  others 
have  the  more  delicate  form  of  the  greyhound  and  stag-hound. 
Skulls  of  dogs  found  at  VVroxeter  have  been  pronounced  to  be 
tliose  of  mastiffs  and  greyhounds.  The  classic  waiters  contain 
not  unfrequent  allusions  to  the  dogs  of  Britain.  Claudian, 
eniunerating  those  peculiar  to  different  countries,  speaks  of  the 
British  breed  as  capable  of  overcoming  bulls  : — 

'  Mag-uaque  tauroruiu  fracturae  colla  BritanricB.' 

*  SILVANO  INVICTO  SACUUM  C  TETIVS  YETVRIVS  MICIANVS  PUJEF 
ALAE  SEBOSIANAE  015  APRVM  EXIMIAE  FORMAE  CAPTVM  QVEM  MVLTI 
ANTECESSOUES    EIVS   PRAEDARI   NON    POTVERVNT   V.    S.  L.    P.      This    iu- 

scription  is  given  in  Camden. 

t  Banna  was  a  town  or  station  not  mentioned  in  the  Notitia  Imperii,  or 
in  the  Itineraries,  but  it  is  found  in  the  list  of  Roman  to^^^ls  in  Britain 
piven  in  the  Ravenna  Cosmography,  which  places  it  between  ^^sica  and 
Uxellodunum.  An  ornamental  bronze  cup  was  found  in  a  rubbish  pit  at 
Rudge  in  Wiltshire,  more  than  a  century  ag'o,  having  the  names  of  five  of 
these  towns  in  an  inscription  round  the  rim — aballava  vxellodvm  g 
AMBOGLAN  s  BANNA  .  A  .  MAIS.  It  secms  to  have  been  made  for  a  club 
or  society  of  persons  belonging  to  these  towns,  perhaps  hunters. 

X  Figures  of  these  dogs  will  be  given  in  the  next  chapter. 


2')S  TTIE  ROMAX=^.  [chap.  vii. 

The  more  dcjcately-slinped  (I02:,  often  iour.J  on  the  Roinano- 
Hritish  pottery,  appears  to  be  the  one  named  by  the  Romans 
TO'traguH,  which  was  also  (hn'ived  from  this  island.  Martial 
says, — 

'  Nr.n  sibi,  sed  domirio,  venarur  vertrag-us  acer, 
Illesuiu  loporem  qui  tibi  dente  feret." 

And  Nemesiati  speaks  of  the  export  of  British  honnds  for  the 
purpose  of  huntin<i; : — 

'  Sed  non  Spartanos  tantum,  tantuinve  molossos 
Pa^jcendum  catulos ;  uivisa  Britannia  niittit 
Veloccs,  uostrique  orbis  vcuatibus  aptc^:/ 


CHAP,  VIII.]  ROMAN  MANUFACTUEER.  259 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Manufactures  of  the  Romans  in  Britain — Pottery— The  LJpchurch  Ware 
— Dymchurch — The  Potteries  at  Durobrivse — The  Samian  Ware — 
Romano- Salopian  Wares  —  Other  Varieties  —  Terra-cottas  —  Roman 
Glass — Kimmeridge  Coal  Manufacture — Mineral  Coal — Metals — The 
Roman  Iron  Works  in  Britain  ;  Sussex,  the  Forest  of  Dean,  &c. — Tin 
and  Lead — Other  Metals — Bronze— The  Arts  ;  Sculpture — Medicine  ; 
the  Oculists'  Stamps — Trades  ;  a  Goldsmith's  Sign. 

With  a  considerable  population,  great  riches,  as  evinced  by 
its  numerous  splendid  villas,  and  an  advanced  state  of  civilisa- 
tion, manufactures  and  trade  must  doubtless  have  been  carried 
on  in  Britain  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  Many  of  these 
were  naturally  of  a  description  wliich  left  few  traces  behind 
them,  but  of  the  existence  of  others  we  have  proofs  of  a  more 
substantial  kind,  and  as  they  form  a  rather  important  class  of 
our  antiquities,  they  deserve  especial  attention.  We  begin  with 
that  of  which  the  remains  are  most  numerous,  the  pottery. 

Any  one  who  has  sailed  up  the  Medway,  will  have  observed 
that  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  a  little  above  Sheerness,  consists 
of  low  flat  ground,  cut  by  the  water  into  innumerable  little 
creeks,  and  at  high  water  almost  buried  by  the  sea.  This  is 
called  the  HalstoAV  and  the  TJpchurch  marshes.  In  the  time  of 
the  Romans  the  channel  of  the  river  appears  to  have  been  here 
nnich  narrower,  and  the  '  marshes '  had  not  been  encroached 
upon  by  the  sea  as  they  are  now.  If  we  go  up  the  little  creeks 
in  the  ITpchurch  marshes  at  low  water,  and  observe  the  sides  of 
tlie  banks,  we  shall  soon  discover,  at  the  depth  of  about  three 
feet,  more  or  less,  a  stratum,  often  a  foot  thick,  of  broken  pot- 
tery. This  is  especially  observable  in  what  is  called  Otterham 
creek,  and  also  in  Lower  Halstow  creek,  where  it  may  be  traced 
continuously  in  the  banks,  and  may  be  brought  up  by  handfuls 
from  the  clay  in  the  bed  of  the  creek.     This  immense  layer  of 

u 


2G0  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  \ul 

broken  pottery,  mixed  with  plenty  of  vessels  in  a  perfect,  or 
nearly  perfect,  state,  has  been  traced  at  intervals  through  an 
extent  of  six  or  seven  miles  in  length,  and  two  or  three  in 
breadth,  and  there  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  that  it  is  the  re- 
fuse of  very  extensive  potteries,  which  existed  probably  during 
nearly  the  whole  period  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain, 
and  which  not  only  supplied  the  whole  island  w^ith  a  particular 
class  of  earthenware,  but  which  perhaps  also  furnished  an  ex- 
port trade ;  for  we  find  urns  and  other  vessels  precisely  similar 
to  the  Upchurch  ware  in  considerable  quantity  among-  tlie 
Roman  pottery  dug  up  in  the  neighbourliood  of  Boulogne. 
The  clay  which  constitutes  the  soil  in  tlie  Upchurch  marshes  is 
very  tenacious,  of  a  dark  colour,  and  of  fine  quality,  well  calcu- 
lated for  the  manufacture  of  pottery. 

The  prevailing  colour  of  the  Upchurch  pottery,  which  is  of  a 
fine  and  hard  texture,  is  a  blue-black,  which  was  produced  by 
baking  it  in  the  smoke  of  vegetable  substances.  A  sufficient 
number  of  perfect  examples  have  been  found,  to  show  that  the 
variety  of  forms  was  almost  infinite ;  but  a  few  of  the  more 
remarkable  are  given  in  the  lower  group  on  the  accompanying 
plate.  The  patterns  with  which  it  is  ornamented,  though  gener- 
ally of  a  simple  character,  are  also  extremely  diversified.  Some 
are  ornamented  with  bands  of  half-circles,  made  with  compasses, 
and  from  these  half-circles  lines  are  in  many  instances  drawn  to 
the  bottoms  of  the  vessels  with  some  instrument  like  a  notched 
piece  of  wood.  Some  are  ornamented  with  wavy  intersections 
and  zigzag  lines ;  while  on  others,  the  ornament  is  formed  by 
raised  points,  encircling  the  vessels  in  bands,  or  grouped  into 
circles,  squares,  and  diamond  patterns.  The  crosseJ-lined 
pattern  of  the  large  urn  in  the  back-ground  of  our  group,  is  a 
very  connnon  one.  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  found  tracings  of 
buildings  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  marshes,  which  perhaps 
mark  the  habitations  of  the  potters.  It  is  evident  from  the 
extent  of  the  bed  of  pottery,  that  a  great  number  of  workmen 
must  have  been  en^ployed  here;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  v.e 
scarcely  excavate  a  Roman  site  in  any  part  of  the  island  without 
finding  samples  of  the  Upchurch  ware. 

There  can,  indeed,  be  no  doubt  that  the  Upchurch  marshes 
furnished  a  great  proportion  of  the  commoner  pottery  used  in 
Roman  Britain.  A  few  years  ago,  as  Mr  James  Elliott  of 
Dymchurch,  the  engineer  of  the  Dymchurch  marshes,  was  carry- 
ing on  excavations  connected  with  the  works  of  the  sea-wall 
Vhei'e,  where  the  clay  difiers  not  much  from  that  at  Upchurch, 


I 


E.oniau  Pottery  from  C(is,tov  (Dnrohivce). 


Koman  Pottery  from  the  Upchurfh  ;Marshes. 


Y.  263.     Castor,  N()rthaniiiton8liire  (Ditrobiivce). 


V.  264.     Roman  Pottery-kiln,  at  Sib.son. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


UrCHURCH  POTTERY. 


2G3 


he  found  traces  of  extensive  potteries  on  that  part  of  the  south- 
ern Kentish  coast.  The  examination  of  the  ground  was  not 
carried  out  sufficiently  to  decide  on  the  character  of  tlie  ware 
manufactured  there,  but  the  fragments  seemed  to  be  rather  those 
of  amphorae,  and  such-like  vessels,  than  the  sort  of  pottery  made 
at  Upclmrch. 

The  site  of  the  potteries  which  produced  another  prevailing 
sort  of  Romano-British  pottery,  was  discovered  by  the  late  Mr 
Artis,  at  Castor,  on  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Northamptonshire, 
the  site  of  the  Roman  town  of  Durobrivse.  These  potteries 
extended  thence  westward,  along  the  country  bordering  on  the 
Nen,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Wansford.  The  Durobrivian 
pottery  was  of  a  superior  quality,  and  adorned  with  more  ele- 
gance than  that  made  in  the  Upcliurch  marshes.  Some  ex- 
amples of  this  ware  are  given  in  the  upper  group  on  our  plate. 
It  also  is  usually  of  a  bluish  or  slate  colour,  but  the  ornaments, 
which  are  in  relief,  and  added  with  the  hand  after  the  vessel  had 
been  made  and  burned,  are  sometimes  white.  They  consist 
often  of  elegant  scrolls,  like  those  in  our  engraving,  and  of  a 
variety  oi  other  patterns.  Among  these,  scenes  of  stag  and 
hare  hunting  are  very  common,  and  they  are  executed  with  a 
freedom  of  touch  which  shows  much  artistic  skill  in  the  work- 
men.    The  annexed  cut  represents  on  a  diminished  scale  one  of 


Hunting  Subject,  from  Durobrivian  pottery. 


these  hunting  scenes,  in  which  we  have  a  picture  of  a  British 
stag-hound.  In  some  rare  instances,  figures  of  men  are  intro- 
duced, urging  on  the  dogs,  or  spearing  the  stag  or  boar :  and 
the  costume  of  these  figures  indicates  a  rather  late  period  of  thf 
Roman  sway  in  Britain.  In  the  pictures  of  hare-hunting  scenes 
the  dog  has  much  the  same  form  as  that  here  represented,  but 
in  some  fragments,  of  which  our  second  cut  is  an  example,  we 
see  a  dog  of  a  stronger  and  fiercer  description,  which,  perhaps, 
if  we  had  the  whole  pattern,  would  be  found  to  be  engaged  in 


264  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  viii. 

hunting  the  boar.  Other  favourite  representations  on  tliis  pot- 
tery were  dolphins  and  other  fishes.  In- 
dented vases,  usually  of  a  dark  copper  colour, 
like  that  in  the  middle  of  our  group,  are 
also  characteristic  of  the  potteries  of  Duro- 
brivjB  :  in  examples  found  at  Chesterfield, 
in  Essex,  these  indentations  are  filled  with 
figures  of  the  principal  deities,  in  white. 
Similar  pottery  appears  to  have  been  manu- 
factured in  Flanders  ;  and  the  large  urn  in 
the  back-ground  of  our  group  was  found  at  British  Dog. 
Bredene,  in  the  department  of  the  Lis. 

The  Roman  potteries  at  Castor  have  a  peculiar  interest  from 
the  circmnstance  that  Mr  Artis's  researches  were  there  rewarded 
by  the  discovery  of  the  potters'  kilns,  and  that  he  was  thus 
enabled  to  investigate  the  process  of  the  manufacture.  This  we 
shall  be  best  able  to  describe  in  his  own  words,  giving  in  the 
accompanying  engraving  a  sketch  of  one  of  the  kilns,  as  it  ap- 
peared when  uncovered.  One  of  these  kilns,  discovered  in 
1844  at  Sibson,  near  Wansford,  Mr  Artis  described  as  folloAvs : 
— '  This  kiln,'  he  says,  '  had  been  used  for  firing  the  common 
blue  or  slate-coloured  pottery,  and  had  been  built  on  part  of  the 
site  of  one  of  the  same  kind,  and  within  a  yard  and  a  half  of 
one  that  had  been  constructed  for  firing  pottery  of  a  difi'erent 
description.  The  older  exhausted  kiln,  which  occupied  part  of 
the  site  of  that  under  consideration,  presented  the  appearance  of 
very  early  work ;  the  bricks  had  evidently  been  modelled  with 
the  hand,  and  not  moulded,  and  the  workmanship  was  alto- 
gether inferior  to  that  of  the  others,  which  were  also  in  a  very 
mutilated  state ;  but  the  character  of  the  work,  the  bricks,  the 
mouths  of  the  furnaces,  and  the  oval  pedestals  which  supported 
the  floors  of  the  kilns,  were  still  apparent.  The  floors  had  been 
broken  up  some  time  previous  to  the  site  being  abandoned,  and 
the  area  had  then  been  used  as  a  receptacle  for  the  accumulated 
rubbish  of  other  kilns. 

'  During  an  examination  of  the  pigments  used  by  the  Roman 
potters  of  this  place,'  Mr  Artis  continues,  '  I  Avas  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  blue  and  slate-coloured  vessels  met  with 
here  in  such  abundance,  were  coloured  by  suftbcating  the  fire  of 
the  kiln,  at  the  time  when  its  contents  had  acquired  a  degree  of 
heat  sufficient  to  insure  uniformity  of  colour.  I  had  so  firmly 
made  up  my  mind  upon  the  process  of  manufacturing  and  firing 
this  peculiar  kind  of  earthenware,  that,  for  some  time  previous 


!    ^ 


« 


p^ 


Wft''^  ;'^'0. 


1 


ciiAi'.  VIII.]  SMOTHER  KILXS.  267 

to  the  recent  discoveiy,  I  had  denominated  the  kilns  in  wliich 
it  had  been  fired,  smother  kilns.  The  mode  of  manufacturing 
the  bricks  of  which  these  kilns  are  made,  is  worthy  of  notice. 
Tlie  clay  was  previously  mixed  with  about  one-third  of  rye  in 
the  chalV,  which,  being'  consumed  by  t]\e  lire,  left  cavities  in  the 
room  of  the  grains.  This  might  have  been  intended  to  modify 
expansion  and  contraction,  as  well  as  to  assist  the  gradual  dis- 
tribution of  the  colouring  vapour.  The  mouth  of  the  furnace 
and  top  of  the  kiln  were  no  doubt  stopped ;  thus  we  find  every 
part  of  the  kiln,  from  the  inside  wall  to  the  earth  on  the  outside, 
and  every  part  of  the  clay  wrappers  of  the  dome,  penetrated  with 
the  colouring  exhalation.  As  further  proof  that  the  colour  of 
the  ware  was  imparted  by  firing,  I  collected  the  clays  of  the 
neighbourhood,  including  specimens  from  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  smother-kilns.  In  colour,  some  of  these  clays  resembled 
the  Avare  after  firing,  and  some  were  darker.  I  submitted  them 
to  a  process  similar  to  that  I  have  described.  The  clays,  dug 
near  the  kilns,  whitened  in  firing,  probably  from  being  bitumin- 
ous. I  also  put  some  fragments  of  the  blue  pottery  into  the 
kiln ;  they  came  out  precisely  of  the  same  colour  as  the  clay 
fired  with  them,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  site  of  the  kilns. 
The  experiment  proved  to  me  that  the  colour  could  not  be 
attributed  to  any  metallic  oxide,  either  existing  in  the  clay,  or 
applied  externally ;  and  this  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  clay  wrappers  of  the  dome  of  the  kiln.  It 
should  be  remarked,  that  this  colour  is  so  volatile,  that  it  is  ex- 
pelled by  a  second  firing  in  an  open  kiln. 

'  I  have  now  traced  these  potteries  to  an  extent  of  upwards 
of  cwenty  miles.*  They  are  principally  confined  to  the  gravel 
beds  on  the  banks  of  the  Nen  and  its  tributary  streams ;  the 
clay  used  at  some  of  them  appears  to  have  been  collected  at 
some  little  distance  from  the  works.  The  kilns  are  all  con- 
structed on  the  same  principle.  A  circular  hole  was  dug,  from 
three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  four  in  diameter,  and  walled  round 
to  the  height  of  two  feet.  A  furnace,  one-third  of  the  diameter 
of  the  kiln  in  length,  communicated  with  the  side.  In  the 
centre  of  the  circle  so  formed  was  an  oval  pedestal,  the  height 
of  the  sides,  with  the  end  pointing  to  the  furnace  mouth.  Upon 
this  pedestal  and  side  wall  the  floor  of  the  kiln  rests.  It  is 
formed  of  perforated  angular  bricks,  meeting  at  one  point  in  the 

*  Mr  Artis,  in  another  report,  estimates  the  number  of  hands  who  must 
Iiiive  been  employed  at  once  in  the  Durobriviun  potteries,  at  not  lesi  than 
two  thousand. 


2l>8  THE  llOMANS.  [chap.  viii. 

centre.  The  fiimac^is  arclied  with  bricks  moulded  for  the 
purpose.  The  sides  oT~ttie  kiln  are  constructed  with  curved 
bricks,  set  edgeways,  in  a  thick  slip  (or  liquid)  of  the  same 
material,  to  the  height  of  two  feet.*  I  now  proceed  to  describe 
the  process  of  packing  the  kiln,  and  securing  uniform  heat  in 
firing  the  ware,  which  was  the  same  in  the  two  different  kinds 
of  kilns.  They  were  first  carefully  loose-packed  with  the  articles 
to  be  fired,  up  to  the  height  of  the  side  walls.  The  circum- 
ference of  the  bulk  was  then  gradually  diminished,  and  finished 
in  the  shape  of  a  dome.  As  this  arrangement  progressed,  an 
attendant  seems  to  have  followed  the  packer,  and  thinly  covered 
a  layer  of  pots  with  coarse  hay  or  grass.  He  then  took  some 
thin  clay,  the  size  of  his  hand,  and  laid  it  flat  on  the  grass  upon 
the  vessels ;  he  then  placed  more  grass  on  the  edge  of  the  clay 
just  laid  on,  and  then  more  clay,  and  so  on  until  he  had  com- 
pleted the  circle.  By  this  time  the  packer  would  have  raised 
another  tier  of  pots,  the  plasterer  folloAving  as  before,  hanging 
the  grass  over  the  top  edge  of  the  last  layer  of  plasters,  until  he 
had  reached  the  top,  in  which  a  small  aperture  was  left,  and  the 
clay  nipt  round  the  edge  ;  another  coating  would  be  laid  on  as 
before  described.  Gravel  or  loam  was  then  thrown  up  against 
the  side  wall  where  the  clay  wrappers  were  commenced,  pro- 
bably to  secure  the  bricks  and  the  clay  coating.  The  kiln  was 
then  fired  with  wood.f  In  consequence  of  the  care  taken  to 
place  grass  between  the  edges  of  the  wrappers,  they  could  be 
unpacked  in  the  same  sized  pieces  as  when  laid  on  in  a  plastic 
state,  and  thus  the  danger  in  breaking  the  coat  to  obtain  the 
contents  of  the  kiln  could  be  obviated. 

'  In  the  course  of  my  excavations,  I  discovered  a  curiously- 
constructed  furnace,  of  which  I  have  never  before  or  since  met 
with  an  example.  Over  it  had  been  placed  two  circular  earthen 
fire  vessels  (or  cauldrons) ;  that  next  above  the  furnace  was  a 
third  less  than  the  other,  Avhich  would  hold  about  eight  gallons. 
The  fire  passed  partly  imder  both  of  them,  the  smoke  escaping 
by  a  smoothly-plastered  flue,  from  seven  to  eight  inches  wide. 
The  vessels  were  suspended  by  the  rims  fitting  into  a  circular 
groove  or  rabbet,  formed  for  the  purpose.     The  composition  of 

*  See  the  kiln  represented  in  the  accompanying  engravinp:,  in  which  the 
two  labourers  are  standing  on  the  original  level  of  the  ground,  while  the 
single  man,  with  the  spade,  stands  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  pit  in 
which  the  kiln  was  built. 

+  In  the  furnace  of  a  kiln  discovered  by  Mr  Artis  in  1822,  there  was  a 
layer  of  wood  ashes  from  four  to  five  inches  thick.  This  kiln,  which  was 
iu  a  very  perfect  state,  was  covered  in  again  undisturbed. 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]  DUROBRIVIAX  POTTERY.  2P0 

the  vess(3ls  was  that  of  a  clay  tempered  with  penny-earth.  They 
contained  some  perfect  vessels  and  many  frag-ments.  It  is 
probable  they  had  covers,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  were 
used  for  glazing  peculiar  kinds  of  the  immense  quantities  of 
ornamented  ware  made  in  this  district.  Its  contiguity  to  one 
of  the  workshops  in  which  the  glaze  (oxide  of  iron)  and  some 
other  pigments  were  found,  confirms  this  opinion.' 

Mr  Artis  then  proceeds  to  explain  the  process  by  which  the 
Diu'obrivian  pottery  was  ornamented.  '  The  vessel,  after  being 
thrown  upon  the  wheel,  would  be  allowed  to  become  somewhat 
firm,  but  only  suihciently  so  for  the  purpose  of  the  lathe.  In 
the  indented  ware,  the  indenting  would  have  to  be  performed 
w'th  the  vessel  in  as  pliable  a  state  as  it  could  be  taken  fi'om 
the  lathe.  A  thick  slip  of  the  same  body  would  then  be  pro- 
cured, and  the  ornamenter  would  proceed  by  dipping  the 
thumb,  or  a  round  mounted  instrument,  into  the  slip.  The 
vessels,  on  which  are  displayed  a  variety  of  hunting  subjects, 
representations  of  fishes,  scrolls,  and  human  figures,  were  all 
glazed  after  the  figures  were  laid  on ;  where,  however,  the 
decorations  are  white,  the  vessels  were  glazed  before  the  orna- 
ments were  added.  Ornamenting  with  figures  of  animals  was 
eflected  by  means  of  sharp  and  blunt  skewer  instruments,  and 
a  slip  of  sui*^able  consistency.  These  instruments  seem  to  have 
been  of  two  kinds  :  one  thick  enough  to  carry  sufficient  slip 
for  the  nose,  neck,  body,  and  front  thigh ;  the  other  of  a  more 
delicate  kind,  for  a  thinner  slip  for  the  tongue,  lower  jaws,  eye, 
foi'e  and  hind  legs,  and  tail.  There  seems  to  have  been  no 
retouching  after  the  slip  trailed  from  the  instrument.  Field 
sports  seem  to  have  been  favourite  subjects  with  our  Ilomano- 
l^ritish  artists.  The  representations  of  deer  and  hare  hunts 
are  gdt)d  and  spirited  ;  the  courage  and  energy  of  the  hounds, 
and  the  distress  of  the  hunted  animals,  are  given  with  great 
skill  and  fidelity,  especially  when  the  simple  and  oft'-hand 
process,  by  which  they  must  have  been  executed,  is  taken  into 
consideration.' 

The  two  descriptions  of  pottery  just  described  were  undoubt- 
edly made  in  England  ;  the  Upchui'ch  ware  is  found  more  or  less 
in  almost  all  Roman  sites,  but  that  manufactured  at  Durobrivte 
is  by  no  means  so  common.  We  now  come  to  a  third  description 
of  pottery,  which  is  found  in  great  quantities  in  Britain,  though 
we  have  every  reason  for  believing  that  it  was  not  made  in  this 
island.  It  is  that  which  is  usually  termed  Sainian  ware ;  and, 
if  it  be  not  the  pure  Samian  pottery  of  antiquity,  it  appears  to 


270  THE  ROMAXS.  [chap.  viii. 

have  been  an  inferior  description  of  the  same  class  of  ware. 
The  Samian  ware  was  of  g:reat  repute  among  the  ancients,  and 
is  frequently  alluded  to  by  Roman  writers  as  that  most  used  at 
table.  It  appears  certain  that  it  was  of  a  red  colour,  and  the 
terms  applied  to  it  in  the  classic  authors  answer  to  the  specimens 
which  are  found  in  such  g-reat  abundance  in  England.*  It  is 
frequently  mentioned  by  Plautus  as  the  ordinary  ware  used  at 
table,  as  well  as  for  sacred  purposes.  Pliny  speaks  of  it  as 
being  in  common  use  for  the  festive  board ;  and  he  gives 
the  names  of  several  places  famous  for  their  pottery,  amonii" 
which  Arctium,  in  Italy,  holds  the  first  place.  Sarrentum, 
Asta,  and  Pollentia,  in  Italy,  Saguntum  in  Spain,  and  Perga- 
mus  in  Asia  Minor,  were,  as  we  learn  from  this  wiiter,  cele- 
brated for  the  manufacture  of  cups.  Tralleis  in  Lydia,  and 
Mutina  in  Italy,  were  also  eminent  for  manufactures  of  earthen- 
ware. The  manufactures  of  these  different  places  were  ex- 
ported to  distant  countries. f  Isidore  of  Seville,  at  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century  (he  died  in  610),  speaks  of  the  red  pottery 
made  at  Arctium  (tlie  modern  Arezzo)  which  he  calls  Aretine 
vases,  and  also  of  Samian  ware,  wath  an  expression  of  doubt  as 
to  the  exact  locality  w^hich  produced  the  latter ;  so  that  it  was 
probably  made  under  that  name  in  diflerent  parts  of  Roman 
Europe.  Modern  researches  at  Arezzo,  in  Italy,  have  not  only 
brought  to  light  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  Aretine  ware, 
but  also  the  remains  of  the  kilns  in  which  it  was  baked ;  and  a 
scholar  of  that  place,  A.  Eabroni,  has  published  a  book  on  the 
subject,  under  the  title  of  Storia  degli antlcJd  VasiJiUiUAret'mi. 
The  specimens  given  in  his  engravings  bear  a  general  resem- 
blance to  the  Samian  Avare  found  in  Britain,  and  there  are 
some  points  in  which  the  one  seems  to  be  imitated  from  the 
other,  yet  there  are  also  some  very  strongly  marked  circum- 
stances in  which  they  differ.  The  names  of  the  potters  are 
different,  and  they  are  marked  in  a  different  form  and  position 

*  Among  a  large  and  very  curious  collection  of  Grfeco-Roman  terra- 
cottas from  Lycia,  are  some  fragments  of  red  ware,  closely  resembling  what 
we  call  Samian  ware,  with  the  potter's  name,  in  Greek,  similarly  impress- 
ed. These  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Mayer  of  Liverpool.  Perhaps 
they  are  samples  of  pure  Samian  w^are. 

+  The  words  of  Pliny  {Hist.  Nat.,  lib.  xxxv.  c.  12)  are  as  follows  : 
'  Major  quoque  pars  hominum  terrenis  utitur  vasis.  Samia  etiamnum  in 
esculentis  laudantur.  Retinet  hanc  nobilitatem  et  Arctium  in  Italia  ;  et 
calicum  tantum  Surrentum,  Asta,  Pollenlia ;  in  Hispania,  Saguntum  ;  in 
Asia,  Pergainuiu.  Habent  et  Tralleis  opera  sua,  et  Mutina  in  Italia  ;  quo- 
niam  et  sic  gentes  nobilitantur.  Ha3c  quoque  per  niaria  terrasque  ultro 
citruque  purtantur,  insignibus  rota?  officinis  Erythris.' 


o 
C5 


CHAP.  VIII.]  SAMIAN   WAllK.  273 

on  Ihe  vessels  ;  the  red  of  the  Aretiiie  ware  is  of  a  deeper  shade, 
the  fig-ures  are  in  a  superior  style  of  art,  and  they  seem  to  be  of 
an  earlier  date. 

The  common  Samian  ware  is  of  an  extremely  delicate  texture, 
having  somewhat  the  appearance  of  fine  red  sealing-wax.  The 
vessels  composed  of  it  are  of  all  sizes  and  sliapes,  sometimes 
strong-,  but  more  frequently  thin,  and  consequently  very  fragile; 
and  it  is  only  under  favourable  circumstances  that  we  find  them 
unbroken.  The  frailty  of  the  pure  Samian  ware  appears,  in 
classical  times,  to  have  been  proverbial ;  when,  in  Plautus,  a 
person  is  desired  to  knock  gently,  he  exclaims,  in  surprise, 
'  You  seem  to  fear  that  the  door  is  made  of  Samian  ware.' 

M.  Placide  pulta.     P.  Metuis,  credo,  ne  fores  Samise  sient. — 

MciticcJim.,  1.  98, 

And,  on  another  occasion,  the  brittleness  of  Samian  ware  is 
directly  mentioned — 

Vide,  quaeso,  ne  quis  tractet  illam  indili^ens — 

Scis  tu,  ut  confringi  vas  cito  Samiuni  s(jlet. — Bacch.,  1.  166. 

It  is  by  no  means  unusual  to  find  bowls  and  paterae  of  the  ware 
of  which  we  are  speaking,  that  have  been  broken  by  their 
possessors  in  former  times,  and  subsequently  mended,  generally 
l)y  means  of  leaden,  but  sometimes  of  bronze,  rivets.  This 
shows  the  value  which  must  generally  have  been  set  upon  it. 

The  question  whether  this  so-called  Samian  ware  was  ever 
manufactured  in  Britain  has  given  rise  to  some  discussion  among 
antiquaries.  In  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  a  short  distance  from 
the  Kentish  coast  between  Eeculver  and  Margate,  is  a  spot 
known  popularly  by  the  name  of  the  Pan  Kock,  and  Pudding- 
pan  Sand,  because,  almost  from  time  immemorial,  the  fishermen 
in  dragging  there  have  been  accustomed  to  bring  up  pieces  of 
ancient  pottery,  and  not  unfrcquently  entire  vessels.  These 
are  chiefiy  of  the  fine  red  or  Samian  ware.  It  was  at  first 
supposed  that  these  marked  the  site  of  an  extensive  manufac- 
ture of  this  ware ;  but  other  writers  suggested  as  a  more 
probable  explanation  that  some  Roman  ships  laden  with  it,  per- 
haps from  the  potteries  on  the  Rhine,  had  been  wrecked  in  this 
place,  and  the  notion  that  it  was  the  site  of  a  pottery  seems  to 
be  abandoned.  More  recently,  fragments  of  this  ware  having 
been  picked  up  about  the  Upchurch  marshes,  I  believe  in  one 
or  two  spots  rather  plentifully,  it  has  been  supposed  that  it 
might  have  been  manufactured   there,   and  by  experiment  it 


274 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chat.  vrii. 


appeared  that  the  chiy  of  the  locality  was  capable  of  being 
made  into  similar  ware.  But  the  evidence  that  such  ware  was 
manufactured  there  appears  to  be  quite  insufficient ;  and  the 
opinion  g^enerally  received  among  antiquaries,  after  all  the  dis- 
cussion which  has  taken  place,  seems  to  be,  that  the  Samian 
ware  was  not  made  in  England,  but  that  it  was  imported  from 
the  continent. 

The  accompanying  engraving  represents   a  group  of  vessels 
of  Samian  ware  found  in  England ;  but  it  is  far  from  givini]^ 


Subiects  troni  Siiinian  ware. 


any  notion  of  the  great  variety  of  forms,  or  the  still  greater 
diversity  of  ornament,  which  they  present.  Many  of  the 
smaller  vessels  are  quite  plain,  or  are  merely  adorned  with  the 
ivy-leaf,  a  very  favourite  ornament  on  this  kind  of  ware.  The 
characteristic  moulding  is  the  festoon  and  tassel,  to  which  the 
somewhat  inappropriate  term  of  egg-and-tongue  border  has 
been  given.  The  subjects  represented  on  the  more  ornamental 
vessels  are  extremely  varied.  Many  of  them  are  groups  taken 
from  the  ancient  mythology,  such  as  the  labours  of  Hercules, 
the  amours  of  Jupiter,  Diana  surprised  by  Acta^on,  and  Actaeon 
attacked  by  his  dogs,  Apollo  and  Daphne,  and  figures  of  Venus 
and  other  personages  of  ancient  fable.  Many  of  the  figures 
and  groups  were  evidently  copied  from  some  of  the  well-known 
masterpieces  of  ancient  art;  thus  we  have  Jupiter  and  Leda, 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]  SAMIAN  rOTTERY.  275 

an  evident  imitation  of  a  celebrated  sculpture  at  Rome,  and  the 
fi»-ures  of  the  Farriese  Hercules,  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  and  the 
Venus  de  Medici,  are  often  repeated.  Some  represent  genii, 
Cupids  riding"  upon  marine  animals,  tritons,  grifhns,  and  other 
imaginary  beings :  others  again  represent  domestic  scenes, 
hunting  subjects,  gladiatorial  combats,  groups  of  musicians  and 
dancers,  and  subjects  of  a  still  more  miscellaneous  description. 
In  the  preceding  cut  are  given  three  samples  of  the  more  com- 
mon subjects — combats  of  gladiators  —  the  war  between  the 
pygmies  and  the  cranes — and  a  dancing  scene.  Another  series 
of  designs  comprises  scrolls  of  foliage,  fruits,  and  flowers,  ar- 
ranged in  different  manners,  and  always  with  great  elegance. 
A  multitude  of  the  Samian  vases  found  in  this  country,  as  well 
as  other  articles,  such  as  lamps,  bronzes,  and  even  knife-handles, 
represent  licentious  scenes  of  the  most  infamous  description. 
Prinking  vessels  of  this  class  are  alluded  to  by  Pliny ;  *  and 
tlieir  comparative  frequency  in  Britain,  shows  how  deeply  not 
only  the  manners  but  the  vices  of  Rome  had  been  planted  in 
this  distant  province. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  vessels  in  this  ware  have  the 
name  of  the  ])otter  stamped  in  a  label,  usually  at  the  bottom, 
in  the  inside,  but  sometimes,  especially  on  the  embossed  bowls, 
on  the  outside.  The  manner  in  which  the  label  is  stamped 
across  the  centre  of  the  vessel  is  shown  in  the  accompany- 
ing cut,  from  a  specimen  found  at  Wroxeter  (?7r/co;«w?;?).  In 
this  instance  the  reading  of  the  name  is  somewhat  obscure, 
fi'om  the  doubtful  character  of  the  two  letters  in  the  middle, 
which  may  either  be  ligatured  letters, 
each  standing  for  de,  or  merely  capricious 
forms  of  the  d.  In  the  former  case  it 
might  be  read  tededei.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  there  is  only  one  liga- 
ture, and  that  we  must  read  the  name  teddi.  The  name  is 
given  in  the  nominative  with  f  for  fecit,  or  in  the  genitive, 
with  o,  or  OF,  or  m,  for  officina  or  manu :  thus  sabinvs  f. 
Sabinus  fecit  (Sabinus  made  it),  amici  m.,  Jmici  manu 
(by  the  hand  of  Amicus),  of.  felic,  officina  Felicis  (from 
the  workshop  of  Pelix).  The  name  was  often  put  merely  in 
the  genitive  singular,  without  the  addition  of  of,  or  m,  as  in 

*  '  In  poculia  libidines  cnelare  juvit  ac  per  obscaenifates  hVoevc.'—TUn. 
Unt.  Nat.,  lib.  xxxiii.,  proa'iu.  '  Yasa  adulteriis  ccplata.'— i^.,  lib.  xiv. 
c.  22. 


276 


THE  ROMANS. 


[ciiAr.  viri. 


the  example  in  the  foregoing  cut.  These  names,  of  whicli 
long  lists  have  been  made,  are  many  of  them  Gaulish  and 
German,  and  they  seem  to  point  to  the  countries  from  whence 
this  class  of  pottery  was  derived.  In  fact,  potteries  of  the 
ware  we  term  Samian  have  been  found  in  Trance,  particularly 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  as  at  Brusche  (Bas-Rhin),  Lux- 
embourg, Saverne  (near  Strasburg),  and  e.specially  at  Rhein- 
zabern,  in  Bavaria.  In  these  places  not  only  have  the  potters' 
kilns  been  found,  but  the  moulds,  and  the  implements  for 
stamping   borders  and    names.     Tlie   annexed   cut  represents 


Potters'  stamps  from  Gaul. 

two  sucli  stamps,  from  potteries  discovered  at  Lezoux  in 
Auvergne.  One  has  been  used  for  stamping  the  pattern  so 
commonly  found  serving  as  a  sort  of  frieze  round  the  vessel ; 
the  other  the  stamp  of  the  potter's  name,  austri  .  of,  and  as 
this  name  occurs  on  the  Samian  ware  found  in  England,  it  fur- 
nishes at  least  one  proof  of  importation.  Some  of  the  moulds 
from  Rheinzabern  are  now  preserved  in  the  national  museum  in 
Paris.  These  are  earthenware  bowls,  with  the  figures  impressed 
on  the  inner  surface,  so  that  the  A^essel  when  formed  of  soft  clay, 
being  placed  in  the  mould  and  pressed  in  it,  took  the  figures  in 
relief,  and  when  dry  had  shrunk  sufficiently  to  be  taken  out. 
Sometimes  the  moulds  were  made  in  more  than  one  piece,  like 
our  moulds  for  plaster-of- Paris  casts,  but  this  was  only  when 


I 


CHAP.  Tin.]  OTHER  KINDS  OF  POTTERY.  277 

the  subjects  were  in  hi<j:lier  relief.  The  impressions  in  tlie 
moulds  seem  to  have  been  made  by  a  great  number  of  small 
stamps,  each  contaiuiup;  a  single  ornament,  or  a  single  figure  or 
group,  and  these  were  varied  continually  in  making  the  moulds. 
It  is  thus  that  we  see  the  same  figure  often  repeated  on  differ- 
ent examples  of  the  pottery  witli  totally  different  accompa- 
niments. This  also  explains  why  the  figures  on  the  pottery 
are  so  seldom  sharp  and  fresh  ;  in  the  course  of  making 
the  impressions  in  the  moulds  and  casting  from  them  the  im- 
j)ressiou  had  become  imperfect,  and  the  figures  look  often  like 
impressions  in  sealing-wax  rubbed  or  bruised.  The  clay  seems 
1o  have  received  its  redness  from  some  substance  mixed  up  with 
it,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  oxides  of  iron  and  lead. 
The  kilns  found  in  Prance  appear  to  have  borne  a  general  re- 
semblance to  those  discovered  by  Mr  Artis.  A  few  examples 
of  this  red  ware,  which  are  now  chiefly  in  the  collection  of  Mr 
Roach  Smith,  have  been  found  in  England,  exhibiting  a  much 
higher  degree  of  artistic  excellence,  the  figures  of  which  are  in 
higher  relief  than  the  others,  and  have  not  been  made  with  the 
pottery,  but  moulded  separately  and  then  attached  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  vessel.  This  class  of  pottery  is  very  rare.  The 
ware  found  in  these  foreign  potteries  is  identical  with  that 
which  our  anti([uaries  have  agreed  to  call  Samian  ware  in  Eng- 
1(1  nd,  it  evidently  came  from  the  same  moulds,  and  the  potters' 
names  are  the  same,  so  that  we  have  little  room  for  doubting 
tliat  it  was  im])orted  into  this  country.  I  believe,  however, 
that  Mr  Artis  discovered  in  the  Durobrivian  potteries  traces  of 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  imitate  the  foreign  red  ware,  and 
such  imitations  of  the  Samian  ware  have  been  found  among  the 
pottery  at  Wroxeter. 

On  this  last-mentioned  site,  the  Koman  city  of  Uriconium,  a 
considerable  quantity  of  different  sorts  of  pottery  have  been 
found,  uo  doubt  of  local  manufacture,  as  they  are  evidently 
made  from  the  clays  of  the  Severn  valley,  apparently  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Broseley.  Two  sorts,  especially,  are  found 
in  considerable  abundance,  the  one  white,  the  other  of  a  rather 
light  red  colour.  The  white  ware,  which  is  made  of  what  is 
commonly  called  Broseley  clay,  and  is  rather  coarse  in  texture, 
consists  chiefly  of  rather  handsomely-shaped  jugs,  of  different 
sizes,  the  general  form  of  which  is  represented  by  the  example 
given  in  the  accompanying  cut ;  of  mortaria,  differing  somewhat 
in  form  from  the  mortaria  found  on  Roman  sites  in  other  parts 
of  England,  and  of  which  a  fragment  of  one  is  also  given  in  our 


278 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  viti. 


cut ;  and  of  bowls  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  which  are  often 
painted   with  stripes  of  red  and  yellow.     The  red  Eomano- 


Romano- Salopian  Ware. — White.  Romano- Salopian  Ware. — Red. 

Salopian  ware  is  also  made  from  one  of  the  clays  of  the  valley 
of  the  Severn,  but  is  of  finer  texture,  and  consists  principally 
of  jugs  not  dissimilar  to  those  in  the  white  ware,  except  in  a 
very  different  form  of  mouth,  one  of  the  simplest  examples  of 
which  is  represented  in  our  cut,  and  of  bowl-shaped  vessels 
pierced  with  a  multitude  of  small  lioles,  which  have  no  doubt 
served  the  pm'pose  of  colanders. 

Among-  the  examples  of  pottery  found  in  exploring  Roman 
sites,  are  many  others  which  are  totally  dissimilar  to  the  ware 
made  in  the  great  potteries  at  Upchurch  and  Castor,  and  which 
were  probably  derived  from  other  potteries  in  Britain,  the  sites 
of  which  have  not  yet  been  ascertained.  Traces  of  potteries 
have  been  noticed,  I  believe,  in  Lincolnshire  and  in  several 
other  parts  of  England,  but  they  have  not  yet  been  explored. 
Some  of  the  examples  alluded  to  are  vt;ry  peculiar  in  character, 
and  of  very  rare  occurrence.  The  two  fragments  represented  in 
the  cut  on  the  next  page  were  found  at  Richborough  ;  but  I 
understand  that  similar  ware  has  been  found  in  one  of  the 
Roman  stations  in  Wales.  They  are  of  a  red  colour,  and  are 
stamped  with  the  ornament  which,  in  the  first  example,  is 
evidently  a  rude  copy  of  the  festoon  and  tassel  pattern  of  the 
Samian  ware.  The  lower  one  is  curious  for  its  resemblance  to 
the  ornamentation  of  the   Frankish  pottery,  which   we   shall 


CHAP,  vm.]         OTHER  KINDS  OF  POTTERY. 


279 


describe  furtlier  on.  Our  next  cut  represents  an  urn  found  at 
York ;  it  is  of  a  dusky  grey  colour,  with  a  very  singular  orna- 
ment in  relief,  which  may  be  described  as  a  frill  pattern,  and 
which  is  far  from  inelegant.     Two  or  three  samples  of  this  pot- 


Urn  from  York. 

Portcvy  from  Ricliborough. 

tery  may  be  seen  in  the  York  museum,  ])ut  it  appears  to  have 
been  found  nowhere  else,  and  came  probably  from  some  manu- 
factory in  Yorkshire  or  Lincolnshire. 

Other  potteries  produced  vessels  of  a  different  character,  in- 
tended for  other  purposes  than  those  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking.  Among  the  most  important  of  these  were  the 
amphorae,  or  wine  vessels.  They  are  of  large  dimensions,  and 
strongly  made,  usually  of  a  reddish  yellow  colour.  There  are 
two  distinct  forms  of  amphorae.  Some  are  long  arid  slender, 
and  very  elegantly  shaped.  The  two  examples  on  next  page, 
one  of  which  has  lost  its  neck  and  handles,  were  dug  up  at 
Mount  Bures,  near  Colchester.  The  other  form  of  amphorae 
is  nnich  more  spherical  in  shape,  and  is  therefore  more 
capacious.  These  are  shorter  in  the  neck  than  the  others. 
Both  sorts  were  pointed  at  the  bottom,  for  the  purpose,  it  is 
said,  of  fixing  them  in  the  earth  ;  one  of  our  examples,  however, 
has  a  knob.  Numerous  fragments  of  broken  amphorae  are 
gcnierally  foimd  in  the  rubbish-pits,  mentioned  in  a  former 
chapter ;  and  they  occur  so  abundantly  elsewhere,  that  we  can 


'im  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vm. 

hardly   doubt   their  being  made  in   the  potteries  in    Britain. 


Roman  Ampliora-. 

Another  class  of  domestic  earthenware  utensils  have  been  termed 
mortaria,  because  it  is  supposed  that  they  were  used  for  pound- 
iuo-  vegetables  and  other  soft  articles  for  the  kitchen  with  a 
pestle.  They  are  usually  made  of  yellow,  drab,  or  fawn-coloured 
clay,  and  the  surface  of  the  interior  is  often  studded  with  small 
siliceous  stones,  broken  quartz, 
and  scoria  of  iron,  no  doubt  to 
counteract  attrition.  The  one 
here  represented  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr  Koach  Smith,  and 
was  foimd  in  London.  It  is 
made  of  clay,  kneaded  with  a 
mixture  of  about  one-third  of 
tile,  broken  small,  and  it  is 
studded  with  small  white  siliceous  stones.  Other  examples  are 
shallower,  but  the  f^-eneral  form  is  the  same.  The  names  of  the 
potters  are  often  marked  on  tlie  amphorae  and  mortaria,  much 


A  Moiiiinuin. 


I 

1 


CHAP.  VIII.]        mCHBOIlOUGH  TERRA-COTTAS. 


281 


ill  the  same  way  as  on  tlie  Sainian  ware.  It  appears  froin  the 
researches  of  Mr  Artis,  that  inortaria  were  made  in  the  Duro- 
brivian  potteries. 

Before  we  leave  the  subject  of  pottery,  Ave  must  not  over- 
look one  class  of  vessels,  which,  tliongh  of  very  rare  occurrence 
ill  this  country,  are  of  peculiar  interest.  They  are  probably  of 
foreig-n  manufacture.  They  are  urns,  or  jugs,  ornamented  at 
the  mouth  with  heads,  usually  of  females.     The  two  examples 


Heads  of  Roman  Jars  from  Richborough  {Rutiqyice). 


given  in  our  cut  were  found  at  Eichborough.  Each  is  four 
inches  and  a  half  across,  so  that  they  have  belonged  to  large 
vessels.  They  are  of  brown  clay.  It  has  been  observed  that 
they  are  evidently  the  prototypes  of  a  class  of 
earthenware  vessels  which  were  popular  in  the 
mi(klle  ages.  The  rubbish-pits  of  Kichborough 
also  furnished  the  museum  of  Mr  Rolfe  of  Sand- 
wich with  some  broken  terra-cotta  statuettes, 
a  class  of  Homan  antiquities  which  are  now  ex- 
tremely rare.  The  Kichborough  terra-cottas 
\  \  l^^\M  ^^'<^'i"^  ^y  ^^o  means  of  a  low  style  of  execution, 
\  \  l\\  1  ^^  works  of  art,  but  they  were  unfortunately  all 
fragments.  A  portion  of  a  figure  of  Venus, 
represented  in  our  cut,  was  perhaps  the  best ; 
in  its  present  state  it  is  four  inches  high. 
These  statuettes  were  probably  imported  from 
Gaul.  A  manufactory  of  such  articles  was 
discovered  a  few  years  ago  near  the  village  of 
Heiligenberg,  about  three  miles  from  Mutzig, 
on  the  Rhine. 

Whenever  we  open   Roman  sites,  we  are  as- 
tonished at  the  quantities  of  pottery  which  lie  scattered  about, 

s 


Terra-Cotta 
from 
Richborough. 


282  THE  EOMAXS.  [chap.  viii. 

and  we  feel  convinced  that  this  article  must  have  formed  a  larg'e 
proportion  of  the  furniture  of  a  Roman  house.  It  was  used, 
indeed,  for  a  mucli  <iTeater  variety  of  purposes  than  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  and  we  find  many  proofs  that  earthenware  vases  were 
continually  employed  as  the  receptacles  of  money  and  of  a 
variety  of  little  articles,  which  we  should  lay  up  in  chests  and 
boxes,  or  in  baskets,  bags,  caskets,  or  work-boxes. 

There  was  another  manufacture  in  which  the  Romans  attained 
to  great  excellence,  that  of  glass,  and  we  are  struck  not  only 
Avitli  the  extraordinary  beauty,  but  with  the  endless  variety  of 
the  samples  that  are  continually  found  on  Roman  sites.  All 
our  readers  will  be  familiar  with  the  old  story  of  the  accidental 
discovery  of  glass-making  by  the  merchants  who  lit  their  fires 
upon  the  sands  of  the  river  Belus  on  the  coast  of  Syria.  Pliny 
gives  a  brief  account  of  the  manufacture  of  glass  in  his  time, 
from  which  we  gather  that  the  great  glass  furnaces  were  gener- 
ally established  on  the  sea-coast,  where  a  fine  sand  was  found 
adapted  to  the  purpose.  In  these  manufactories  the  glass  was 
made  in  lumps,  in  which  form  it  was  distributed  to  the  work- 
shops of  the  workers  in  glass,  who  melted  the  lumps  as  they 
wanted  them,  and  it  was  then  coloured  and  formed  into  bottles, 
vessels,  and  other  articles,  sometimes  by  blowing,  at  other 
times  by  grinding  on  awheel  or  lathe,  and  at  others  by  emboss- 
ing or  casting  in  a  mould.*  Pliny  goes  on  to  tell  us  that  the 
working  of  glass  was  carried  to  such  a  perfection  in  Rome  that 
the  emperor  Tiberius  put  a  stop  to  it,  lest  the  precious  metals 
should  be  thrown  into  discredit.  Sidon  was  the  site  of  tlie 
great  glass-works  of  antiquity,  but  the  most  celebrated  estab- 
lishment of  the  Romans  was  that  situated  on  the  coast  between 
Cumse  and  Lucrinum.  In  the  time  of  Pliny,  glass  manufac- 
tories had  been  established  on  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Gaul.f 

I  have  always  believed,  from  the  quantity  of  Roman  glass 
that  is  found  in  this  island,  that  we  should  some  day  trace 
the  existence  of  Roman  glass  manufactoiies  in  Britain,  and 
it  is  naturally  to  the  coast  that  we  must  look  for  them.  But 
I  was  not  aware  that  anything  of  the  sort  had  yet  been  ob- 
served, until  I  was  informed  by  my  friend,  Augustus  Guest, 
Esq.,  LL.D.,  of  a  very  curious  discovery  he  had  made  on  the 

*  Continuis  fornacibus  ut  jbs  liqnatur,  niassseque  fiunt  colore  pingui 
nigricantes.  Ex  iiiassis  rursus  fuuditur  in  officinis,  tingiturque,  et  aliud 
flatu  figuratur,  aliud  torno  teritur,  aliud  argenti  inodo  ccelatur. — Plin. 
Hist.  Nat.,  lib.  XXX vi   c.  26. 

t  Jaui  vero  et  per  Gallias  Hispaniasque  simili  niodo  arenas  temperantur. 


CKAP.  VIII.]  THE  GLASS  MANUFACTURE. 


283 


coast  at  Eri^liton,  tlic  sand  of  wliich  I  am  told  is  extremely 
well  calculated  for  the  manufacture  of  this  article.  Dr  Guest 
told  me  that  in  1848,  as  he  was  searcliing  along  the  shore  for 
specimens  of  agates,  he  picked  up,  on  that  portion  of  it  ex- 
tending from  opposite  Kemptown  towards  Rotting  or  Rotten 
Dean,  several  pieces  of  what,  in  consequence  of  the  attrition  to 
which  it  had  been  subjected,  appeared,  on  placing  them  before 
a  strong  light,  to  be  coloured  pebbles ;  but  on  taking  them 
to  an  intelligent  lapidary  in  the  town,  he  at  once  recognised 
them  as  pieces  of  glass,  of  which,  after  a  lieavy  sea,  he  occa- 
sionally found  considerable  quantities.  He  produced  several 
large  pieces,  the  colours  of  which  were  amethyst,  amber, 
emerald  green,  and  deep  maroon,  the  latter  colour  being  the 
rarest.  The  lapidary  was  accustomed  to  cut  and  polish  small 
sections  of  the  glass,  and  to  apply  them  to  ornamental  pur- 
poses, as  brooches,  &c.  The  largest  piece  shown  to  Dr  Guest 
was  about  double  the  size  of  a  man's  fist;  it  was  of  an  amber 
colour,  and  much  encrusted  by  marine  insects.  A  large  portion 
of  the  cliff  on  this  spot  has  evidently  given  way  under  the 
action  of  the  sea,  which  has  here  encroached  considerably  on 
the  land,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  one  of  the  slips  common 
in  the  chalk  formation  has  at  some  distant  period  carried  away 
v,'ith  it  the  remains  of  one  of  the  Romano-British  glass  manu- 
factories. The  fragments  cast  upon  the  shore  are  no  doubt 
parts  of  the  lumps  (massce)  of  the  material  which  were  sent 
awav  hence  to  the  glass-workers  in  the  greater  towns  throuo'h 
the  island.  Pliny  seems  to  intimate  that  the  mass  of  glass  thus 
sent  out  was  colourless,  and  that  it  was  coloured  by  the  glass- 
workers,  but  it  seems  here  to  have  been  made  in  coloured 
masses,  to  be  still  more  ready  for  use. 

From  the  brittle  character  of  the  material,  glass  vessels  are 
found    in   a   perfect    state   much  more  seldom  than  pottery ; 


Koman  Glass  Vessels, 
indeed,  perfect  specimens  are  rarely  found,  except  in  sepulchral 


284 


THE  ROMAXS. 


[chap.   VIII. 


interments,  where  tlit^y  have  been  intentionally  protected.  The 
shapes  and  uses  of  vessels  of  o-lass  were  evidently  very  numer- 
ous, and  one  or  two  only  of  the  forms  more  worthy  of  notice 
are  given  in  the  accompanying  cut.  The  two  vessels  to  the 
left  are -those  usually  found,  with  calcined  bones,  in  Eoman 
sepulchres,  .  They  are  generally  of  green  glass.  The  three 
smaller  ones  to  the  right  are  also  frequently  found  in  sepulchres, 
and  are  usually  termed  lachrymatories,  from  the  somewhat 
romantic  notion  that  they  were  filled  with  the  tears  of  the 
mourners;  the  received  opinion  among  antiquaries  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  is  that  they  contained  the  unguents  and  aromatics 
which  it  was  usual  to  depose  with  the  dead.  The  jug  in  the 
middle  exhibits  one  of  the  simpler  forms  of  the  embossed  orna- 
ments on  the  moulded  glass.  Some  of  these  are  elaborate  and 
beautiful,  and  woidd  present  difficulties  even  to  the  modern 
glass-makers.  This  is  said  to  be  especially  the  case  with  a 
class  of  round  cups  or  bowls,  which  are  by  no  means  uncommon 
in  green,  blue,  and  mixed  colours,  and  which  are  ornamented 
with  projecting  pillars.  This  pillar-moulding  was  considered 
to  be  one  of  the  great  inventions  in  modern  glass-making,  and 
it  was  not  supposed  among  glass-workers  that  it  was  a  mere 
revival  of  an  ornament  common  among  the  Romans.  The  cups 
alluded  to  are  nearly  all  of  the  same  form,  and  would  be 
described   now   as    sugar-basins,  though   they    were   probably 


Part  of  a  Roman  Glass  Bowl  or  Cup. 

drinking  cups.     The  annexed  cut  represents  a  fragment  of  one 

of  th^se  cups,  given  by  Mr  Roach  Smith  from  the  excavations 

at  Richborough ;  it  is  here  engraved  the  full  size  of  the  original. 

In  some  instances  the  embossed  ornaments  were  much  more 

•elaborate,  and,  as  on  the   ornamental  pottery,  it  extended    to 


CHAP,  viii.]    EMBOSSED  AND  FIGURED  GLASS. 


285 


fig-ures  and  to  inscriptions.  This  figured  glass  ware  is,  how- 
ever, rare,  and  was  no  doubt  precious.  Mr  Eoacli  Sniitli  has 
pubHslied  in  Ids  '  Collectanea '  a  fragment  of  a  very  remark- 
able cup  in  green  glass,  found  in  tlie  Roman  villa  at  Hartlip  in 


Roman  embossed  Glass  Cup,  from  Hartlip,  Kent 

Kent.  It  is  here  given,  from  his  book,  about  half  the  actual 
size,  the  thin  lines  indicatmg  the  form  of  the  vessel  whei' 
entire.  The  subjects  represented  upon  it  are  chariot  racing 
and  gladiatorial  combats,  with  the  names  of  the  charioteers 
and  combatants.  The  figures  are  in  the  original  somewhat 
indistinct,  and  the  letters  so  faint,  that  it  is  questionable  if 
tliey  are  all  given  correctly.  Mr  Smith  possessed,  in  his 
museum,  two  simihir  fragments,  found  in  London,  one  of  which 
is  identical  with  the  Hartlip  fragment  in  its  design,  and  appears 
to  be  from  the  same  mould ;  the  other  is  from  a  vessel  of  a 
different  shape,  and  has  a  quadriga  in  bas-relief.  We  have 
before  had  occasion  to  observe  how  popular  gladiatorial  subjects 
and  the  gam(;s  of  the  circus  were  among  the  Roman  inhabitants 
of  this  island,  and  how  often  we  find  them  represented  on  the 
pottery  as  well  as  on  the  glass.  In  the  Hartlip  glass  the 
charioteer  has  just  reached  the  goal,  which  is  marked  by  three 
conical  columns  of  Avood  raised  upon  a  base.  This  was  the 
asual  form  of  the  vietcs,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  assumed  as 
the  imitation  of  the  form  of  a  cypress  tree  : — 

'  Metasque  imitata  cupi'essus,' 


286  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  viii. 

says  Ovid  (Metnmorph.  lib.  x.  1.  106).  The  names  here  given 
to  the  charioteers  and  coinl)atants  are  probably  mei'e  conven- 
tional appellations.  A  series  of  gladiatorial  snbjects  are  sculp- 
tnred  on  one  of  the  tombs  of  Pompeii,  with  names  attached  to 
them  in  a  similar  manner,  although  in  this  instance  they  appear 
to  have  beim  the  real  names  of  the  individuals  represented. 
The  charioteer  is  here  driving  the  biga ;  in  the  other  example 
of  embossed  glass  in  the  possession  of  Mr  lloach  Smith,  he 
rides,  as  we  have  stated,  the  quadriga.  It  no  doubt  formed 
j^art  of  a  scene  from  the  cii'cus.  Embossed  glass  vessels  of  this 
description  are  of  the  utmost  rarity,  and  I  am  not  aware  of  the 
existence  of  any  other  examples  in  this  country. 

Drinking-cups,  with  inscriptions,  are  found  not  unfrequently. 
It  was  a  trait  of  Eoman  sentiment,  both  on  the  continent  and 
in  Britain,  to  accompany  familiar  or  domestic  occupations  with 
invocations  of  happiness  or  good  fortune  upon  those  who  took 
part  in  them,  and  this  seems  to  have  been  especially  the  case  in 
their  convivial  entertainments.  Cups  have  been  found  with 
such  inscriptions  as  bibe  feliciter  (drink  with  good  luck  !), 
or  BiBE  VT  VIVAS  (drink  that  you  may  live !),  or  again,  vivas 
BiBERE  (may  you  live  to  drink!).  An  analogous  drinking 
formula  was  preserved  in  the  middle  ages,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
7vcds  heel  (be  thou  in  health  !).  Mr  lloach  Smith,  in  his 
'  Collectanea,'  has  given  samples  of  cups  in  red  pottery  with 
inscriptions  in  white  letters,  such  as  ave  (hail !),  vivas  (may 
you  live!),  bibe  (drink),  imple  (fill).  In  excavations  on  the 
site  of  the  Roman  villa  at  Ickleton,  in  Essex,  Lord  Braybrooke 
found  a  fragment  of  a  drinking-cup  of  fine  earthenware,  with 
an  inscription,  inscribed  with  a  stilus,  or  some  sharp  instru- 
ment, of  which  there  remained  the  letters  camicibibvn,  no 
doubt  part  of  the  words  ex  hoc  amlci  blbunt  (out  of  this  cup 
friends  drink).  Among  fragments  picked  up  in  a  Eoman,  and 
subsequent  Saxon,  cemetery,  near  Holme  Pierrepoint,  in  Not- 
tinghamshire, was  part  of  a  small  cup  of  thin  yellow  glass,  with 
a  portion  of  a  raised  inscription  (of  which  the  word  semper 
only  remained),  above  the  figure  of  a  bird.  Tiie  figures  in  this 
and  most  similar  articles  are  rather  rude,  but  there  are  speci- 
mens in  which  the  execution  shows  not  only  a  high  feeling  of 
art,  but  also  an  extraordinary  skill  in  manipulation  on  the  part 
of  the  workman.  The  cut  annexed  represents  the  base  of  a 
handle  to  a  vase,  of  fine  blue  glass,  representing  the  head  of  a 
female,  in  very  high  relief.  It  was  dug  up  in  Leadenhall- 
street,  in  London,  and  is  now  in  the  collection  of  Lord  Lou- 


I 


CHAP.   VIII.] 


GLASS  BEADS. 


287 


desborough.  Mr  lloacti  Smith  possessed  a  similar  fragment 
in  green  glass,  but  of  still  finer  execution,  also  found  in 
London. 

The  skill  of  the  Roman  glass-workers,  in  the  manipulation 

of  their  art,  is  shown  still  more 
remarkably  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  fused  into  each  other  pieces  of 
glass  of  different  colours,  so  as  to  form 
the  most  elegant  and  tasteful  patterns. 
This  art  was  displayed  especially  in 
the  manufacture  of  glass  beads,  which 
are  found  in  considerable  quantities 
on  Roman  sites  in  this  country. 
They  present  so  many  varieties  in 
form  and  colour,  that  it  would  be 
impossible  here  to  give  any  descrip- 
tion that  could  include  them  all ; 
yet  there  are  a  certain  number  of 
types  which  occur  more  frequently 
than  others,  and  I  will  give  a 
f(nv  of  these  which  have  sometimes  been  misappropriated. 
The  large  bead  to  the  left  in  the  accompanying  group  is 
one  of  common  occurrence,  and  it  and  some  other  Roman 
beads  of  different  forms  have  been  fancifully  and  very  erro- 
neously termed  druids'  beads.  They  are  sometimes  found 
of  a  large  size,  twice  or  even  thrice   the  size  of  the  one  in 


Embossed  Glass. 


Roman  Glass  Beads. 

our  cut.     The  most  common  forms  of  Roman  glass  beads  are 
slight  variations  of  the  upper  figure  to  the  right,  which  are 


288 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  viri. 


executed  in  g'lass  of  different  colours,  tliougli  most  commonly 
blue,  sometimes  very  lig'lit,  at  others  of  a  deep  shade,  and 
sometimes  of  a  material  that  has  been  only  imperfectly  vitrified. 
The  other  bead,  in  which  a  serpentine  ornament  is  infused 
into  the  glass,  was  found  among  the  ruins  of  Cilurnum  in 
Northumberland.  In  many  of  these  beads  of  compound  colours, 
the  shades  are  exquisitely  blended  together.  Our  second  cut 
represents  a  bead  and  a  button,  both  of  glass,  found  at  Eich- 
borough.   The  bead  is  of  blue  glass,  with  white  enamel ;  tlie  body 


Roman  Glass  Bead  and  Button. 

of  the  button  is  dark  blue,  Avith  the  central  dot  red,  and  the 
other  four  light  blue.  Mr  Smith  informs  us  that  a  considerable 
number  of  such  buttons,  but  chiefly  in  plain  white  and  blue 
glass,  have  been  found  with  sepulchral  remains  on  the  site  of  a 
Roman  burial-ground  near  Boulogne. 

Extensive  traces  of  the  manufacture  of  personal  ornaments 
from  another  material  have  been  discovered  in  Britain.  This 
material  was  what  the  Romans  seem  to  have  designated  by  the 
name  o^  gagates,  or  jet,  and  Avhich  is  now  popularl\  called  in  the 
different  localities  where  it  is  found.  Kennel  coal  and  Kim- 
meridge  coal.  In  our  own  time  Kennel  coal  has  been  exten- 
sively used  in  the  manufacture  of  ornamental  vases,  turned  on  the 
lathe,  and  other  such  articles.  The  articles  in  jet  of  the  Romans 
in  Britain  were  also  made  on  the  lathe,  and  consisted  chiefly  of 
rings,  armlets,  beads,  buttons,  and  similar  ornaments,  and,  as 
I  have  just  said,  the  traces  of  the  manufactories  in  one  district 
have  been  discovered.  In  the  wildest  and  least  frequented 
part  of  the  isle  of  Purbeck,  on  the  coast  of  Dorset,  are  two 
small  secluded  valleys,  opening  to  the  sea  into  what  are  termed 
the  Kimmeridge  and  Worthbarrow  bays,  and  divided  by  an 
intervening  ridge  of  consideraole  elevation.  The  soil  of  these 
valleys,  laid  out  from  time  immemorinl  in  uninclosed  pastures, 
has  never  been  disturbed  by  the  Dlough share,  and  when  for  any 
accidental  purpose  it  is  dug,  at  a  tew  inches  under  the  surface 
are  fouml  great  numbers  of  small,  round,  and  flat  pieces  of 
a  mineral  substance,  found  in  extensive  beds  on  this  part  of  the 
coast,  and  known  by  the  name  of  Kimmeridge  coal.     It  is  a 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KIMMERIDGE  COAL.  280 

bituminous  shale,  wliich  burns  freely,  with  a  white  ash  and 
slaty  residue,  ditt'iising"  a  disagreeable  bituminous  odoiu*,  in  this 
respect  answering  to  Pliny's  description  of  the  gagates.  The 
round  pieces  found  in  such  abundance  in  these  localities  are 
generally  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch  thick,  and  from  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  to  two  inches  and  a  half  in  diameter, 
with  bevelled  and  moulded  edges,  and  having  on  one  side  two, 
three,  or  four  round  holes,  and  on  the  other  side  a  small  pivot 
hole.  In  a  few  instances  these  round  holes  are  absent,  and  the 
pieces  are  wholly  perforated  with  a  single  central  square  hole. 

A  single  glance  at  these  articles  is  sufficient  to  convince  any 
one  acquainted  with  the  use  of  the  lathe,  that  they  are  simply 
the  refuse  pieces  of  the  turner,  the  nuclei  of  rings  and  otlier 
articles  formed  by  his  art.  The  round  holes  were  evidently 
made  to  attach  the  piece  of  material  on  the  point  of  the  chuck  ; 
and  the  square  one  was  for  fixing  it  on  a  small  square  mandril- 
head  ;  circumstances,  it  has  been  observed,  which  prove  that 
the  people  who  made  these  articles  were  well  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  the  lathe,  not  in  its  primitive  rude  form,  but  as  an  im- 
proved and,  in  some  degree,  perfected  instrument.  Much 
irregularity  is  obsei-vable  in  the  number  of  the  holes.  The 
greater  number  hitherto  found  have  two  holes ;  while  pieces 
with  four  holes  are  rare,  and  generally  of  a  small  size.  Frag- 
ments of  the  raw  material  are  frequently  found  mixed  with 
these  round  pieces.  Some  of  these  show  the  marks  of  cutting- 
tools,  as  if  prepared  for  the  lathe,  whilst  the  shale,  being  fresh 
from  the  quarry,  was  comparatively  soft.  Others  exhibit  lines, 
angles,  circles,  and  other  tigures,  drawn  with  mathematical 
accuracy,  the  central  point,  in  which  one  leg  of  the  compasses 
was  inserted,  being  often  visible.  Pieces  of  rings  of  the  same 
material,  and  sometimes  a  perfect  ring,  are  also  found  scattered 
about ;  so  that  we  cannot  have  the  least  doubt  that  here  existed 
once  an  extensive  manufactory  of  this  material.  Fragments  of 
Roman  pottery,  mixed  here  and  there  with  these  remains,  fix 
the  date  to  which  they  belong.  Yet,  with  all  these  facts  before 
them,  our  antiquaries  of  the  old  school  have  remained  blind  to 
their  real  character,  and  it  was  gravely  conjectured,  and  even 
asserted,  that  these  refuse  pieces  from  the  Roman  lathe  had 
been  manufactured  to  serve  the  purposes  of  money  by  Pha>- 
nician  traders,  who  c.une  in  the  remote  ages  of  the  world  to 
trade  with  the  primeval  Celts.* 

*  The  real  character  of  these  remains  was,  I  believe,  first  pointed  out  hy 
the  late  Mi  Sydenham,  a  gentleman  known  to  antiquaries  by  his  contribu- 


290  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  viii. 

Articles  of  this  material  seem  to  have  had  a  peculiar  value 
from  the  circumstance  that  it  was  supposed,  as  Ave  are  told  by 
Pliny,  to  possess  the  virtue  of  driving-  aAvay  serpents.  Probably 
future  discoveries  will  bring  to  light  similar  manufactories  in 
other  parts  of  the  island,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  con- 
tinued to  exist  through  the  earlier  Anglo-Saxon  period.  Bede 
describes  i\\e  gagates  as  being  in  his  time  an  important  produc- 
tion of  Britain,  and  he  speaks  of  its  quality,  when  burnt,  of 
driving  away  serpents,  and  tells  us  how,  when  warmed  with 
rubbing,  it  has  the  same  attractive  quality  as  amber.*  In' 
interments,  chiefly  of  the  Eomnn  period,  and  on  Roman  sites, 
rings,  and  other  articles,  of  the  Kimmeridge  and  Kennel  coal 
liave  been  found. 

The  Romans  were  more  attentive  to  the  utility  of  the  mineral 
productions  of  our  island  than  we  are  accustomed  to  suppose. 
There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  they  knew  the  use  of  mineral 
coals,  and  that  they  employed  them,  but  they  ordy  obtained 
them  where  the  coal-bed  was  near  the  surface,  and  the  coal  was 
probably  burnt  chiefly  in  the  district  where  it  was  found. 
Mineral  coal  has  been  supposed  to  be  referred  to  by  Solinus, 
when  he  tells  us  that  Minerva  was  the  patron  of  the  warm 
springs  in  Britain,  alluding  apparently  to  Bath,  and  that  th<^ 
fire  that  burnt  on  her  altars  did  not  fall  into  white  ashes,  but 
as  the  fire  wasted  away  it  turned  into  stony  globules. f  A 
more  unequivocal  proof  of  the  use  of  this  fuel  is,  however, 
furnished  by  the  fact  that  the  cinders  of  mineral  coal  have  been 
not  unfrequently  found  in  the  fire-places  of  Roman  houses  and 
villas  in  diftereut  parts  of  the  island.  It  is  found  abundantly 
among  the  fire-places  of  the  hypocausts  of  the  buildings  of 
Roman  Uriconium,  at  Wroxeter.  Mr  Bruce  assures  us  that 
in  nearly  all  the  stations  on  the  line  of  the  wall  of  Hadrian, 
'  the  ashes  of  mineral  fuel  have  been  found ;  in  some,  a  store 


tions  to  the  Archaeologia  on  Dorsetshire  barrows.  The  notion  of  their  being 
made  by  Phoenician  merchants,  to  represent  money,  and  of  t  eir  being- 
used  also  in  the  religious  worship  of  the  natives  of  Britain,  was  set  forth, 
among  others,  by  Mr  Miles,  in  an  appendix  to  the  account  of  the  Deverill 
barrow. 

*  Gignit  et  lapidem  gagatem  plurimum  optimumque;  est  autem  nigro- 
gemmeus  et  ardens  igni  admotus  ;  incensus  serpentes  fugat,  attritu  cale- 
ifactus  applicita  detinet  aique  ut  succinum. — Bede,  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  i,  c.  1. 
It  niust  be  stated  that  Bede's  account  is  taken  almost  literally  from 
Solinus. 

f  Quibus  fontibus  praesul  est  Minervse  numen,  in  cujus  aede  perpetui 
ignes  nunquam  canescunt  in  favillas,  sed  ubi  ignis  tabuit,  vertit  in  globo8 
saxeos. — Holini  Fohjhist.,  c.  22. 


1 


CHAP.  VIII.]  METALS  OF  BRITAIN.  291 

of  un consumed  coal  has  been  met  with,  which,  thonj^h  intended 
to  g'ive  warmth  to  the  primeval  occupants  of  the  isthnms,  has 
been  burnt  in  the  g^i-ates  of  the  modern  Eng-lish.  In  several 
places  the  source  whence  the  mineral  was  procured  can  be 
pointed  out ;  but  the  most  extensive  workino;s  that  I  have  heard 
of  are  in  the  neig-hbourhood  of  Grindon  Lough,  near  Sewing- 
sliields.  Not  long  ago  a  shaft  was  sunk,  with  the  view  of 
procuring  the  coal  which  was  supposed  to  be  below  the  surface ; 
the  projector  soon  found  that,  though  coal  had  been  there,  it 
was  all  removed.  The  ancient  workings  stretched  beneath  the 
bed  of  the  lake.' 

The  metals  of  Britain  formed,  we  know,  the  great  proportion 
of  its  exports,  under  the  Roman  occupation.  They  consisted 
chiefly  of  iron,  lead,  tin,  and  copper.  Round  pigs  of  the  last- 
mentioned  metal,  belonging  to  the  Roman  period,  have  been 
found  in  Wales,  whence,  and  from  Cornwall,  the  Romans  derived 
their  chief  supply.  One  of  these,  still  preserved  at  Mostyn 
Hall,  in  the  county  of  Flint,  bears  the  inscription  socio  romae, 
which  has  not  been  satisfactorily  explained.  Iron  was  obtained 
by  the  Romans  in  vast  quantities  from  various  parts  of  the 
island,  though  the  principal  Roman  iron-works  were  in  the 
wooded  district  of  the  country  of  the  Silures,  now  called  the 
Porest  of  Dean,  and  in  the  extensive  forest  of  Anderida,  forming 
the  modern  weald  of  Sussex  and  Kent.  Traces  of  the  Roman 
occupation  are  found  abimdantly  in  both  these  districts.  In 
various  places  in  Sussex,  as  in  the  parishes  of  Maresfield,  Sedles- 
combe,  and  Westfield,  immense  masses  of  ancient  iron  scoriae, 
or  slag,  are  found.  At  Oaklands,  in  Sedlescombe,  there  is  a 
mass  of  very  considerable  extent,  w  hich,  on  being  cut  into  for 
materials  for  road-making,  was  ascertained  to  be  not  less  than 
twenty  feet  deep.  The  period  to  which  they  belong  is  proved, 
by  the  frequent  discovery  of  Roman  coins  and  pottery  inter- 
mixed with  the  cinders.  At  Maresfield,  especially,  the  frag- 
ments of  Roman  pottery  and  other  articles  are  so  abundant, 
that,  as  we  are  informed  by  Mr  M.  A.  Lower,  of  Lewes,  who 
first  laid  these  facts  before  tlie  ])ublic,  when  one  of  these  cin- 
der-beds was  removed,  scarcely  a  barrow-load  of  cinders  could 
be  examined  without  exhibiting  several  fragments.  The  mate- 
rial for  the  Roman  furnaces  was  the  clay  ironstone,  from  the 
beds  between  the  chalk  and  oolite  of  this  district,  which  is 
found  in  nodular  concretions,  consisting  often  of  an  outer  shell 
of  iron  ore,  with  a  nucleus  of  sand.  These  are  found  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  liomans  dug  small  pits  from 


V 


-I 


292  THE  ROMAXS.  [chap.  vri. 

wliicli  they  extracted  these  nodules,  and  cavried  them  to  the 
furnaces,  Avhich  stood  in  the  immediate  vicinity.     These  p.'ts 
are  still  found  in  considerable  groups,  covered  almost  always 
with  a  thick  wood,  and  the  discovery  of  pottery,  &c.,  leaves  ns 
no  room  to  doubt  that  they  are  Roman  works.     Large  as  the 
Sussex  works  seem  to  have  been,  those  in  the  Forest  of  Dean, 
and  more  especially   along  the  banks  of  the  Wye,  appear  to 
have  been  much  more  extensive.     Hei'e  the  ground  for  miles 
rests  upon  one  immense  continuous  bed  of  iron  cinders,  the 
antiquity   of  which  is    proved  by  the    occasional  discovery  of 
lloman  coins  and  other  remains,  with  unmistakeable  traces  of 
Roman  settlements.     The  ore  is  here  of  a  much  richer  descrip- 
tion, and  lies  in  veins  at  no  great  depth  under  the  ground. 
The  Romans  sank  a  large  pit  until  they  came  to  the  vein  of 
metal,  vvliich  they  then  followed  in  its  course,  and  thus  exca- 
vated caverns  and  chambers  under-ground,  extending  often  to 
some  hun(h"ed  feet.     In  the  neighbourhood  of  Coleford  these 
ancient  excavations  are  called  Scowles — a  term  of  which  tlie 
derivation  is  not  very  evident.     They   are  often  looked  upon 
with  a  superstitious  feeling,  and  have  received  names  from  it. 
Thus,  in  a  hill   on   the  banks  of  the  Wye,   called  the  Great 
Doward,  is  an  extensive  Roman  iron  mine,  popidarly  called 
'  King  Arthur's  Hall,'  at  the  bottom  of  which  tradition  says  a 
chest  of  treasure  is  concealed.     In  this  district  the  river  Wye 
formed  a  convenient  medium  of  transport,  and  either  the  pure 
ore,  or  the  iron  in  its  first  rough   state,  was  carried  up  the 
Severn    as    high  at   least   as  the  present    city   of   Worcestei", 
where  large   beds  of   iron  scorise  with  Roman   remains    have 
been  discovered.     AVe  have  already  quoted  a  tradition  which 
describes    the    Roman    Alauna     {Alceder,    in    Warwickshire) 
as  a  town  of  iron-workers.     Traces  of  Roman  iron-works  are 
met  with  in  various  other  parts  of   Britain.     Large  beds   of 
cinders,  or,  as  they  are  technically   termed,  slag,  mixed  with 
Roman  remains,  have  been  found  in   Northinnberland  and,  I 
understand,  in  Yorksliire. 

The  process  of  smelting  among  the  Romans  appears  to  have 
been  simple  and  imperfect.  The  fuel  used  was  charcoal,  pieces 
of  which  are  often  found  impressed  in  the  cinders.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  layers  of  iron  ore,  broken  up,  and  charcoal,  mixed 
Avith  lime-stone  as  a  flux,  were  piled  together,  and  inclosed  in 
a  wall  and  covering  of  clay,  with  holes  at  the  bottom  for  letting 
in  the  draught,  and  allowing  the  melted  metal  to  run  out.  For 
this   purpose   they    were   usually    placed   on   sloping   ground. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       TROCESS  OF  SMELTING  IRON.  293 

Kude  bellows  wore  perhaps  used,  worked  by  dififerent  con- 
trivances.* In  Sussex,  and  in  the  Forest  of  Dean,  tliey  appear 
to  have  been  worked  by  means  of  water,  at  least  in  some  of  the 
streams  in  those  districts  remains  of  ancient  tanks  are  founrl, 
which  are  supposed  to  have  been  made  to  collect  the  water  for 
that  purpose.  Mr  Bruce,  in  his  account  of  the  '  Roman  Wall,' 
lias  pointed  out  a  very  curious  contrivance  for  producing-  a 
blast  in  the  furnaces  of  the  extensive  Roman  iron-works  in 
the  neig-hbourhood  of  Epiacum  {Lanclteder).  A  part  of  the 
valley,  rendered  barren  by  the  heaps  of  slightly  covered  cinders, 
had  never  been  cultivated  till  very  recent  times.  '  During-  the 
operation  of  bringing  this  common  into  cultivation,'  Mr  Bruce 
says,  '  the  method  adopted  by  the  Romans  of  producing  the 
blast  necessary  to  sm(;lt  the  metal  was  made  apparent.  Two 
tunnels  had  been  formed  in  the  side  of  a  lull ;  they  were  wide 
at  one  extremity,  but  tapered  oft"  to  a  narrow  bore  at  the  other, 
where  they  met  in  a  point.  The  mouths  of  the  channels  open- 
ed towards  the  west,  from  which  quarter  a  prevalent  wind 
blows  in  this  valley,  and  sometimes  Avith  great  violence.  The 
blast  received  by  them  would,  when  the  wind  was  high,  be 
poured  with  considerable  force  and  eftect  upon  the  smelting 
furnaces  at  the  extremity  of  the  tunnels.' 

Any  one  who  takes  one  of  these  ancient  cinders  in  his  hand, 
will  be  at  once  convinced  by  its  weight  how  imperfect  had  been 
the  process  of  smelting,  and  how  much  metal  still  remains  in 

*  This  primitive  mode  of  smelting  is  still  in  use  amono-  some  peoples 
imacquainted  with  the  improvements  of  civilized  nations.  We  are  told  by 
the  early  Spanish  writers,  that  the  Peruvians  built  their  furnaces  for 
smeltinji-  silver  on  eminences  where  the  air  was  freest ;  they  were  perforated 
on  all  sides  with  holes,  throug-h  which  the  air  was  driven  when  the  wind, 
blew,  which  was  the  only  time  when  the  work  could  be  carried  on,  and 
under  each  hole  was  made  a  projection  of  the  stonework,  on  which  was  laid 
burning  coals  to  heat  the  air  before  it  entered  the  furnace. 

The  smelting  furnaces  fur  iron  in  the  Himmaleh  mountains  of  Central 
Asia  are  described  as  follows  ; — A  chinmey  is  built  of  clay,  about  four  feet 
and  a  half  high,  by  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  upon  a  stage  of 
stonework,  over  a  fire-place.  In  an  opening  below  the  stage  there  is  a  hole, 
through  which  the  metal  when  melted  flows,  and  this  is  stopped  with  clay 
or  earth,  easily  removed  with  an  iron  poker.  The  fire  is  blown  with  two 
pair  of  bellows,  each  made  of  a  goat's  skin,  and  worked  by  a  woman  or 
boy.  The  iron  ore  was  mixed  with  pounded  charcoal,  and  thrown  into 
the  chimney.  A  somewhat  similar  tower  of  clay  was  made  for  smelting 
by  an  African  people,  visited  by  Mungo  Park,  but  they  trusted  partly  to 
the  wind  for  a  blast,  and  placed  the  iron  ore,  after  it  had  been  broken  into 
pieces  of  the  size  of  a  hen's  ^^^^^  in  alternate  layers  with  charcoal.  See 
further  on  this  subject,  Scrivener's  '  Comprehensive  History  of  the  Iron 
Trade.' 


294 


THE    ROMAXS. 


[chap.  VIII. 


it.  During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the  Eoraan 
iron  scoriae  in  the  Porest  of  Dean  and  in  Worcestershire,  were 
re-smelted  on  a  very  extensive  scale;  and  it  is  said  that,  being- 
gathered  with  so  little  trouble,  they  were  actually  found  more 
profitable  than  fresh  ore  which  had  to  be  dug  from  a  consider- 
able depth  in  the  ground.  Besides  the  marks  of  charcoal  still 
visible  on  some  of  the  cinders,  examples  occur  which  show  the 
effects  of  the  irregular  heat  produced  by  this  fuel.  One, 
which  I  picked  up  among  a  vast  heap  of  cinders  at  Sedlescombe, 
in  Sussex,  proved  by  coins  found  in  it  to  be  Eoman,  exhibits  a 
curious  appearance  of  a  compact  mass  with  veins  and  drusy 
cavities  with  crystalline  iron  ;  in  this  instance  an  imperfect  steel 
or  carburet  of  iron  has  been  the  result  of  the  excessive  heat 
produced  by  the  wood  fuel. 

Among  the  other  principal  metallic  productions  of  om- island, 
worked  by  the  Romans,  were  lead  and  tin,  called  by  the 
Romans,  plumbum  nigrnm  and  plumbum  album.  The  latter  we 
know  was,  under  its  Greek  name  of  casslteros,  the  chief  and 
most  valuable  production  of  the  Brittanic  Isles  at  a  very  remote 
period,  and  procured  for  them  the  name  of  the  Cassiterides,  or 
Tin  Islands.  We  are  told  by  ancient  writers  that  lead  was 
found  so  plentifully,  and  so  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  that 
it  was  found  necessary  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  Roman  occu- 
pation to  make  a  law  limiting  the  quantity  to  be  taken  each 
year.*  The  tin  districts  were,  as  at  present,  Cornwall  and 
Wales,  and  I  believe  that  Roman  mines  have  been  traced,  and 
that  blocks  of  Roman  tin  have  been  found,  though  they  are  of 
extreme  rarity.     This,  however,  is  not  the  case  with  lead ;  for 


I  VL   PMG5 


Eoiuan  Pig  of  Lead,  from  Hauipshii-e. 

the  traces  of  Roman  lead  mines  are  very  numerous,  and  pigs  of 
lead,  with  the  official  stamps  of  the  Roman  miners,  are  by  no 
means  of  uncommon  occurrence.     This  stamp  usually  consisted 


*  Tn  Britannia  summo  terrje  corio  adeo  large,  ut  lex  ultro  dicatur,  ne 
plus  carlo  modo  fiat. — I'lin.  Mist.  Nat.^  lib.  xxxv.  c.  17. 


CHAP.  VIII. J  THE  LEAD  MANUFACTURE.  205 

of  an  inscription  J^ivinoj  the  name  of  the  emperor  under  whose 
reig-ii  the  lead  had  been  produced  from  the  furnace.  The  fore- 
g'oing  cut  represents  one  of  these  pigs  of  lead,  found  in  1783, 
on  the  verge  of  Brougliton  brook,  near  Stockbridge,  in  Hamp- 
shire. It  will  serve  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  form  and  clia- 
racter  of  these  articles,  and  it  has  a  certain  historical  interest  from 
the  circumstance  that  it  was  made  the  year  before  the  insurrec- 
tion of  Boadicea.  The  main  inscription  is,  nekonis  avg.  ex 
KiAN  nil  cos  BRIT.  On  one  side  are  the  letters  hvl  pmcos; 
on  the  other,  ex  atigent  and  capascas,  with  tlie  numeral 
XXX.*  Other  examples  found  at  different  times  have  presented 
the  following  inscriptions  : — 

1.  TI  CLAVDIVS  CAESAR  AYG  P  M  TRIE  P  YIII  IMP  XVI  DE  BRIT  AN 

2.  IMP  DOMIT  AVG  GER  DE  CEANG 

3.  CAESARI VADOM 

4.  IMP  CAES  DOMITIAN  AVG  COS  VII  PRIG 

5.  IMP  VESP  VII  T  IMP  V  COS  DE  CEANG 

6.  TI  CL  TR  LVT  BR  EX  ARG 

7.  IMP  CAES  HADRIANI  AVG  MET  LVT 

8.  IMP  HADRIANI  AVG 

9.  IMP  DVOR  AVG  ANTONINI  ET  VERI  ARMENIACORVM 

10.  L  ARVCONI  VERECVND  METAL  LVTVD 

11.  C  IVL  PROTI  BRIT  LVT  EX  ARG 

The  greater  number  of  these  inscriptions,  it  will  be  seen  at  once, 
commemorate  the  emperor  in  whose  reign  each  was  made.  The 
two  last,  no  doubt,  give  us  the  names  of  private  individuals, 
eitlier  governors  of  the  province,  or  persons  appointed  to  super- 
intend the  mines  of  Britciin.  Some  of  the  words  of  these  inscrip- 
tions have  provoked  rather  long  disquisitions,  yet  they  are  capable 
of  a  simple  explanation,  lvt  is  supposed  to  be  an  abbreviation 
of  latum,  washed,  in  reference  to  the  process  through  which  the 
metal  (met)  had  passed ;  and  the  ex  aug,  or  ex  argent,  is 
explained  by  a  passage  of  Pliny,  who  informs  us  that  lead  was 
found  under  two  different  forms,  either  in  veins  by  itself,  or 
mixed  with  silver. f     The  latter  had  to  go  tiirough  a  more  coni- 

*  Mr  Roacli  Smith  observes  on  this  inscription  : — '  As  Nero  never 
assumed  the  title  of  Britannicus,  and  as  the  numerals  precede  the  cos,  I 
suspect  the  insci'iption  should  be  read — 

(Plumbum  or  Metallum)  Neronis  Aug.  cos.  iiii.,  Ex.  Kian.  Brit. 

The  P.M.  Cos  may  belong  to  the  above,  and  the  rest  be  the  name  of  some 
superintendent.' 

f  Plumbi  nigri  origo  duplex  est ;  aut  enim  sua  provenit  vena,  nee  quic- 
quaiii  ahud  ex  se  parit ;  aut  cum  argento  nascitur,  mistisque  venis  con- 
tlutur.— P/j«.  Hist.  Nat.,  lib.  xxxiv.  c.  16. 


296  THE  ROMANS.  CcHAr.  viii. 

plicated  process  of  extraction,  which  is  referred  to  bv  tlie  words 
of  the  inscription,  hitnm  ex  arcjento,  and  which  it  seems  the 
lioniano-British  metallurgMst  considered  it  necessary  to  specify. 
Tlie  exaniph's  on  which  the  words  bhig  and  de  ceang  occnr, 
were  fonnd  cliiefiy  in  Cheshire  and  Yorkshire,  and  tliese  words 
are  supposed  to  signify  that  they  came  from  the  tribe  of  the 
Ceang'i,  or  Cangi,  and  the  Brigantes.  Tlie  words  ex  kian  on 
the  pig  of  lead,  represented  in  our  cut,  are  supposed  to  refer  to 
the  same  tribe  of  the  Ceaugi,  by  an  earlier  mode  of  spelling  the 
name.  It  had  no  doubt  been  left  in  Hampshii-e  on  its  way  to 
the  coast  for  exportation. 

It  is  indeed  difficult  in  many  cases  to  form  any  opinion  re- 
lating to  these  relics  from  the  place  where  they  were  found. 
Three  of  them  were  found  near  Matlock,  in  Derbyshire,  no 
doubt  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mines  from  which  they  WTre 
taken.  They  have  been  found  also  in  Shropshire,  near  tlie  site 
of  ancient  lead  mines.  The  inscriptions  are  curious,  as  belonging 
mostly  to  the  earlier  emperors,  and  show-ing  that  the  metallic 
riches  of  Britain  were  among  its  first  resources  turned  to  account 
by  the  Eoinan  conquerors.* 

The  wording  of  some  of  the  above  inscriptions  is  sufficient 
evidence  that  the  Romans  obtained  silver  from  the  mines  in 
Britain,  and  the  island  province  appears  also  to  have  furnished 
gold,  though  probably  in  \'£\"^  small  quantities.  Gold  has  been 
traced  in  the  quartz  formation  near  Lampeter,  in  Wales,  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  a  Roman  settlement,  where  enor- 
mous mounds  of  broken  and  pounded  quartz  remain  as  memo- 
rials of  the  Roman  gold  diggers.  A  still  more  curious  memorial, 
perhaps,  of  the  British  silver  mines  was  discovered  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century,  among  remains  of  very  old  masonry 
cleared  away  in  digging  the  foundations  of  the  then  new  office 
for  the  Board  of  Ordnance,  in  the  Tower  of  London.  It  had 
apparently  been  a  square  ingot  of  silver,  about  thi-ee-eighths  of  an 
inch  thick,  but  it  had  subsequently  been  beaten  at  each  end 
with  a  hammer,  till  the  whole  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  double 
wedge.  From  its  weight,  when  found,  there  could  be  little 
doubt  of  its  having  been  originally  a  Roman  pound  of  silver. 

*  For  further  information  on  these  pie;.s  of  lead  and  on  the  Roman 
mining-  operations  in  this  island  in  g-eneral.  the  reader  is  referred  to  very 
excellent  papers  by  Professor  Phillips  and  Mr  Albert  Way,  in  a  recent 
volume  of  the  '  Archaeological  Journal,'  and  by  Mr  James  Yate.s,  in  the 
eighth  volume  of  the  '  Proceedings  of  the  Somer.ietshire  Archicoiogic  al 
and  Natural  History  Society.' 


CHAP,  viii.]  BRONZE.  297 

In  the  middle,  on  one  side,  within  a  simple  square  label,  ^vas 
the  inscription: — 

EX   OFII 
HONOR] 

in  which  the  last  letters  of  each  line  had  been  partly  effaced, 
probably  by  a  blow  of  the  hammer.  It  seems  doubtful  if  the 
Honorius  here  commemorated  was  an  officer  of  the  Komau 
mint  in  Britain,  or  the  emperor  of  that  name ;  though  the  pro- 
bability seems  to  be  turned  in  favour  of  the  latter  by  the  dis- 
covery close  by  it  of  three  gold  coins,  one  of  which  was  of  tlie 
emperor  Honorius,  while  the  two  others  belonged  to  his  partner 
in  the  empire,  Arcadius.*  In  this  case,  it  would  belong  to  the 
closing  period  of  the  Roman  rule  in  Britain. 

The  metal  most  in  ftwour  among  the  Eomans  for  the  manu- 
facture of  useful  and  ornamental  articles,  appears  to  have  been 
bronze.  It  would  extend  beyond  our  limits,  and  be  of  no  real 
practical  utility,  to  give  a  description  of  the  almost  endless 
variety  of  articles  of  bronze  belonging  to  the  Eoman  period, 
which  have  been  found  in  this  country,  some  of  very  rude  work- 
manship, and  others  showing  a  very  high  state  of  art.  It  is  not 
possible  to  say  how  many  of  the  articles  were  made  in  Britain, 
and  how  many  were  imported,  but  there  can,  I  think,  be  little 
doubt  that  such  articles  were  manufactured  here  in  considerable 
quantities.  As  the  rough,  unformed  glass  was  distributed  from 
the  manufactory  to  the  small  glass-workers,  so  the  bronze  was 
probably  sold  in  lumps  to  small  manufacturers,  who,  either 
with  the  hand,  or  more  frequently  by  melting  it  into  moulds, 
formed  statuettes,  vessels  of  various  kinds,  ornaments,  tools, 
and  toys,  under  Avhich  latter  head  I  suspect  we  ought  to  place  a 
large  number  of  the  small^  rude  figures  of  animals,  &c.,  in  bronze, 
which  are  frequently  found  on  Eoman  sites.  I  believe  that  the 
fragments  of  old  bronze  with  chisels  and  other  implements  of 
the  same  metal,  already  described  (p.  98),  as  found  in  different 
parts  of  England,  belonged  to  the  Eoman  workers  in  bronze. 
Smelting  pots,  with  remains  of  molten  bronze,  and  lumps  of  the 
same  metal,  and  even  entire  foundries,  with  moulds  and  the 
articles  cast  in  them,  have  been  found  in  different  parts  of 
Germany,  as  at  Demmin,  in  Mecklenburgh ;  Gross  Jena,  in 
Thuringen ;  Braunfels,  in  Hessen ;  and  at  Zurich,  in  Switzer- 
land; and,  I   believe,  in    Trance;  and  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 

*  This  infj^ot  of  silver  and  the  three  coins  are  engraved  in  the  fifth 
volume  of  the  '  Archaeologia  '  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 

T 


29S  THE  ROMANS.  [chap,  viii, 

they  will  he  found  to  have  been  all  discovered  in  localities  occu- 
pied by  the  Roinaus. 

That  Rouiau  art  did  flourish  to  a  certain  dep;ree  in  Britain, 
we  have  proofs  in  the  various  traces  of  oi'naniental  decoration 
in  the  houses,  in  articles  of  bronze  and  other  material,  and  in 
the  remains  of  statuary.  Some  few  frag'ineuts  of  wall-painting-s 
that  have  been  rescued  from  the  general  destruction  of  the 
frescoes  of  the  Roman  houses,  are  artistically  executed  ;  and, 
although  many  of  the  sepulchral  and  other  sculptures  found  in 
our  ishuid  are  of  a  rude  character,  others  are  quite  the  contrary. 
It  is  probable  that  most  of  the  finer  pieces  of  sculpture  in 
marble,  found  in  the  Roman  villas  and  elsewhere,  were  executed 
abroad  ;  but  other  similar  remains  of  great  beauty  have  been 
found  sculptured  in  materials  which  were  imdoubtedly  obtained 
in  the  island,  and  generally  near  the  spot  where  they  seem  to 
have  been  erected.  Such  were  the  statues,  which  exhibit  a 
very  high  degree  of  art,  found  by  Mr  Artis  in  1844,  1845,  and 
1 846,  near  Sibson,  in  Bedfordshire,  and  at  a  place  between 
Wansford  and  King's  Clift",  in  the  same  county,  known  as  Bed- 
I'oi'd  Pnrliens,  which  were  formed  of  the  oolite  of  the  district, 
popularly  known  as  Barnack  rag.  They  are  now  preserved  in 
the  collection  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  include  large  portions 
of  figures  of  Hercules,  Apollo,  and  Minerva  Gustos.  At  Birrens, 
in  Scotland,  was  found  a  dedicatory  inscription,  by  Julius 
Cerealis  Censorinus,  who  is  described  as  the  image-maker  {s'kjU- 
larlirs),  or  fabricator  of  the  statues  of  the  gods,  to  the  college 
of  Ugniferl ;  and  the  mutilated  trunk  of  a  colossal  statue  of 
jMercury,  found  at  the  same  spot,  was  supposed  to  be  a  relic  of 
his  works. 

Of  the  other  professions  of  the  Romans  in  Britain,  we  find, 
from  their  very  nature,  fewxr  traces  among  existing  remains, 
1  hough  one  or  two  of  them  are  commemorated  in  inscriptions, 
'i'hus,  a  votive  statue  to  the  goddess  Brigantia,  found  at  Birrens 
in  Scotland,  was  dedicated,  if  not  made,  by  Amandus  the  archi- 
tect. A  monumental  stone,  found  at  Housesteads  in  North- 
nnd)erland,  commemorates  a  young  medical  practitioner,  Anicius 
Ingeniuis,  physician  in  ordinary  to  the  first  cohort  of  the  Tun- 
grians.* 

There  is,  however,  a  class  of  monuments  relating  to  the 
Roman  medical  profession  and  their  practice  in  Britain,  which 
are  so  cmious,  that  they  require  a  more  minute  description  and 

*  D  M  ANICIO  IXGENVO  MEDICO  OUDI  COH  PRIMAE    TVXGR  VIX  AN  XX.V. 


CHAP,  viii.]  THE  ]\rEPICAL  I'KuFESSIOX. 


!99 


■explanation.  These  are  the  stamps  used  for  impressing-  the 
names  of  tlie  makers  and  the  purposes  of  certain  medicinal  pre- 
parations. 

Numerous  examples  of  tliese  medicine  stamps  have  heen 
found  in  Germany,  France,  and  Italy,  as  well  as  in  Britain  ; 
and  in  the  former  countries  they  have  been  the  subject  of  several 
learned  treatises.*  They  are  usually  made  of  a  g'reenish  schist, 
or  steatite,  and  consist  of  a  small  thin  square  block,  generally 
with  an  inscription  on  each  of  the  four  edg*es.  In  a  few  in- 
stances the  stone  is  of  an  oblong*  form,  and  has  only  two  in- 
scribed sides.  The  inscriptions  are  inverse  and  retrograde,  and 
they  were  evidently  intended  as  stamps;  but  when  first  noticed, 
they  were  a  great  puzzle  to  the  antiquary.  The  example  given 
in  our  cut,  which  was  found  a  few  years  ago  at  Kenchester  in 
Herefordshire  {Magna),  belongs  to  the  former  of  these  two 
classes.     The  inscription  usually  expresses  the  name  of  the 


Roman  Medicine  Stamp  from  Kenchester  [Magna.) 

maker  of  the  medicine,  that  of  the  medicine  itself,  and  the 
disease  for  which  it  was  intended  as  a  specific.  From  the 
phices  in  which  they  are  found,  the  name  appears  to  be  gener- 
ally that  of  a  medical  practitioner  iu  oue  of  the  principal  towns, 
who  composed  the  medicines,  and,  perhaps,  sold  them  in  pack- 
ages to  the  minor  practitioners  or  dealers  in  the  smaller  towns 
and  in  the  country,  in  the  manner  that  patent  medicines  used 
to  be  sold  in  England.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  in  all 
the  examples  yet  found,  amounting  in  number  to  at  least  sixty, 
the  diseases  are  uniformly  those  of  the  eyes,  and  hence  they  are 

*  Two  French  writers  especially  have  written  at  length  on  this  subject  : 
M.  Sichel,  in  a  tract  entitled  Cinq  Cachets  inedits  ch  MMecins-Oculistes 
Romains  (Paris,  1&45),  and  M.  Duchalais,  Observations  sur  les  Cachets 
des  Mddecins-OcHlistes  aticiens,  d-propos  de  cinq  Fierres  sigillaires 
inedites  (Paris,  1846).  Still  more  recently  an  interesting  paper  on  the 
Koman  medicine  stamps  found  in  Britain  has  been  contributed  to  the 
'  Monthly  Journal  of  Medical  Science,'  by  Professor  Simpson,  of  Edin- 
burgh, but  a  part  only  of  which  has,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  been  yet  printed. 


300  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  vnr. 

supposed  to  have  been  only  used  by  pliysieians  who  treated 
that  very  numerous  class  of  diseases,  and  some  writers  have 
spoken  of  them  by  the  name  of  oculists'  stamps.* 

Any  one  who  will  turn  to  the  index  to  an  ordinary  edition 
of  Pliny's  Natural  History,  will  see  at  one  glance  how  much 
attention  the  Romans  gave  to  diseases  of  the  eyes,  which  appear 
to  have  been  extraordinarily  prevalent,  not  only  in  Italy,  but 
throughout  the  western  provinces.  This  is  probably  to  be  at- 
tributed to  some  circumstance  connected  with  the  diet  or  way 
of  living  of  the  ancients.  The  Greek  medical  writers  enumerate 
more  than  two  hundred  diseases  of  the  eyes,  for  which  an  im- 
mense number  of  different  ointments,  or  collyria,  were  invented. 
The  reader  will  remember  the  lines  of  Horace — 

'  Hie  oculis  ego  nigra  meis  collyria  lippus 
Illinerc' 

These  collyria  were  composed  of  a  great  number  of  ingredients, 
and  were  many  of  them  celebrated  among  all  physicians  by 
their  particular  names.  These  were  sometimes  taken  from 
those  of  the  original  inventors,  as  the  coUyrium  of  Dionysius, 
and  the  collyrium  of  Sergius.  A  more  numerous  class  received 
their  names  from  the  characteristic  of  the  mixture  or  from  some 
particular  ingredient.  Thus  we  have  the  collyrium  chloro^'^ 
named  from  its  green  colour ;  the  cirrlion,  from  its  yellow  tint ; 
the  evodes  (ehujdec),  from  its  pleasant  smell;  the  cnicetum 
{hviKr]Tov,  invincible),  because  pretended  to  be  superior  to  all 
the  others ;  the  crocodes,  made  of  crocus  or  saffron ;  the  na?'- 
dlmmi,  containing  spikenard  ;  the  dlasmyi'ties,  containing  myrrh  ; 
the  dlarrhodori,  containing  roses;  and  so  on.  The  example 
given  above,  which  was  found  at  Kenchester,  had  belonged  to 
a  physician  named  apparently  Titus  Vindacius  Ariovistus,  who, 
to  judge  from  his  name,  appears  to  have  been  of  German  race. 
On  the  upper  surface  is  the  word  senior,  the  first  three  letters 
of  which  are  repeated  on  tlie  low^er  surface,  and  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  it  was  probaldy  the  name  of  a  subsequent  possessor. 
The  four  inscriptions  of  the  sides,  which  are  in  double  lines, 
are — 

(1)    T.    VINDAC.  ARIO 
VISTIAXICET 


*  Medici  ociilarii  and  medici  ophthalmici  are  mentioned  by  the  Roman 
medical  writers  in  a  manner  to  make  us  believe  that  this  formed  a  special 
branch  of  the  practice. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  301 

(2)  T.  VINDACIAR 
OVISTI  .  NAIID 

(3)  .  .  VIXDAC  .  ARI 

OVISTICHLOROX 

(4)  T  .  A'INDACAKIO 
VISTI      .      .      . 

The  name  of  tlie  colly rium,  indicated  in  tlie  last,  has  been  lost 
by  a  fractnre  of  the  stone.  The  other  tlu'ee  were  the  anicetum, 
the  nardluum,  and  the  cJdoron,  well  known  collyria,  all  men- 
tioned above.  Another  of  these  stamps,  found  at  Cirencester 
in  1818,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  P.  B.  Purnell,  Esq.,  of 
Stanscombe  Park,  Gloucestershire.  It  is  an  oblong  piece  of 
hone-stone,  or  whet-slate,  with  two  sides  inscribed,  which  com- 
memorate a  physician  named  Minervalis.     They  are — 

(1)  MINERVALISDIALEB 
ANVMADIMPETLIPEXOV 

(2)  MINERYALISMELINV 
ADOMNKMDOLOREM 

The  dialebanum  was  composed,  with  the  plant  ledanum  or 
ladanum  found  in  Crete,  and  it  is  here  directed  to  be  used  with 
es:!?  {ex  ovo)  on  the  first  attack  of  lippitudo — ad  inipetum  I'lppi- 
tiidbds.  The  second  was  a  well-known  collyrium,  which  is 
mentioned  by  the  old  medical  writers  under  the  same  name  of 
meUmim,  but  the  origin  of  the  name  seems  very  doubtful. 
Another  medicine  stamp  was  found  at  Bath  in  1781.  A  fourtli 
was  dug  up  at  Gloucester  (not,  as  some  writers  have  stated  by 
mistake,  at  Colchester),  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  and 
^^'as  published  by  Chishull.  It  bore  the  name  of  the  physician, 
Quintus  Julius  Murranins,  and  had  two  inscriptions — 

(1)  QIVLIMVRRANIMELI 
NVMADCLARITATEM 

(2)  QIVLMVRRANISTACTV 
MOPORALSAMATADCAL 

The  first  of  these  was  another  meUniim,  which  was  to  be  effica- 
cious for  producing  clearness  of  vision — ad  claritatem.  The 
second  was  an  opobalsamic  ^^^c^//;;?,  or  liquid  (from  fTTai^w),  in- 
tended as  a  remedy  for  dimness  of  siglit — ad  caUglnem.  In 
1808,  a  medicine  stamp  of  an  unusual  form  was  found  at 
Wroxeter  in  Shropshire  {Uncou'umi)  ;  it  was  a  round,  instead 
of  quadrangular,  stone,  with  the  inscription  on  the  face,  as  in  a 


302  THE    ROMANS.  [chap.  vm. 

seal.     It  is  now  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Wroxeter  anti- 


Oculist's  Stamp,  from  Wroxeter  [Uricomu/h). 

qnities  in  Slirewsbury,  and  the  inscription  is  easily  read  as 
follows — • 

TIBCLM 

DIALIKA 

AD-OM 

NE  A  TIT 

O  EX  O 

Intimating-  that  it  was  the  d'laUhauum  of  Tiberius  Claudius  the 
physician  (medictis),  for  all  diseases  of  the  eyes  {ad  omiie  vituim 
ocniorum),  and  was  to  be  applied,  like  the  dlalehanum  oi  Miner- 
valis,  ex  ovo,  with  egg. 

It  is  curious  that  we  have  thus  a  series  of  these  medicine 
stamps  belonging  to  the  great  Homan  towns  in  the  west, 
Corinium,  Aquae  Solis,  Glevum,  Magna,  and  Uriconium.  None 
have  yet  been  found,  as  far  as  we  have  any  distinct  infoi'mation, 
in  the  Roman  towns  of  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of  the 
island,  but  there  are  two,  or  at  least  fragments  of  two,  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum,  which  are  stated  to  have  been  found  in 
this  country,  although  the  exact  locality  is  not  known.  One  of 
these  is  a  iiat  quadrilateral  stone,  and  commemorates  a  physician 
named  Sextus  Julius  Sedatus.  It  is  inscribed  only  on  three 
sides ;  which  is  also  the  case  with  at  least  one  of  the  foreign 
examples.     The  inscriptions  are — 

(1)  SEXIVLSEDATI 
CROCOUPACCIAN 

(2)  SEXIVLSEDATICRO 
COriFSDIALEPIDOS 


I 


(;^) 


IVLSEDATICKO 
ESADDIATHES 


These  collyria  were  all  of  the  class  already  mentioned  as  taking 


r 

I 


CHAP.  VIII.]  MEDICIXE  STAMPS.  302 

its  7\ame  crocodi^s  from  one  of  its  ins^-redients,  the  crocus  or  saftVon. 
The  tirst  was  distiriii-uished  by  the  name  Paccianum,  from  its 
inventor,  Paccius,  a  celebrated  ancient  oculist,  several  of.Avhose 
medicines,  as  well  as  this  identical  crocodes  Pacciannm,  are 
mentioned  by  Galen.  Tiie  crocodcs  dlalepldos,  the  second  on 
our  stamp,  is  also  mentioned  by  tlie  ancient  medical  Avriters, 
and  derived  its  name  from  the  circumstance  that  it  contained 
tlie  scales  (XEiricec)  of  burnt  copper,  or  the  black  peroxide  of 
that  metal.  The  second  stamp  in  the  British  Museum,  which 
is  evidently  a  mere  fragment,  bears  the  letters — 

COLLYR-P-CLOC 

They  are  probably  to  be  read  colhjrmm  post  caUginem  oculorum, 
a  collyrium  to  be  used  after  an  attack  of  dimness  of  the  eyes. 
The  Museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  at 
Edinburgh,  contains  one  of  tlie  oblong  medicine  stamps,  which 
was  found  at  Tranent  in  East  Lotliian,  near  Inveresk,  the  site 
of  an  extensive  Eoman  town.  It  had  belonged  to  an  oculist 
named  Lucius  Vallatinus.     The  two  inscriptions  are — ■ 

(1)  LVALLATINIEVODESADCI 
CATRICESETASPRITYDIX 

(2)  LVALLATINIAPALOCllO 
CODESADDIATHESIS 

The  first  was  tlie  collyrium  named  evodes,  and  was  a  remedy 
against  cicatrices  of  the  eyes  and  granulations  of  the  eyelids. 
The  second  Avas  some  modification  of  the  usual  character  of  the 
crocodes  {apaloc r ocodes),  v/hich  has  been  interpreted  '  a  mild 
crocodes,'  used  as  a  general  remedy  against  affections  of  the 
eyes — ad  dlat'keses*  The  person  who  cut  the  inscription  has 
made  an  error  in  the  termination  of  tlie  last  word. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  writers  on  the  subject  of  these 
stamps,  that  the  various  preparations  were  hardened  Mdth  gum 
or  some  viscid  substance,  and  kept  in  a  solid  state  to  be  liquefied 
with  fluids  wlien  required  for  use;  the  stamps  being  impressed 
just  before  the  medicines  attained  the  last  stage  of  solidification 

*  An  account  of  this  stamp  was  first  f^oinmunicated  by  Mr  Daniel  Wil- 
son (iit'terwards  Dr  Wilsuu),  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  oi 
Scotland,  to  the  '  Journal  of  the  Archi^ological  Association,'  vol.  v.  p 
351,  whero  an  editorial  note  has  been  added,  to  state  that  'diathesis  can 
only  imply  a  particular  state  of  the  body  disposi/iff  to  any  disease,  and  not 
niean  the  disease  itself.'  'L'his  is  the  use  of  the  word  in  modern  medi- 
cine, but  the  ancient  physicians  used  it  in  the  sense  of  an  affection  or  dis- 
ease. 


5(U 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  VI n. 


The  Cirencester  stamp  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  a  Roman 
urn,  but  no  further  particulars  of  the  discovery  have  been  pre- 
served. It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  Cay  his  (vol.  vii.  p. 
261)  has  o:iven  the  rim  of  an  earthen  vessel  marked  by  one  of 
these  medicine  stamps,  which  might  be  supposed  to  indicate 
that  the  mark  was  intended  to  be  placed  on  the  vessel  containing- 
the  medicine,  and  not  on  the  medicine  itself.  But  this  may 
have  arisen  from  some  accident  which  we  cannot  now  explain, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  the  stamps  are  generally 
found  seem  to  contradict  such  an  inference. 

Of  Roman  trades,  in  this  island,  we  have  fewer  indications 
even  than  of  professions.  What  appears  to  have  been  the 
workshop  of  an  enameller,  or  perhaps  of  a  fabricator  of  orna- 
mental objects  in  metal  of  various  kinds,  has  ah'eady  been 
opened  in  the  excavations  at  Wroxeter  on  the  site  of  Uriconium. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Roman  tradesman  was  seldom  com- 
memorated in  a  sepidchral  inscription.  Mr  Roach  Smith  found 
in  a  very  ancient  rubbish  pit,  deep  under  the  site  of  the  Royal 
Exchange,  in  the  city  of  London,  the  refuse  of  the  shops  of 
Roman  shoemakers,  weavers,  and  workers  in  other  such  handi- 
crafts. I  owe  to  the  pencil  of  the  same  zealous  and  skilful 
antiquary  the  sketch  of  a  monument  of  a  still  more  remarkable 
character — the  sign  of  a  Roman  goldsmith,  found  amid  the 
ruins  of  a  town  at  Old  Malton  in  Yorkshire,  which  probably 
represents  the  Roman  Derventio.     It  is  a  large  stone,  which  has 


i 


ff  ELICIT  E  RS 
^J  G"EN  iOLO(?C:I-I 
SERVVLE-VTER.E 

AA^  AV  R  Efl 

n   I    A/  AAA       _ 


Goldsmith's  Sign,  from  Old  Malton  [Derventio  ? ). 

apparently  been  let  into  a  wall,  and  bears  on  one  face,  within  a 
label,  an  inscription  which  seems  to  commemorate  the  shop  of 


ChAP.  viii]        SIGN  OF  A  GOLDSMITH'S  SHOP.  S'^'? 

a  o-old smith  named  Servulus.  The  inscription  is  as  follows — 
not  very  correct  in  its  Latinity  : — 

rELICITERSIT 
GENIO  LOCI 
SEHVULE-VTERE 
FELIXTABEKX 
AM  AVKEFI 
CINAM 

I  have  had  occasion  more  thon  onre  ir,  allude  to  the  practice  of 
the  Romans  of  invocating*  good  fortune  on  every  occasion.*  The 
sign  of  an  artisan  here  begins  with  an  invocation  to  the  pre- 
siding genius  or  spirit  of  the  locality, — a  pro])itiation  to  the 
divinity  of  the  spot  on  which  he  settled,  that  his  undertakings 
there  might  prosper, — and  next  comes  the  wisli  that  the  owner 
of  the  shop  may  have  good  fortune  in  his  profession.  Mr  Well- 
beloved  has  published  the  fragment  of  the  commencement  of  an 
inscribed  stone,  found  at  York,  and  containing  the  w^ords — 

GENIO   LOCI 
EELICITEH 

which  he  believed  to  be  part  of  a  votive  tablet.  But  on  com- 
paring it  with  the  complete  inscription  found  "at  Old  Malton,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  this  also  may  have  formed  part  of  a 
tradesman's  sign. 

*  These  invocations  were  used  in  private  houses,  as  well  as  in  shops,  and 
are  sometimes  joined  with  the  name  of  the  possessor.  Thus,  a  mutilated 
Roman  tesselated  pavement  found  at  Salzburg,  in  Germany,  presented  the 
following  fragment  of  an  inscription  (the  name  of  the  person  is  lost)  : — 

HIC  HABITAT 

NIHIL  INTK.ET  MALI 

«."  e.  ( )  dwells  here — ma^  nothing  evil  enter.     This  supports  our 

interpretation  of  the  iascription  on  the  Thruxton  pavement. 


3oo  THE  ROMANS.  I  chap.  w. 


OJlArTEPt  IX. 

Ethnological  Character  of  the  Roman  Population  of  Britp.in — Countries 
Jioni  which  it  was  derived — The  Auxiliary  Troops-^Nanies  and 
Birthplaces  of  Individuals — Traces  of  Languages  ;  Inscribed  Pottery  ; 
the  Roundels  found  at  Colchester — Debased  Latinity — Remains  of  the 
British  Population. 

When  avc  contemplate  these  nnmeroiis  towns  and  cities,  so 
many  buildings  and  pnl)lic  Avorks  of  all  descriptions,  manufac- 
tures, and  monuments  of  art  and  science,  onr  inquiries  naturally 
return  to  the  people  from  whom  they  came,  and  we  ask  who 
were  the  Romans  in  Britain  ?  It  is  a  question  much  more 
complicated  in  its  various  bearings  than  it  woidd  appear  at  tlie 
first  thouglit  to  those  who  have  not  previously  studied  the 
subject. 

AVlien  Rome  first  established  colonies,  they  were  composed 
])urely  of  Roman  citizens,  usually  of  veterans  or  soldiers,  who, 
having  completed  their  time,  were  no  longer  compelled  to  serve, 
except  in  defending  the  town  and  territory  which  was  given  to 
them.  The  land  of  this  territory  was  distributed  among  them. 
Such  was  the  foundation  of  Camulodunum  {ColcJiestei^),  as  we 
learn  incidentally  from  the  narrative  of  Tacitus.  As  their  con- 
uuesLs  excendwl.  tlie  Roman  legions,  which  still  consisted  of 
Italian  soldiers,  were  accompanied  with  numerons  bodies  of 
auxiliaries,  or  troops  raised  from  the  ditterent  countries  which 
jiad  been  successively  subdued.  It  was  a  policy  henceforth 
pursued  with  great  steadiness  by  the  Roman  conquerors  to 
transplant,  under  the  name  of  anxiliaries,  colonies  from  one 
nation  to  another,  and  they  thus  not  only  made  a  gradual 
amalgamation  of  the  different  peoples  who  composed  the  empire, 
but  they  established  effective  defences  without  exhausting  the 
central  force.*  Gradually,  however,  while  destroying  the 
nationalities  of  other  peoples,  Rome  lost  its  own  nationality  in 


*  Cicero,  in  more  passages  than  one,  speaks  of  the  Roman  colonics  as  the 
defences  of  the  empire,  propuffnacula  imperii. 


i 


ciiAi'.  ix.]  THE  PEOPI.E  OF  BRITAIX.  307 

the  mass.  Men  from  those  very  nations  upon  wliom  ancient 
Rome  had  trampled  as  barbarians,  were  made  commanders  in 
its  armies,  nobles  in  its  senate,  and  emperors  on  its  throne,  s/ 
The  Roman  legions  were  now  recrnited  indiscriminately,  and  we 
shall  have  to  point  ont  officers  of  the  lei>-ions  in  J3ritain,  who 
were  natives  of  countries  far  distant  from  Italy. 

Even  with  our  present  imperfect  information,  we  can  trace 
the  parcelling-  out  of  l-^ritain  among  colonies  of  almost  every 
people  who  had  been  subdued  by  the  Roman  arms,  and  it  must 
have  presented  a  strange  assemblage  of  races.*  The  Notitla  # 
Imperii,  composed  under  Theodosius  the  younger,  and  therefore  /^ 
at  the  close  of  the  Roman  domination  in  Britain,  gives  us  a 
]"ather  long  list  of  the  auxiliary  nations  who  held  the  towns  and 
stations  along  the  south-eastern  and  eastern  coasts  and  in  the 
north,  the  parts  then  exposed  to  invasion  by  the  Saxons  and 
the  Picts.  Thus  we  learn  from  that  valuable  record,  that 
Othona  (supposed  to  be  the  lost  town  of  Ythancester,  on  the 
coast  of  Essex),  Avas  occupied  by  a  body  of  Eortensians,  who 
came  from  the  town  of  Fortia  in  Asiatic  Sarmatia.  Dubra3 
(Dove?')  was  held  by  Tungricanians,  supposed  to  be  only  another 
form  or  an  error  of  the  scribe  for  Tungrians.  At  the  Port  us 
Lemanis  {Lymne)  there  were  Gauls  from  Tornacum  (^Toiirnai/). 
The  Abulci,  a  Spanish  people,  held  Anderida  {Pevenst:!/).  At 
Regulbium  (^llecidver)  was  the  first  cohort  of  Vetasians,  or 
Iktasians,  from  Belgic  Gaid.  On  the  coasts  of  Suffolk  and 
Norfolk,  we  find  Stablesians,  perhaps  a  tribe  from  Germany, 
at  Garriannonum  {Bu7'f/h  Castle),  and  Dalmatians  at  Brano- 
dunum  {Brancaster).  There  were  Dalmatians,  again,  at  Prae- 
sidium  {^Brovgldon,  in  Lincolnshire);  Crispians,  from  a  town 
named  Crispiana  in  Pannonia,  at  Danura  {Doucaster) ;  a  people 
called  Barcarii  Tigrienses,  perhaps  from  Africa,  at  Arbeia 
{Moresby  ?)  ;  and  Nervians,  from  Belgium,  at  Dictis  {Aiiibh- 
side  ?).  Returning  eastward  again,  we  find  Solenses,  from  Cilicia, 
at  Maglone  (supposed  by  Horsley  to  be  Gretabridge)  ;  and  Pa- 
censians  from  Lusitania  or  Portugal,  at  Magse  (Piercebridge). 
Along  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall,  the  inhabitants  of  the  dif- 
ferent towns  were  still  more  varied  in  their  races.  Segeduiuim 
( U  allse)id)  was  occupied  by  Lingones  from  Belgium  ;  Pons  >/ 
/Elii  (^Newcastle)  by   a  people    called    Cornovii ;     Condercum 

*  I  here  use  the  woj-d  colony,  not  in  its  Roman  legal  sense,  but  to  signif}- 
any  town  or  settlement  formed  in  one  country  by  a  body  of  people  from 
another. 


308  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  ix. 

{Benwell)  by  Asturians  from  Spain  ;  Vindobala  (Rutcheste?')  by 
Frixagi ;  Himnum  {Halton  Chesters)  by  a  tribe  whose  name 
has  not  been  preserved ;  Cilurnum  {Chesters)  by  another  body 
of  Spanish  Asturians;  Proeolitia  {Carrawhurgli)  by  Batavians  ; 
Borcovicus  {?Iousesteads)hy  Tungrians;  Yindolana  {Chesterholm) 
by  Gauls  ;  yEsica  {Great  Chesters)  by  another  colony  of  Astu- 
rians;  Magna  (Ctt/'wrfl'w)  by  Dalmatians  ;  Amboglanna  {Bird- 
osicald)  by  Dacians ;  Petriana  {Cambeck-fort)  by  Tungrians ; 
Aballaba  {Watch-cross?^  by  Moors;  Congavata  {Stanwicks) 
by  Lingones  ;  Axelodunum  {Bnrcjh-on'the-Sands)  by  Spaniards  ; 
Gabrosentis  {Brumhurgli)  by  Tliracians.  There  were  Morini 
from  Gaul  at  Glannibanta  (a  town  of  uncertain  site)  ;  Nervians 
at  Alionis  {Whitley  Castle)  and  at  Virosidum  {Ellenbo7'ough) . 

These  are  the  different  races  established  in  Britain  mentioned 
in  the  Notitia,  because,  by  their  position  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  time,  they  were  obliged  to  be  on  active  duty.  We  must 
not,  however,  imagine  that  they  were  bodies  of  troops  in  tem- 
porary quarters  which  could  be  changed  at  pleasure,  for  in- 
scriptions on  altars  and  tombstones,  found  on  many  of  these 
sites,  show  us  that  they  had  remained  in  the  same  place  from  a 
very  early  period  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  island,  and 
some  monumental  stones  are  stated  to  have  been  set  up  by  the 
heir  or  heirs  of  the  deceased  {hcei-es,  haeredes),  which  seems 
sufficient  to  prove  that  they  Avere  possessors  of  the  land.  No 
/doubt  the  colonists  of  these  towns  were  accompanied  or  fol- 
lowed by  relations  and  friends,  and  as  evidently  they  we"j 
recruited  from  their  own  countries,  they  must  have  gone  on 
increasing  and  strengthening  themselves.  They  were  all,  how- 
ever, obedient  to  Roman  laws  and  institutions,  used  the  Latin 
tongue,  and  had  indeed  become  entirely  Romanised,  as  we  shall 
see  more  and  more  fully  in  subsequent  chapters. 

Many  others  of  the  races,  who  thus  colonised  towns  in 
Britain,  are  now  unknown,  though  a  few  from  time  to  time 
are  recovered  by  the  discovery  of  inscribed  stones.  In  different 
places  in  Cumberland  there  appear  to  have  been  Gauls,  Dacians, 
and  Lingonians.  A  people  called  the  Carvetii  are  found  at  Old 
Penrith.  Spaniards,  Dalmatians,  and  Betasians,  were  established 
at,  or  in  the  neighbourhood  of,  Ellenborough.  At  Brougham, 
there  were  Germans.  In  Scotland,  inscriptions  mention  the 
Tungrians  in  several  places :  Gauls  at  Cramond  and  at  Castle- 
hill  on  the  Wall  of  Antoninus;  Spaniards  at  x\.rdoch  ;  Thracians  ; 
Hamii  from  the  Elbe,  at  Barhill  fort  on  Antoninus's  Wall ; 
jS'ervians,   Germans,  and  Cugerni,  a  people  of  Belgic    Gaul, 


i 


CHAP.  IX.]     DIFFERENT  RACES  IX  ROMAN  BRITAIN.         309 

l)et\veen  the  Ubii  and  the  Batavi.  The  Roman  town  at 
Risinfi'ham,  Habitancum,  was  hehl  by  the  Yag'iones,  a  people 
from  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  The  Varduli,  from  tlie  foot  of 
the  Pyrenees  in  Spain,  were  established  at  Bremenium  {Ro- 
chester), and  they  are  mentioned  also  in  an  inscription  found  at 
Epiacum  {LancJiester).  An  inscription  found  at  Bowes,  in  York- 
shire, proves  that  that  site,  the  Roman  Lavatrse,  was  hehl  by 
Thracians.  In  Lancashire,  Coccium  {Rlbcheste?')  was  a  settle- 
ment of  Sarmatians,  while  Mancunium  (^Manchester)  was  a 
colony  of  Frisians,  called,  in  the  inscriptions,  Frislngl,  Frisones, 
and  Frlsavl.  The  latter  seem  to  have  found  some  difficulty  in 
expressing*  the  name  of  their  country  in  the  languao-e  of  their 
conquerors.  If  we  descend  towards  the  south,  Cirencester 
appears  to  have  been  occupied  by  Thracians.  The  rarity  of  in- 
scriptions in  the  midland  and  southern  towns  renders  it  at 
present  impossible  to  identify  the  races  from  which  they  sever- 
ally drew  the  nucleus  of  their  population. 

We  see  still  more  how  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
came  to  intermingle  in  our  island,  when  we  compare  their 
names  as  they  occur  in  inscriptions.  Thus,  in  one  of  the  in- 
scriptions found  at  Cirencester,  Dannicus,  who  belonged  to  the 
cavalry  stationed  there,  was  a  citizen  of  Rauricum,  in  Swit- 
zerland. Sextus  Valerius  Genialis,  the  subject  of  another 
monument  at  Cirencester,  who  belonged  to  the  Thracian  cavalry, 
was  a  Frisian.  Titus  Domitius  Heron,  prefect  of  the  second 
cohort  of  Gauls  at  Old  Penrith  in  Cumberland,  came  from 
Nicomedia  of  Bithynia  in  Asia  Minor.  iEmilius  Crispinus, 
prefect  of  the  ala  Augusta  at  Old  Carlisle,  was  a  native  of 
Tusdrus,  in  Africa  {natus  in  provincla  Jfrica  de  Tusdro). 
Publius  ^lius,  also  prefect  of  the  ala  Augusta  at  Old  Carlisle, 
was  a  native  of  Mursa,  in  Lower  Pannonia  (de  Mursa  ex  Fan- 
nonia  wferiore).  Marcus  Censorius,  prefect  of  the  cohort  of 
Spaniards  at  EUenborough,  was  of  Nimes,  in  Gaul  (ex provincla 
Narbonensi  domo  Nemausensis).  Lucius  Duccius,  an  officer 
buried  at  York,  was  of  Vienna,  in  Gaul.  Flavins  Longus,  a 
tribune  of  the  twentieth  legion  at  Chester,  was  a  native  of 
Samosata,  in  Syria,  the  birth-place  of  Lucian,  An  individual 
mentioned  in  an  inscription  at  Lincoln,  named  Nominius  Sacer, 
the  son  of  Bruscus,  was  of  the  tribe  of  the  Senones,  in  Gaul 
(civis  Senonii).  Cains  Valerius,  standard-bearer  of  the  second 
legion  at  Caerleon,  was  a  native  of  Lugdunum,  in  Gaul  {Lyons). 
Julius  Vitalis,  \\\e  fabriciensis  of  the  twentieth  legion,  comme- 
morated in  the  celebrated  inscription  found  near  Bath,  was  a 


} 


i 


( 


310  THE  HOMAXS.  [chap.  ix. 

]>elg-ian  [)iatione  Belga).  Cains  Miiri-ius,  of  tlie  second  leg-fon, 
also  buried  at  Bath,  was  a  native  of  Fosuin  Julii  in  Gaul 
{Frfjiis).  Cains  ('ornelins  PeregTinns,  the  tribune  of  a  cohort 
at  Maryport,  in  Cumberland,  was  a  native  of  Mauritania  {ex 
provbicla  Manritanice  Ccjesariensis  domo  Se  .  .  .  .  the  name  ol 
the  town  is  broken  off).  Cornelius  A^ictor,  a  soldier  of  th« 
Ganls  of  Yindolana  at  Chesterholm,  was  a  citizen  of  Pannonii; 
[clulfi  Panuouloi).  Althou<>-h  the  barbarians  frequently  assumed 
a  Roman  name,  yet  in  the  inscriptions  found  in  Britain  wc 
often  meet  with  names  which  betray  their  provincial  orig-in. 
Such  are  Blescius  Diovicus,  probably  the  name  of  a  Gaul,  found 
in  an  inscription  at  Rising-ham  ;  Titus  Oisedio,  at  Cambeck-fort ; 
,,  Menius  Dada,  at  Carvoran ;  Audagus,  at  Brougham;  Iminius 
Honius  Tertullus,  a  Gaul,  at  Cramond,.in  Scotland;  Marcus 
Decius  Yoconticus,  also  in  Scothmd ;  and  Pabius  Bera,  in  the 
same  country.  Hermagora,  commemorated  in  an  inscription  at 
Riechester,  and  a  woi'shipper  of  Astarte  named  Pulcher,  at 
Corbridge,  were  no  doubt  Greeks. 

VVlien  we  contemplate  the  facility  with  Avhich  the  Romans 
moulded  the  nations  they  had  conquered  to  tlieir  own  govern- 
ment and  manners,  we  feel  inclined  to  doubt  the  existence 
among  the  ancients  of  those  deepl^'^  implanted  Srentiments  of 
nationality  which  are  observed  in  modern  times.  The  moment 
a  new  country  was  subdued,  its  inhabitants  seem  to  have 
rivalled  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  become  Romanised, 
and  to  have  soon  relinquished  the  manners,  the  worship,  and 
even  the  languai>-e,  which  they  had  received  from  their  forefathers. 
Yet  it  was  hardly  possible  that  here  and  there  some  sentiment 
of  attachment  for  the  land  of  nativity  and  its  recollection^ 
should  not  outlive  the  change,  some  confession  of  the  influence 
of  old  superstition,  some  remains  of  reverence  for  the  gods 
of  their  ancient  land,  or  some  remembrance  of  friends,  or 
places,  or  language.  We  have  seen  how  often  the  original 
country  of  the  deceased  was  commemorated  on  his  tombstone. 
Perhaps,  if  we  examine  closely  the  names  of  Romano-British 
towns,  and  could  compare  them  extensively  with  those  of  the 
countries  from  which  their  founders  came,  we  should  find,  as  in 
British  America  at  the  present  day,  that  they  also  were  more 
or  less  commemorative  of  the  land  they  had  left.*     Instances 

*  It  h<as  often  struck  me  that  we  ought  to  look  for  the  derivation  of  the 
iianies  of  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain  rather  fnmi  the  countries  from  which 
tne  settlers  came,  than  from  the  2^^'C^U})wd  language  of  the  original  Celtic 
population.     Thus  we  know  that  Aballaba  in  the  North  was  a  colony  of 


I 


CHAP.  IX.]      DIFFEREXT  RACES  IX  ROMAX  CRITAIX.       311 

have  also  been  met  with  among  the  Iloman  remains  found  in 
Britain  of  inscriptions  rudely  scratched  on  cups  and  bowls, 
and  other  articles,  in  languages  of  which  we  are  now  ig-norant. 
Some  of  these  were  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Roach  Smith,  and 
have  been  pronounced  by  an  oriental  scholar,  I  think  somewhat 
hastily,  to  be  Arabic.  Perhaps  we  should  look  rather  for  the 
language  in  which  tliey  are  written,  to  Spain  or  Africa.  I 
believe  these  inscriptions  have  been  found  chiefly  in  Loiidon 
and  at  Exeter.  At  Colchester,  a  very  curious  class  of  anti- 
rpiities  has  been  found,  the  use  of  which  is  not  very  apparent. 
These  are  thin  roundels  of  reddish  earthenware,  on  the  surface 
of  Avhich  inscriptions — usually  names  or  numei'als — and  figures 
of  animals,  &c.,  have  been  scratched.  It  has  been  conjectured 
that  these  may  have  been  tickets  of  admission  to  the  theatre  or 
amphitheatre.  One  of  them  has  a  roughly  drawn  Egyptian 
cartouche,  with  a  name  in  hieroglyphics,  a  proof  that  there  was 
at  least  one  Egyptian  resident  at  Camulodiuium.  Others  appear 
to  be  Hebi-ew. 

It  is  also  to  be  noticed,  as  illustrating  the  variety  of  race 
which  here  passed  under  the  name  of  Eomaus,  that  the  inscrip- 
tions not  unfrequently  contain  errors  in  spelling  and  in  Latinity, 
which  seem  to  show  that  they  were  composed  by  persons  whose 
mother  tongue  was  not  Latin.  In  an  inscription  at  Caerleon  an 
adjective  in  the  feminine  gender  is  joined  with  a  masculine 
name.  In  an  inscription  found  in  Cund^erland  we  liave  doiiin 
instead  of  domo.  We  hud  still  more  frequently  such  errors  as 
numeni  for  numhi.i,  aginte  for  ageiite,  and  the  like,  which  show 
the  Latin  tongue  spoken  by  a  people  whose  pronunciation  was 
organically  different  from  that  of  the  Eomans.  Thus  we  trace, 
at  this  early  period,  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  forma- 
tion of  th(;  neo-Latiu  dialects  of  the  middle  ages. 

Among  this  variety  of  races,  we  are  led  naturally  to  inquire, 
what  had  become  of  the  original  Britons?  What  portion  of  the 
population  of  the  island  did  they  form  ?  Unfortunately  we  arc 
entirely  wanting  in  the  materials  for  solving  so  interesting  a 
(piestion.  It  appears  that  British  troops  served  as  auxiliaries 
in  the  Koman  army  in  I^ritain  during  the  wars  of  Agricolu  ; 
and  we  know  that  they  afterwards  served  thus  in  various  parts 
of  the  Roman  empire,  though  it  seems  contrary  to  the  Roman 
policy    to    have    employed    them    thus    in    their    nativD    land. 

Moors,  and  certainly  the  name  sounds  Moorish.  Some  of  the  names  of 
Roman  towns  in  Britain  are  identical  with  towns  ou  the  continent,  from 
which  the  settlers  may  have  been  brouaht. 


) 


) 


312 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap,   IX. 


Horsley  '/ives  a  fraf^ment  of  a  votive  tablc^t  found  at  Castlecan 
ill  Scotland,  on  which  was  traced  the  word  britton  ;  and 
another  was  found  at  Ebchester  in  Durliam,  dedicated  to  tlie 
goddess  Minerva  by  Julius  Gneiieius,  who  is  styled  actvarivs 
coHORTis  iiii.  BR,  but  the  last  letter  appears  to  have  been 
doubtful.  Inscriptions  are  said  also  to  have  been  found  in  the 
north  conveyino-  the  words  civitas  domni,  civitas  dvmnon, 
civiTATE  CATUVELLAVNORVM,  and  civiTAT  BRicic,  signifying 
that  the  British  tribes  thus  indicated  were  employed  in  the 
erection  of  Hadrian's  Wall.  This  would  show  that  at  that 
period  they  were  still  allowed  a  certain  degree  of  political  exist- 
ence. But  this  no  doubt  was  soon  taken  from  them,  and  the  few 
glimpses  we  have  of  tlie  earlier  period  of  their  history  wonhl 
seem  to  show  that  they  were  gradually  reduced  to  the  lowest 
degree  of  dependence.  In  the  towns  of  the  legions  or  of  the 
auxiliaries  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  enjoy  any  rights,  and 
it  is  probable  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Roman  period  the 
British  blood  in  the  south  was  found  chiefly  in  the  peasantry,  y 
The  name  of  Britons  was  then  applied  almost  exclusively  to 
J  the  independent  tribes  of  Caledonia. 


CHAP.  X.J  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  313 


CHAPTEE  X. 


Religious  Worship  of  the  Rotnans  in  Britain — Roman  chief  Deities  :  Jupi- 
ter, Mars,  Apollo,  Minerva,  Ceres,  «fec. — The  eight  Deities — liesser 
Deities ;  Silvanus,  ^sculapius — Grecian  and  Eastern  Deities ;  the 
Tyrian  Hercules,  Mithras,  Serapis — The  Nymphs  and  Genii,  Fortune, 
and  Deified  Personifications — Deities  of  the  Auxiliary  Races :  the 
Deae  Matres,  Viteres  or  Vitris,  Belatucadrus,  Cocidius,  Mogontis,  &:c. 
— Did  Christianity  prevail  or  exist  in  Roman  Britain  ? 

No  characteristics  of  races  are  more  permanent  than  their  re- 
ligious belief  and  superstitions,  and  we  may  expect  in  these,  if 
in  anything',  to  perceive  some  traces  of  the  original  peoples  vvlio 
formed  tlie  Roman  state  of  Britain  through  the  outward  cover- 
ing of  Roman  forms.  Our  expectations  in  this  respect  will  not 
be  entirely  disappointed,  for  amid  the  immense  numbers  of 
altars  found  in  this  island  dedicated  to  the  gods  of  Rome,  we 
find  some  dedicated  to  deities  Avhose  names  are  new  to  us,  and 
who,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  belonged  to  the  distant  province 
to  which  the  auxiliary  owed  his  birth.  We  know  iiow  tolerant 
in  this  respect  the  Roman  mythology  ever  showed  itself,  and 
though,  as  a  matter  of  course,  those  who  served  under  its 
banners  were  bound  to  show  reverence  to  Rome's  gods,  they 
were  not  restricted  from  offering  homage  to  those  who  had  been 
worshipped  by  their  own  foref[\thers. 

We  have  already  stated  that  almost  every  town,  or  station, 
had  its  temple,  or  more  usually,  its  temples,  dedicated  to  differ- 
ent deities.  Of  these,  as  far  as  discoveries  have  yet  gone,  few 
traces  now  remain.  The  materials  of  which  they  were  built 
were  too  valuable  in  subsequent  ages  to  remain  untouched,  and 
the  stones  were  cleared  away,  and  their  sculptures  and  inscrip- 
tions defaced,  by  mediaeval  builders.  Immense  quantities  of 
altars  shared  the  same  fate,  and  the  great  number  of  these 
moniunents  which  still  exist,  shows  beyond  a  doubt  how  very 

u 


314  THE  ROMANS.  [chai.  x. 

numerous  they  must  have  been.  In  the  wild  country  aloiijj^ 
the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall,  where  they  have  escaped  destruc- 
tion in  greater  numbers  than  elsewhere,  it  was  a  practice  amon<»: 
the  peasantry,  even  within  the  memory  of  man,  to  chip  away 
the  sculptures  and  inscriptions  wherever  they  found  them,  be- 
cause they  associated  them  in  their  minds  with  notions  of  mag-ic 
and  witchcraft.  The  altars  to  the  diflerent  deities — especially 
to  the  lesser  objects  of  worship — seem  to  have  been  placed 
within  the  temples  of  the  superior  gods  in  tlie  same  manner 
that  the  saints  had  their  chapels  and  shrines  in  the  K-omish 
churches ;  and  they  were  perhaps  also  placed  in  the  open  air, 
by  the  forum,  or  on  the  roadside,  or  in  the  cemeteries,  like  the 
Romish  crosses. 

The  Roman  altar  consisted  usually  of  a  rectangular  block  of 
stone,  with  an  inscription  in  front.  On  each  side  were  carved 
ornaments,  usually  representing  the  instruments  of  sacrifice, 
ihe  pi'cefericulum,  or  pitcher,  which  contained  the  wine  for  the 
oifering ;  the  patera^  a  dish  with  a  handle,  used  for  throwing  a 
portion  of  the  wine  upon  the  altar;  tiie  securls,  or  axe,  with 
which  the  animal  was  slain ;  and  the  cnlter,  or  knife,  used  in 
cutting  it  up  ;  with  a  figure  of  the  whole  or  part  of  the  victim, 
usually  the  head  of  an  ox.  Sometimes  other  figures  were  in- 
troduced, emblematical  of  the  deitvto  whom  the  altar  was  dedi- 
cated,  or  relating  perhaps  in  some  cases  to  the  dedicator.  The 
back  of  the  altar  is  usually  rough,  which  shows  that  it  was 
intended  to  be  placed  against  a  wall.  The  upper  part  was  the 
most  elaborately  ornamented,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  upper 
surface  a  basin -shaped  cavity  was  sunk  in  the  stone,  called  the 
focus  (or  hearth),  which  received  the  portion  of  the  victim  that 
was  offered  up  in  sacrifice,  and  burnt  in  the  fire  kindled  ni  the 
focus.  The  inscription  set  forth  first  the  deity  to  whom  the 
altar  was  dedicated,  next  the  name  and  condition  of  the  dedi- 
cator, and  often  concluded  with  stating  the  cause  of  dedication. 
This  was  usually  a  vow. 

This  description  will  be  best  understood  by  comparison  with 
the  annexed  cut,  which  represents  a  Roman  altar  dedicated  to 
Jupiter,  found  at  Tynemouth,  in  Northumberland,  and  now 
preserved  in  tlie  museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
London.  It  was  dedicated  by  the  prefect  of  the  fourth  cohort 
of  Lingones,  which,  we  are  informed  by  the  Notitia,  was 
stationed  at  Segedunum,  usually  placed  at  Wallsend,  of  wdiich 
Tynemouth  is,  probably,  the  site  of  an  advanced  outpost ;  or, 
perhaps,  it  may  have  been  carried  from  the  ruins  of  Segedunum, 


I 


CHAP.  X.] 


WORSHIP  OF  JUriTER. 


S16 


as  materials  for  the  foundations  of  the  celebrated  monastery  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tyne.  On  one  side,  which  is  concealed  in 
the  perspective  view,  but  given  in  the  side  sketcli,  are  seen  tJic 


Altar  to  Jupiter,  found  at  Tynemouth. 

pra'fiulcnhiui,  the  seciois,  or  axe,  and  the  culter,  or  knife,  witii 
the;  usual  ox's  head.  On  the  other  side  is  \}i\^  patera,  supported 
by  two  serpents,  which  had  no  doubt  a  symbolical  sia^nihcation. 
The  inscription  commences  with  the  ordinary  initials  of  dedica- 
tion to  the  chief  deity  of  the  mythology  of  Rome,  i.  o.  M.,  and 
must  be  read  as  follows  : — 


l[0Vl]  o[PTIMOj  m[aXIM0] 
a'el[iVS]  RVrvs 

rR.'F:F[ECTVs]  coh[oiitis] 

nil  LINGO 
N  VM 


To  Jupiter  the  best  and  greatest, 

JElius  Rut'us 

the  prefect  of  cohort  the 

fourth  of  the  Lingo- 

nes. 


Numerous  inscriptions  to  Jupiter  have  been  found  in  Britain, 
which  show  that  all  the  various  races  brought  together  in  this 
island  joined  in  worshipping  the  chief  deity  of  Rome.  We 
have  just  seen  that  he  was  reverenced  by  the  Lingones  at 
\\allsend.     An  altar  found  at  Birdoswald   (^/Imbof/lanua),  wn's 


316  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

dedicated  to  Jupiter  by  the  Dacians ;  another,  found  at  Cam- 
heck-foit  {Petriand),  was  dedicated  to  the  same  deity  by  the 
Tungrians  ;  and  a  third,  found  at  Maryport,  by  the  Spaniards. 
Other  altars  dedicated  to  Jupiter  have  been  i'ound  at  Auchin- 
davy,  in  Scotland;  at  Old  Carlisle  {Olenacum)  ;  at  Chesterholni 
(Vrndolana),  dedicated  by  Gauls;  at  Housesteads  (Borcovlcus), 
by  the  Tunorians  ;  at  Ellenborouoh  {Virosidiim) ,  by  Spaniards  ; 
at  Plunipton  Wall  {uncertain),  by  Gauls;  at  Netherby  (Castra 
vxploratorurn) ;  at  Lauercost  and  Bevvcastle  {uncertai7i),  all  by 
Dacians ;  at  Lanchester  (Epiacum) ;  at  Chester  [Deva),  by  the 
twentieth  leoion  ;  at  Caerleon  (Isca),  by  the  second  legion  ;  and 
at  York  by  the  sixth  legion.  Many  others  might  be  added  to 
the  list.  In  some  of  these  altars  the  deity  is  distinguished  by 
peculiar  appellations,  or  is  joined  Avith  others.  Three  altars 
have  been  found  in  Britain  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Dolichenus. 
One  of  these  was  found  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury in  the  neighbourhood  of  Caerleon,  at  a  place  named  St 
Julians,  and  was  read  as  follows  : — - 

lovi.o.M.  DOLICHV  To  Jupiter  the  best  and  greatest, 

I.  ON."  AEMILIANVS  the  Dolichene,  JBiinilianus 

CALPVRNivs  Calpurnius 

KVFiLiANVS  .  .  .EC  Rutiliunus  {dedicates  this)  by 

AVGVSTORVM  the  eiJiperors' 

MONITV  direction. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  peculiar  aptness  in  the  epithet  as 
used  in  this  locality,  which  was  on  the  edge  of  the  great  iron 
district.  Reinesius  has  printed  an  inscription  found  at  Rome 
which  describes  this  title  as  bearing  reference  to  a  place  where 
iron  was  produced  : — 

lOVI  OPTIMO  MAXIMO  DOLYCHENO 
VBI  FEKKYM  NASCITVR  C  SEMPRO 
MIVS  RECTVS  CENT  VII  FRVMENTARIVS 

'  The  Doliche,'  Mr  Roach  Smith  observes,*  '  which  gives 
the  name  of  Dolichenus  to  Jupiter,  was  most  probably  the 
town  of  that  name  in  Macedonia,  a  country  which,  Strabo 
says,  abounded  in  iron ;  and  to  this  Doliche,  the  words  in  the 
last  inscription,  ubi  ferrum  nascltur,  where  iron  is  produced, 
seem  more  applicable,  than  to  Dolichenes,  a  city  of  Commagene, 

♦  In  the  JBrst  number  of  his  Collectanea,  where  he  has  published  some 
other  inscriptions  to  .Jupiter  Dolichenus. 


CHAP.  X.]  THE  WORSHIP  OF  JUPITER.  317 

in  Asia,  whence,  according  to  Stephanus,  this  name  was 
derived.'  Two  other  altars  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Dolichenus 
are  published  by  Horsley,  one  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Newcastle,  in  the  midst  of  the  coal  district,  where  remains  of 
ancient  coal-mines  have  been  found,  the  other  at  Risingham 
{Habitanciim). 

Early  in  tlie  seventeenth  century,  an  altar  was  found  at 
('hester  dedicated  to  Jupiter  under  the  name  or  epithet  of 
Tanarus  : — 

I.  o.  M.  TAXAUO  To  Jupiter,  best  and  greatest,  Tanarus, 

T.  ELVPivs  GALER  Titus  Elupius  Praesens  of  the  tribe  Galeria, 

I'KAESENS  GVXTIA  of  Guntia  (a  town  in  Vindelicia), 

PHI.  LEG.  XX  vv  prefect  of  the  twentieth  legion,  styled  volois  victrix, 

COMMODO  ET  Coniniodus  and 

LATEKANO  Lateranus 

cos  being  consuls, 

V.  s.  L.  M.  performed  his  vow  willingly  and  dutifully. 

The  date  of  this  inscription  is  fixed,  by  the  names  of  the  con- 
suls, in  the  year  154.  It  is  curious  for  several  reasons.  Tan- 
arus is  supposed,  and  apparently  with  good  reason,  to  be  the 
Teutonic  Thunar,  the  Scandinavian  Thor,  whose  name  is  pre- 
served in  our  Thursday,  and  who  is  always  identiHed  with  the 
classic  Jupiter.  It  tints  shows  the  influence  of  Teutonic  feel- 
ings in  England  at  a  very  early  period. 

Jupiter  is  often  combined  in  these  inscriptions  with  other 
deities  or  objects  of  worship.  An  altar  found  at  Chesterholm 
in  Northumberland  (Fmdolana),  is  dedicated  by  Quintus 
i*etronius,  prefect  of  the  Gauls  established  there,  Jovi  optimo 
viaxlmo  caterisque  diis  immortalibiis  et  genio  prator'd — to 
Jupiter,  best  and  greatest,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  immortal 
gods,  and  to  the  genius  of  the  prsetorium.  A  centurion  of  the 
second  legion  dedicated  an  altar,  found  at  Auchindavy  in 
Scotland,  to  Jupiter  and  Victoria  victrix — Victory  the  van- 
quisher. An  altar  found  at  York  bore  the  following  inscrip- 
tion :  — 

I.  o.  M.  To  Jupiter  best  and  greatest, 

Dis.  UEABVsavE  and  to  the  gods  and  goddesses 

HOSPITALIBVS  .  PE  who  preside  over  the  household, 

NATiBVSQ  .  OBCON  and  to  the  penates,  for  the 

8ERVATAM  ,  SALVTEM  preservation  of  the  health 

8VAM  .  svoRVMU  of  hiiuself  and  his  family, 

P  .  AEL  .  MARCIAN  Publius  ^lius  Marcianus, 

vs  .  PRAEF  .  COH  prefect  of  a  cohort, 

ARAM  .  SAC  .  F  .  NO  .  D,  dedicated  and  consecrated  this  altar. 


318  TnE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

Even  the  emperor  liimself  was  thus  associated  with  the  deity, 
At  Housesteads,  on  the  Wall  of  Hadrian  (Borcovicus),  an  altar 
has  been  found  with  the  inscription — 

I.  o.  M.  To  Jupiter  the  best  and  greatest, 

ET  NVMiNiBvs  and  the  deities 

AVG  COH  I  TV  of  Augustus,  the  first  cohort 

NGRORVM  of  the  Tungrians, 

MIL  cvi  PRAEE  a  military  one,  commanded 

ST  Q,  VEKivs  by  Quintus  Yerius 

svpERSTis  Superstis, 

PRAEEECTVS  its  prefect. 

'The  emperor  himself,'  as  Mr  Bruce  observes,  'is  probably 
intended  by  this  phrase,  not  the  gods  whom  the  emperor  wor- 
shipped. The  use  of  the  noun  in  the  plural  number,  riumiiw, 
is  not  opposed  to  this  view.  Horsley  remarks  that  numina  is 
frequently,  in  classical  writers,  applied  to  a  particular  deity ; 
thus  we  have  numina  Diana  in  Horace,  and  numina  Phoebi  in 
Virgil.  The  emperors,  Ave  know,  were  frequently  worshipped 
as  gods.  The  Mantuan  bard,  addressing  Augustus,  has  no 
doubt  of  his  divinity,  though  he  knows  not  what  region  to 
assign  to  his  especial  care  : — 

.     .     .     .     urbesne  invisere  Caesar, 
Terrarumque  velis  curam ;     .     .     .     . 
An  deus  immensi  venias  maris,  ac  tua  nautse 
Numina  sola  colant.' 


Other  altars  have  been  found  in  Britain  dedicated  to  Jupiter 
H  viuminibus  Augusti,  or  Aiigustorum. 

Perhaps,  after  Jupiter,  the  deity  most  extensively  Avorshipped 
in  Roman  Britain  was  Mars,  which  is  easily  explained  by  the 
military  character  of  the  mass  of  the  settlers.  Mars,  like 
J  upiter,  is  often  coupled  with  other  divinities,  and  distinguished 
by  various  epithets.  At  Ben  well  [Condercum),  an  altar  was 
found  dedicated  to  Mars,  the  contjueror  and  avenger — deo 
Marti  vidori  vindici.  An  altar  was  dedicated  by  the  Bsetassi 
at  Ellenborough  to  the  military  Mars, — Marti  militari — which 
we  should  imagine  to  be  an  unnecessary  epithet.  One  found  at 
Lanchester  {Epiacum),  was  dedicated  Marti  Augusti,  to  Mars 
of  Augustus.  An  altar  foimd  at  Ribchester  [Cocci?mi),  was 
dedicated  deo  Mai'ti  et  Victoria  dominoruvi  Augustorum — to 
the  god  Mars  and  Victory  of  the  emperors.  Another  altar 
found    at    the    same  place  was   dedicated   Marti  pacifero — to 


CHAP.  X.] 


MARS  AND  APOLLO. 


319 


Mars  the  peace-bearer.  Amono^  several  altars  dedicated  by  a 
Koman  officer  named  Cocceius  Pirmus,  and  found  at  Aiichindavy, 
in  Scotland,  was  one  witli  the  following  inscription  :  — 


MARTI 

MINEKVAE 

CAMPESTKI 

BVS  HERO  .  .  , 

EPONA 

VICTORIAE 

M  COCCEI 

PIRMVS 

C  LEG  II  AVG 


To  Mars, 
to  Minerva, 

to  the  deities  of  the  fields, 
to  Hero, 
to  Epona, 
to  Victory, 
Marcus  Cocceius 
Firmus, 

centurion  of  the  second  legion 
called  Augusta. 


A  singular  epithet  is  given  to  Mars  on  an  altar  found  at 
Iladdon  Hall,  iu  Derbyshire,  with  the  following  inscription  : — 

DEO  To  the  god 

MARTI  Mars 

RRACIACAE  Braciaca, 

osiTTivs  Osittius 

CAECii-iAX  Ctecilianus, 

PRAEFKCT  prefect 

COH  I  AQViTAXi  of  the  first  cohort  of  the  Aquitani, 

Y  .  s  in  performance  of  a  vow. 


Horsley  supposes  that  Braciaca  is  the  name  of  a  place.  Other 
epithets,  or  synonyms,  applied  to  Mars,  will  be  mentioned  further 
on.  Altars  dedicated  to  this  god  have  also  been  found  at  Lan- 
chester,  Castlesteads,  Lancaster,  and  other  places. 

Dedications  to  Apollo,  in  his  simple  classical  character,  are 
of  rarer  occurrence.  One  found  on  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall 
bears  the  following  inscription  : — 


l)EO  APOL 
INI  ET  O.  X 
SIXIS  EXPL 
CVI  PR  SVLP 
VOTVM  S 
L.  L.  M. 


To  the  god  Apollo 
and  all  the  deities, 

the  left  wing  of  exploratores  (or  guides), 
under  the  command  of  Sulpicius, 
in  discharge  of  a  vow, 
most  willingly  and   dutifully   {dedicates 
this). 


An  altar  found  at  E,ibchester  (Coccium),  dedicated  to  this  deitv, 
is  more  curious,  though  somewhat  more  obscure.  It  was  first 
ilescribed  by  Camden,  and  the  inscription  very  incorrectly 
copied,  and  it  was  afterwards  supposed  to  be  lost,  till  Dr 
Whitaker  discovered  it  in  1815  at  Sahsbury  Hall ;   it  is  now 


320  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

preserved  in  St  John's  College,  Cambridge,  The  inscription 
runs  thus : 

DEO  SANCTO  To  the  holy  g'od 

APOLLONI  APOXC  Apollo  ApOTlUS, 

OB  SALVTEM  UN  for  the  health  of  our  lord  (fhe  emperor), 

AL  EQ  SAK.M  the  wing  of  Sarmatian  horse 

liREMETNN  of  Bremetenracum, 

SVB  DiANio  under  Dianius 

ANTONINO  Antoninus, 

c  LEG  VI  V  centurion  of  the  sixth  legion,  called 

ic  DOMV  the  conquering-,  his  native  town 

ELIBER  was  Eliber. 

The  god  is  said  to  have  received  his  appellation  of  Aponus 
from  the  Fontes  Aponi,  warm  springs  near  Padna,  at  a  place 
still  called  Poni,  which  were  celebrated  for  their  medicinal 
qualities.  At  Inveresk,  in  Scotland,  an  altar  had  been  found 
dedicated  to  Apollo  Qrannus;  and  at  Auchindavy  there  Avas 
one  dedicated  conjointly  to  Apollo  and  Diana.  An  altar  and 
the  dedication  of  a  temple  to  Diana,  have  been  found  at  Caer- 
leon  {Isca). 

Altars  to  the  female  deities  of  Rome  are  not  numerous  among 
those  hitherto  found  in  Britain.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  instance 
of  a  dedication  to  Yenus,  but  I  believe  there  is  one  to  Juno. 
Minerva  occurs  on  several  occasions.  Under  the  title  of 
Suliminerva  she  had  a  magnificent  temple  at  Bath  [AqucB 
Soils),  the  inscription  on  which  was  restored  by  Lysons.  There 
Avas  a  temple  to  Minerva  at  Ribchester  {Coccium),  the  dedi- 
cation of  which  was  commemorated  in  an  inscription  found 
there  in  1811.*  Minerva  is  joined  with  Neptune  in  the  cele- 
brated inscription  relating  to  the  dedication  of  a  temple  at 
Chichester  {Begniini).  A  small  altar  found  at  Rochester  in 
Northumberland  [Breineninm) ,  was  dedicated  to  ]\Iinerva  in 
the  following  simple  inscription  : — 


BEAE  MI 

To  the  goddess 

NERVE  IVL 

Minerva,  Julius 

CARANTVS 

Carantus 

S.  C. 

dedicated  this. 

Minerva  is  joined  Avith  Mars  in  an  inscription  already  men- 
tioned as  found  at  Auchindavy,  in  Scotland.     At  Kirk  Haugh, 


*  DEAE  MINERAAE  PRO  SALVTE  IMP  ALEXANDRI  AVG  ET  lA'LI  MAM- 
MEAE  MATRIS  DN  ET  CASTR  SVOR  ET  VAL  CRESCENTIS  FULA'IANI  LEO 
EIVS  PP  PR  PR  T  FLORIDA'S  NATALIS  LEG  PRAEP  N  ET  REGINAE  TEM- 
PLVM  A  SOLO  EX  RESPONSV  RESTITVIT  ET  DEDICAVIT. 


CHAP.   X.] 


INSCRIPTIOX  TO  CERES. 


321 


in  Northumberland,  an  altar  was  discovered,  dedicated  decs 
M'mervcB  et  Herctdi  victori — to  the  goddess  Minerva,  and  to 
Hercules  the  conqueror.  But  perhaps  the  most  curious  in- 
scription found  in  this  country,  is  a  slab  discovered  in  1816  at 
Carvoran  {Magna),  containing  an  inscription  relating  to  the; 
goddess  Ceres,  consisting  of  a  sort  of  mystical  declaration  of  the 
creed  of  a  Roman  tribune  composed  in  iambic  verse.  The  an- 
nexed cut,  taken  from  Mr  Brace's  work  on  tlie  lloman  Wall, 


IHtr'"|lil||||il!U|IMri'V|l(r(jatT-:'';-'!.'^^'-      ''■;;■;'■■  ■■'■  '    ■  ll"  '  ■  .     I      "  l'(  I'M 


Inscription  to  Ceres,  found  at  Carvoran  [Magna). 


represents  this  slab  and  its  inscription,  which,  arranged  properlv 
in  lines,  is  as  follows : — 


Imniinet  leoni  virgo  caelesti  situ 
Spicifera,  justi  inventrix,  urbium  conditrix, 
Ex  quis  muneribus  nosse  contigit  deos. 
Ergo  eadem  mater  divum,  pax,  virtus,  Ceres ; 
Dea  Syria  ;  lanoe  vitam  et  jura  pensitans. 
In  cfelo  visum  Syria  sidus  edidit 
Libyse  colendum,  inde  cuncti  didicimus  ; 
Ita  intellexit,  nuniine  inductus  tuo, 
Marcus  Caicilius  Donatinus,  militans 
Tribunus  in  praefecto  dono  principis. 


322  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

It  has  been  thus  translated  by  Mr  Bruce : — 

The  Virgin  in  her  celestial  seat  overhang's  the  Lion, 

Producer  of  com,  inventress  of  right,  foundress  of  cities, 

By  which  functions  it  has  been  our  good  fortune  to  know  the  deities. 

Therefore  the  same  Virgin  is  the  mother  of  the  gods,  is  peace,  is 

virtue,  is  Ceres; 
Is  the  Syrian  Goddess,  poising  life  and  laws  in  a  balance. 
The  constellation  beheld  in  the  sky  hath  Syria  sent  forth 
To  Libya  to  be  wor^ihipped,  then(!e  have  all  of  us  learnt  it ; 
Thus  hath  understood,  overspread  by  thy  protecting  influence, 
Mitrcus  Caecilius  Donatinus,  a  warfaring 
Tribune  in  the  office  of  prefect,  by  the  bounty  of  the  emperor. 

*  Csecilius,'  as  Mr  Bruce  observes,  '  probably  prepared  this 
exposition  of  his  faith  on  being  admitted  into  the  mysteries  of 
Ceres.'  An  altar  dedicated  to  the  goddess  under  one  of  tlie 
titles  here  mentioned — deae  svriak — was  found  at  Little 
Chesters,  in  Northumberland;  it  was  raised  by  an  officer  of  one 
of  the  auxiliary  cohorts,  named  Aulus  Licinius  Clemens,  in  the 
propraetorship  of  Calpurnius  Agricola,  that  is,  between  the  years 
162  and  180.  *       • 

Mercury  is  often  figured  among  Homan  remains  found  in 
this  island,  and  an  altar  was  found  at  Birrens,  in  Scotland, 
dedicated  to  this  deity  by  Julius  Cerealis  Censorinus,  image- 
maker  of  the  college  of  the  ligniferi,  which  appear  to  have 
been  a  religious  order  attached  to  the  worship  of  tlie  gods,  and 
the  occupation  of  Cerealis  was  to  make  their  statues  : — 

DEO  MERCv  To  the  god  Mercury, 

RIO  IVL  CRS  Julius  Cerealis 

CENS  siGiLL  Censorinus,  image-maker 

COL  LiGN  CVLT  of  the  College  of  ligniferi,  his  worshippers, 

Eivs  D  s  1>  gave  it  at  his  own  cost, 

V.  s.  L.  M.  in  performance  of  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully 

Mercury  appears  to  have  been  the  favourite  deity  of  this  col- 
lege, for  they  also  dedicated  a  statue  of  Mercury  to  the  god  and 
to  the  emperor — numini  Angusti  deo  Mercurio, 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  principal  deities  were  often 
combined  together,  or  with  others.  One  of  these  combinations, 
which  was  very  popular,  consisted  of  the  deities  who  presided 
over  the  days  of  the  week — the  signa  or  planets — combined 
Avith  another  to  make  up  the  number  eight.  They  were  Sol,  or 
Apollo,  who  presided  over  Sunday  {dies  soils) ;  the  moon,  or 
Diana,   for  Monday ;  Mars,  for  Tuesday  ;  Mercury,  for  Wed- 


CHAP.  X.]      GODS  OF  THE  DAYS  OF  THE  WEEK.  32:^ 

nesday  ;  Jupiter,  for  TImrsdnv  ;  Venus,  for  Friday  ;  and  Saturn, 
for  Saturday.  They  are  thus  enumerated  in  an  '  eclogue,'  or 
epigram,  of  Ausonius  — 

Primum  supremumque  diem  radiatus  habet  Sol ; 
Proxima  fi'aternae  sucoedit  Lima  coronas ; 
Tertius  assequitur  Titania  luinina  Mavors  ; 
Mercurius  quarti  sibi  vindicat  astra  diei ; 
Inlustrant  quintam  Jovis  aurea  sidera  zonam  ; 
Sexta  salutigenim  sequitur  Venus  alma  parentem  ; 
Cuncta  supergrediens  Saturni  septima  lux  est  ; 
Ootavum  instaurat  revolubilis  orbita  Solem. 

In  most  of  the  Roman  monuments  the  week  commences  with 
Saturn  (Saturday),  and  not,  as  in  Ausonius,  with  Sol  (Sunday). 
A  fragment  of  an  octagotial  monument  in  stone,  scidptured 
with  the  eight  deities,  which  long  lay  neglected  in  a  black- 
smith's shop  at  Chesterford,  in  Essex,  and  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum,  contains  four  of  these  figiu'es,  namely  Mars,  Mercury, 
Jupiter,  and  Venus.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  at  the 
same  station,  Chesterford,  portions  of  two  of  the  indented 
earthenware  vessels  made  in  the  Durobrivian  potteries  have  been 
found,  which  had  the  eight  deities  tigured  in  eight  indentations. 
In  the  volume  of  the  '  Magna  Britannia '  of  Lysons  for  Cum- 
berland, are  engravings  of  sculptures,  in  rather  superior  work- 
manship, of  deities  found  at  Plumpton  Wall,  which  appear  also 
to  have  belonged  to  the  eight  deities.  They  are  represented  in 
the  tesselated  pavement  of  what  has  been  called  the  Medusa 
room,  in  the  Eoman  villa  at  Bramdean,  in  Hampshire.  Mr 
Roach  Smith  possesses  a  very  curious  bronze  forceps,  found  in 
t!ie  bed  of  the  Thames,  the  purpose  of  which  is  by  no  means 
evident ;  but  representations  of  these  planetary  deities  in  busts 
are  arranged  on  the  two  parallel  shanks.  They  commence  at 
the  bottom  of  the  left  shank  with  Saturn,  and  conclude  at  the 
bottom  of  the  opposite  side  with  the  bust  of  a  female  divinity, 
supposed  to  be  Ceres,  wdiich  completes  the  number  eight.  It 
is  from  this  number  that  the  French  still  call  the  week  halt 
jours,  and  the  Germans  acht  tatje.  We  have  ourselves  pre- 
served the  reckoning  of  our  Saxon  forefathers,  and  instead  of 
calling  the  week  huit  jours,  and  the  two  weeks  qu'vnze  jours, 
with  the  French,  we  call  them  smydglit  (seven  nights),  and 
fortmyJit  (fourteen  nights).  Mr  Roach  Smith,  who  has  given 
some  remarks  on  these  deities  in  the  second  volume  of  his 
'  Collectanea,'  informs  us  that  there  is,  '  in  the  Museum  at 
Mayence,  a  votive  altar,  found  at  Castel,  on  the  opposite  side 


324  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

of  the  Rhine,  which  belono^s  to  the  same  cLiss  of  mythic  repre- 
sentations as  those  on  the  Bramdean  pavement  and  on  the  forceps. 
This  monument  is  about  three  feet  and  a  half  hig-h,  and  is 
divided  into  two  parts,  the  lower  of  which  is  quadrilateral ;  the 
upper,  of  smaller  dimensions,  octagonal.  On  the  former  are 
sculptured  the  full-leng-th  figures  of  Mercury,  Hercules,  Minerva, 
and  Juno  ;  the  latter  contains  busts  of  Saturn,  Sol,  Luna,  Mars, 
Mercury,  Jupiter,  and  Venus ;  the  eighth  compartment  is  in- 
scribed IN  H  D  D,  m  lionorem  domus  dlmnce.  Over  the  left 
shoulder  of  Saturn  is  a  sickle  in  form  of  our  modern  bill-hook  ; 
Sol  wears  a  radiated  crown  ;  Luna,  a  crescent ;  Mars  is  helmet- 
ed,  and  carries  ashield;  the  head  of  Mercury  is  winged;  the 
bust  of  Jupiter  has  been  injured,  and  his  emblems  are  not  clearly 
to  be  recognised ;  Yenus  carries  a  mirror.  Other  museums  in 
Germany,  I  am  informed,  contain  sculptures  of  the  planets 
similarly  arranged.  Montfaucon  has  published  an  engraving  of 
the  seven  busts,  in  a  boat,  or  more  probably  a  half-moon,  in 
bronze.'  In  the  Bramdean  pavement,  where  they  are  similarly 
represented  in  busts,  Saturn,  as  the  first,  has  been  destroyed 
with  a  portion  of  the  pavement ;  Sol  is  represented  with  the 
radiated  crown,  and  with  his  usual  attribute,  a  whip  ;  Luna  has 
the  crescent ;  Mars  is  distinguished  by  his  helmet  and  spear ; 
Mercury  has  a  winged  cap,  and  the  caduceus  in  his  hand ; 
Jupiter,  a  sceptre  in  the  form  of  a  trident;  and  A^enus,  a 
mirror.  The  eighth  head  has  been  destroyed  by  the  same 
fracture  which  has  erased  the  figure  of  Saturn.  This  eighth 
figure  seems  to  have  been  chosen  almost  at  pleasure. 

The  minor  deities  and  heroes  of  Roman  mythology  also  have 
their  place  among  the  Roman  altars  found  in  Britain.  Silvanus, 
the  god  of  forests  and  of  hunting,  was  an  object  of  general 
reverence.  We  have  already  (p.  257)  given  an  inscription 
dedicating  an  altar  to  Silvanus,  in  consequence  of  the  slaughter 
of  an  enormous  boar.  An  altar  found  at  Birdoswald  (^Amho- 
glatma)  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

DEO  SANCTO  To  the  holy  God 

siLVANO  VE  Silvanus, 

NATORES  The  hunters  of 

BANNE  ss  Banna  have  consecrated  this. 

At  Moresby,  in  Cumberland,  an  altar  was  found  dedicated  to 
the  God  Silvanus  (deo  silvano),  by  the  second  cohort  of 
Lingones.  Another,  dedicated  to  the  same  deity,  was  found  at 
Netherby,    and   another  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.     An   altar 


CHAP.  X  ]  THE  ORIENTAL  DEITIES.  32o 

found  in  the  north  of  England  was  dedicated  Slloano  Paniheo. 
In  Scotland,  a  mutilated  altar  dedicated  to  Silvanus  was  found 
at  Castlecary ;  and  one  found  at  Eidon  bore  the  follou'ing  in- 
scription : — 

DEO  siLVA  To  the  g'od  Silvanus, 

NO  PRO  SA  tor  the  health  (or  welfare) 

LVTE  SVA  ET  of  himself  and 

SVORVM  CAK  his  family, 

Rivs  DOMITI  Carrius  Domitianus, 

ANVS  0  LEG  XX  centurion  of  the  twentieth  legion 

vv  vs  LL  M  the  valiant  and  victorious,  perforins  his 

vow  most  willingly  and  dutifully. 

Altars  were  dedicated  to  other  gods  for  health  and  welfare. 
An  altar  to  iEsculapius  found  at  Lanchester,  in  Durham,  bears 
a  Greek  inscription,  stating  that  it  was  dedicated  to  the  god  by 
a  tribune  named  Titus  Flavins  Titianus,  for  the  recovery  of  his 
health  {vTrep  (Ttorrjpiag).  Altars  dedicated  to  Hercules  are  not 
very  uncommon.  They  have  been  found  on  the  line  of  Hadrian's 
AVall  and  in  Scotland.  An  altar  was  dedicated  by  the  Vangiones 
at  Habitancum  [Rlsinr/hani)  to  Hercules,  as  tlie  unconquered 
god — deo  inmcto  Hercull.  Another  altar  found  in  the  nortli 
was  dedicated  to  Hercules  and  the  deity  of  Augustus — Hercnll 
ct  nmnini  Aug.  An  altar  found  at  Polmont  in  Scotland,  was 
dedicated  by  a  soldier  in  a  troop  of  Tungrian  cavalry  to  Her- 
cules Magusanus,  an  epithet  which  the  deity  derived  from 
Magusa,  a  town  of  Ethiopia,  from  wlience,  perhaps,  the  dedi- 
cator came.  At  Corbridge  an  altar  was  dedicated  by  a  Grecian 
priestess  to  the  Tyrian  Hercules,  with  the  brief  inscription  : — 

HPAKAEI  To  Hercules 

TIPPIQ  the  Tyriau, 

AIOAQPA  Diodora 

APXIEPEIA  the  high-priestcss. 

Several  of  the  Syrian  and  Oriental  deities  shared  with  those 
of  Home  the  devotion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Britain.  At  (.'or- 
bridge  ( Corstopitum),  where  there  appears  to  have  been  a  Gra^^o- 
Syriac  population,  an  altar  has  been  found  dedicated  to  tiie 
Pliccnician  Astarte,  the  Ashtaroth  of  Scripture,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion which  forms  a  line  in  Greek  hexameter  verse. 

A C T A  PT  H  C  Of  Astarte 

BQMON  M  the  altar  me 

ECOPAC  you  see, 

nOYAXEP  M  Pulcherme 

ANEeHKEIs  dedicated. 


326 


THE  ROMANS. 


[CIlAl-.   X. 


Tlie  curious  fio^ured  plate  of  silver  found  at  Corbridg-e  in  1734, 
and  known  as  the  Corbridfi:^  lanx,  had  no  doubt  some  connection 
with  the  mysterious  worship  which  these  inscriptions  show  to 
have  existed  there  under  the  Romans.  It  contained  figures  of 
Diana,  Minerva,  Juno,  Vesta,  and  Apollo,  with  other  objects, 
the  meaning  of  which  is  obscure 

Another  eastern  superstition,  the  Mithraism  of  Persia,  had 
])lanted  itself  deeply  in  this  island.  The  worship  of  Mithras 
was  established  at  Rome  under  Trajan,  and  it  afterwards  spread 
through  the  western  provinces  of  the  empire.  An  altar  found 
at  Housesteads  in  Northumberland  (Borcovicus)  was  erected  in 
the  year  252,  when  Gallus  and  Volusianus  were  consuls.  It 
bears  the  following  inscription,  in  which  the  title  of  Jupiter 
(i.  o.  M.,  or  Jovi  Optimo  maximo),  is  usurped : — 


T).  o.  M. 

INVICTO  MIT 
RAE  SAECVLAKI 
PV15L  rilOCVLI 
NVS  0  PKO  SE 
ET  PROCVLO  FIL 
SVO  V  S  L  M 
DD  NN  GALLO  ET 
YOLVSINO  COS 


To  the  god  best  and  greatest, 
the  invincible  Mith- 
ras, lord  of  ages, 
Publius  Proculi- 
nus,  centurion,  for  himself 
and  his  son  Proculus, 
performs  his  vow  willingly  and  dutifully, 
our  lords  Gallus  and 
Volusianus  being  consuls. 


This  altar  was  found  in  a  Mithraic  cave.  We  know  that  a  cave, 
or,  at  least,  a  dark  and  generally  subterranean  room  repre- 
senting a  cave,  Avas  properly  the  scene  of  the  worship  of  this 
deity,  which  continued  long-  established  in  the  western  empire. 
We  are  told  that  as  late  as  the  year  378,  G-racchus,  prefect  of 
Rome,  destroyed  the  cave  of  Mithras  in  that  imperial  capital. 
Porphyry  tells  us  that  Mithras  was  worshipped  in  a  cave, 
because  this  was  the  image  and  symbol  of  the  world,  and  that 
it  was  dark,  because  the  essence  of  the  virtues  is  obscure. 
The  mysticism  of  the  Mithraic  worship  entered  deeply  into  the 
doctrines  of  the  Neo-Platonists,  to  whose  school  Porphyry 
belonged.  '  The  cave  at  Housesteads,'  says  Mr  Bruce,  '  was 
situated  in  the  valley  to  the  south  of  the  station.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  1822  by  the  tenant  of  the  farm  in  which  it  stood, 
who  fixed  upon  the  spot  as  one  likely  to  yield  him  the  material 
which  he  required  for  building  a  stone  fence  hard  by.  The 
building  was  square  ;  its  sides  faced  the  cardinal  points  ;  it  had 
been  originally,  as  was  u'sually  the  case  in  a  Mithraic  temple, 
permeated  by  a  small  stream.  Hodgson,  who  saw  it  as  soon 
as  it  was  laid  bare,  says,  "  The  cave  itself  seems  to  have  been  a 


CHAP.  X.]  WORSHIP  OF  MITHIIAS.  327 

low  contemptible  hovel,  dag  out  of  a  hill-side,  lined  with  dry 
walls,  and  covered  with  earth  or  straw."  Tlioug-h  the  building- 
has  been  entirely  removed,  a  small  hollow  is  left  which  marks 
the  spot  where  it  stood.  All  the  sculptured  stones  have  happily 
been  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.' 

The  largest  of  these  sculptures  appeared  to  have  been  broken 
to  pieces,  and  part  of  it  carried  away ;  it  has  been  one  of  those 
remarkable  bas-reliefs  of  which  so  many  examples  have  been 
found  on  the  sites  of  the  Mithraic  worship  in  the  Roman  pro- 
vinces. The  god  Avas  usually  represented  as  a  youth  wearing 
the  Phrygian  l)onnet  and  costume,  and  kneeling  on  a  prostrate 
bull,  which  he  is  sacrificing.  Among  the  numerous  figures  ami 
emblems  attendant  on  this  group,  the  most  conspicuous  are  a 
])ersonage  carrying  an  uplifted  torch,  representing  the  sun  in 
the  vernal  equinox,  and  another  with  an  extinguished  and 
reserved  torch,  representing  the  sun  on  its  approach  to  the 
winter  solstice.  These  two  figures  are  otherwise  explained  as 
the  guides  and  guardians  of  souls  into  and  out  of  life ;  the  one 
with  the  inverted  torch  denoting  the  descent  of  the  souls  to  / 
earth ;  the  other,  with  the  torch  erect,  their  return  to  heaven,  v 
One  of  these  figures,  nearly  entire,  Avas  found  among  the  frag- 
ments in  the  cave  at  Housesteads.  The  remaining  portions  of 
this  monument  had,  no  doubt,  been  carried  away  and  broken 
up  at  a  remote  period — perhaps  for  the  sake  of  the  material — 
by  the  ignorant  peasantry  of  the  neighbourhood.  Another 
sculptured  stone,  found  in  the  same  place,  represented  a  figure 
of  Mithras,  holding  a  sword  in  his  right  hand,  and  a  rather 
indefined  spiral  object  in  his  left,  in  the  centre  of  an  egg-shaped 
tablet,  on  which  were  sculptured  the  signs  of  the  zodiac. 
Other  altars,  besides  the  one  of  which  the  inscription  is  given 
above,  were  found  in  this  cave.  One  bore  an  equally  interest- 
ing inscription,  Avhich  was  easily  read  as  follows  : — 

DEO  To  the  god 

SOLI  iNvi  the  sun,  the  in- 

CTO  MiTii.E  vincible  Mithras, 

SAECVLARi  the  lord  of  ages, 

LiTORivs  Litorius 

PACATIANVS  Facatianus, 

B  F.  COS.  PRO  a  consular  beneficiary,  for 
SE  ET  svis.  V.  s       himself  and  family,  fulfils  his  vow 

L.  M.  willingly  and  dutifully. 

An  inscription  found  at  lliechester  in  Northumberland  com- 


328  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

inemoratcs  the  dedication  of  a  temple,  deo  invlcto  soil  socio 
sacrum,  by  Lucius  Caecilius  Optatus,  a  tribune  of  the  first 
cohort  of  the  Varduli.  Another  smaller  altar  found  in  this 
cave,  from  that  circumstance,  identifies  Mithras  with  the  sun ; 
it  bears  the  simple  inscription, — 

SOLI  To  the  Sun, 

HiEKOX  Hieronymus, 

v.  L.  M.  performs  his  vow  willingly  and  dutifully. 

It  is  to  be  re<>:retted  that  even  bare  walls,  which  marked  the 
site  in  this  island  of  those  dark  and  fearful  mysteries,  which 
w^ere  said  to  have  been  stained  with  human  blood,  and  which  are 
I'epresented  as  having  been  a  principal  cause  of  the  murder  of 
Ihe  imperial  tyrant,  Heliogabalus,  should  have  been  wantonly 
destroyed.  It  was  a  national  monument  of  no  little  value. 
The  important  town  of  Borcovicus,  where  these  remains  w^ere 
found,  was  held  by  a  cohort  of  Tung-rians.  At  Chesters 
{(Murmim),  another  town  on  the  line  of  the  wall,  held  by 
Asturians  from  Spain,  a  sculptured  slab  of  stone  was  found, 
which  is  supposed  also  to  refer  to  the  worship  of  Mithras.* 
Hodgson  has  hazarded  the  following  description  and  explanation 
of  it : — 'The  sculpture  is  in  two  compartments:  that  on  the 
left  seems  to  contain  a  lion,  statant,  raising  the  head  of  a  naked 
and  dead  man;  that  on  the  right,  a  figure  of  Mithras  seated  on 
a  bench,  and  having  a  flag  in  one  hand,  a  wand  [or  sceptre]  in 
tlie  other,  and  on  its  head  the  Persian  tiara  (?).  I  would  hazard 
a  conjecture  that  the  whole  relates  to  the  Mithraic  rites,  called 
Leontica ;  for  the  lion,  in  the  zodiac  of  the  ancient  heathens, 
stood  for  Mithras,  or  the  sun,  which  threw  its  greatest  heat 
upon  the  earth  during  its  course  through  the  constellation  Leo.' 
Monuments  of  the  Mithraic  Avorship  are  said  to  have  been 
found  in  Cambeck-fort  in  Cumberland ;  and  a  portion  of  a 
sculptured  entablature  of  Mithras  and  the  bull  was  found  early 
in  the  last  century  at  Chester.  But  the  most  perfect  of  these 
monuments  yet  seen  in  Britain  was  one  found  at  York,  and  still 
preserved  in  the  vestibule  of  the  museum  of  that  city.  An 
engraving  of  it  is  given  in  Mr  Wellbeloved's  '  Eburacum.'  It 
represents  Mithras  stabbing  the  bull,  with  all  the  usual  attend- 

*  Engravings  of  these  altars  and  sculptures  will  be  found  in  Bruce' s 
'  Roman  Wall.'  On  the  monuments  of  the  worship  of  Mithras,  see  Von 
Haiimier's  '  Mithriuca,'  and  especially  the  French  work  of  M.  Lajard  ou 
this  subject. 


CHAP.  X.]  SERAPIS;  THE  XYMPIIS.  320 

atit  fip,'ures.  It  is  supposed  tliat  the  spot  where  tliis  very 
iiit(3restiiig-  niouuineut  was  discovei-ed  was  the  site  also  of  a 
Mithraic  cave,  where  the  rites  of  the  Persian  deity  Avere  per- 
formed by  the  ancient  citizens  of  Eburacum. 

At  York  also  has  been  found  a  monument  commemorative 
of  one  of  the  deities  of  ancient  Egypt.  It  is  a  large  slab, 
Avith  an  inscription  dedicating  a  temple  to  Serapis,  in  the  fol- 
lowing words : — 

DEO  .  SAXCTO  To  the  holy  God 

SERAPi  Serapis, 

TEMPLVM  .  Aso  this  temple  from  the 

LO  .  FECIT  ground  made 

CL  .  HIERONY  Claudius  Hierony- 

MiANVS  .  LEG  mianus,  legate 

LEG  .  VI  .  VIC  of  the  sixth  legion,  called  the  victorious. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  speak  of  the  prominent  place  lield 
by  the  god  Serapis  among  the  objects  of  worship  in  imperial 
Eome,  and  w^e  are  not  surprised  to  lind  that  a  temple  was 
dedicated  to  him  in  almost  the  hrst  city  in  Eoman  Britain.  If 
we  had  a  few  more  of  the  altai's  and  other  religious  monuments 
which  have  been  destroyed,  or  are  yet  buried  under  the  sod, 
we  should,  no  doubt,  trace  his  worship  in  other  parts  of  Britain. 
An  altar  dedicated  lovi  serapi  (to  Jupiter  Serapis)  has  been 
found  at  Appleby,  in  (Ximberland. 

There  was  another  class  of  Eoman  deities  wdiich  -were,  no 
doubt,  better  understood  by  the  Teutonic,  and  probably  by  the 
Gallic  races,  because  they  bore  a  closer  affinity  to  that  popular 
class  of  mythic  beings  which  are  represented  by  our  elves  and 
fairies — the  nymphs  and  genii.  These  are  commemorated  in 
numerous  altars  found  in  this  island.  The  nymphs  presided 
over  groves  and  meadows,  and  especially  over  fountains.  Close 
l)y  a  spring  of  clear  water  overlooking  the  ancient  station  of 
Habitancum  {RmiKjham),  Avas  found  an  altar  dedicated  to  the 
nymphs  of  the  spot  in  the  following  hexameter  couplet  : — 

Somnio  praimonitus  miles  hanc  ponere  jussit 
Aram  quaa  Fabio  nupta  est  uymphis  veuerandis. 

The  writer  Avas  evidently  more  anxious  to  preserve  the  measure 
of  his  verse  than  to  make  himself  intelligible,  and  the  sense 
intended  to  be  conveyed  is  far  from  clear  Mr  Bruce  has 
ottered  two  explanations.  '  Taking  nupta  est  to  signify  dedi- 
cated, a  peculiar  use  of  the  Avord,  suggested   perhaps  by  its 

X 


330  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

etymological  relationship  with  the  one  which  it  governs. 
uj/Mphis,  the  inscription  will  read — "A  soldier,  warned  in  a 
dream,  directed  the  erection  of  this  altar  which  is  dedicated 
by  Fabius  to  the  nymphs  to  whom  worship  is  dne."  The  other 
method,  of  rendering  it  is  the  follownig: — -"A  soldier,  warned 
in  a  dream,  directed  her  (earn  supplied)  who  is  married  to 
Fabius,  to  erect  this  altar  to  the  nymphs  to  whom  worship  is 
due."  According  to  either  interpretation  tlie  altar  was  erected 
to  the  sylphs  of  the  fountain  in  consequence  of  a  dream.'  An 
altar  found  near  Chester  {Beva),  to  the  east  of  the  town,  on  a 
spot  abounding  in  springs,  bore  the  inscription  : — 


N'YMPHIS 

To  the  nymphs 

ET 

and 

FONTIBVS 

fountains, 

LEG  XX 

the  twentieth  legion, 

V  V 

the  valiant  and  victorious, 

It  reminds  us  of  the  poets  description  of  ^Eneas,  who,  when  he 
had  reached  an  unknown  land, 

Nymphasque  et  adhuc  ignota  prccatur 
Fluniina. 

Tlie  nymphs  and  kindred  deities  were,  in  fact,  regarded  by  th(i 
Homans  with  extreme  reverence,  not  less  than  that  shown  by 
tlie  Germans  to  their  popular  deities,  which  has  not  been 
entirely  eradicated  from  the  minds  of  the  peasantry  even  at  the 
])resent  day.  Another  altar  dedicated  to  the  nymphs  was  found 
at  Nether  Croy,  in  Scotland;  and  at  }i\itch.estei' (Findobala), 
one  was  dedicated  to  a  kindred  class  of  deities,  the  gods  of  the 
mountains.  The  gods  of  the  fields  have  also  their  altars,  and 
in  one,  found  at  Castle  Hill,  on  the  wall  of  Antoninus,  they  are 
identified  with  Britain. — 

CAMPES  To  the  field  deities 

TRiBYs  ET  and  the  deities 

BRiTAXNi  of  Britain, 

Q  piSENTivs  Quiutus  Pisentius 

ivsTvs  PREF  Justus,  prefect 

coH  nil  GAL  of  the  fourth  cohort  of  Gauls, 

V  s  LL  M  performs  his  vow  most  willingly 

and  dutifully. 

Even  the  roads  had  their  deities ;  an  altar  preserved  in  a  muti- 
lated state  at  Tretire,  in  Herefordshire,  on  the  borders  of  the 
great  Koman   iron   district,   was  dedicated,  apparently,  to   the 


CHAP.   X.] 


THE  GENII. 


331 


0-0(1  who  presided  over  cross  roads,  deo 
perfect  altar,  found  at  Gretabridge,  in 
Ibllowing  inscription : — 


trimi ;  and   a  more 
Yorkshire,  had   the 


DEO  QUI  VIAS 
ET  SEMITAS  COM 
MEXTVS  EST  T  IR 
DAS  S  C  E  V  LL  M 

a  VARIVS  VITA 

LIS  ET  E  COS  ARAM 

SACRAM  RESTI 

TVIT 

APRONIANO  ET  BRA 

DVA  COS 


To  the  ^od  who  ways 
and  paths  has  de- 
vised, Titus  Ir- 
das  performed  a  holy  vow  most 

willingly  and  dutifully. 
Quintus  Varius  Vi ta- 
lis, beneficiary  of  the  consul, 
the  holy 
altar  restored, 
Apronianus  and  Bra- 
dua  being  consuls. 


The  altar  erected  by  Titus  Irdas  having-  become  dilapidated, 
Quintus  Yarius  Vitalis  appears  to  have  caused  another  to  be 
made  in  its  place;  he  may  have  been  a  relative  of  the  first 
dedicator.  Apronianus  and  Bradua  were  consuls  in  the  year 
191.  An  altar  has  been  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Hadrian's  Wall  dedicated  to  the  gods  who  preside  over  cidtiva- 
tion,  dls  cultorihiis. 

The  genii  were  a  somewhat  different  description  of  divinities, 
having  each  a  peculiar  object  entrusted  to  his  care.  We  have 
seen  how,  even  when  a  man  opened  a  shop  or  established  a 
trade,  he  began  by  propitiating  tlie  genius  of  the  place  on 
which  he  settled.  When  ^neas  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,  he  invocated  genium  loci.  An  altar  found  at  Chester 
was  dedicated  to  the  genius  of  the  place  for  the  health  of  the 
two  emperors  (probably  Diocletian  and  Maximian) ;  and  the 
same  genius  occurs  in  more  than  one  other  instance  on  Roman 
altars  found  in  Britain.  One  of  these,  found  in  the  camp  at 
Maryport,  in  Cumberland,  and  remarkable  for  its  elaborate 
ornamentation,  is  represented  in  the  annexed  cut.  The  inscrip- 
tion must  be  read  as  follows  : — ■ 


OENIO  LOCI 
rORTVNAE  REDVCI 
ROMAE  AETERNAE 
ET  FATO  BONO 
G  CORNELIVS 
PEREGRIXVS 
TRIB  COHOR 
EX  PROVINCIA 
MAVR  CAESA 
1>0M0  SE 


To  the  genius  of  the  place, 

to  fortune,  who  had  brought  him  ba'^.k 

to  eternal  Rome, 

and  to  propitious  fate, 

Gaius  Cornelius 

Peregrinus, 

tribune  of  a  cohort, 

from  the  province  of 

Mauritania  Cassariensis 

native  of  Se  .  ,  .  . 


!32 


THE  ROMANS 


[chap,  jl 


The   last   line  of  the  inscription,  probably  containing  the 
usual  formula,  V  s  L  l  m  {votam  solveus  libeitti..'s8iiut  iiierlto),  luis 


Roman  Altar  found  at  Maryport. 

been  entirely  erased,  and  we  have  only  two  letters  left  of  the 
name  of  the  town  from  which  Peregrinus  came ;  perhaps  it  was 
on  the  river  Serbes.*  '  Peregrinus,'  observes  Mr  Bruce,  '  ad- 
dresses first  the  deity  of  the  place  over  which  his  arms  had 
triumphed ;  lest  the  local  god  should  not  smile  benignantly,  he 

*  The  last  remaining  letters  of  tlie  inscription  have  usually  been  ex- 
plained domos  e\yersos\  and  supposed  to  refer  to  some  buildings  which  tlie 
tribune  Peregrinus  had  restored,  but  the  interpretation  give  i  above  is  the 
only  one  authorised  by  a  comparison  of  other  similar  inscriptions. 


I 


CHAP.  X.]  THE  GEXII.  333 

resorts  to  Fortune,  who  had  conducted  him  safely  to  the  hind 
of*  his  adoption.  If  this  deity  should  fail  him,  he  thinks  to 
find  a  refuge  in  the  o-enius  of  the  eternal  city ;  but,  driven 
from  this  resource,  there  is  nothing'  for  it  but  to  trust  to  fate  or 
chance.' 

Besides  the  genii  which  presided  over  each  particular  locality, 
there  was  a  genius  of  each  province  of  the  empire,  and  a  genius 
of  imperial  Rome  itself.  At  Auchindavy,  in  Scotland,  were 
found  several  altars,  dedicated  to  different  deities  by  a  centurion 
of  the  second  legion,  named  Marcus  Cocceius  Firmus.  On  one 
of  these  was  the  inscription  : — 


GEXIO 

TERRAE 

To  the  genius 
of  the  land 

RRITA 
NNICAE 
M  COCCEI 

of 

Britain, 

Marcus  Cocceius 

FjRMVS 

0  LEG  II  AVG 

Firmus, 

centurion  of  the  second  legion, 
the  Augustan 

Tlie  pedestal  of  a  statue,  which  probably  represented  a  figure  of 
Britannia,  was  dug  up  at  York  in  the  nuddle  of  the  last  century, 
with  the  inscription  : — 

r.RiTANNiAE  To  sacred 

SANCTAE,  Britain, 

1'  .  NicoMEDES  Publius  Nicomedes, 

AVGG  .N.N  of  our  two  einperors 

libertvs  the  freednian. 

The  two  emperors  were  no  doubt  Severus  and  Caracalla. 

At  Whitby  Castle,  in  Northumberland,  an  altar  Avas  dedi- 
cated by  the  Nervii  to  the  genius  of  Rome,  genio  Roma.  At 
Maryport,  in  Cumberland,  was  found  another  inscription, 
KOMAE  AETEKNAE  ET  EORTUNAE  REDVCi.  One  at  Ricchester 
was  dedicated,  dea  Roma,  to  the  goddess  Roma,  A  tablet  was 
found  at  Stanwicks,  in  the  same  county,  with  an  inscription 
which  has  been  interpreted  as  follows  :  — 

leg.  VI.  The  sixth  legion, 

vie.  P.r.  the  victorious,  pious,  and  faithful, 

G.  p.  r.f.  to  the  genius  of  the  Roman  people 

made  (or  erected)  this 

There  were  genii  who  presided  even  over  palaces  and  public 


Sci 


THE  ROMANS. 


[CHAP.  X. 


offices.     The  fine  altar  represented  in  our  cut,  was  found   at 
C'hesterholm  (^Flndolana)  ;  it  is  ornamented  with  figures  of  the 


Roman  Altar  found  at  Chesterholm  (Vlndola)ta). 

usual  instruments  of  sacrifice,  and  with  another  object,  which  is 
not  so  easily  explained,  and  it  may  be  observed  that  the  focus, 
or  hollow  at  the  top,  was  reddened  by  the  action  of  the  sacri- 
ficial fire.     The  inscription  is  : — 


GENIO 
PRAKTOllI 
SACKVM  PI 
TVANIVS  SE 

CVNDVS  PllAE 

VECTYS  CHO  nil 
GALLOR 


To  the  genius 

of  the  prfetorium 

sacred,  Pi- 

tuanius  Se- 

cundus  prae- 

fect  of  the  fourth  cohort 

of  Gauls. 


An  altar  was  found  at  Lanchester  (Epiacum),  dedicated  to  the 
same  genius  by  a  tribune  of  the  Lingones  : — 


CHAP.  X.]  THE  GEXII.  S25 

GENIO  PRAETORI         To  the  g-pniu.^  of  the  pr.netjrium, 
CL  EPAPHRODiTVS       Clfiudius  Epiiphroditus 
CLAVDIANVS  Claudianus, 

TRIBVNVS  CHO  tribune  of  the  second  cohort 

.  .  I  LING  V  L  p  M       of  Ling-ones,  placed  his  vow 

willingly  and  dutifully. 

An  altar  Avas  found  at  Caerleon  (^Isca  Silmvon^,  dedicated  to 
tiie  genius  of  tlie  second  le2;ion ;  and  one  found  in  Nortli 
Britain  was  dedicated  to  the  genius  of  the  first  wing  of 
Spaniards,  (/e7tio  ala  i.  Hispanorum.  Thus  each  pra3torium, 
or  quarters,  and  each  troop,  had  its  presiding  genius.  An 
altar  recently  discovered  at  Chester  has  the  still  more  curious 
inscription  : — 

GEXio  To  the  genius 

AVERXi  of  Avernus, 

IVL  QViN  Julius  Quin- 

TILIANVS  tilianus. 

which  shows  that  even  the  presiding  genius  of  the  infernal 
regions  had  his  worshippers  in  Roman  Britain. 

The  numen,  or  divinity,  of  the  emperors,  was  also  an  object 
of  worship,  and  occurs  rather  frequently  on  altars.  We  have 
already  referred  to  examples  in  which  the  imperial  niimiua  were 
combined  with  other  deities.  At  Chester,  an  altar  was  found 
dedicated  numini  AkcjusU,  to  the  deity  of  Augustus.  The 
dedication,  mimmibus  Avgustl,  is  common  on  altars  found  in 
different  places  in  Northumberland.  One  found  at  Risingham 
was  dedicated  by  tlie  fourtli  coliort  of  Gauls,  luiviinihtis  Aiigiis- 
tonoii,  which  is  supposed  by  Horsley  to  refer  to  Sever  us  and 
Caracalla,  and  by  others  to  Caracalla  and  Geta.  An  altar, 
found  also  at  Risingham,  which  will  be  given  further  on,  is 
dedicated,  nnuilui  dom'mi  nostrl  Angnsti,  to  the  divinity  of 
our  lord  the  Augustus.  Another,  found  in  Cumberhnnd,  has, 
nummi  Imperatoris  Alexandrl  August i,  to  the  divinity  of  the 
emperor  Alexander  the  Augustus,  referring  to  Alexander  Severus, 
who  held  the  empire  from  222  to  235.  In  an  inscription  found 
at  Hexham,  in  1726,  the  emperor,  supposed  to  be  Commodus, 
is  spoken  of  as,  pr absent Issivium  nnmoi  del.  ^ 

Numerous  altars  have  been  found  dedicated  to  Fortune,  who 
seems  to  have  been  a  popidar  deity  among  the  towns  of  Roman 
Britain.  AVe  have  one  on  the  line  of  the  wall  of  Antoninus, 
ill  Scotland,  dedicated  conjointly  by  detachments  of  the  second 
and  sixth  legions.  An  altar,  dedicated  to  the  same  goddess  by 
a  centurion  of  the  sixth  legion,  occurs  at  Chesterholm  (^Flndo- 
laua),  in  Northumberland.     A  lady,  whose  father  belonged  to 


336  .         THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

the  second  legion,  dedicated  an  altar  to  Fortune,  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  sixth  leg-ion  at  Eburacum  (York).  This  monu- 
ment, which  may  still  be  seen  in  the  York  museum,  has  the 
inscription ; — 


DEAE 

To  the  goddess 

FORTVNAE 

Fortune, 

SOSIA 

Sosia 

IVNCIXA 

Jimcina, 

F  ANTONI 

daughter  of  Antonius 

ISAVRICI 

I?auricus, 

LEG  AVG 

of  the  Augustan  legion, 

An  altar  at  Netherby  was  dedicated  by  the  Spaniards,  dea 
sanct(2  TortimfB,  to  the  sacred  goddess  Fortune.  On  an  altar 
at  Whelp  Castle,  in  Westmoreland,  she  is  reverenced  as  For- 
tima  servatrlx.  One  at  Manchester  was  dedicated,  Fc7'tiince 
conservatricl ;  and  on  several  altars  the  goddess  is  worshipped 
as  Fortuna  rednx.  An  altar  at  Chester  was  dedicated  con- 
jointly to  Fortuna  redux,  JEsculapius,  and  Salus.  One  found 
at  Chesterliolm  {Vindolana),  was  dedicated,  fortmice  popidi 
Romani,  to  the  fortune  of  the  Koman  people.  But  the  most 
interesting  of  all  the  inscriptions  to  this  goddess  is  one  found 
at  Bowes  in  Yorkshire  {Lavatra),  which  was  raised  by  the 
celebrated  pro-praetor,  or  governor  of  Britain,  Virius  Lupus:  — 

DEAE  FORTVNAE  To  the  goddess  Fortune, 

viRivs  Lvpvs  Virius  Lupus, 

LEG  AVG  PR  PR  legate  of  Augustus,  proprietor, 

BALiNEVM  VI  the  bath,  by  force 

IGNIS  EXVST  of  fire  burnt, 

VM  COH  I  THR  of  the  first  cohort  of  the 

ACVM  REST  Thracians,  restored, 

ITVIT  CVRAN  under  the  care 

TE  vAL  FRON  of  Valerius  Fronto, 

TONE  PRAEF  praefcct 

Ea  ALAE  VETTO  of  the  wiug  of  horse  of  Vottones. 

Victory  was  no  less  favourite  a  deity  with  the  Eomans  in 
Britain  than  Fortune.  A  large  sculptured  figure  of  this  goddess 
has  been  found  at  Housesteadsin  Northumberland  (Borcovicus). 
An  altar  at  Rough  Castle  in  Scotland  was  dedicated  to  Victory 
by  the  Nervii.  Another,  at  Ribchester  in  Lancashire  ( Coccium), 
was  dedicated  to  Mars  and  Victory.  A  sculptured  figure  of 
Victory  at  Cambeck-fort  in  Cumberland  bore  the  inscription 
viCToiiiAE  AVG,  to  victory  of  Augustus ;  and  the  same  words 
occur  in  the  dedicatory  inscription  of  an  altar  found  at  Hex- 
ham.    At  Benwell  {Condercum),  an  inscribed    slab,  probably 


PHAF.  X.]  MORAL  DEDICATIONS.  ??! 

belon^-ing-  to  a  temple,  was  found  with  the  tbllowiug-  dedicatory 
inscription,  in  a  label  supported  on  each  side  by  a  winged 
figure : — 

vTCTOiaAE  To  Victory 

.  .  .  GG  NN  TE  of  our  two  Augusti  {this)  made 

N  s  SENECio  the  nephew  of  Socius  Senecio 

N  cos  FELIX  the  consul,  Felix, 

ALAE  I  ASTO  of  the  first  wing  of  the  Asturians 

.  .  .  M  PRAE  pruifect. 

At  Castlesteads,  in  Cumberland,  was  found  an  altar  dedicated 
DisciPViJNAE  AVG,  to  the  discipline  of  the  Augustus.  This  is 
an  inscription  which  is  found  on  several  of  the  Koman  imperial 
coins.  Virtues  or  moral  principles  were  deified  in  the  same 
manner.  We  have  seen  before  (p.  233)  the  god  Bonus  Eventus 
commemorated  in  the  tesselated  pavement  of  a  Eoman  villa ; 
at  Binchester  in  Durham  a  nmtilated  altar  was  found  with  an 
imperfect  inscription,  to  Mars  and  Bonus  Eventus,  hyf  a  tribune 
of  the  tirst  cohort  of  Cartovians  (?)  : — 


TRiB  COHOR  I  tribune  of  the  first  cohort 

CARTOV  ....  of  Cartov 

MARTI  viCTORl  to  Mars  the  victor, 

GENio  LOCI  to  the  genius  of  the  place, 

ET  BONO  and  to  good 

EVENT  VI  event. 

An  altar  at  Caerleon  was  dedicated  to  Fortune  and  Bonus 
Eventus.  An  inscription  was  found  at  Elsdon  in  Northum- 
berland, near  the  Watling  Street,  which  Horsley  reads  as 
follows  : — 

BONO  GENERIS  To  the  good  of  the 

HVMAN  IMPE  human  race, 

RANTE  CALPVR  by  Order  of  Calpur- 

Nio  AGRICOLA  nius  Agricola, 

AVG  PR  PR  PosviT         the  pi'opraetor  of  Augustus  {this)  placed 

AC  DEDiCAViT  and  dedicated, 

c  A  ACiLivs  Cams  Aulus  Acilius. 

Calpurnius  Agricola  was  proprietor  of  Britain  under  Antoninus  , 
and  the  inscription  was  probably  the  dedication  of  the  temple, 
but  I  am  not  aware  of  any  other  instance  in  which  the  good  of 
the  human  race  was  deified.  Not  less  singular  is  an  inscribed 
altar  found  at  Kisingham  {Ilahitancnm)  to  a  goddess  who  is 
supposed  to  be  the  personitication  of  the  tertian  ague  : — 


3;:8  THE  ROMANS.  [chai.  x. 

DEAR  TER  To  the  goddess 

TIAN'AR  SA  Tertian 

CRVM  AKL  sacred,  ^lius 

TIMOTHEA  p  Tiinothea  placed  it, 

/  s  LL  M  performing  a  vow  most 

willingly  and  dutilally. 

At  Ccirvorau  a  small  altar  was  found,  dedicated  deae 
EPONAE — to  tlie  goddess  Epona,  who  presided  over  mules  and 
stables ;  the  favourite  deity  of  the  gay  jockey  in  Juvenal 
{Sat.  viii.  155), — 

Intcrea  dum  lanatas  torvumque  juvencum 
More  Niimae  ciedit  Jovis  ante  altaria,  jurat 
Solam  Eponam  et  facies  olida  ad  pr;esepia  pictas. 

Some  of  tlie  (ledicators,  not  content  Avith  invoking  one  deity, 
endeavoured  to  include  them  all  under  one  invocation.  Tlius 
a  prefect  of  tlie  Dalmatian  coliorljit  Ellenborough,  dedicated 
an  altar  collectively  to  the  gods  and  goddesses,  dm  (Jeahns'pir. 
Another  altar  found  at  Chesters  {Cil/inuuj/),  was  dedicated  to 
Apollo  'and  all  the  deities,'  d&o  JpoUuil  ei  owuibns  nunn- 
iilhioi.  There  has  been  found  also  in  the  neighbourhood  ot 
Hadrian's  wall  an  altar  inscribed,  deabus  onutlbiis,  to  all  the 
goddesses. 

We  now  come  to  a  class  of  divinities  which  have  a  peculiar 
interest  in  connection  with  the  early  history  of  our  island,  the 
deities  of  the  auxiliary  races  who  formed  so  important  an 
element  of  its  population.  Among  these  we  must  place,  first, 
a  class  of  deities  commonly  known  by  the  title  of  the  dere 
matres.  Altars  and  inscriptions  to  these  deities  are  very  numer- 
ous in  Belgic  Ganl  and  Germany,  and  more  especially  along 
the  banks  of  the  Ehine,  where  they  are  often  called  viatroiup 
instead  of  matres,  and  they  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the 
Teutonic  race.  Not  more  than  one  altar  to  these  deities  has,  I 
believe,  been  found  in  Italy,  and  we  do  not  trace  them  in  the 
classic  writers.  When  the  de(S  matres  are  figured  on  the  altars 
or  other  monuments,  they  are  always  represented  as  three 
females,  seated,  with  baskets  or  bowls  of  fruit  on  their  knees, 
which  were  probably  emblematical  of  the  plenty  which  they 
were  believed  to  distribute  to  mankind.  ]\\  the  accompanying 
representation  of  the  npper  part  of  an  altar  preserved  in  the 
museum  at  Cologne,  the  group  of  the  three  goddesses  has 
suffered  less  injury  than  is  nsually  the  case  with  such  monu- 
metits. 

We  are  fortunately  enabled  in  this  instance  to  identii'v  the 


niAT.    X.] 


THE  DE.E  iMATUES. 


389 


people  to  wliom  these  deities  belong-ed,  for  it  is  an  iiiterestiiiii; 
fact  that  tlie  reverence  for  the  three  goddesses  who  presided 
over  the  wood?  and  fields,  pre-arranged  the  fates  of  individuals, 


MATPvONIS 
AFLIABV^ 


The  Deae  Matres,  from  the  altar  at  Cologne. 

and  dispensed  the  blessings  of  Providence  to  mankind,  may  be 
traced  down  to  a  comparatively  late  period  both  in  Germany 
and  England.  Among  the  slight  and  contemptuous  notices- of 
Germanic  paganism  by  the  Christian  writers  of  the  earlier  ages 
after  the  conversion  of  the  Teutonic  tribes,  we  find  allusions  to 
the  conjoined  images  of  three  deities,  but  not  sufficiently 
explicit  to  allow  us  to  identify  them  completely  with  those 
which  remain  on  the  Roman  altars.  When,  in  the  sixth 
century,  Columbanus  and  St  Gall  arrived  at  Bregenz  {Brigan- 
tlam),  in  Switzerland,  they  found  that  the  people  there  paid 
adoration  to  three  images  placed  together  against  the  wall  of 
their  temple.*  Probably  this  was  a  monument  of  the  dece 
matres  in  their  original  country.     But  it  is  among  the  popuhir 

*  Trcs  ergo  iniarjhies  sereas  et  deauratas  superstitiosa  gentilitas  ibi 
Qo\chi\\.—Aiion.  Vit.  IS.  Gal. — Repererunt  autem  in  templo  trcs  imagines 
wreas  deauratas  parieli  affixas,  quas  populus  ....  adorabat. —  WalaJ'rid 
Strabo,  Vit.  S.  Gal. 


340  THE  ROMANS.  [chap,  x 

superstitious  that  we  shall  find  the  most  distiuct  allusion  to  the 
three  personages,  who  are  looked  upon  often  as  three  wood- 
nymphs,  and  who  are  characterized  by  the  same  appellations,  of 
domhia^  matronce,  dames,  houiies  dames,  &c.,  which  Ave  find  on 
the  Roman  monuments.* 

They  are  sometimes  regarded  as  the  three  Fates — the  Noj-ni 
of  the  north,  the  wo'lcyrian  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  (the  weird 
sisters,  transformed  in  Shakespeare  into  three  witches),  disposing 
of  the  fates  of  individuals,  and  dealing  out  life  and  death.  But 
they  are  also  found  distributing  rewards  and  punishments, 
giving  wealth  and  prosperity,  and  conferring  fruitfulness.  They 
are  the  three  fairies,  who  are  often  introduced  in  the  fairy 
legends  of  a  later  period,  with  these  same  characteristics.  In  a 
story  of  the  Italian  Pentamerone,  ire  fate  (three  fairies)  are 
described  as  residing  at  the  bottom  of  a  rocky  dell,  and  as  con- 
ferring gifts  upon  children  who  went  down  into  it.  In  the 
collection  of  superstitions  condemned  by  Burchard,  bishop  of 
Worms,  who  died  in  1024,  we  are  told  that  the  German  women 
of  his  time  had  the  custom,  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  of 
spreading  tables  in  their  houses  with  meat  and  drink,  and 
laying  three  knives,  that  if  the  three  sisters  should  come  (whom 
Burchard  interprets  as  being  equivalent  to  the  Roman  Parcse), 
they  might  partake  of  their  hospitality. f  These  were  the  later 
fairy  women  who  visited  people's  houses  by  night,  and  whose 
benevolence  was  thus  conciliated.  In  the  older  legends,  the 
fairies  are  most  commonly  thi-ee  in  number.  In  later  German 
tales,  we  have  sometimes  three  females  occupied  in  spinning, 
described  as  hateful  old  women  ;  sometimes  they  are  old  women, 
but  not  engaged  in  this  occupation ;  in  another  story,  they  are 
two  young  Avomen  sitting  spinning,  and  a  third,  the  Avicked  one, 
bound  below.  In  one  instance,  on  a  Roman  altar,  the  middle 
figure  seems  to  be  bound.  Instances  of  most  of  these  Avill  be 
found  in  the  Kinder -Mar  chen,  and  in  the  Deutsche  Sagen,  of  the 
Grimms.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  Norni  and  the  wselcyrian 
Avere  represented  sitting  and  spinning.     When  Fridlaf  went  to 

*  It  was  a  feeling  of  dread  in  the  popular  superstition  of  the  middle 
ages  not  to  call  such  beings  by  their  particular  names  ;  and  the  same  senti- 
ment exists  still  in  Ireland,  and  even  in  some  remote  parts  of  England, 
Avhere  the  peasantry  dai-e  not  call  the  elves  and  fairies  by  any  other  name 
than  Ihe  respectful  title  of  the  good  people,  the  ladies,  &c. 

t  Fecisti  ut  qua^dani  mulieres  in  quibusdam  teniporibus  anni  facere 
Solent,  ut  in  domo  sua  mensam  praeparares  et  tuos  cibos  et  potum  cum 
tribus  cultellis  supra  mensam  poneres,  ut  si  venissent  tres  ilke  scn'on  s  qua^ 
antiqua  posteritas  et  antiqua  stultitia  Parcas  nominavit,  ibi  reticerentur. 


CHAr.  X.]  THE  FATES  AXD  NYMniS.  341 

consult  the  oracle  of  the  fates,  he  saw,  withm  the  temple,  three 
neata,  occupied  by  three  ni/uiphs,^  each  of  whom  conferred  a  ^-I'ft 
npon  liis  sou  Olaf,  two  of  them  givinp;  good  gifts  and  the  third 
an  evil  one. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  centnrv,  according  to  a  pious 
legend,  a  Worcestershire  swine-herrl,  forcing  his  way  tlirougli  the 
dense  thickets  of  the  forests  which  then  covered  that  part  of  the 
island,  in  search  of  a  stray  swine,  came  suddenly  to  a  fair  open 
lawn,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  saw  three  beautiful  maidens,  cKid 
in  heavenly  garments,  and  singing  sweetly,  one  being  snperior 
to  the  otheis  ;  (avc  have  here  the  distinction  constantly  observed 
in  Ihe  traditionary  legends  between  two  of  the  goddesses  and 
the  third  ;)  he  told  his  story  to  the  bishop,  Egwin,  Avho  accom- 
panied him  to  the  spot,  and  was  also  favoured  with  the  vision. 
Egwin  decided  at  once  that  it  was  the  Yirgin  Mary,  accompanied 
by  two  angels ;  and  he  built  on  the  spot  a  monastery,  which 
was  afterwards  famous  by  the  name  of  Evesham. f  The  vision  is 
represented  on  tlie  old  abbey  seal.  In  all  probability  the  site 
of  Evesham  had  been  a  spot  dedicated  by  the  nncon verted 
Saxons  to  the  worship  of  the  three  goddesses,  and  Egwin  had 
seized  the  popular  legend  to  consecrate  it  for  a  Christian  estab- 
lishment. 

A  Latin  poet  of  AYinchester,  the  monk  Wolstan,  who  lived  in 
the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  has  left  us  a  singular  story 
relating  to  the  three  nymphs  who  presided  over  that  district,  and 
whom,  differing  in  this  from  Egwin,  but  agreeing  with  the  gen- 
erality of  ecclesiastical  writers  when  they  handled  the  popular 
superstitions,  he  has  blackened  both  in  person  and  character.  A 
citizen  of  Winchester  one  day  went  out  to  visit  his  farm,  and 
returning  somewhat  late  towards  his  home,  near  the  little  stream 
which  passes  by  the  city,  he  was  stopped  by  two  dark  women 
in  a  state  of  nudity — 


*  Mos  erat  antiquis  super  futuris  liberorum  eventibus  Parcarum  oracula 
consultare.  Quo  ritu  Fridlevus  Olavi  filii  fortunam  exploraturus,  iiuncu- 
patis  solenniter  votis,  deorum  sedes  precabundus  accedit,  ubi  introspe(;to 
sacello  ter>ias  sedes  totidem  mjmphis  occupari  cognoscit.  Quaruui  prima 
induli^cntioris  animi  liberalein  puero  fonuani,  uberemque  huniani  favoris 
copiaiu  erogabat.  Eidem  secunda  beneficii  loco  liberalitatis  excellentiani 
condonavit.  Tertia  vero  protervioris  ingenii  invidentiorisque  studii  foeinina 
sororuin  indulgentiorem  aspernata  ccnsensuiu,  ideoque  earuin  donis  ofticere 
cupiens,  tuturis  pueri  nioribus  pursiinoniHe  criiueu  affixit. — Saxo  Gram- 
maticus,  lib.  vi.  p.  102. 

t  MS.  Cotton,  Nero  E,  I.  fol.  26,  v",  wlicre  the  story  is  told  by  bishop 
Egwiu  himself. 


342  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

Nam  prope  praefatum  solus  dum  pergeret  ainnpn\, 
Haud  procul  aspiciens  furias  videt  ecce  geiuellas 
Ante  suaiu  faciem,  nullo  velamine  tectas, 
Sed  piceas  totas  obsceno  nt  corpore  nudas, 
Crinibus  horrendas  furvis  et  vultibus  atras, 
Armatas  g-elido  serpentinoque  veneno. 
Quae  super  extremam  praedioti  fluminis  undam 
Ceu  geininae  externis  furium  sedere  sorores. 
Quae  mox  ut  coram  sese  properantor  euntem 
Conspexere  virum,  surgunt,  et  coniinus  illi 
Occurrunt,  et  eum  pariter  hac  voce  salutant : 
'  Frater  amande,  veni ;  nostras  adtende  loquelas  ; 
Hue  celer  appropia,  volunius  quia  pauca  loquendo 
Verba  referre  tibi  :  tu  stans  ea  protinus  audi.' 

JFolstani  Mirac.  S.  Sivithttui,  MS.  Reg. 
15  C,  vii.  fol.  74,  v°. 

The  man,  instead  of  paying  due  respect  to  the  hidies  by 
listening  to  them,  ran  away  in  a  fright,  and  they  pursued  him, 
threatening  vengeance  for  the  disregard  which  he  had  shown  to 
their  commands — • 

Cur,  insane,  fugis  ?  quo,  jam  inoriture,  recurris  ? 
Non  nos  incolumis,  miser,  evasisse  valebis, 
Sed  nobis  spretis  borrenda  pericla  subibis. 

He  now  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  and  his  terror  was  increased 
when  a  third  female,  who  had  lain  concealed  on  the  hill,  stopped 
his  way. — It  is  not  improbable  that  these  nymphs  haunted 
the  deserted  fortress  of  the  pagans  of  old,  and  the  barrow- 
covered  downs  which  still  overlook  this  ancient  city,  from  which 
their  worship  had  then  been  banished  by  the  influence  of  the 
gospel. 

Tertia  progreditur  veniens  a  vertice  coUis, 
Terribilis  vultu  proceraque  corpore  vasto, 
Usa  tamen  niveo  pictoque  decenter  amictu, 
Dissimilisque  habitu  vultuque  prioribus  extans. 
Haec  etenim  latuit  post  collem  fraude  reperta, 
Propter  iter  per  quod  cupiit  transire  viator 
Quatinus  hunc  caperet,  furvis  si  intactus  abiret. 

In  her  angry  mood,  the  third  nymph  struck  the  inobedient 
mortal  senseless  to  the  ground,  and  then  they  disappeared  in 
the  waters  of  the  river — 

Nee  mora,  cum  furiis  linquens  abscessit  in  amnis 
Gurgite,  praecipiti  saliens  ac  praepete  saltu. 

Tlie  man  graduallv  recovered  his  senses,  but  he  found  hiniseir 


CHAP.  X.]  THE  DEiE  MATRES.  343 

a  cripple,  and  with  dirticiilty  crawled  to  the  eastern  gate  of  tlie 
city,  which  was  not  far  distant. 

Another  Ang-lo-Latin  poet,  but  who  lived  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  twelfth  century,  Nigellus  Wireker,  has  preserved  in  his 
Speculum  Stdtorum,  a  tale  which  furnishes  a  still  more  remark- 
able illustration  of  the  character  of  the  three  goddesses  when 
they  had  become  mere  personages  of  mediieval  popular  fable. 
Nigellus  still  compares  them  with  the  Latin  Parcce.  The  three 
sisters,  he  says,  went  out  into  the  woi'ld  to  relieve  men  from 
their  troubles  and  misfortunes — ^' 

Ibant  tres  liominum  curas  lelevare  sorores, 

Quas  nos  fatales  diciiiius  esse  deas. 
Unus  erat  cultus  tribus  his  eadeiiique  voluntas, 

Naturae  vitiis  ferre  salutis  opem  ; 
Et  quod  avara  minus  dederat,  vel  prodiga  multuin, 

His  emendandis  pluriina  cura  fuit. 

As  they  went  along,  they  found,  mider  a  shady  bank,  a 
beautiful  maiden,  of  a  noble  family,  and  rich  in  the  goods  of 
the  world,  yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  advantages,  she  was  weeping 
and  lamenting.  Two  of  the  sisters  proposed  to  relieve  her  of 
her  grief,  but  the  third  opposed  their  desires,  and  gave  them  a 
short  lecture  on  the  ill  uses  some  people  make  of  prosperity. 

'  Venimus,  ut  nostis,  nos  tres  invisere  munduni, 

Ut  ferremus  opem,  sed  qui  bus  esset  opus. 
Non  opus  est  isti,  quia  quam  natura  beavit 

In  quantum  potuit,  et  quibus  ansa  fuif, 
Cui  genus  et  speciem  formae  tribuit  specialem, 

Debet  id  et  nobis  et  satis  esse  sibi. 
Forsitan  auxiliuni  si  praestaremus  eidem, 

I'osset  de  facill  deteriora  pati.' 

They  left  the  weeping  damsel,  and  proceeded  to  a  shady  wood, 
M'here  lay  another  maiden  on  a  couch  :  she,  like  the  former,  was 
beautiful  and  intellectual,  and,  as  it  appears,  like  her,  also  rich  ; 
but  she  was  lame  of  her  lower  extremities,  and,  unable  to  walk, 
she  had  been  brought  thither  to  enjoy  the  green  shade.  She 
courteously  addressed  the  three  nymphs,  and  showed  them  the 
way  to  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  wood,  where  a  pleasant 
fountain  gave  rise  to  a  clear  stream.  The  two  sisters  now  pro- 
posed to  relieve  the  damsel  of  her  infirmity,  but  the  third  again 

*  The  extracts  froa.  iLis  poc;;.,  tuiven  rioui  au  old  printed  eait.on,  are 
compared  with  a  copy  in  MS.  Harl.,  No.  2422. 


:m  THE  ROMANS.  [CHAP.  x. 

iuterposc'dj  on  tlie  ground  that  the  Lidy  enjoyed  advantages 
sutiicient  to  overbahmce  this  one  inconvenience  under  which  she 
Jaboured,  and  whicli  were  granted  to  few  of  those  who  ai'e  made 
perfect  in  their  limbs.  The  nymphs  again  passed  on,  and, 
towards  evening,  were  proceeding  towards  a  town,  Avhere,  not  far 
outside  the  gates,  they  saw  a  rustic  girl,  wlio,  unacquainted  Avith 
the  delicacies  of  more  cultivated  life,  performed  an  act  in  public 
which  shocked  the  two  nymphs  who  had  shown  so  much  com- 
passion on  the  former  occasions.  The  third  nymph  drew  the 
others  back. 

Erubuere  duae,  visum  vultumque  tegentcs, 

Vestibus  objectis,  arripuere  fugam. 
Tertia  subsistens,  revocansque  duas  fugientes, 

'Ut  quid,'  ait,  '  fugitis  Y  siste,  quaeso,  gra  Una.' 

She  shows  them  that  they  have  here  really  an  occasion  of 
bettering  the  condition  of  one  who  enjoyed  none  of  the  advan- 
tages of  fortune,  and  they  determine  to  give  her  all  sorts  of 
riches,  and  to  make  her  the  lady  of  the  town. 

'  Quodque  nequit  fieri,  naturani  degonerare 

Nolumus,  injustas  non  decet  esse  deas. 
Res  et  opes  adjici  possunt,  extraque  liniri 

Naturae  salva  proprietate  sua. 
Nos  igitur  quibics  est  super  his  collata 2)otestas, 

Denius  abundanti  munera  magna  manu, 
Divitias  et  opes,  census,  fundos,  et  honoves, 

Praidia,  montana,  pascua,  prata,  greges  ; 
Urbis  et  istius  dominam  statuamus  eaudem, 

Ut  nihil  in  nostro  muuere  desit  ei.' 

It  may  be  observed  that,  from  the  Pojnitentiale  of  Baldwin 
bishop  of  Exeter,  the  contemporary  of  Nigellus  Wireker,  who 
composed  this  work  for  the  use  of  his  own  diocese,  it  would 
appear  then  to  have  been  the  common  practice  in  England, 
to  lay  the  table  with  three  knives  (at  night,  of  course)  to  con- 
ciliate these  three  personages,  that  they  might  confer  good  gifts 
on  chddren  born  in  the  house.* 

In  a  fabliau  of  the  thirteenth  century,  of  so  indelicate  a 
character  that  we  cannot  even  mention  its  title,  the  three  god- 
desses appear  in  the  character  of  three  beautiful  fairii^s  bathing 

*  Qui  mensam  prajparavit,  cum  tribns  cultellis  in  famulatum  por- 
sonarum,  ut  ibi  nascentibus  bona  prtedestinent. — Liber  Foenitent.  Baldw 
rsraui  Evisc.  MS.  Cotton.  Faustiu<«  A.  viij.,  tH.  32,  r°. 


CHAP.  X.]  THE  DE^  MATRES.  34o 

in  a  fountain,  and  are  still  endowed  with  the  same  quality  of 
conferring  benefits.  There  was  a  beautiful  shady  fountain  in 
the  midst  of  a  fair  meadow. 

En  la  fontaine  se  baignoient 
Tfois  puceles  preuz  et  senees, 
Qui  de  biaute  .^ernbloient  fees ; 
Lor  robes  a  tout  lor  chemises 
Orent  desor  un  arbre  mises. 

A  knight  passing  that  way,  very  ungallantly  seizes  upon  their 
dresses ;  but  softened  by  their  urgent  entreaties,  he  restores 
them.  In  return  for  this  courtesy,  each  of  them  confer  a  gift 
upon  him  :  the  gift  of  the  first  was  that  he  should  be  received 
into  favour  wherever  he  went ;  that  of  tlie  second  was,  that  he 
should  ahvays  be  successful  in  his  suits  to  the  ladies;  and  the 
third,  who  hei'c  again  appears  as  giving  something  totally  con- 
trary in  character  to  that  of  her  two  companions,  conferred  a 
gift  which  cannot  easily  be  named.  In  a  manuscript  in  the 
British  Museum  (MS.  Harl.  No.  2253),  there  is  a  different 
version  of  this  fabliau,  which  seems  to  be  the  one  current  in 
England  at  the  begiiming  of  the  fourteenth  century  ;  in  it  the 
scene  of  the  nymphs  bathing  is  thus  described  : — 

Ce  fust  en  este  quant  la  flour 
Verdist  e  dount  bon  odour, 
E  les  oylsels  sunt  chauntanz, 
E  demenent  solas  graunz. 
Come  il  ererent  en  une  pleyne, 
Qe  ert  delees  une  fonteyne, 
Si  virent  un  petit  russhel, 
Auke  petit,  nies  molt  bele  ; 
Yleque  virent  treis  damoiseles, 
Sages,  oortoises,  e  tresbeles, 
Qu'en  la  russhele  se  bagnerent, 
Se  desduront  e  solacerent. 

Eoman  monuments  commemorative  of  the  de^  mntres  are  by 
no  means  uncommon  in  Britain.  The  lower  portion,  much 
damaged,  of  a  large  sculpture  of  the  dese  matres  was  found  in 
digging  to  the  Eoman  level  in  Hart-street,  in  the  City  of 
London,  and  a  good  and  correct  engraving  of  it  is  given  in  Mr 
Eoach  Smith's  '  (lollectanea  Antiqua.'  It  is  now  in  the  Guild- 
hall. Monuments  of  the  three  goddesses  have  been  met  with 
at  Ancaster  and  at  Lincoln.  An  altar  dedicated  to  them  has 
been  found  at  York ;  and  more  northwardly,  especially  in  the 
M'all  districts,  where  the  Teutonic  race  predominated,  tliey  are 


S46 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap. 


X. 


Very  common.  At  Bincliester,  in  Durham  {Finovluvi),  an  altar 
was  found  dedicated  deab  matkib  q,  l  o,  which  has  been  inter- 
preted deabu8  matrihm  qua  locum  occupant,  to  the  dese  matres 
wlio  occupy  the  place.  This  was  in  accordance  with  the  popular 
belief  of   the    Germans,    that    every   place    had  its  presiding- 


Altar  found  at  Risingliani  {HahitancuDi). 

mothers.  An  altar  found  at  Eisingham,  and  represented  in 
the  annexed  cut,  is  dedicated  to  the  transmarine  mothers,  by 
one  who  preferred  the  presiding  deities  of  his  native  land  : — 

MATRiBV  To  tLe  mothers 

8  TRAMA  transmarine, 

RiNis  IVL  Julius  Victor 

VICTOR  .  V  .  s  .  L  .  M  performs  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully. 

The  cone,  which  is  introduced  on  this  altar,  is  generally  con- 
sidered to  have  been  an  aphrodisiac  emblem,  and  the  ornaments 
round  it  seem  to  indicate  rather  a  late  date — they  resemble 
tliose  on  some  of  the  late  Eoman  pottery. 

An  altar  found  at  Brougham,  in  Westmoreland,  was  dedicated 
to  the  transmarine  mothers  by  a  vexillation  of  Germans,  which 
is  a  further  indication  of  the  country  to  which  these  deities 
belong : — 


DEABVS  MATRIRVS 
TRAMAR  VEX  GERMA 
NORVM  PRO  SALVTE 
lil'  V  S  L  M 


To  the  g'oddess  mothrrs 
transmarine,  the  vexillation  of 
Germans,  for  the  safety 
of  the  state,  perform  a  vow  willinjjly 
and  dutifully. 


cirA?.  X.]  THE  DE-E  MATRES.  347 

A  broken  tablet  found  near  Old  Penrith,  in  Cumberland,  was 
inscribed  by  a  vexillation,  of  which  the  name  of  the  country  is 
lost,  to  the  transmarine  mothers,  in  conjunction  with  the  em- 
peror, Alexander  Severus,  and  his  mother,  Mammaea : — 

DEAUVS  MATRIBV8  THAMARINIS 
ET  N  IMP  ALEX  AND  HI  AVG  ET  IVL  MAM 
MEAE  MATR  AVG  N  ET  CASTRORVM  TO 
TI  .   .  .  .  DOMVI  DIVINAE  AE 
....  LATIO  .... 

An  altar  found  at  York,  with  a  somewhat  difficult  inscription, 
has  been  interpreted  as  dedicated,  viatribus  Jfricls,  Itallcis, 
GaUlcis,  to  the  mothers  of  Africa,  Italy,  and  Gaul;  but  this 
interpretation  is  rather  doubtful.  Anotlier  inscription  found  in 
Enghnid  i^oes  still  further;  it  is  a  dedication,  vicdrlbns  onnuinn. 
(jentlum,  to  the  mothers  of  all  nations.  An  altar  found  at 
Stanwicks,  in  Cumberland,  was  dedicated  to  the  domestic 
mothers,  matribus  domestlcls.  Another,  found  at  Cramond,  in 
Scotland,  was  dedicated  by  the  first  cohort  of  Tiuigrians  to  the 
mothers  of  Alaterva  and  of  the  fields,  matribus  Alatervls  et 
matribus  campestribus.  A  slab  found  at  Benw^ell  {Condercum) 
commemorates  the  erection  of  a  temple  to  the  mothers  of  the 
fields — matribus  campestribus — by  tiie  prefect  of  the  first  wing- of 
Asturians  from  Spain.  Curiously  enough,  an  altar  found  at  the 
same  place,  and  which  had,  perhaps,  been  placed  in  the  temple, 
was  dedicated,  to  the  three  deities  under  the  title  of  lamice, 
denoting  their  noxious  qualities,  lamits  tuibvs.  Other  altars, 
dedicated  dlis  Matribus,  have  been  found  at  llibchester,  South 
Shields,  &c. ;  and  one  at  Binchester,  with  the  inscription 
MATRiBVS  SACiivM.  Broken  sculptures  of  the  deje  matres  have 
l)een  found  at  Netherby,  and  at  other  places  in  the  north. 

Mr  Roach  Smith  has  given  examj)les  from  Germany,  of 
dedications  viatrouis  AJliabus  (the  one  engraved  in  our  cut 
on  p.  339),  MaJdinehis,  Hamavehis,  Ruiiia)ichabus,  matribus 
Treveris,  and  a  great  many  others,  which  are  evidently  named 
from  places ;  and  he  remarks  that  '  it  will  be  observed,  that 
wliile  in  Germany  the  adjective  always  represents  tlie  locality, 
in  those  found  in  England  it  is  merely  a  general  epithet,  as 
tliougli  the  divi.iities  addressed  were  those  of  strangers  to  the 
country.' 

The  worship  of  the  German  or  other  colonists,  as  far  as  it 
was  derived  from  their  native   countries,  seems  to  have   been 


348 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  X. 


<>enerally  directed  to  tliose  popular  deities  wliicli  were  not  known 
to  them  by  distinctive  names.  Tlie  names  of  the  gods  appear 
to  have  been  regarded  as  too  sacred  to  be  entrusted  to  every 
tongue.  Hence,  in  almost  all  cases  where  Ave  can  trace  the 
origin  of  the  names  of  such  deities  on  altars  in  Roman  Britain, 
they  are  fonnd  to  be  derived  from  the  names  of  places,  from 
whence  probably  the  dedicators  derived  their  origin.  There  are, 
however,  one  or  two  exceptions  of  names  of  foreign  deities, 
which,  from  their  frequent  recurrence,  must  have  belonged  to  a 
national  mythology.  Thus,  in  the  north  of  England,  sevei-al 
altars  have  been  found  dedicated  to  a  god  whose  name  appears 
to  have  been  Veteres,  Vetires,  or  Vetiris.  At  Netherby,  in 
Cumberland,  which  appears  to  have  been  occupied  by  Dacians, 
two  altars  have  been  found,  one  dedicated  deo  vetiri  sancto, 
the  other  deo  mogonti  vitires.  At  Lanchester,  in  the  county 
of  Durham,  a  small  altar  bore  the  simple  inscription  deo  vit. 
Another  found  at  Ebchester,  in  the  same  county,  on  one  side  of 
which  was  the  figure  of  a  boar,  and  on  the  other  that  of  a  toad, 
had  the  following  inscription  : — 


DEO 
VITIRI 

To  the  g-od 
Yitires 

MAXIMV 
S  V  S 

Maximus 
performs  a  vow 

Two  altars  of   the  same   deity   had  been    found    at    Ben  well 
{Condercimi),  in  both  of   which  he   is    distinguished    by    the 


Roman  Altar  found  at  Ben  well  {Condercum). 


ciiAr.  x]  THE  GOD  VITIRES.  349 

epithet  sanctus,  or  lioly ;  on  the  first,  which  is  represented  in 
the  accoinpanyiiio;  cut,  the  inscription  is  merely  deo  vetki 
SANCT,  to  the  lioly  god  Vetris.  This  altar  has  the  usual  figures 
of  the  implements  of  sacritice.  The  other  has  the  figure  of  a 
liog,  with  the  inscription  vitirb  v  s,  which  is  either  tntirbus,  or 
vltlrb  votiim  solvit.  The  station  at  Benwell  was  occupied  by 
Asturians.  An  altar  at  Tliirlwall  Castle,  also  on  Hadrian's 
wall,  was  dedicated  deo  sancto  vetei?!.  Three  altars  to  this 
god  have  been  found  at  Carvoran  {Magna),  Avhich  was  occupied 
by  Dalmatians.     The  inscription  on  one  was  : — 


DEO 

To  the  god 

VITIRI 

Vitires 

MEN  I 

Menius 

DADA 

Dnda 

V  S  L  M 

lultilled  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully 

A  second  had  an  inscription,  of  which  the  commencement  was 
DEO  vitirine  .  .  .  ,  the  two  last  letters  of  which  may  be  tlie 
commencement  of  another  word,  though,  I  think,  there  has  also 
been  found  an  altar  dedicated  deo  veterino.  The  third  of  the 
Carvoran  altars  bore  the  inscription  : — 

DiRUS  To  the  rustic  gods 

viTiRiBVS  Vitires, 

DECcivs  Deccius 

V  .  s  .  L  .  M  performs  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully. 

I  translate  it  according  to  a  suggestion  which  has  been  made 
that  the  first  line  should  be  read,  dlis  rustlcis.  On  some  other 
altars  the  name  is  in  the  plural,  veterlbus,  and  veterubus.  As 
the  altars  were  dedicated  apparently  by  people  of  widely  differ- 
ent countries,  they  give  us  no  assistance  in  appropriating  this 
deity.  The  word  has  been  supposed  to  be  identical  with 
Vithris,  one  of  the  names  of  the  northern  Odin,  the  Woden  of 
the  Germans. 

Another  deity,  whose  altars  are  found  chiefly  in  Cumberland, 
where  they  are  numerous,  was  named  Belatucadrus ;  by  which 
name,  without  any  epithet,  a  small  altar  found  at  Ellenborough 
was  dedicated  by  Julius  Civilis.  Several  other  altars  dedicated 
to  this  deity  have  been  found  at  Netherby,  Castlesteads, 
Burgh-on-the-Sands,  Bankshead,  and  other  places.  In  some 
instances,  as  in  an  altar  found  at  Druinburgh,  the  deity  is 
addressed  by  the  epithet,  deo  sancto  belatvcadro.  In  some 
altars  he  is  identified  with  Mars,  as  on  one  found  at  Plumpton 


350  tup:  ROMANS.  [cHAr.  x. 

Wall,  dedicated  deo  marti  belatvcadi?!  et  nvminib  augg. 
Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  derive  the  name  from 
Hebrew,  Welsh,  or  Irish,  and  it  has  been  hastily  tahen  for 
granted  that  this  god  was  identical  with  the  Piioeuician  Baal. 
.Altars  to  Belatncadnis  have  been  found  at  Kirby  Thore,  at 
AVhelpcastle,  and  at  Brougham,  in  Westmoreland.  The  one  at 
]^rougliam  was  dedicated  by  a  man  named  Andagus,  which 
sounds  like  a  Teutonic  name. 

In  Cumberland  also  are  found  rather  frequently  altars  dedi- 
cated to  a  god  named  Cocideus  or  Cocidius.  Tour  were  found 
at  Bankshead  and  Howgill.  One  at  Netherby — dedicated  deo 
SANCTO  cociDio — gives  him  the  same  epithet  which  has  been 
before  applied  to  Yetires  and  Belatucadrns.  He  is  also  identi- 
lied  with  Mars  in  an  inscription  at  Lancaster,  deo  sancto 
MARTI  COCIDIO,  as  well  as  in  another  found  at  Old  Wall,  in 
Cumberland.  The  latter  was  dedicated  by  a  soldier  of  the  tirst 
cohort  of  Dacians.  Of  the  two  found  at  Bankshead,  one  was 
dedicated  by  a  soldier  of  the  second  legion,  the  other  by  one  of 
the  sixth.  An  altar  was  found  at  Bewcastle  dedicated  sancto 
cociDEO  TAVRVNC.  It  is  probable  that  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Bankshead  or  Howgill  there  has  been  a  temple 
dedicated  to  this  god,  important  enough  to  give  its  name  to  a 
small  town.  The  anonymous  geographer  of  Eavenna  mentions 
a  town  in  this  part  of  the  country  which  in  the  ordinary 
printed  text  is  called  Fanocedi,  but  one  of  the  manuscripts 
gives  Fanococidi,  which  is  no  doubt  the  correct  reading.  The 
place  was  called  Fanuni  Cocidi,  from  the  temple  of  the  deity. 
An  altar  to  Cocidius  at  Netherby  was  dedicated  by  a  tribune  of 
the  first  cohort  of  Nervians. 

Another  deity,  whose  altars  are  found  chiefly  in  Cumberland, 
is  called,  in  the  dative  case,  Mogonti ;  perhaps  the  nominative 
was  Mogonlis.  An  altar  at  Netherby,  mentioned  above,  seems 
to  identify  him  with  Vetires.  The  inscription  at  Old  Penrith, 
DEO  MOGTi,  is  perhaps  only  an  abbreviation  of  the  name.  The 
name  deo  movnti,  found  on  an  altar  at  Plumpton  Wall,  is  pio- 
bably  only  another  form.  At  Kisingham,  in  Northumberland. 
{Ilabitancum),  an  altar  Avas  found  with  the  inscription  : — 

MOGONT  CAD  To  Mongontis  Cad  .  .  . 

ET  .  N  .  D  .  N  .  AVG  and  the  deity  of  our  lord  the  Augiistus, 

M  .  G  .  SECVNDINVS  Marcus  Gaius  Secundinus, 

«r  .  cos  .  HABiTA  a  beneficiary  of  the  consul,  at 

xci  PKIMA  STA  the  first  station  of  Habitancuin, 

PRO  SE  ET  svis  I'os  ])laced  it  for  himself  and  his  family. 


CHAP.  X.]  GODS  OF  THE  AUXILIARIES.  351 

Another  altar  in  the  same  place  was  dedicated  deo  movno  cad. 
Horsley  supposes  that  6W  refers  to  the  Caledonian  tribe  of  the 
Gadeni,  which  I  think  is  at  least  very  doubtful.  It  appears 
that  a  cohort  of  Vangiones  from  Belgic  Gaul  was  established 
here. 

A  considerable  number  of  names  of  gods  are  found  on]> 
once,  and  were,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  taken  from  the  names 
of  places.  Thus  an  altar  discovered  recently  at  York  was 
(h'dicated  to  a  god  named  Arciaconus,  probably  from  the  town 
of  Arciaca,  in  Gaul :  * — 

DEO  To  the  god 

ARCIACOX  Arciaconus, 

ET  N  .  AVG  SI  and  to  the  divinity  of  the  Augustus, 

MAT  VITALIS  Simatius  Vitalis 

OKD  V  .  s.  M  ....  performs  a  vow  dutifully. 

A  goddess  Ancasta  is  mentioned  on  an  altar  found  at  Bittern, 
in  Hampshire,  (Clausentum)  : — 

DEAE  To  the  goddess 

ANCA  Ancas- 

STAE  G  ta, 

EMiNV  Geminus 

s  MANTI  Mantius 

V  s  L  M  performs  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully. 

AtBirrens,  in  Scotland,  is  a  dedication  to  a  goddess  Brigan- 
tia,  with  n  winged  figure  of  the  deity,  holding  a  spear  in  her 
right  hand,  and  a  globe  in  the  left.  It  was  supposed  that  this 
was  the  deity  of  the  country  of  the  Brigantes,  but  I  am  not 
aware  that  this  country  was  ever  called  Brigantia,  and  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  conqueror  would  worship  the  deity  of  a  van- 
(juislied  tribe.  I  feel  more  inclined  to  suppose  the  name  was 
taken  from  Brigantium,  in  Switzerland,  a  town  which  occupied 
the  site  of  the  modern  Bregentz.  An  altar  found  at  Chester 
was  dedicated  deae  nvmphae  brig,  which  in  this  case  would 
be  '  to  the  nymph  goddess  of  Brigantium.' 

An  altar  dedicated  deo  ceaiio,  to  a  deity  named  Ceajius, 
was   found   at   Drumburgh,    in    Cumberland.     One  found  at 

*  It  has  been  remarked  that  in  other  provinces  of  the  empire  we  find 
deities  characterised  by  similar  appellations.  Thus  we  have  among  the 
inscribed  altars  found  in  the  country  on  the  Rhine,  one  dedicated  '  Dete 
Bibracte,'  a  name  perhaps  taken  from  the  town  of  Bibracte,  in  Roman 
Britain. 


352  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

Gretabridge,  in  Yorksliire,  was  dedicated  drae  IsYmphae 
ELAVNAE,  to  the  nvmpli  goddess  of  Elauna.  An  altar  found  at 
Plumpton  Wall,  in  Cumberland,  gave  us  the  name  of  a  god 
called  (jadunus.  One  found  at  Thirl  wall,  on  the  wall  of 
Hadrian,  was  dedicated  to  a  dea  Hammia,  who  is  supposed  by 
Hodgson  to  have  been  named  from  Hamah,  on  the  Orontes. 
Perhaps,  however,  this  goddess  may  have  been  named  from  the 
Hamii,  a  tribe  from  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  who  are  found 
stationed  in  this  part  of  Britain.  A  goddess  named  Harimella 
— DEAE  HARIMELLAE — is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  found  at 
Birrens,  in  Scotland.  An  inscription,  deo  hercvlenti,  occurs 
at  E,ibchester ;  and  one  to  a  goddess  called  Jalona  is  said  to 
have  been  found  at  the  same  place.  An  altar  at  Armthwaite, 
in  Cumberland,  presented  the  following  inscription  to  a  god 
Maponus,  dedicated  by  Germans  : — 


DEO 

To  the  god 

MAPONO 

Maponus, 

ET  N  AVG 

and  to  the  divinity  of  the  Augustus, 

DVRIO 

Durio 

ET  RAMI 

and  Rami 

ET  TRVrO 

and  Trupo 

ET  LVRIO 

and  Lurio, 

GERMA 

Germans, 

NI  V  S  L  M 

performed  a  vow  willingly  and  dutifully 

Another  altar  inscribed  to  this  deity  was  found  at  Hexham. 
An  altar  found  at  Elsdon,  in  Northumberland,  is  dedicated  to 
a  god  Matunus — deo  matvno.  A  goddess  named  on  an  altar 
found  at  Birrens,  in  Scotland,  dea  Ricagm  .  .  . ,  is  shown  by  the 
inscription  to  have  belonged  to  the  Beda  pagus,  in  Germany. 
Mr  Roach  Smith,  who  first  pointed  out  this  fact,  has  also 
suggested  that  a  title  given  to  Neptune  in  an  inscription  on  an 
altar  found  in  the  north  of  England,  Neptuno  Sarabo  sino,  may 
be  explained  as  referring  to  the  Saravus,  now  the  Sarr,  a 
tributary  of  the  Moselle,  commemorated  in  the  lines  of 
Ausonius  : — 

Tuque  per  obliqui  fauces  vexate  Saravi, 
Qua  bis  terna  fremunt  scopulosis  ostia  pilis. 

A  dea  Setlocenia  is  mentioned  in  an  altar  found  at  EUenborough, 
in  Cumberland.  At  llkey,  in  Yorkshire  {OUcana),  was  found 
an  altar  dedicated  to  Verbeia — verbeiae  sacrvm.     Lastly,  a 


CHAP.  X.]  GODS  OF  TEIE  AUXILIAKIES.  3o3 

<2:o(l(iess  called  Viradesthi  appears  on  the  altar  at  Birrens,  dedi- 
cated bv  a  Tungrian  soldier  : — ■ 

DEAE  viRADES  To  the  {^oddess  Viradesthi 

THi  PAGVS  CON  PafTUS  Condustris, 

DvSTius  MiLi  a  soldier  in 

IX  COH  II.  TUN  the  second  cohort  of  Tungrians, 

GR  SVB  sivo  under  Sivus 

AVSPICE  PR  Auspex, 

AEFE  the  praefect. 

Sucli  is  a  ""eneral  view  of  the  character  of  the  religious  monu- 
ments of  the  Roman  period  found  in  Britain.  It  cannot  but 
excite  our  astonishment  that  among  such  an  immense  number 
of  altars  and  inscriptions  of  temples,  and  with  so  many  hun- 
dreds of  Eoman  sepulchres  and  graves  as  have  been  opened  in 
this  country,  we  find  not  a  single  trace  of  the  religion  of  the 
Gospel.  We  must  bear  in  mind,  moreover,  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  these  monuments  belonged  to  a  late  period  of  the 
Roman  occupation ;  in  many  of  the  inscriptions  relating  to 
temples,  the  building  is  said  to  have  been  rebuilt,  after  having 
fallen  into  ruin  through  its  anticptity — vetustate  collapsum ;  and 
the  examination  of  more  than  one  of  the  more  magnificent 
villas  has  proved  that  they  Avere  erected  on  the  site  of  an  older 
villa,  which  had  probably  been  taken  down  for  the  same  reason. 
We  seem  driven  by  these  circumstances  to  the  unavoidable 
conclusion  that  Christianity  was  not  established  in  Roman 
Britain,  although  it  is  a  conclusion  totally  at  variance  with  the 
preconceived  notions  into  which  we  have  been  led  by  the  eccle- 
siastical historians. 

The  accounts  of  the  supposed  establishment  of  Christianity 
in  our  island  at  this  early  period  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes.  Pirst,  we  have  a  few  allusions  to  Britain  in  the  earlier 
(/hristian  writers,  which  must  evidently  be  taken  as  little  better 
than  fiourishes  of  rhetoric.  Britain  was  the  western  extremity 
of  the  known  world,  and  when  the  z?alous  preacher  wished  to 
impress  on  his  hearers  or  readers  the  widely  extended  success 
of  the  gospel,  he  would  tell  them  that  it  extended  from  India 
to  Britain,  without  considering  much  whether  he  was  literally 
correct  in  saying  that  there  were  Christians  in  either  of  these 
two  extremes.  We  must  probably  consider  in  this  light  certain 
passages  in  Tertullian,  Origen,  Jerome,  and  others.  In  the 
second  class  we  must  place  the  statements  of  certain  ecclesiastical 
writers  who  lived  at  no  great  length  of  time  after  the  Roman 
period.     In  the  year  314,  the  emperor  Constantine  called  the 


/ 


354  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  x. 

first  ecclesiastical  council,  at  Aries,  to  settle  a  dispute  among- 
the  African  bishops ;  a  list  of  the  clergy  who  attended  has  been 
preserved,  and  is  printed  in  the  Collections  of  Councils,  but  T 
am  not  aware  that  it  reposes  upon  any  good  authority ;  in  it 
ai"e  said  to  have  come  from  Britain,  Eborius,  bishop  of  Ebura- 
cnm  (York) ;  Eestitutus,  bishop  of  London  ;  Adelfius,  bishop  of 
Colotiia  Loud'uiensimn ;  Sacerdos  the  priest ;  and  Arminius  the 
deacon.  I  confess  that  the  list  looks  to  me  extremely  suspi- 
cious, much  like  the  invention  of  a  later  period.  In  the  year 
360,  under  the  emperor  Constantius,  a  council  was  called  at 
Ariminum  {Rimini)^  in  Italy,  on  account  of  the  Arian  contro- 
versy, and  it  is  said  to  have  been  attended  by  four  hundred 
bishops.  The  prelates  assembled  on  this  occasion  were  to  be 
supported  at  the  public  expense,  but  we  are  told  by  the  eccle- 
siastical historian,  Sulpicius  Severus,  who  wrote  about  forty 
years  afterwards,  '  that  this  seemed  unbecoming  to  the  bishops 
of  Aquitaine,  Gaul,  and  Britain,  and  they  chose  rather  to  live 
at  their  own  charge,  than  at  the  public  expense.  Three  only 
from  Britain,  on  account  of  their  poverty,  made  use  of  the 
public  provision  ;  for,  though  tlie  other  bishops  offered  to  make; 
a  subscription  for  them,  they  thought  it  more  becoming  to  be 
indebted  to  the  public  purse,  than  to  be  a  burthen  upon  indi- 
viduals.' If  this  account  be  true,  and  three  bishops  really 
went  from  Britain,  they  were  perhaps  only  missionaries,  whose 
converts  were  too  few  and  too  poor  to  be  able  to  support 
them.* 

A  third  class  of  authorities  is  mucb  less  valuable,  and  far 
more  extravagant.  When  the  popes  began  to  claim  a  sovereign 
])ower,  they  were  anxious  to  make  it  appear  that  the  whole  of 
the  western  empire  had  been  converted  at  an  early  period,  and 
had  been  deperulent  on  the  Roman  see.  Eor  this  purpose, 
legendary  stories  were  invented  which  will  not  bear  criticism. 
Such  were  the  stories  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea  and  St  Paul, 
who  were  each  said  to  have  planted  Christianity  in  Britain  not 
long  after  the  death  of  Christ.  It  need  hardly  be  stated  that 
there  is  no  authority  for  either  of  these  legends.  According  to 
a  legend  existing  in  the  time  of  Bede,  Lucius,  king  of  the 
Britons,   in   the   year    156,    wrote    to    the    pope   Eleutherius, 

*  It  seems  to  me  that  the  three  names  of  British  bishops  pretended  to 
have  been  at  the  council  of  Aries,  had  been  made  to  answer  to  the  thre<» 
bishops  mentioned  by  Sulpicius  Severus.  I  think  it  has  not  been  yet  sati.-*- 
faotorily  ascertained  when  the  name  Jh'ifaiuii  was  first  applied  to  the 
people  of  the  country  now  called  Breragne. 


CHAP,  x]  CHRISTIANITY.  3.55 

•  beseeching  him  to  issue  a  mandnte  that  he  miglit  be  made  a 
Christian ;  and  afterwards  he  obtained  the  object  of  his  pious 
petition,  and  the  Britons  preserved  immaculate  and  sound,  in 
peace  and  tranquillity,  the  faith  Avhich  they  had  received,  until 
tiie  reign  of  the  emperor  Diocletian.'  There  are  anachronisms 
in  this  story  which  have  furnished  matter  for  much  discussion ; 
but  the  whole  is  quite  as  inconsistent  with  history,  and  with 
what  we  know  of  the  state  of  the  island,  as  with  chronology. 
The  story  of  king  Lucius  can  be  regarded  as  nothing  more  than 
a  Romish  fable.  The  pretended  persecution  in  Britain  under 
Diocletian  is  a  kind  of  sequel  to  the  history  of  king  Lucius. 
A  persecution  of  the  Christians  is  not  likely  to  have  taken  place 
under  the  orders  of  the  tolerant  Constantius,  who  was  governor 
of  Britain  when  the  persecution  of  Diocletian  commenced,  and 
who  became  emperor  two  years  later,  and  in  another  year  left 
his  title  to  his  son  Constantine.  The  outline  of  the  legend  of 
St  Alban  was  probably  an  invention  of  the  sixth  century,  at  / 
the  latter  end  of  which  his  name  is  mentioned  by  the  poet  ^ 
Tortunatus,  who  enumerates  him  among  the  blessed  martyrs, — 

Albanum  egregium  foecunda  Britannia  profert. 

In  the  '  Biographia  Britannica  Literaria'  (Anglo-Saxon  period), 
I  have  pointed  out,  I  think,  substantial  reasons  for  doubting 
the  authenticity  of  the  work  attributed  to  Gildas,  on  which 
chiefly  our  notions  of  the  establishment  of  Christianity  in 
Eoman  Britain  are  founded ;  and  the  more  I  examine  this  book, 
the  more  I  am  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  views  I  there 
stated.  If  the  authority  of  such  writers  be  worth  anything, 
we  mnst  take  it  for  granted  that  at  least  after  the  age  of  Con- 
stantine, Eoman  Britain  was  a  Christian  country ;  that  it  was 
filled  with  churches,  clergy,  and  bishops,  and,  in  fact,  that 
paganism  had  been  abolished  throughout  the  land.  We  should 
imagine  that  the  invaders,  under  whom  the  Roman  power  fell, 
found  nothing  but  Christian  altars  to  overthrow,  and  temples  of 
Christ  to  demolish.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  how 
utterly  at  variance  such  a  statement  is  with  the  result  of  anti-  w 
quarian  researches.  I  have  stated  that  not  a  trace  of  Chris- 
tianity is  found  among  the  innumerable  religious  and  sepulchral 
monuments  of  the  Roman   period  found   in   Britain.*      One 

*  In  considering  questions  of  this  kind  we  should  avoid,  as  much  as 
possible,  conjectures  and  suppositions,  and  accept  nothing  but  absolute 
tacts.  Writers  have  at  times  taken  for  granted  that  certain  modes  of 
interments,  or  forms  of  ornament,  indicated  the  sepulchres  of  followers  uf 


'60b  TIIK  KOMANS.  LcHAi'.  v 

solitary  memorial  of  the  religion  of  Ciirist  has,  however,  been 
found,  and  that  under  very  remarkable  circumstances.  On  the 
principal  tesselated  pavement  in  the  Roman  villa  at  Frampton 
in  Dorsetshire,  the  Christian  monogram  (the  x  and  p)  is  found 
r  in  the  midst  of  figures  and  emblems,  all  of  which  are  purely 
Pagan.  Lysons,  who  published  an  engraving  of  this  pavement, 
attempted  to  explain  this  singular  anomaly,  by  supposing  that 
the  monogram  of  Christ  had  been  added  at  a  later  period  by  a 
Christian,  who  had  become  possessed  of  the  old  Pagan  house. 
Eut  there  seems  to  have  beeii  nC'  a;}pea;ance  in  the  work  of  the 
pavement  that  it  had  been  a  subsequent  insertion,  and  it  must 
b'.;  agreed  that  a  Christian  of  this  period  was  not  likely  to  be 
so  tolerant  of  heathenism,  as  to  place  a  Christian  emblem 
among  pictures  and  even  inscriptions  relating  to  that  profane 
mythology  on  which  he  was  taught  to  look  with  horror,  and 
which  he  could  not  for  a  moment  understand.  I  am  inclined 
to  think  it  more  probable  that  the  beautiful  Roman  villa  at 
Frampton  had  belonged  to  some  wealthy  proprietor  who  pos- 
sessed a  taste  for  literature  and  philosophy,  and  with  a  tolerant 
spirit  which  led  him  to  seek  to  surround  himself  with  the  me- 
morials of  all  systems,  he  had  adopted  among  the  rest  that 
which  he  might  learn  from  some  of  the  imperial  coins  to  be  the 
emblem  of  Christ.  Jesus,  in  his  eyes,  might  stand  on  the  same 
footing  as  Socrates  or  Pythagoras. 

We  can  understand,  without  difficulty,  when  we  consider 
that  this  distant  province  was,  from  its  insular  position,  far 
more  independent  of  the  central  influence  of  the  empire  than 
other  parts,  why  the  new  faith  was  slow  in  penetrating  to  it, 
and  was  not  readily  adopted.  No  doubt,  among  the  recruits 
who  were  sent  to  the  Roman  troops,  and  the  strangers  who 
visited  the  island  as  merchants,  or  settlers,  there  must  have 
been  individuals  who  had  embraced  the  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
But  we  must  bear  in  mind  also,  that  the  population  of  Britain, 
during  the  later  period  of  the  Roman  power,  seems  to  have 
been  recruited  more  and  more  from,  the  Pagan  tribes  of  Ger- 
many and  the  North. 

the  gospel.  Thus  some  have  supposed  that  burial  of  the  body  without 
cremation  was  an  evidence  of  Christianity,  which  certainly  is  not  the  case. 
Others  have  insisted  that  the  presence  of  a  wreath,  or  palm-branch,  among- 
the  ornaments  of  sepulchral  inscription,  is  a  proof  that  it  stood  over  the 
body  of  a  Christian.  Before,  however,  we  can  take  this  for  granted,  we 
must  be  satisfied  that  such  an  ornament  could  not  be  employed  on  a  Pagan 
monument. 


CHAP,  xi.l  MODES  OF  SEPULTURE.  367 


CHAPTER  XL 

Modes  of  Sepulture  in  Roman  Britain — Cremation  and  Um-T3uriul — Modcis 
of  Interment — Burial  of  the  Body  entire — Sarcophagi — Coffins  of 
Baked  Clay,  Lead,  and  Wood — Barrows — Sepulchral  Chambers — 
Inscriptions,  and  their  Sentiments — Various  Articles  deposited  with 
the  Dead — Fulgor  Divoni. 

The  burial  customs  of  a  people  are  closely  allied  to  its 
relig'ious  belief;  but  tlie  settlers  in  Roman  Britain  appear  to 
have  adopted  exclusively  the  Roman  forms  of  sepidture.  We 
lesiirn  from  the  ancient  writers  that  it  was  the  earlier  practice  of 
the  Romans  to  bury  the  body  of  their  dead  entire,  and  that  it 
was  not  till  the  time  of  the  dictator  Sylla  that  the  custom  of 
burning  the  dead  was  established.  From  this  time  either  usage 
continued  to  be  adopted,  at  the  will  of  the  individual,  or  of  the 
family  of  the  deceased  ;  but  in  the  second  century  of  the 
C'hristian  era  the  older  practice  is  said  to  have  become  again 
more  fashionable  than  that  of  cremation,  and  from  this  time  it 
gradually  superseded  it.  We  find  that  both  modes  of  burial 
were  used  indiscriminately  in  Roman  Britain,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  different  peoples  who  composed  the  Roman  population 
adopted  that  practice  which  was  most  agreeable  to  their  own 
prejudices.  The  practice  of  burning  the  dead  and  burying  the - 
ashes  in  urns  seems,  hoAvever,  to  have  predominated. 

The  earliest  code  of  the  Roman  laws,  that  of  the  Twelve 
Tables,  prohibited  the  burial  or  burniug  of  the  dead  within  the 
city,  and  it  was  only  in  rare  instances  that  this  prohibition  was 
evaded  or  transgressed.  The  same  law  was  acted  upon  in  the 
towns  of  the  provinces,  A  sepulchral  interment,  consisting  of 
a  skeleton  laid  in  a  tomb  of  Roman  tiles,  was  found  a  few 
years  ago  in  Green  Street,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  of 
London  ;  it  formed  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  in  Roman 
Britain,   where,  as  in  Italy,  the  cemetery  w^as  always  placed 


i^ 


358  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xr. 

outside  tlie  town,  usually  by  the  side  of  tlie  roads  wliicli  led 
from  the  principal  g-ates.  In  the  country  we  generally  tind  the 
bnrial-places  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  villa  or 
of  the  hamlet. 

When  a  Eoman  had  breathed  his  last,  his  body  was  laid  out 
and  washed,  and  a  small  coin  was  placed  in  his  mouth,  which 
it  was  supposed  he  would  require  to  pay  his  passage  in  Charon's 
boat.  If  the  corpse  was  to  be  burnt,  it  was  carried  on  the  day 
of  the  funeral  in  solemn  procession  to  the  funeral  pile,  which 
was  raised  in  a  place  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  called  the 
ustrlmim.  The  pile,  called  rogus,  or  pyra,  was  built  of  the 
most  inflammable  wood,  differing  in  size  according  to  the  rank 
or  wealth  of  the  individual ;  and  when  the  body  had  been 
placed  upon  it,  the  whole  was  ignited  by  the  relations  of  the 
deceased.  Perfumes  and  spirituous  liquids  were  often  poured 
over  it ;  and  objects  of  different  kinds,  which  had  belonged  to 
the  individual  when  alive,  were  thrown  into  the  flames.  When 
tlie  whole  was  consumed,  and  the  fire  extinguished,  wine  was 
scattered  over  the  ashes,  after  which  the  nearest  relatives 
gathered  what  remained  of  the  bones  and  the  cinders  of  the 
dead,  and  placed  them  in  an  urn,  in  which  they  were  committed 
to  the  grave.  The  site  of  the  ustrinum  has  been  traced,  or 
supposed  to  be  traced,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  several  towns  in 
Roman  Britain.  A  Roman  cemetery,  found  at  Litlingtou, 
near  Royston,  is  described  in  the  twenty-sixth  volume  of  the 
'  Archseologia ; '  it  formed  a  square  of  nearly  four  hundred 
feet,  and  the  wall  or  boundary  was  distinctly  traced.  At  two 
of  the  corners,  where  there  was  no  trace  of  interments,  the 
original  level  of  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  great  quantity 
of  ashes,  which,  no  doubt,  in  each  place,  marked  the  site  of 
the  ustrinum,  or  place  set  apart  for  burning  the  dead.  I  believe 
the  site  of  the  tistr'mum  has  also  been  discovered  outside  the 
walls  of  the  Roman  town  of  Isurium,  at  Aldborough,  in  York- 
shire. W^e  are  told  by  Herodian  that,  on  the  death  of  Severus 
at  Eburacum,  his  sons  caused  his  body  to  be  burnt,  and  placed 
the  ashes  with  aromatics  in  an  urn  of  alabaster,  which  they 
carried  with  them  to  Rome.  Persons  of  rank  were  burnt  witli 
greater  ceremonies  than  were  observed  on  ordinary  occasions, 
and  on  a  spot  chosen  for  the  purpose  {bustmn)  instead  of  the 
ordinary  ustrinum.  A  large  barrow,  about  twenty  feet  high, 
and  about  two  hundred  feet  in  circumference,  stands  on  the 
side  of  a  hill  in  the  parish  of  Snodland  in  Kent.  In  1814,  a 
trench  was  cut  through  the  middle  of  the  mound,  and  it  was 


CHAP.    XI.] 


CINERARY  URNS. 


3o9 


discovered  tliat  it  stood  on  a  level  and  smooth  floor  cut  m  tlie 
side  of  the  hill,  and  covered  with  a  tliiii  layer  of  wood-ashes. 

All  doubt  that  these  were 
the  remains  of  an  immense 
funeral  pile  were  set  at  rest 
by  the  circumstance,  that 
numbers  of  very  long-  nails 
were  scattered  about  among- 
the  ashes.  As  far  as  the 
excavations  were  carried, 
there    were  no   traces    of   a 


Senul'^iiral  Urn  and  Leaden  Case  from 
W  roxeter. 


sepulchral  deposit;  so  that, 
perliaps,  this  was  the  scene 
of  the  last  ceremonial  of 
a  Roman  of  distinguished 
family,  whose  ashes  had  been 
gathered  into  an  urn  and 
carried  to  Italy,  to  be  depo- 
sited in  the  tomb  of  his  kin- 
dred, while  the  mound  was 
raised  as  a  memorial  over 
the  spot  where  he  had  been 
burnt. 
The  cinerary  urns  found  in  the  cemeteries  in  Britain  are 
generally  plain,  large  (often  holding  as  much  as  two  gallons),  of  a 
hard  dark-coloured  pottery,  and  of  the  form  represented  in  the 
two  large  vessels  in  the  back-ground  of  the  cut  on  the  next  page. 
The  other  figures  in  the  same  cut  are  some  of  the  varieties  of 
urns  which  have  been  found  containing-  bones  and  ashes.  The 
cut  here  given  in  the  margin  represents  a  singularly  formed 
sepulchral  urn,  with  a  leaden  case  in  which  it  was  closed ;  it 
was  found  in  the  cemetery  of  Uriconium  {Wroxeter).  and  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Museum  at  Shrewsbury.  In  some  instances, 
where  the  regular  sepulchral  urn  perhaps  could  not  be  obtained, 
vessels  wliich  were  made  for  domestic  purposes  have  been  used 
as  sepulchral  urns.  Sometimes  the  ashes  are  deposited  in  glass 
jars,  which  are  usually  of  the  forms  represented  in  the  first  two 
figures  of  our  group  on  p.  283.  Among  the  ashes  we  often  find 
the  coin,  the  offering  to  Charon  ;  and  sometimes  fragments  of 
different  articles  which  have  been  burnt  with  the  body.  One 
of  the  small  unguent  bottles,  usually  but  erroneously  called 
lachrymatories,  is  often  found  within  the  urn. 

Sometimes  the  cinerary  urn,  with   its   contents,  was  placed 


560 


THE  ROMANS. 


,[CHAP.  XI. 


merely  in  a  liole  in  the  f^round,  and  covered  with  a  tile  or  flat 
stone.     We  cannot  tell  in  such  cases  what  sort  of  memorial, 


Roman  Sepulchral  Urns. 

i^  nnv,  was  placed  above-ground,  as  everything  of  this  kind 
has  been  long  cleared  away.  Perhaps  each  was  covered  with 
a  small  mound  of  earth.  But  when  we  open  a  regular  Eoman 
cemetery,  we  usually  find  the  cinerary  urn  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  vessels  of  different  descriptions,  which  perhaps  held 
wine,  aromatics,  and  other  such  articles.  Among  these  are 
often  elegant  cups  and  paterae  of  the  red  Samian  ware.  In  the 
cemetery  of  the  Kentish  Durobrivae  {Rochester),  the  groups 
consisted  generally  of  three  or  four  vessels ;  at  Litlington  they 
varied  in  number  from  three  to  live.  They  have  been  found 
similarly  grouped  in  other  places.  In  many  cases  traces  of  the 
decayed  material  seem  to  prove  that  each  group  of  urns  had 
been  enclosed  in  a  chest  of  wood,  but  they  were  usually 
covered  above  with  a  large  tile  or  flat  stone.  The  chest,  or 
grave,  was  itself  often  formed  of  tiles  or  stones,  instead  of 
wood ;  a  tile  was  laid  flat  for  the  floor,  one  long  tile  formed 
each  side  of  the  chest,  and  a  shorter  one  the  end,  and  another 
large  tile  formed  the  cover.  Such  sepulchral  chests  are  fre- 
quently found  on  the  site  of  the  Roman  cemeteries  at  Colchester. 
In  one,  opened  a  few  years  ago,  which  was  fifteen  inches  long 


Roman  Tombs. 


CHAP.  XI.]        FORMS  OF  ROMAN  SEPULCHRES.  331 

and  twelve  wide,  an  urn  was  found  in  the  middle,  lying-  on  its 
side,  containing-  bones,  and  beside  it  were  three  small  vessels, 
which  had  probably  been  used  for  ointments,  balsams,  and  other 
funeral  offerings.  Another  similar  chest  of  tiles,  in  the  same 
locality,  contained  two  earthenware  ampullce,  or  bottles,  an  in"ii 
with  burnt  bones,  and  a  lamp  ;  the  space  between  the  vessels 
was  filled  with  a  sandy  earth.  The  largest  group  of  sepidchral 
vessels  found  in  this  cemetery  consisted  of  fifteen,  comprising 
two  large  and  two  small  earthen  bottles,  six  paterae,  three  small 
urn-shaped  pots,  a  terra  cotta  lamp,  a  lachrymatory,  and  the 
fragments  of  a  large  urn,  no  doubt  the  one  which  had  contained 
the  bones  or  ashes.  A  group  of  twelve  vessels  comprised  an 
urn  with  calcined  bones,  one  large  ampulla  and  three  small  ones, 
two  paterae  of  Samian  ware,  an  earthen  lamp,  three  small  urn- 
shaped  pots,  and  a  bottle  of  blue  glass  Avith  a  long  straight 
handle.  We  are  told  that,  from  the  scorched  appearance  of 
some  of  the  vessels,  it  appeared  that  both  of  these  last-mentioned 
deposits  had  been  placed  on  the  live  embers  of  the  fire  of  the 
funeral  piles  of  the  persons  at  whose  obsequies  they  had  been 
used.  The  practice  of  enclosing  or  covering  the  sepulchral 
deposits  with  tiles  appears  to  have  been  so  general,  that  the 
word  tegida,  a  tile,  was  often  used  to  signify  a  tomb.  The  reader 
will  at  once  call  to  mind  the  lines  of  Ovid : — 

Est  honor  et  tumulis  ;  animas  placate  paternas, 

Parvaque  in  extinctas  munera  ferte  pyras. 
Pai'va  petunt  manes  ;  pietas  pro  divite  grata  est 

Muncre  ;  non  avidos  Styx  habet  ima  deos. 
Tecfida  prujectis  satis  est  velata  coronis, 

Et  sparsae  fruges,  parcaque  mica  salis. 

Tt  appears  from  these  lines  that  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
relatives  to  place  on  the  tile,  which  covered  the  sepulchral 
deposit,  garlands,  fruits,  and  salt. 

At  York,  graves  have  been  found  made  of  tiles,  in  a  very 
peculiar  arrangement,  which  is  represented  in  the  upper  figure 
in  the  accompanying  plate,  taken  from  one  which  is  still  pre- 
served in  its  original  form  in  the  museum  of  that  city.  It  was 
found  in  the  February  of  1833,  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile 
from  York,  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  Roman  road  from 
York  (EdtiracMm)  to  Tad  caster  {Calcarla).  It  Avas  formed  of 
ten  roof-tiles,  each  one  foot  seven  inches  long,  one  foot  three 
inches  and  a  half  broad,  and  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  thickness. 
Four  of  these  tiles  were  placed  on  each  side,  and  one  at  eacli 
end.  with  a  row  of  ridge-tiles  on  the  top.     Each  tile  bore  the 

z 


864  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

impress,  leg  vi  vi  {leg'io  sexta  vlctrix,  the  sixth  legion  vic- 
torious). No  urn  or  vessel  of  any  kind  was  found  under  these 
tiles ;  but  there  was  a  layer  of  the  remains  of  a  funeral  pile, 
consisting-  of  charcoal  and  bon«s,  about  six  inclies  thick,  mixed 
witli  iron  nails.  Such  was  not  the  case  with  another  similar 
tomb,  dug  up  at  a  short  distance  without  the  city  walls,  in 
1768.  It  was  formed  in  tlie  same  manner,  of  three  tiles  on 
each  side,  covered  where  they  joined  each  other  by  ridge-tiles, 
and  with  ridge-tiles  on  the  top.  Within  had  been  deposited 
several  urns,  containing  ashes  and  earth,  standing  on  a  Hat- 
tiled  pavement.  One  of  them  was  nearly  entire,  but  the  others 
w^ei-e  more  or  less  broken.  A  coin  of  Vespasian  and  another  of 
Domitian  were  picked  up  near  the  tomb.  On  each  tile  was  the 
inscription  leg  ix  hisp  {leglo  nona  Hlspmdca,  the  ninth  legion, 
the  Spanish) .  Tombs  exactly  similar  to  these  have  been  found 
at  Strasbourg  on  the  Rhine  (^Argentoratiuii),  erected  over 
soldiers  of  the  eighth  legion,  which  was  stationed  there.  One 
of  them  is  represented  in  an  engraving  in  the  tenth  volume  of 
the  '  Histoire  de  I'Acadeniie  des  Inscriptions.'  Each  tile  in 
the  Strasbourg- tomb  was  stamped  with  the  words  leg  vrii  AV(i 
{legio  octava  Augusta,  the  eighth  legion,  the  Augustan). 

Sepulchral  chests  made  of  stone  are  much  more  rare  in 
Roman  burial-places  than  those  formed  of  tiles.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  was  that  found  at  Avisford  in  Sussex,  in  1817, 
which  is  represented  in  the  middle  figure  (No.  2)  in  our  plate. 
Avisford  is  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Roman 
road  leading  from  Regnum  to  the  station  called  in  the  Itinerary, 
Ad  Decimum.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  chest  formed  out  of  a 
solid  stone,  and  covered  with  a  flat  slab  or  lid.  ^w  the  middle 
was  a  large  square  vase  of  fine  green  glass,  like  those  already 
alluded  to,  containing  calcined  bones.  Around  it  were  arranged 
on  the  floor  of  the  chest,  three  elegantly-shaped  earthen  vases 
with  handles,  several  paterae,  a  pair  of  sandals  studded  with 
numerous  little  hexagonal  brass  nails  fancifully  arranged,  three 
lamps  placed  on  sup]3orting  projections  of  the  stone,  an  oval 
dish  and  handle  escalloped  round  the  edge,  containing  a  trans- 
parent agate  of  the  form  and  size  of  a  pigeon's  e^g,  and  a 
small  double-handled  glass  bottle  placed  in  one  of  the  patera?. 
Lamps  are  frequently  found  in  Roman  sepulchres,  and  popular 
superstition  has  given  rise  to  stories  which  represent  them  as 
l)eiug  discovered  still  burning  in  ancient  sepulchral  vaults. 
This  notion  is  so  absurd,  that  we  cannot  but  wonder  how  it 
ever  gained  credit :  but  they  were  probably  burning  when  placed 


CHAP.  XI.]  SEPULCHRAL  CHESTS.  3C,o 

in  the  grave.  Among  other  inscriptions  relating  to  this  custom, 
Gruter  has  published  the  following,  which,  it  will  be  sten,  was 
intended  to  form  three  lines  in  verse  : — 

HAVE  •  SEPTIMIA  Aclieu,  Septimia  ; 

SIT  •  TiBi  •  TERRA  *  LETis  May  the  earth  lie  light  upon  you  ! 

aviSQVE  •  HVic  •  TVMVLO  Whoever  on  this  tomb 

posviT  •  ARDENTE  *  LVCERNAM  has  placed  a  lamp  burning, 

iLLivs  •  ciNERES  may  his  ashes 

AVREA  •  TERRA  '  TEGAT  a  golden  soil  cover  ! 

Instances  occur  of  more  singular  contrivances  for  producing 
the  sepulchral  cliest,  or  tomb.     In  a  Homan  cemetery  at  Ciren- 
cester was  found  a  stone  which  had  been  cut  into  the  shape  of 
a  short  cylindrical  column ;    this  had  been  sawn  through  the 
middle,  and  in  tlie  centre  of  the  lower  half  a  cell  was  cut  to 
contain  the  urn,  which  was  enclosed  by  joining  the  two  parts 
of  the    column    together.     This    probably    had    stood    above- 
ground.     Several  instances  have  been  met  with  in  which  an 
amphora  has  been  used  for  a  tomb ;  the  upper  part,  or  neck, 
having  been   sawn  or  broken  off,  the  cinerary  urn,  with  the 
other  vessels  and  articles  usually  deposited  with  the  urns,  were 
placed  inside  5  and  the  neck  was  then  rejoined  to  the  body  of 
the  amphora,  and  the  whole  buried  in  the  ground.     An  instance 
of  this  mode  of  interment  was  found  at  Colchester  in  1844. 
The  upper  part  of  a  large  globular  amphoi-a,  of  a  pale  red 
colour,  had    been  sawn  off,  and  replaced   after   the  different 
articles  were  deposited  inside.     These  articles  were  a  cinerary 
urn,  with  a  lid,  represented  in  front  of  our  group  of  sepulchral 
urns  on  p.  360,  filled  with  calcined  bones,  a  lachrymatory  of 
pale  green  glass,  a  small  earthen  lamp,  and  another  lamp  of  a 
finer  clay,  a  number  of  iron  nails,  and  a  coin  of  second  brass 
with  the  head  of  Faustina  Junior.     One  or  two  instances  have 
occurred  in  which,  instead  of  the  calcined  bones  or  ashes  being 
placed  in  an  urn,  the  sepulchral  chest  was  partly  filled  with,  a 
loose  heap  of   ashes.     One  of  the  tombs  at  York  described 
above  furnishes  an  example  of  this  practice.     An  instance  of 
one  of  the  small  rectangular  cists  of  tiles,  thus  filled  with  ashes, 
has  occurred,  I  think,  at  Colchester.     We  may  perhaps  explain 
this,  by  supposing  that,  in  consequence  of  some  accident,  the 
ashes  of  the  deceased  had  been  so  mixed  with  those  of  the 
funeral  pile,  that  it  was  not  possible  to  separate  them,  and  that 
therefore  the  relations  had  gathered  all  the  ashes  near  wdiere 
the  body  must  have  lain,  and  thrown  them  into  the  tomb. 
When  the  body  was  buried  entire,  it  was  interred  in  several 


366 


THE  ROMANS. 


CHAP.  XI,] 


different  manners.  The  skeleton,  as  now  found,  appears  often 
as  thougli  it  had  been  merely  committed  to  the  eartli ;  but  as 
it  is  in  most  instances  accompanied  with  a  quantity  of  larj^e 
iron  nails,  it  is  probable  that  in  all  tliese  cases  the  body  was 
placed  in  a  chest  or  coffin  of  wood.  In  some  places,  and 
especially  at  York,  massive  chests,  or  sarcophagi,  of  stone,  have 
been  found,  which  appear  from  their  forms  and  inscriptions  to 
have  stood  above-ground.  The  accompanying  cut  represents 
a   sarcophagus    found  at   London,  and  somewhat   remarkable 


Sarcophagus  found  in  London. 

for  its  ornaments.  In  the  centre  of  the  front  side  is  a  sunken 
medallion  containing  a  youthful  bust,  no  doubt  intended  as 
a  portrait  of  the  person  interred  in  it.  The  back  was  quite 
plain,  as  thougli  it  had  stood  against  a  wall  or  other  building. 
It  contained  a  skeleton.  Several  fine  examples  of  these  sarco- 
phagi may  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  Philosophical  Society 
at  York ;  and  examples  are  given,  from  the  plates  to  Mr  Well- 
beloved's  '  Eburacum,'  in  the  third  or  lower  group  in  our  plate 
at  p.  362.  Such  sarcopliagi  have  been  frequently  found  at 
York,  and  they  present  a  very  peculiar  mode  of  sepulture. 
After  the  body  had  been  laid,  apparently  in  full  dress  (those 
hitherto  discovered  have  generally  contained  the  remains  of 
ladies),  on  its  back  at  the  bottom  of  the  sarcophagus,  liquid 
lime  was  poured  in  until  the  body  was  covered.  This,  be- 
coming hard,  has  preserved, to  a  certain  degree,  an  impression 
of  the  form  of  the  body,  of  which  the  skeleton  is  often  found 
entire.  Of  one  of  these  sarcophagi,  which  was  found  by  the 
side  of  the  road  from  Heslington  to  Grimston,  and  is  now  in 
the  York  museum,  Mr  Wellbeloved  gives  the  following  de- 
scription : — '  On  removing  the  lid,  the  coffin  appeared  to  be 
about  half  filled  with  lime,  excepting  the  place  in  Avhich  the 
head  had  lain.     The  lime  having  been  very  carefully  taken  out. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


STONE  COFFINS. 


367 


the  lower  surface  presented  a  distinct  impression  of  a  human 
body,  over  which,  with  the  exception  of  tlie  face,  the  lime  had 
been  poured  in  a  liquid  state ;  the  body  having  been  first 
covered  with  a  cloth,  the  texture  of  which  is  still  clearly  to  be 
seen  in  the  impression  on  the  lime.  The  feet  had  been  crossed, 
and  covered  with  shoes  or  sandals,  having  nails  in  the  soles ; 
the  marks  of  which  on  the  lime  were  distinctly  visible,  and 
several  of  the  nails  themselves  were  found  in  the  coffin,  in  a 
very  corroded  state.  A  very  small  portion  of  the  bones  re- 
mained ;  sufficient,  however,  to  indicate  that  they  were  those  of 
a  female,  and,  according  to  the  opinion  of  a  very  eminent  sur- 
geon, that  she  had  been  buried  in  a  state  of  pregnancy.  All 
the  teeth,  except  one,  were  found,  with  the  enamel  undecayed. 
Just  above  the  left  shoulder  a  small  portion  of  a  gold  ring- 
appeared,  and  the  lime  surrounding  it  having  been  carefully 
scraped  away,  the  remnants  of  a  lady's  ornaments  were  brought 
to  light,  consisting  of  fragments  of  large  jet  rings,  two  earrings 
of  fine  gold,  two  bracelets,  several  brass  or  copper  rings,  one 
of  which  resembled  a  cog-wheel,  about  two  inches  in  diameter, 
three  finger-rings,  one  of  them  of  jet,  of  a  modern  pattern,  and 
two  necklaces.  One  of  the  necklaces  was  formed  of  glass 
beads,  yellow  and  green ;  the  other  of  small  beads  of  coral,  in- 
termixed with  smaller  beads  of  blue  glass,  strung,  in  both 
cases,  on  very  slender  twisted  silver  wire.'  In  a  coffin  of  this 
description  more  recently  found  at  York,  and  also  deposited  itf 
the  museum,  the  lime  bears  the  impression  of  a  female  with  s 
small  child  laid  in  her  lap,  and  the  colour,  a  rich  purple,  ai 
well  as  the  texture  of  the  cloth  which  covered  her,  is  distinctly 
visible  in  the  impression.  One  of  these  coffins,  found  at  York, 
had  contained  the  body  of  a  large  man,  whose  skull  was  cloven 
as  though  by  the  blow  of  an  axe  or  sword.  The  lids  of  these 
stone  sarcophagi  were  often  fastened  to  the  lower  part,  or  chest, 
with  iron  cramps. 


Cliiy  Coffin  found  at  Aldborough  [Isurium). 
Sarcophagi,  for  the  reception  of  the  body  when  not  burnt, 


368 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    XL 


were  sometimes  made  of  baked  clay,  either  in  one  piece  with  a 
lid,  or  in  several  pieces,  so  formed  as  to  fit  tof>:ether.  Several 
examples  of  such  clay  coffins  have  been  found  at  York,  and  at  the 
neio-hbouring  town  of  Aldboroug-h  ;  in  the  latter  place  they  are 
found  somewhat  resembling  violin-cases  in  form.  The  acconi- 
panying  example  of  these  clay  coffins  from  Aldborough  is  shaped 
like  the  sole  of  a  shoe. 

A  description  of  coffin  found  more  frequently  in  this  country 
was  formed  of  lead.  Many  examples  of  these  leaden  coffins 
have  been  met  with  in  the  Eoman  cemeteries  at  Colchester, 
York,  London,  and  elsewhere.  When  these  coffins  are  orna- 
mented, the  ornaments  consist  almost  always  of  scallop  shells 
and  bead-mouldings,  sometimes  interspersed  with  small  circles. 
The  annexed  cut  represents  one  of  these  coffins  dug  up,  a  few 


Leaden  Coffin  from  Colcliester  {Camulodunum) . 

years  ago,  in  a  Koman  cemetery  near  Colchester.  It  Avas  four 
feet  three  inches  in  lengtli,  fifteen  inches  wide  at  the  head,  and 
eleven  at  the  feet,  and  nine  and  a  half  inches  deep  exclusive  of 
the  lid.  It  was  formed  of  a  sheet  of  lead  cast  in  a  mould,  and 
bent  upwards  on  each  side,  with  square  pieces,  soldered  at  the 
top  and  bottom,  to  form  the  ends.  The  lid  was  formed  by 
being  notched  at  the  head  and  feet,  and  then  bent  down  at  the 
edges  and  soldered,  to  lap  over  the  coffin.  The  entire  exterior 
was  tastefully  ornamented  with  scallop  shells,  rings,  or  circles, 
and  a  beaded  pattern.  All  that  is  known  of  its  contents  is  that, 
like  the  stone  coffins  found  at  York,  it  was  partly  filled  with 
lime.  The  coffin  itself  is  now  in  the  private  museum  of  Mr 
Bateman,  of  Yolgrave,  in  Derbyshire  ;  another  leaden  coffin, 
found  at  Colchester  about  the  same  time,  was  sold  for  old  lead, 
and  melted  down ;  but  from  a  sketch  which  was  taken  of  it 
before  it  was  destroyed,  it  appears  to  have  been  still  more 
elaborately  ornamented,  chiefly  with  the  same  scallop  shells, 
rings,  and  bead  moulding.  Morant  records  the  discovery  of  a 
similar  leaden  coffin  at  Colchester,  in  the  March  of  the  vcar 


i 


■JHAP.  XI.]  LEADEN  COFFINS.  369 

1750.  It  contained  wliat  Avas  called  a  qnantity  of  dust,  per- 
haps lime,  but  very  little  of  the  bones  remained.  '  There  lay 
near  the  head  two  bracelets  of  jet,  one  plain,  the  other  scalloped, 
and  a  very  small  and  slender  one  of  brass  wrought,  and  four 
bodkins  (?  hair-pins)  of  jet.  The  coffin  was  cast,  or  wrought, 
all  over  with  lozenges,  in  each  of  which  was  an  escallop  shell. 
Near  it  was  found  an  urn,  holding  about  a  pint,  in  which  were 
two  coins  of  large  brass,  one  of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  the  other 
of  Alexander  Severus.' 

Several  Roman  leaden  coffins  have  been  found  at  different 
times  on  the  sites  of  the  cemeteries  of  Eoman  London.  One, 
dug  up  in  Mansell-street,  AVhitechapel,  in  1843,  had  contained 
the  body  of  a  child,  and  resembled  in  constmction  and  orna- 
ment the  one  engraved  above.  In  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  on 
the  same  level,  were  found  skeletons,  urns  with  l)urnt  bones, 
and  various  articles,  such  as  are  usually  found  in  Roman  ceme- 
teries. In  a  leaden  coffin  dug  up  at  Stratford-le-Bow,  in  1844, 
the  remains  of  a  skeleton  were  found  embedded  in  lime.  In 
Weever's  'Funeral  Monuments,'  published  in  1631,  we  are 
informed  that,  'within  the  parish  of  Stepney  in  Middlesex,  in 
Ratcliffe-tield,  where  they  take  ballast  for  ships,  about  some 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago,  there  was  found  two  monuments, 
the  one  of  stone,  wherein  was  the  bones  of  a  man,  the  other  a 
chest  of  lead,  the  upper  part  being  garnished  Avith  scallop 
shells,  and  a  crolister  border.  At  the  head  of  the  coffin  and 
the  foot,  there  were  two  jars,  of  a  three-feet  length,  standing, 
and  on  the  sides  a  number  of  bottles  of  glistening  red  earth, 
some  painted,  and  many  great  vials  of  glass,  some  six,  some 
eight  square,  having  a  whitish  liquor  within  them.  Within  the 
chest  was  the  body  of  a  Avoman,  as  the  chirurgeons  judged  by 
the  skull.  On  either  side  of  her  there  Avere  two  sceptres  of 
ivory,  eighteen  inches  long,  and  on  her  breast  a  little  figure  of 
Cupid,  neatly  cut  in  Avhite  stone.  And  amongst  the  bones  two 
painted  pieces  of  jet,  Avith  round  heads  in  form  of  nails,  three 
inches  long.  It  seemeth  (saith  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  from  Avhoui 
I  had  this  relation)  these  bodies  Avere  buried  about  the  years 
of  our  Lord  239  ;  besides  there  Avere  found  divers  coins  of 
Pupienus,  Gordian,  and  the  emperors  of  that  time  ;  and  thus 
one  may  conjecture  by  her  ornaments,  that  this  last  body  should 
be  some  prince's  or  proprietor's  Avife  herein  Britaineinthe  time 
of  the  Roman  government.'  It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that, 
to  the  modern  antiquary.  Sir  Robert  Cotton's  conjectures  seem 
very  ridiculous.     Stepney  is  known  to  be  the  site  of  one  of  the 


610  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

cemeteries  of  Uonian  London.  A  similar  coffin  was  fonnd 
towards  the  close  of  the  last  century  in  a  Eoman  burial-place 
in  Battersea-fields ;  it  was  ornamented  with  scallop  shells  and 
cord  moulding,  and  contained  a  skeleton  embedded  in  lime. 
Another,  found  in  1811,  in  the  Kent-road,  near  the  Asylum 
for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  is  engraved  in  the  '  Archseologia.'  It 
was  bordered  and  divided  into  five  compartments  by  the  band 
and  fillet  ornament.  In  the  uppermost  compartment  Avere  two 
figures  of  Minerva,  counterparts  of  each  other ;  the  three 
intermediate  compartments  were  diagonally  crossed  by  tlie  same 
ornament,  and  tlie  lowest  compartment  contained  two  scallop 
shells.    The  remains  of  a  skeleton  were  found  also  in  this  coffin. 

The  leaden  coffins  found  at  York  are  supposed,  by  Mr  Well- 
beloved,  to  have  been  encased  in  wood.  Wooden  coffins  appear 
to  have  been  extensively  used  in  Roman  cemeteries  in  this 
country.  They  are  traced  by  the  marks  of  decayed  wood,  and 
more  especially  by  the  presence  of  large  long  nails  which  had 
been  used  to  attach  the  planks  of  the  coffin  together.  These 
nails  are  found  in  great  quantities  in  the  Koman  cemeteries  at 
Colchester,  and  elsewhere  on  similar  sites.  In  a  cemetery  in 
Eourne  Park,  near  Canterbury,  several  skeletons  were  found, 
lying  near  each  other,  and  accompanied  with  such  nails,  from 
six  to  nine  inches  long.  Pour  or  six  nails  are  said  to  have 
been  found  with  each  skeleton,  near  the  shoulders,  hands,  and 
feet,  which  are  the  positions  into  which  they  would  naturally 
have  fallen  from  the  coffin  as  it  decayed.  Prom  the  nature  of 
the  ground,  here,  as  in  many  other  places  under  similar  circum- 
stances, after  such  a  great  length  of  time,  the  decay  of  the  wood 
had  been  so  complete,  that  no  further  trace  of  it  was  perceived ; 
and  it  was  rather  hastily  supposed  that  the  presence  of  these  nails 
proved  that  the  skeletons  were  the  remains  of  crucified  martyrs. 

Wooden  coffins  of  another  fashion  are  found  in  this  country, 
chiefly  towards  the  north,  and  they  seem  to  have  been  peculiar 
to  the  part  of  our  island  represented  in  modern  times  by  East 
Yorkshire.  These  are  rudely  constructed  out  of  the  trunks  of 
large  trees.  In  the  year  1834  a  large  tumulus  on  the  cliffs 
near  the  village  of  Gristhorpe,  some  six  miles  from  Scarborough, 
was  opened,  and  was  found  to  contain  what  was  at  first  taken 
for  a  mere  rough  log  of  wood ;  but,  on  further  examination,  it 
proved  to  be  a  wooden  coffin  formed  of  the  rough  trunk  of  an 
old  oak  tree,  the  external  bark  of  which  was  still  in  good  pre- 
sei'vation.  It  had  been  roughly  hewn  at  the  extremities,  split, 
and  then  liollo\ved  internally  to  receive  the  body.     My  cut  wilJ 


CHAP.  Xt.] 


WOODEN  COFFINS. 


371 


give  the  best  idea  of  the  appearance  of  this  primitive  coffin, 
which  was  much  damaged  in  its  removal  from  the  tumulus. 
Tlie  trunk  of  the  tree  ])ad  been  split  tolerably  equally   for  the 


Wooden  CoflRn  found  at  Gristhorpe. 

coffin  and  its  cover  were  of  nearly  the  same  dimensions.  The 
oidy  attempt  at  ornament  was  what  was  taken  for  a  rude  figure 
of  the  human  face  cut  in  the  bark  at  one  end  of  the  lid,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  held  to  the  coffin  only  by  the  uneven 
fracture  of  the  wood  corresponding  on  each  part.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  the  coffin,  near  the  centre,  a  hole,  three  inches  long  and 
one  wide,  had  been  cut  through  the  wnod,  apparently  for  the 
purpose  of  carrving  off  the  aqueous  matter  arising  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  body.  This  coffin  was  about  seven  feet 
long  by  three  broad.  When  first  0})ened  it  was  nearly  full  of 
water;  but  on  this  being  cleared  away,  a  perfect  and  Avell- 
preserved  skeleton  presented  itself,  which  was  laid  on  its  right 
side,  with  its  head  to  the  south.  The  body,  the  skeleton  of 
which  measured  six  feet  two  inches,  having  been  too  long  for 
the  hollow  of  the  coffin,  which  was  only  five  feet  four  inches 
long,  the  legs  had  been  necessarily  doubled  up.  Several  small 
articles  were  found  in  this  coffin  with  the  skeleton,  which  are 
represented  in    the   following    cut.     These  were  three    pieces 


372 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    XI, 


of  chipped  flint  (figs  1,  2,  and  6)  ;  a  well-executed  ornament, 
resembling  a  large  stud  or  button,  apparently  of  horn,  wliich 


mw 


Articles  found  in  the  Gristliorpe  Coffin. 

had  every  appearance  of  having  been  formed  by  the  lathe  (tig. 
4)  ;  a  pin  of  the  same  material,  which  lay  on  the  breast,  and 
had  apparently  been  employed  to  secure  a  skin,  in  which  the 
body  had  evidently  been  enveloped  (fig.  7)  ;  an  article  of  wood, 
also  formed  like  a  pin,  but  having  what  would  be  its  point 
rounded  and  flattened  on  one  side  to  about  half  its  length  (fig. 
8)  ;  fragments  of  an  ornamental  ring  of  similar  material  to  the 
stud,  and  supposed,  from  its  large  size,  to  have  been  uscd  for 
fastening  some  part  of  the  dress  (fig.  3) ;  the  remains  of  a  small 
basket  of  wicker-work,  the  bottom  of  which  had  been  formed  of 
bark,  and  a  flat  bronze  dagger  or  knife  (fig.  5).  None  of  these 
articles  give  us  much  assistance  in  fixing  the  age  of  this  curious 
interment,  except  the  dagger,  and  that  is  not  very  certain. 
Chipped  flints  are  found  very  frequently  in  Eoman  interments, 
both  in  this  coimtry  and  on  the  continent ;  and  I  have  also 
found  them  in  Saxon  graves ;  but  the  dagger  belongs  to  a  type 
of  which  several  examples  have  been  found  in  the  Wiltshii-e 
bari'ows,  as  well  as  in  similar  interments  in  other  parts  of 
England,  which,  from  all  the  circumstances  connected  with 
them,  we  shoidd  be  led  to  ascribe  to  a  remote  date,  probably  to 
the  earlier  period  of  the  Eoman  occupation  of  our  island.  A 
quantity  of  vegetable  substance  was  also  found  in  the  coflHn, 
which  was  rather  hastily  conjectured  to  be  the  remains  of 
mistletoe.  The  coffin,  after  being  deposited  in  its  grave,  had 
been  covered  over  with  large  oaken  branches.  It  may  be  added 
that,  above  this,  the  tumulus  was  formed  first  of  a  layer  of 


CHAP.    XI.] 


WOODEX  COFFINS. 


373 


clay,  followed  by  a  layer  of  loose  stones,  another  layer  of  clay, 
and  a  second  layer  of  loose  stones,  and  tlie  whole  was  finally 
covered  with  soil,  which  had  doubtless  collected  upon  this 
tumulus  during-  the  long-  period  since  it  was  raised.  This 
coffin  was  placed  in  the  Museum  at  Scarborough.  I  was  sul)- 
sequently  informed  that  a  somewhat  similar  coffin  had  been 
found  at  Beverley  Parks,  near  Beverley,  in  dig-g-ing  a  drain 
there  in  1848.  It  is  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut.  A 
slab,  wliich  had  been  cut  or  split  from  the  rest,  formed  a  lid  ; 
but  it  had  been  fastened  to  the  chest  by  means  of  four  oaken 
thrindles,  or  pegs,  about  the  size  of  the  spokes  of  a  common 


Wooden  Coffin  found  at  Beverley. 

ladder,  and  the  ends  of  the  coffin  liad  been  bevelled  off,  so  as 
to  leave  less  of  the  substance  of  the  wood  where  the  holes  for 
the  pegs  were  drilled  through.  This  coffin  was  nearly  eight 
feet  and  a  half  long  externally,  and  seven  feet  and  a  half  in- 
ternally ;  and  it  was  four  feet  two  inches  in  width.  Some 
fi'agments  of  human  bones  were  found  in  it,  but  not  calcined. 
The  next  coffin  of  this  description,  which  is  represented  in  our 
cut,  was  found  in  a  barrow  on  an  elevated  spot  on  the  bank  of 


Wooden  Coffin  found  near  Great  Driffield. 


V 


374  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

a  stream  in  the  neig-hbovirliood  of  Great  Driffield,  near  a  place 
called  Sunderlandwick.  Two  large  and  thick  branches  of  trees 
had  here,  as  at  Gristhorpe,  been  placed  over  the  coffin  before 
the  mound  was  filled  in.  The  coffin,  in  this  instance,  was,  like 
the  others,  hollowed  from  the  solid  trunk  of  an  oak  tree,  but  it 
diftered  from  them  in  having  no  ends ;  and,  though  it  came  in 
two  pieces  when  taken  out  of  the  earth  (or  rather  in  three,  for 
the  lid  broke  in  two),  it  was  supposed  bv  those  who  found  it 
that  it  had  been  originally  one  entire  piece,  a  sort  of  large 
wooden  tube,  or  pipe,  formed  by  hollowing  through  the  heart 
of  the  timber.  This  coffin  was  about  six  feet  in  length  and 
four  in  breadth,  the  disproportion  in  breadth  being  accounted 
for  by  the  circumstance  that  it  was  intended  to  contain  three 
bodies,  two  of  which  were  laid  with  their  heads  turned  one 
way,  and  the  other  turned  in  the  contrary  direction.  The 
coffin,  in  consequence  of  the  ends  being  unprotected,  was  filled 
Avith  clay  and  sand,  which  had  become  mixed  with  the  human 
remains,  and  the  bones  were  in  so  fragile  a  condition  through 
(tecay  that  they  fell  to  pieces  when  disturbed,  and  ad- 
mitted of  no  careful  examination.  A  quantity  of  ashes  lay 
mixed  with  the  surrounding  soil,  which  are  described  as  still 
retaining  a  smell  of  burning.  The  coffin  in  this  instance  lay 
east  and  west.  From  the  remains  that  were  found,  it  would 
seem  that  these  coffins  belonged  to  a  date  not  later  than  the 
close  of  the  Roman  period. 

I  repeat  these  observations  on  the  wooden  coffins  found  in 
East  Yorkshire  from  my  Essays  on  Archa:>ological  Subjects, 
published  in  the  year  1861.*  At  that  time  the  local  Ijoard 
of  health  at  Selby  was  carrying  on  excavations  for  sewerage, 
&c.  in  that  town,  which  brought  to  light  numerous  ancient 
remains.  While  cutting  through  a  piece  of  ground  called 
the  Church  Hill,  which  was  understood  to  be  the  site  of  the 
ancient  parish  church,  destroyed  when  the  old  abbey  church 
was  inade  parochial,  the  workmen  met  with  no  less  than  four- 
teen of  these  wooden  coffins,  all  made,  like  those  I  have  been 
describing,  out  of  the  solid  trunks  of  oak  trees,  which  had  been 
separated  into  two  pieces  in  order  to  form  a  chest  and  lid,  and 
had  been  scooped  out  to  form  a  receptacle  for  the  corpse.  I 
was  informed  that  these  coffins  were  found  near  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  some  of  them  at  a  depth  of  not  more  than  eighteen 
inches,  lying  parallel  to  each  other,  in  a  direction  nearly  ease 

*  See  my  Essays  on  Archaeological  Subjects,  London,  1861,  vol.  i.  p.  36 
to  p.  47. 


1 


CHAP.  XI.]  WOODEN  COFFINS.  375 

and  west.  The  annexed  cut  represents  one  of  tliese  coffins,  tlie 
only  one  which  had  been  examined  with  raucli  care.  It  con- 
tained what  was  pronounced  to  be  the  body  of  a  full-grown 


"Wooden  Coffin  found  at  Selby. 

female.  This  coffin  was  six  feet  ten  inches  long ;  another, 
which  lay  near  it,  measured  nearly  eight  feet.  All  the  other 
similar  coffins  were  found  to  contain  the  remains  of  human 
skeletons.  It  may  be  remarked  that  in  this  Selby  coffin  the 
upper  part,  or  lid,  Avas  hollowed  out  in  a  corresponding  man- 
ner to  the  lower  part.  The  two  parts  of  the  same  coffin  were, 
in  all  the  wooden  coffins  found  at  Selby,  fastened  together  by 
oval  wooden  p(;gs  driven  down  into  the  side,  as  in  the  Bevei'ley 
coffin.  When  first  discovered,  the  wood  of  the  npper  part  was 
decayed  and  broken  away,  so  as  to  expose  the  face  of  the 
skeleton,  as  here  shown. 

Although  the  wooden  coffins  found  at  Selby  contained  no 
articles  by  which  their  age  was  determined,  we  can  have 
no  doubt  that  they  belonged  to  Christian  interments,  and 
that  they  were  laid  in  regular  juxtaposition  in  a  churchyard. 
There  are,  however,  circumstances  connected  with  the  barrows 
in  the  maritime  district  of  Yorkshire  to  the  south  of  Scarborough 
which  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  most  of  them  belong  to  the 
later  Roman  period,  in  which  case  we  may  more  easily  under- 
stand how  a  particular  form  of  coffin  then  in  use  may  have 
continued  in  use  during  the  subsequent  Anglo-Saxon  period. 
I  am  not  aware  of  the  discovery  of  coffins  of  the  same  de- 
scription in  other  parts  of  the  island ;  and  they  seem  to  show, 
which  would  indeed  be  a  curious  fact,  that  a  peculiar  buriid 
practice  had  continued  to  exist  in  the  district  of  Eastern  York- 
shire from  a  period  dating  as  far  back  as  the  commencement  of 
the  Roman  occupation  of  our  island  to  probably  a  late  Anglo- 
Saxon  period. 

[n  some   cases,  the  sepulchral  chest  was  expanded   into   a 


376  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xr. 

spacious  chamber.  One  found  at  York,  in  the  time  of  Thoresby, 
is  described  by  that  antiquary  as  large  enough  to  contain  two 
or  three  corpses  ;  it  was  carefully  paved  with  bricks  eight  inches 
square  and  two  inches  thick,  and  covered  with  bricks  two  feet 
square.  When  discovered,  it  was  found  to  be  empty.  Another 
sepulchral  chamber,  larger  than  this,  was  found,  as  Mr  Well- 
beloved  informs  us,  'by  some  workmen  in  the  year  1807,  Avhen 
digging  for  the  foundation  of  a  house,  near  the  Mount,  without 
Micklegate-bar.  It  is  a  small  room  or  vault,  about  four  feet 
below  the  present  surface,  eight  feet  in  length,  five  feet  in 
breadth,  and  six  feet  in  height ;  the  roof  being  arched  and 
formed  of  Roman  tiles,  each  of  about  one  foot  square,  and  two 
and  a  half  inches  in  thickness.  In  this  vault  was  found  a 
sarcophagus,  of  a  single  grit-stone,  covered  with  a  blue  Hag- 
stone,  containing  a  skeleton,  in  remarkable  preservation ; 
arising,  probably,  from  its  being  immersed  in  water,  which 
had  filtered  through  the  earth ;  the  head  elevated  by  being 
placed  on  a  step.  At  the  north  end  of  the  vault  there  was  an 
aperture,  too  small  to  have  admitted  the  sarcophagus,  and 
carelessly  closed  by  large  stones.  On  each  side  of  the  skull  a 
small  glass  vessel,  usually  called  a  lachrymatory,  was  found, 
one  of  them  perfect,  the  other  broken.  The  sarcophagus  was 
without  an  inscription.  The  other  sides  of  the  vault  wei-e  not 
seen,  except  that  through  which  the  workmen  broke,  and  by 
which  visitors  are  now  admitted  to  view  this  interesting  sepul- 
chral antiquity.'  Perhaps,  if  the  whole  were  uncovered,  an 
inscription  would  be  found  on  the  outside  of  the  building.  A 
large  sepulchral  chamber  of  rather  a  ditt'erent  description,  and 
containing  a  variety  of  amphorae,  paterae,  and  other  articles, 
was  found  in  1849,  at  Mount  Bures,  near  Colchester. 

Sepulchral  chambers,  like  that  found  at  York,  no  doubt 
stood  above-ground,  forming  conspicuous  objects  by  the  side  of 
the  highway.  We  find  in  Britain  very  few  traces  of  sepulchral 
buildings  of  this  kind,  because  where  they  existed  they  were 
no  doubt  cleared  away  during  the  middle  ages  for  their 
materials. 

In  some  cases,  particularly  at  a  distance  from  large  towns, 
the  sepulchral  chamber  was  inclosed  in  a  mound  of  earth,  or 
barrow.  The  mound  of  earth  was  a  form  of  monument  which 
belonged  to  an  early  age,  and  was  perhaps  adopted  in  the  case 
of  Romans  who  died  in  the  provinces,  as  more  durable  thaji 
the  sepulchre  of  stone — 

Ergo  instauramus  Polydoro  funus,  et  in^'ens 
Aggeritui'  tumulo  tellus. —  Vi>'(j.  ^iJ/i.,  iii.  62. 


CHAP,  xi.l  ROMAN  BARROWS.  377 

The  most  remarkable  Eoman  tumuli,  or  barrows,  in  Britain, 
are  the  group  called  the  Bartlow  hills,  in  the  parish  of  Ashdon, 
on  the  northern  border  of  Essex.  They  were  opened  a  few 
years  ag'o,  and  the  different  modes  in  which  the  internal  tombs 
were  constructed  seemed  to  show  that  they  were  not  all 
erected  at  the  same  time.  In  form  they  are  all  conical.  Tin; 
height  of  the  largest  is  forty-five  feet,  and  its  diameter  a 
hiui(h'ed  and  forty-seven.  Six  others,  which  complete  the 
group,  are  of  somewhat  smaller  dimensions.  When  the  largest 
barrow  was  opened,  it  was  found  that  the  sepulchral  chamber 
in  the  centre  had  been  constructed  of  wood ;  it  contained  a 
large  glass  vessel  resembling  the  second  figure  in  our  group  on 
p.  283  ;  a  bronze  patera,  with  a  reeded  handle  terminating  in  a 
I'am's  head ;  a  bronze  dish ;  a  lamp,  also  of  bronze ;  a  beauti- 
fnl  bronze  enamelled  urn  with  handle ;  a  folding  stool  or  seat ; 
and  a  pair  of  strigils.  A  large  amphora,  filled  Avith  earth,  ashes, 
and  fragments  of  bones,  was  placed  outside  this  wooden  chest. 
In  the  centre  of  one  of  the  smaller  Bartlow  barrows  was  found 
a  closed  vault,  built  of  brick,  six  feet  three  inches  long,  two 
feet  three  inches  and  a  half  wide,  and  about  three  feet  high, 
standing  north  and  south  on  a  bed  of  chalk,  about  a  foot  below 
the  natural  surface.  The  covering  was  formed  of  flat  tiles 
overlapping  each  other.  When  these  were  removed,  the  tomb 
was  found  to  contain  a  large  glass  vessel,  which  is  the  first 
figure  in  our  group  just  alluded  to,  and  which  contained  bones 
and  ashes  ;  a  small  glass  vessel  of  the  same  form,  containing  a 
dark-coloured  fluid ;  and  a  vessel  of  wood,  formed  like  a  pail, 
with  a  handle  at  the  side. 

In  these  barrows  the  body  had  undergone  the  process  of 
cremation,  but  in  a  very  remarkable  one,  called  Eastlow  hill, 
at  llougham  in  Suffolk,  opened  by  Professor  Henslow,  in  the 
year  1844,  the  body  of  the  deceased  had  been  buried  entire. 
The  tomb  in  this  case  was  a  miniature  Roman  house,  of  strong- 
masonry,  with  a  roof  peaked  and  tiled  on  the  outside.  It  was 
built  upon  a  platform,  fifteen  feet  square,  formed  of  a  concrete 
of  large  flints  and  very  hard  mortar  mixed  with  sand.  The 
lengtli  of  the  tond),  or  house,  on  the  exterior,  was  twelve  feet, 
and  its  width  six  feet  and  a  half.  The  tliickness  of  the  walls 
was  two  feet,  and  their  height  at  the  sides  the  same  ;  the  height 
of  the  roof,  fVom  the  ground  to  the  ridge,  was  five  feet.  The 
interior  was  found  to  be  a  cylindrical  vault.  In  the  middle  of 
the  floor  stood  a  leaden  chest  or  coffin,  six  feet  nine  inches  long, 
one  foot  five  inches  broad,  and  one  foot  four  inches  deep.  It 
haci  oeen  formed  of  a  sheet  or  sheets  of  lead,  by  turning  up  the 


^78  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

sides  and  ends,  after  cutting  out  the  piece  at  the  corners.  The 
edges  were  soldered  on  the  inside.  The  lid  was  a  loose  sheet  of 
lead,  turned  in  at  the  edges  in  the  same  wny.  Within  this 
chest  lay  the  skeleton,  which  was  in  a  tolerably  good  state  of 
preservation.  The  leaden  chest  appeared  to  have  been  enclosed 
in  wood-work,  for  a  great  many  nails,  from  two  to  twelve  inches 
long,  were  found  lying  by  its  side,  among  a  mass  of  decayed 
wood.  A  Roman  coin  was  found  within  the  leaden  tomb — 
Professor  Henslow  seems  to  say  in  the  mouth  of  the  skeleton — 
the  obolus  to  propitiate  Charon.  A  little  chamber  at  one  end, 
outside  the  vault,  appeared  to  have  contained  glass  and  other 
vessels,  which  Avere  broken  to  pieces.  This  large  tumulus  was 
one  of  a  group  of  four ;  the  others  had  been  opened  in  the 
previons  year,  and  had  presented  the  usual  appearance  of  urns, 
&c.,  which  characterise  Roman  sepulture. 

The  tomb  at  Eastlow  lay  north-east  and  south-west.  That  in 
the  Bartlow  hill  stood  north  and  south.  The  most  common  posi- 
tion of  the  skeletons  in  Roman  cemeteries  is  east  and  west,  the  feet 
usually  towards  the  east,  but  this  is  by  no  means  always  the  case. 

The  Roman  sepulchral  inscriptions,  fonnd  in  this  country, 
possess  much  interest.  They  are  generally  met  with  in  the 
cemeteries  near  towns,  and  consist  usually  of  a  slab  of  stone, 
which  appears  to  have  been  fixed  in  the  ground  like  our 
common  churchyard  gravestones.  At  York,  the  inscriptions 
are  found  on  the  sides  of  some  of  the  large  stone  sarcophagi. 
Some  of  the  slabs  appear  by  their  form  to  have  been  placed 
against  a  larger  sepulchre  of  masonry.  The  inscription  is  often 
surmounted  by  a  sculptured  figure,  intended  sometimes  to 
represent  the  individual  commemorated  by  it.  The  usual  in- 
scriptions are  dedicated  at  the  beginning  to  the  gods  of  the 
shades,  perhaps  meaning  to  the  shades  of  the  departed,  dlis 
manibiis,  which  is  most  frequently  expressed  merely  by  the  two 
letters  d.m.*  The  name  of  the  deceased  is  then  stated,  with 
his  age,  and,  if  a  soldier,  the  number  of  years  he  had  served. 
This  is  usually  followed  by  the  name  of  the  person  who  has 
raised  the  tomb.  The  age  is  often  stated  with  great  precision, 
as  in  the  following  simple  memorial  found  on  a  sepulchral  slab 
at  Ellenborough  in  Cumberland  : — 

DM  To  the  g-ods  of  the  shades. 

IVL  MAKITIM  Juli<a  Maritiiiia 

A  vix  AN  lived  twelve  years, 

XII.  M.  Ill  D.  XXII  three  nio-nths,  twenty-two  days. 

*  At  Carrawburgh,  in  Northumberland  (Frocolitia),  was  found  an  altar 


CHAP.  XI.] 


SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTIONS. 


379 


Another  common  form  of  inscription,  omitting  sometimes  the 
D.  M.  at  the  beginning,  closed  with  the  words,  hie  situs  est,  is 
placed,  or  laid,  here.  We  may  quote  as  an  instance  of  this 
formula  a  rather  well-known  tombstone  found,  a  few  years  ago, 
at   Cirencester,    and   renresented   in    the    aTinexed    cut.     The 


RVTVS-SlTAEaVES'CHOV        ^ 
7RKCVN\'AMNi'XLSTlPXXil 
HEREDPS-EXSTESTF-CVRIWE     j 

)\         H        S   X  \  E 


^m^ih^ 


J\,^/-*■^ 


■HlHilllil 


^l_A 


4 


7!^ 


Tomb  from  Cirencester  (Ooriniiim). 

figure  above  is  one  often  met  with  on  the  moni.me.Ttf»  of 
soldiers  in  the  Roman  cavalry.  The  inscription  must  he 
read, — 

RVrVS  •  SITA  •  EaVES  *  CHO  VI 
TKACVM  •  ANN  *  XL  STIP  XXII 
HEREDES  •  EXS  '  TEST  *  F.  CVRAVE 
H  S  E 

It  may  be  transkted,  '  Rufus  Sita,  a  horseman  of  the  sixtli 
dedicated  to  the  dei  manes,  with  the  inscription  D.   M.  D.   tranqvila 

SEVERA    PRO    SE    ET   SVIS    V.  S.  L.  M. 


380  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

coliort  of  Tliracians,  aged  forty  years,  served  twenty- two  years. 
His  heirs,  in  accordance  with  his  will,  Imve  caused  this  monu- 
ment to  be  erected.  He  is  laid  here.'  In  a  monument  found 
at  Caerleon,  the  formula  is  varied  as  follows : — 

1)  M  IVL  IVLIANYS  To  the  p:ods  of  the  shades,  Julius 

Julianus, 
MIL  LEG  II  AVG  STIP  a  Soldier  of  the  second  legion,  the 

Augustan,  vserved 
XVIII  ANNOR  XL  eighteen  years,  aged  forty, 

Hic  SITVS  EST  is  laid  here, 

CVRA  AGENTE  by  the  care 

AMANDA  of  Amanda 

CONIVGE  his  wife. 

A  sepulchral  monument,  found  at  Ellenboroug'h  in  Cumberland, 
begins  with  the  words  Hic  exsegere  fata,  here  have  undergone 
their  fates.  We  see  in  these  inscriptions  how  cautiously  a 
direct  allusion  to  death  is  avoided.  We  have  an  exception  to 
this  remark  in  an  inscription  found  of  late  years  at  Caerleon,  in 
which  one  of  the  persons  commemorated  is  said  to  have  died  in 
a  war  in  Germany. 

i>  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

I'ADA  •  VALLAVNivs  vixiT  Tadia  Vallaunius,  who  lived 

ANN  •  Lxv  •  ET  TADivs  *  EXVPERTVS    sixty-fivc  years,  and  Tadius 

Exupertus, 
riLivs  •  vixiT  •  ANN  *  xxxvii  •  DEFVN  her  son,  who  lived  thirty-seven 

years,  and 
TVS  •  EXPEDITIONE  GERMANICA  died  in  the  German  expedition. 

TADIA  •  EXVPERATA  '  FILIA  Tadia  Exuperata,  a  daughter 

MATRI  •  ET  •  FRATiii  *  piissiMA  to  her  mother  and  brother  most 

attached, 
SECTS  TVMVLVM  near  the  tomb 

PATRis  POSViT  of  her  father  placed  this. 

In  another  inscribed  slab,  found  at  Caerleon,  the  tomb  is 
called  a  monumentum,  and  another  phrase  is  used, — 

D  •  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

IVLIA  •  VENERi  Julia  Vcneria, 

A  •  AN  •  XXXIII  aged  thirty- three  years. 

I  •  ALE  SAN  •  CON  Alexander,  her  husband 

piENTissiMA  most  attached, 

ET  *  I  •  BELiciANVS  and  Julius  Belicianus, 

F  •  MONiME  her  son,  this  monument 

F     •     c  caused  to  be  made. 

In  a  sepulchral  inscription,  given  by  Camden  as  found  at 
Silchester,  the  tomb  is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  the  de- 
ceased,— 


I 


MEMORIAE  To  the  memory 

PL  •  viCTORi  of  Flavia  Victorina, 


I 


CHAP.  XI.]  SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTIONS.  381 

NAE  •  T  •  TAM  Titus  Tampliilus 

VICTOR  Victor, 

CONIVN'X  lier  husband, 

posviT  placed  this. 

In  some  instances,  as  in  an  inscription  at  York,  and  another 
found  at  London,  memrn'm  is  used  for  momimentum,  and  the 
plirase  memoriam  posidt  is  adopted  in  the  sense  of  '  raised  a 
monument.'  An  inscription  found  at  Eibchester,  in  Lan- 
cashire, which  has  been  often  quoted,  commenced  with  the 
words  Jus  terns  tegitur  Ael'ia  Matrona,  with  this  earth  is  covered 
iElia  Matrona.  It  was  the  custom  among  the  Romans  for 
men  of  family  or  wealth  to  build  up  their  own  sepulchres  before 
they  (lied,  which  was  usually  expressed  in  the  inscription  by 
the  letters  v.  f.  {vivus  fecit),  V.  r.  c.  [vlvus  fociendum  ciiravit), 
or  V.  s.  P.  iv'ivus  sibi  posuit).  Inscriptions  of  this  kind  were 
placed  on  monuments  of  a  more  ostentatious  character,  whicii 
were  raised  by  the  road-side,  near  large  towns.  An  inscription 
was  found  at  York,  commemorating  one  of  the  magistrates  of 
the  city,  which,  from  the  form  of  the  stone,  must  have  been 
built  in  the  wall  of  a  large  sepulchre.  The  inscription  has 
been  given  as  follows  : — 

M  VEREC  DIOGENES  IIIIIIVIK  COL 
EBOR  IBIDEMQ  MORT  CIVES  BITVKIX 
CVBVS  HAEC  SIBI  VIVVS  FECIT 

which  may  be  translated,  '  Marcus  Verecundus  Diogenes,  sevir 
of  the  colonia  of  Eburacum,  and  who  died  thei'e,  a  citizen  of 
Biturix  Cubus,  caused  these  to  be  made  for  him  during  his  life- 
time.' Biturix.  Cubus,  it  appears,  referred  to  the  district  of 
Avaricum  in  Gaul  (^Bourges),  as  the  native  country  of  Marcus 
Verecundus  Diogenes. 

Many  of  the  Eoinan  sepulchral  inscriptions  found  in  this 
country  display  feelings  of  the  tenderest  and  most  affectionate 
description.  They  are  addressed  to  the  deceased  by  near 
relatives,  who  apply  to  them  loving  epithets.  Sometimes 
they  are  addressed  from  parents  to  a  child.  Thus  a  large 
sarcophagus  found  at  York  was  made  to  receive  the  body  of 
an  infant,  whose  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  sixth  legion.  The 
inscription  is — 

D  •  M  •  SIMPLICIAE  *  FLORENTINE 
ANIME  INNOCENTISSIME 
QVE  •  VIXIT  •  MENSES  *  DECEM 
FELICIVS  •  SIMPLEX  '  PATER  *  FECIT 
LEG  •  VI  •  V 


382  THE  ROMANS.  [chap   xi. 

'  To  the  gods  of  the  shades.  To  Simplicia  Florentinn,  a  most 
innocent  thing,  who  lived  ten  months,  her  father,  of  the  sixth 
legion,  the  victorions,  made  this.'  A  monument  in  the  form 
of  an  altar  was  found  at  Chesters,  in  Northumberland  {Cllnr- 
num),  with  the  inscription, — 

I)  M  s  Sacred  to  the  gods  of  the  shades, 

FAHIB  HONOR  To  Fabia  Honurata, 

ATE  FABivs  Hox  Fabius  Honoratius, 

OHATivsTRiBVN  tribune 

COH  I  VANGioN  of  the  first  cohort  of  Vangiones, 

ET  AVHELiA  EGLi  and  Aurclia  Egliciane, 

lANE  FECKR  made  this 

VXT  FiLiE  D  to  their  daughter 

VLCissiME  most  sweet. 

A  stone  slab  found  at  Bath,  and  which  seems  also  to  have  1)eeu 
placed  on  a  building,  bore  the  following  inscription  : — 

])  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades, 

svcc  •  PETRONiAE  vix  To  Succia  Petronia,  who  lived 

.\XN  •  III  •  M  •  nil  •  D  •  IX  '  V  PETRO  three  years,  four  months,  nine  days, 

Valerius 
MYLVs  •  ET  TVICTIA  SABiNA  Petroniulus  and  Tuictia  Sabina, 

FiL  •  KAR  •  FEC  to  their  dearest  daughter,  made  this. 

Several  otlier  such  inscriptions  to  children,  chiefly  to  little  girls, 
have  been  met  with  in  this  country,  as  well  as  others  from 
children  to  their  parents.  A  stone  found  at  Great  Chesters,  m 
Northumberland,  presented,  under  the  rude  sculpture  of  a 
female  figure,  the  short  and  simple  inscription, — 

PIS  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

PERViCAE  FiLiA  F  To  Pervica,  her  daughter  made  this. 

On  another,  found  at  the  same  place,  was  an  inscription  from 
a  sister  to  her  brother, — 

I)  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

AEL  •  MERCv  To  ^Uus  Mercurialis, 

RtALi  CORNICVL  a  trumpeter, 

VACIA  •  SOROR  his  sister  Vacia 

FECIT  made  this. 

A  wife  is  often  found  raising  the  monument  to  her  husband. 
The  following  inscription  was  found  on  a  sepulchral  slab  at 
Stanwicks,  in  Cumberland  : — 

Dis  MANIBV  To  the  gods  of  the  shades 

s  MARCi  TROiANi  Of  Marcus  Trojanus 

AVGVSTlMi  TVM  FA  Augustiuius  the  tomb 

ciENDVM  CVRAVI  erected 

T  •  AEL  •  AMMiL  LVsi.MA  j£Ai&,  Ammilla  Lusima, 

coxivx  KARiss  his  most  dear  wife. 


I 


CHAP.  XI.]  SEPULCHRAL  IXSCllIPTIONS.  3S3 

An  inscription  found  on  the  line  of  the  wall  in  Northumber- 
land, also  addressed  by  a  wife  to  her  deceased  husband,  a  native 
of  Pannonia,  furnishes  us  with  an  undoubtedly  Teutonic  name  ; 
the  inscription  is  imperfect : — 

D  '  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

DAGVALD  'MI  ...  .  Dagvald,  a  soldier 

PAN  •  vixiT  •  A  .  .  .  of  Pannonia,  lived  years  .... 

.  .  .  PVSINNA.  ....  ...  Pusinna,  his  wife, 

XTITVL  placed  this  monument. 

This  last  line  is  not  very  distinct  in  the  origin al,  but  it  appears 
to  be  part  of  conjux  titulum  posuit.  Several  examples  have 
been  found  of  affectionate  addresses  from  a  father  to  a  wife  and 
several  children.  A  sepulchral  monument  at  Old  Penritli, 
•i'iven  by  Camden,  bore  the  inscription  : — 

DM  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

AiciCTVOs  MATER  Aicetuos,  the  mother, 

vixiT  A  xxxxv  lived  forty-five  years, 

ET  LATTio  FiL  '  vix  and  Lattio,  the  daughter,  lived 

A  XII  •  LiMisivs  twelve  years.     Limisius, 

coNiv  ET  FiLiAE  to  a  wifo  and  daughter 

piENTissiMis  most  affectionate, 

POSViT  placed  this. 

In  an  inscription  on  a  broken  stone,  found  in  the  Homan  ceme- 
tery at  Bulmore,  near  Caerleon,  a  deceased  lady  is  apostrophised 
by  her  husband  and  three  sons  : — 

D  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

CAESORiA  CORO  Caesoria  Coroca, 

CA  V  A  XLViii  REM  '  "  who  lived  forty-eight  years. 

s  coNivx  •  •  •  •  s  ET  Remus,  her  loving  husband,  and 

MVNAT  •  •  •  LEST  Munatius,  and  Lestinus, 

Nvs  E  •  •  •  •  EONTi  and  Leontius, 

vs  FECERVNT  her  sons, 

FiLi  Eivs  made  this, 

A  slab  found  at  Carvoran  in  Northumberland  (Magna),  bears 
the  following  affectionate  inscription  : — 

D  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

AVRE  FAiAE  To  AurcHa  Faia, 

D  SALONAS  a  native  of  Salona, 

AVR  MARCVS  Aurelius  Marcus, 

0  OBSEQ  CON  a  centurion,  out  of  aflfectioo 

IVG  *  SANCTIS  for  his  most  holy  wife, 

siMAE  QVAE  VI  who  lived 

xiT  ANMS  xxxiii  thirty-three  years 

SINE  VLLA  MACVLA  without  any  stuiu, 

Gruter  has  recorded  a  Roman  sepulchral  inscription,  by  one 
Marcus  Aurelius  Paullus,   coiijmji  incomparablli,  cum  qua  vixit 


^ 


384  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

aunis  xxv'd,  sine  ulla  querela — to  his  incomparable  wife,  with 
whom  he  had  lived  twenty-seven  years,  withont  any  dispute. 

When  there  was  no  near  relation  left,  the  tomb  was  erected 
by  the  heirs  to  the  property  of  the  deceased,  generally,  it  would 
appear,  by  direction  of  the  will.  Many  of  the  sepulchral 
monuments  in  Britain  were  thus  raised  by  the  heirs.  The  fol- 
lowing inscription,  found  at  Ardoch,  in  Scotland,  will  serve  for 
an  example  of  the  ordinary  formula  used  under  such  circum- 
stances : — 

Dis  M\NiRVS  To  the  gods  of  the  shades. 

AMMOMVs  DA  ^  Aiiimonius  Damionis, 

Mioxis  0  coH  centurion  of  cohort 

I  HISPANORVM  the  first  of  the  Spaniards, 

STirENDTORVM  having  served 

XXVII  HEKEDES  tvventy-seven  years.     His  heirs 

F  c  caused  this  to  be  made. 

In   an   inscription  found  at  Ellenborough,  in  Cumberland,  the 
sons  of  the  deceased  acted  under  the  name  of  his  heirs, ^ — 

1")  M  To  the  gods  of  the  shades 

MORI  REGIS  Of  Morus  Rex 

FiLii  HEREDEs  the  sons,  his  hoirs, 

Eivs  SVBSTITVB  Substituted  this. 

KVNT  vix  A  Lxx  He  Hvcd  seventy  years. 

We  have  several  instances  of  the  desire  among  members  of  the 

same  family  to  be  buried  beside  each  other.     A  soldier  slain  in 

Germany  was  brought  to  Isca  {Caerleon)  to  be  interred  beside 

his  father.     A  broken  inscription  in  one  of  the  stations  along 

the  wall  of  Hadrian  commemorates  a  native  of  Galatia,  whose 

father  havhig,  as  it  appears,  died  in  Britain,  the  son,  who  died 

in  his  native  country,  wished  on  his  death-bed  to  be  carried 

into  Britain  to  be  laid  in  his  father's  grave. 

.  .  .  .  TL  SER  ....  son  of  Servius, 

Qvi  NANAT  who,  born 

GALATIA  DEC  in  Gahitia, 

*  Horsley  observes  on  this  inscription,  '  It  was  customary  with  the 
ancients  to  erect  sepulchral  monuments  for  themselves  and  families,  while 
they  were  living  ;  which  might  ossibly  be  the  case  here,  with  respect  to 
this  Morus  Rex.  But  the  monument  he  built  might  have  fallen  to  decay, 
or  by  some  accident  have  been  demolished,  before  his  death,  and  his  sons, 
upon  his  decease,  have  rebuilt  it.  The  word  substituerunt  seems  to  intimate 
something  like  this,  which  signifies  the  putting  of  some  person  or  thing  in 
the  room  of  another  which  was  there  before.  So  we  say  substituerejudi- 
eem  ;  and  by  the  Roman  law  the  usufructuary  was  obliged  siibstituere 
pecora,  or  arbores,  in  the  room  of  such  as  died.  It  would  be  very  diflBcult 
to  put  any  other  meaning  upon  sribstituerunt  in  this  inscripti(m  ;  for,  to 
take  it  in  the  sense  of  constituerunt,  is  perhaps  without  example.' 


CHAP.  XI.]  SEPULCHRAL  IXSCRIPTIOXS.  385 

HViT  GALA      .  .  .  died  in  Galatia  ; 

xiT  ANN  ....  he  lived  ....  years ; 

MORiTV  .  .  .  .  on  his  death-bed 

UEsiDER  ....  he  desired 

HIS  INT  ....  in  his  father's  tomb  to  be  buried.* 

It  has  been  remarked  that,  to  judge  from  the  ages  set  forth 
ill  these  sepulchral  inscriptions,  the  Romans  in  Britain  gener- 
ally died  young.  The  average  age  seems  to  be  not  much  more  / 
than  thirty.  We  find,  however,  one  or  two  instances  of  V 
longevity.  A  decurion,  or  municipal  magistrate,  of  the  city  of 
Ghwxm  (Gloucester),  was  buried  at  the  fashionable  watering- 
place  of  Aquae  Solis  (Bath),  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six. 
Length  of  years  had  perhaps  increased  his  attachment  to  life, 
and  he  went  thither  to  seek  new  vigour  from  the  medicinal 
waters  of  the  place.  From  the  form  of  the  stone  we  may 
suppose  that  it  was  placed  on  the  wall  of  a  tomb  of  some  mag- 
nitude.    The  following  is  all  that  remains  of  the  inscription  : — 

DEC  COLONIAE  GLEV  Dccurion  of  the  colonia  of  Glevum  ; 

vixiT  AN  •  Lxxxvi  he  lived  eighty-six  years. 

One  instance  has  occurred  of  an  age  still  more  patriarchal.  In 
a  cemetery  at  Bulmore,  near  Caerleon  (Lsca),  one  or  two  monu- 
ments connected  with  the  same  family  were  found.  On  one 
was  the  inscription  : — 

ivL  ■  VALENS  •  VET  Julius  Valcns,  a  veteran 

LEG  •  II  •  AVG  •  VIXIT  of  the  second  legion,  the  Augustan, 

lived 

ANNTS  •  c  •  IVL  a  hundred  years.     Julia 

SECVNDINA  •  CONIVNX  Secundina,  his  wife, 

ET  IVL  MARTiNVS  "  FiLivs  and  Julius  Martiuus,  his  son, 

F  •  c  caused  this  to  be  made. 

Close  by  this  stone,  another  was  found  with  an  inscription 
recording  the  death  of  the  wife  of  this  aged  veteran,  and  raised 
by  their  son.  The  inscription  furnishes  us  with  another 
formula,  dls  manibus  et  memoi'ice^  of  which  we  liave  an  example 
in  Gruter,  found  on  tlie  continent.  It  is  interesting  to  find 
this  identity  of  expression  and  sentiment  in  different  parts  of 
the  Roman  world.  The  inscription  on  the  Caerleon  monument 
runs  as  follows  : —    ' 

*  The  translation  of  this  inscription  is  made  after  the  ingenious  restora- 
tion of  Mr  Roach  Smith,  who  (Collectanea,  ii.  p.  202)  explains  it,  I  believe 
correctly,  as  follows  : —  ...  fihius  sbkvH  qvi  nat^/.s  galatia  dec?<bvit 

GALATIA  ^ixiT  ANNOS  •    .    ,    UORlTYrUS   DESIDKKavit  j(>a^RIS    IN   TUmulo 

sepeliri.  In  the  second  line,  nanat  appears  to  be  an  error  of  the  stone- 
cutter for  NAT. 


386  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

D  M  ET  To  the  j?ods  of  the  snades,  and 

MEMORIAE  to  jneinory. 

IVLIAE  .  SECVNDi  To  Julia  Secundina, 

NAE  .  MATRI  .  PI  a  most  aftectiooate  mother, 

issiMAE  .  vixiT  .  AN  who  lived  years 

Nis  .  LXXV  .  c  .  IVL  seventy-live,  Caius  Julius 

MARTiNvs  .  FIL  Martinus,  her  son, 

F     .     c  caused  this  to  be  made. 

Few  inscriptions  have  yet  been  found  referring-  to  persons  of 
any  rank  in  society,  or  to  officials,  except  officers  in  the  army 
tliongh  we  have  seen  inscriptions  commemorative  of  a  decurion 
of  Glevum  and  a  sevir  of  Eburacum. 

A  lingering  sentiment  of  attachment  to  the  living  caused 
the  Romans  to  select  for  the  sites  of  their  tombs  spots  by  the 
side  of  the  high-roads.  The  inscription  on  the  grave  of  a 
Roman  named  Lollius,  quoted  from  Gruter,  said  that  he  was 
'  buried  by  the  road -side,  that  they  Avho  pass  by  may  say, 
Farewell,  Lollius.'  It  was  from  this  circumstance  that  the 
inscription  is  not  unfrequently  addressed  to  the  way-faring 
traveller,  with  such  phrases  as  siste,  viator  (stop,  traveller)  ; 
aspice,  viator  {look,  traveller)  ;  or  cave,  viator  (beware,  traveller). 
They  were,  nevertheless,  anxious  to  protect  the  last  dwellings 
of  the  dead  from  neglect  or  disrespect,  and  warnings  to  those 
who  might  be  inclined  to  offer  indignities  to  the  tombs  are  not 
unfrequently  incorporated  in  the  monumental  inscription.  It 
seems  to  have  been  considered  necessary  to  tell  people  that 
they  shoidd  not  throw  dirt  or  rubbish  against  the  tombs,  or 
treat  them  otherwise  in  an  unseemly  manner.*  In  Italy,  it  is 
sometimes  expressly  forbidden  by  the  inscription  to  raise  a 
funeral  pile  against  a  tomb — ad  hoc  monumentum  itstrlnum 
appllcare  non  licet.  Sometimes  a  notice  was  given  that  punish- 
ment awaited  the  intruder  who  should  bury  any  other  body  in 
a  sepulchre  already  occupied.  Warnings  of  this  kind  belonged 
more  properly,  perhaps,  to  family  sepulchres.  A  broken  stone 
found  at  Watercrook,  in  Westmoreland,  contained  an  inscription 
of  which  a  few  letters  at  the  end  of  each  line  were  wanting,  and 
the  last  line  was  not  distinctly  legible — it  appears,  by  the  form 
of  the  stone,  to  have  been  placed  against  the  wall  of  a  large 
tomb  : — 


r  .  AEL  .  P  .  F  SERG  .  BASS 
Q  D  LEG  .  XX  VV  .  VIX  .  AN 


*  Horsley  gives  an  inscription  in  which  a  still  greater  profanation  is 
spoken  of — c  .  caecilivs  .  c  .  et  .  o.  l.  florvs  .  vixit  .  annos  .  xvi  . 

KT   MENSIBVS    .    Vll    .    QVI    .    HIC  .  MIXERIT  .  AVT  .  CACARIT   .    IIABEAT    . 
DEOS  .  SVPEROS  .  ET  .  INFEROS  .  IRATOS. 


CHAP.  XI.]     ARTICLES  BURIED  WITH  THE  DEAD.  38: 


KT  .  P  .  KIVATVS  LIT5E  .   ET  .  HEKO 
M  .  LEG  .  VI  ,  VIC  .  EEC  .  SI  a    .    .    • 

SEPVLC  .  ALIVM  MOKT 

EllIT  .  INFER  .F.D.  D.N.N    .    . 


As  filled  up  and  explained  by  Horsley,  it  may  be  translated  : 
'  Publius  ^lius  Bassus,  the  son  of  Pablius,  of  the  tribe  Sergia, 
quaestor  designatus  of  the  twentieth  legion,   the  valiant  and 

victorious,  who  lived  ....  years, and  Publius 

Eivatus,  his  freedman,  and  Hero   ....  a  soldier  of  the  sixth 
leg-ion,  the  victorious,  caused  this  to  be  made.     If  any  one        / 
shall  hitrude  another  corpse  into  this  sepulchre,  he  shall  pay  as     y 
a  fine  into  the  treasury  of  our  lords.' 

A  superstition,  deeply  imprinted  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
taught  that  articles  of  various  kinds  burnt  or  interred  with  the 
deceased  would  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  departed  spirit  in  the 
world  of  shades.  The  dead  were,  therefore,  clothed  in  their 
full  dress,  with  their  jewellery  and  personal  ornaments,  and 
they  carried  with  them  the  coin  or  coins  to  pay  their  passage. 
They  were  often  furnished  with  wine  or  provisions.  The  occu- 
])ant  of  the  tomb  at  Avisford,  in  Sussex,  carried  with  him  oi- 
lier a  pair  of  sandals  nailed  with  bronze  instead  of  iron.  A 
mirror  was  found  in  a  Eoman  grave  at  Colchester,  In  the 
sepulchral  chest,  in  one  of  the  Bartlow  hills,  a  folding  stool  and 
strigils  were  found.  Fictile  vases  and  vessels  of  glass  seem, 
in  many  instances,  to  have  been  interred  as  useful  for  domestic 
purposes.  Amphorse  were  added  probably  for  a  similar  reason. 
Sometimes  we  meet  even  with  culinary  utensils.  In  one  in- 
stance, an  iron  tripod,  for  placing  over  a  fire,  was  found  with 
a  chain  and  pot-hooks  in  the  middle.  Almost  the  only  articles 
not  found  in  Eoman  graves  are  arms,  and  I  am  not  aware  that 
in  any  example  yet  known  in  Britain,  a  Roman  was  buried  with  >/ 
his  warlike  weapons.  It  must  also  be  remarked  that  Eoman 
graves,  ricli  in  such  articles  as  are  mentioned  above,  are  not 
very  common. 

Branches  and  garlands  of  box  and  palm,  as  well  as  of  other 
trees  or  shrubs,  appear  to  have  been  also  deposited  in  tlie 
grave.  Such  objects  were  also  sculptured  on  the  grave-stones, 
and  they  were  perhaps  borrowed  as  emblems  by  the  Christians 
from  their  heathen  predecessors.  Ii  has  been  rather  hastily 
supposed  by  one  or  two  writers  that  the  presence  of  such  sculp- 
tures— garlands  and  branches  of  palm — proves  that  the  tomb- 
stones on  which  they  occur  were  raised  over  converts  to  tlie 


38S  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xi. 

faith  of  the  p;ospeL  Mr  Gag-e  (Rokewode),  in  his  account  of 
the  opening  of  one  of  the  Baitlow  hills,  published  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  volume  of  the  Archseologia,  has  made  the  following- 
remarks  on  the  traces  of  vegetable  substances  found  there : — 
'  In  the  observations  made  in  1832  upon  the  objects  found  in 
the  brick  hiidam^  he  says,  '  some  conjectures  were  offered  on 
a  dark  incrustation  seen  upon  the  cinerary  urn.  A  branch  of 
yew,  or  other  dark  vegetable  substance,  was  supposed  to  have 
been  the  origin  of  it.  This  receives  confirmation  from  the 
actual  finding,  on  the  present  occasion,  of  vegetable  remains 
scattered  in  the  tomb,  and  adhering  to  several  of  the  objects. 
Leaves  were  found  adhering  to  the  bottom  of  the  cinerary  urn, 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  some  had  been  thrown  in 
before  the  urn  was  deposited ;  while  round  the  handle  of  the 
lamp  a  wreath  would  seem  to  have  been  entwined.  "  These 
vegetable  remains,"  remarks  Mr  Brown,  F.  E.  S.,  who  has  had 
the  kindness  to  examine  them,  "  appear  to  consist  of  the  epider- 
mis of  leaves  and  ultimate  branches  of  box,  the  vascular  part 
and  parenchyma  being  in  most  cases  entirely  removed  ;  I  judge 
the  leaves  to  belong  to  box  [bitxus  sempervlrens),  from  their 
insertion  as  indicated  in  the  ramuli,  from  their  outline,  size, 
thickened  margin,  and  arrangement  and  form  of  stomata,  which 
in  most  cases,  however,  are  removed,  leaving  round  apertures 
of  the  form  and  size  of  the  whole  stoma."  Professor  Henslow 
informs  the  writer  of  this  memoir,  that  a  skeleton  was  lately 
found  in  or  near  Chesterford  churchyard,  together  with  a 
Roman  vase,  and  that  box-leaves  lay  loose  in  the  soil  near  the 
skull  and  vase.  Some  of  the  leaves  are  in  my  possession,  and 
they  are  similar  to  those  found  at  Bartlow.'  Mr  Gage  cites, 
in  illustration  of  these  discoveries,  the  beautiful  epigram  of 
Martial  (i.  89),  in  which  the  box  and  the  palm  are  connected 
with  the  last  home  of  mortality. 

Alcinie,  queni  raptuni  domino  crescentibus  annis 

Labicana  levi  cespite  velat  humus, 
Accipe  non  Phario  nutantia  pondera  saxo, 

Qua)  cineri  vanus  dat  ruitura  labor  ; 
Sed  fragiles  buxos  et  opacas  palmitis  umbras, 

Quseque  vireiit  lacrymis  rosoida  prata  meis. 
Accipe,  care  puer,  nostri  monumenta  laboris  ; 

Hie  tibi  perpetuo  tempore  vivet  h(mor. 
Cuju  mihi  supremos  Lachesis  perneverit  annos, 

Non  aliter  cineres  mando  jacere  meos. 

It  is,  of  course,  to  be  supposed  that  the  sepulchres  which  we 
have  been  describing  belonged  to  the  better  orders  of  society. 


r-H^r.  XL]  FULGUR  DJVOM.  3SQ 

The  process  of  cremation  was  an  expensive  one,  and  it  was 
probal)ly  tliis  circumstance  which  gradually  led  to  its  abolition. 
People  of  the  lower  class  of  society  Avere  regarded  contemptu- 
ously, and  were  thrown  into  trenches  in  the  ground  with  little 
ceremony  or  respect.  The  public  burial-grounds  for  the  poor 
were  called  in  Italy,  puticuU,  from  puteiis,  a  pit,  on  account  of 
the  unceremonious  manner  in  which  the  dead  were  thrown  into 
the  shallow  pits  or  trenches.  The  ground  was  not  even  looked 
upon  as  consecrated,  and  it  was  without  difficulty  turned  to 
other  purposes.  A  burTvl-groiuifl  of  th^'s  kind,  at  the  Esquiline 
gate  of  Eome,  was  given  by  Augustus  to  his  favourite  ministei", 
Maecenas,  to  be  turned  into  a  garden,  and  the  change  was 
celebrated  by  Horace  : — 

Nunc  licet  Esquiliis  habitare  salubribus,  atque 
Aprg'ere  in  aprico  spatiari  ;  quo  modo  tristes 
Albis  infonnem  spectabant  ossibus  humum. 

Lib.  i.,  Sat.  viii.,  /.  14. 

We  have  not  sufficient  information  to  enable  us  to  trace  the 
gradual  disappearance  of  the  practice  of  cremation,  but  we  are 
told  by  Macrobius,*  who  wrote  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century,  that  the  custom  of  burning  had  been  then  so  long- 
discontinued,  that  it  was  only  from  books  lie  could  gather  any 
information  relating  to  it.  Persons  who  had  committed  suicide 
were  never  allowed  to  be  burnt,  and  the  same  prohibition 
extended  to  those  who  died  in  their  infancy.  Those  who  were 
struck  dead  by  lightning  were  believed  to  have  suffered  under 
the  special  visitation  of  the  gods,  and  they  were  interred  as 
they  died,  and  on  the  same  spot,  if  it  were  not  a  place  where  it 
was  unlawful  to  bury.  On  the  continent,  several  Eoman 
inscriptions  have  been  found,  commemorative  of  the  effects  of  r 
the  '  lightning  of  the  gods,'  and  perhaps  marking  the  place  y 
where  some  unfortunate  mortal  has  been  thus  launched  into 
eternity.  One  at  Florence  bears  the  inscription  fvlgvr  divm  ; 
a  similar  inscription  found  at  Ntmes  {Nemaiisus)  has  fvlgvk, 
DivoM ;  another  at  Palermo  (Pcniormus),  fvlgvr  conditvm  ; 
and  anotlier  at  Oderzo  on  the  Adriatic  {Opiterginm),  de  caelo 
TACTVM  ET  CONDITVM.  We  have  here  another  interesting  hnk 
between  the  manners  of  the  Romans  in  Britain  and  in  their 
native  Italy.  A  little  to  the  west  of  the  ancient  town  of  Hun- 
num  {Halion-Chesters)  on  the  wall  of  Hadrian,  has  been  found 

*  '  Deinde,  licet  urendi  corpora  defunctoruni  usus  nostro  sa^culo  nullum 
8it,  lectio  tanien  docet  eo  tempore  quo  igni  davi  honor  uiortuis  habebatur,' 
&c. — Macrob.  Satio  >/al.,  lib.  vii.  c.  7. 


3yO 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.   XI. 


a  stone,  represented  in  the  annexed  cut,  with  the  identical  in- 
scription mentioned  above,  fvlgvr  divom.  Perhaps  one  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  station  here  met  his  death  from  heaven. 


Inscribed  stone  at  Halton-Chesters  {Runniim). 


CHAP.  XII.]  hOMAX  FIBVLM.  idi 


CHAPTER  XII. 

J>oiacs(ic  Life  amonf;-  the  Roman.s  in  Britain  a.s  Illustrated  by  their  Re- 
inain.s — Dress  and  Personal  Ornaments — the  Toilette — the  Household  ; 
Furniture  and  Utensils  —  Female  Occupations  —  Cutlery  —  Styli^ 
Scales— Ornamental  Articles — ^ Weapons,  &c. 

If  tlie  numerous  articles  belonging-  to  tlie  ordinary  usages  of 
life,  which  have  been  found  on  Roman  sites  in  dift'ereiit  parts  of 
the  country,  were  collected  together  and  arranged,  they  vvouhl, 
no  doubt,  go  far  towards  giving  us  a  perfect  picture  of  tlie 
manners  of  the  population  of  Britaiu  under  the  Romans.  Un- 
fortunately, in  times  back,  great  quantities  have  been  lost,  or 
destroyed  after  their  discovery,  and  those  which  remain  are 
scattered  about,  mostly  in  private  hands,  from  the  want  of  any 
really  national  museum  in  which  to  depose  them.  They  uni- 
formly give  evidence  to  the  fact  that  the  civilization  of  Britain, 
during  the  whole  of  this  period,  was  purely  Roman,  and  that 
whatever  races  settled  here  under  tlie  banner  of  Rome,  they 
accepted  unreservedly  its  dress  and  manners  as  well  as  its  lan- 
guage and  laws. 

The  dress  of  the  Romans  appears  not  to  have  varied  much  iu 
its  general  character  until  the  later  period  of  the  empire.  It 
was  simple  in  its  forms,  and  the  principal  distinction  between 
the  garments  of  classes  and  individuals  consisted  in  the  richness 
of  the  material  and  in  the  brilliance  of  the  colours.  The  dress 
of  the  male  sex  continued  to  be  composed  of  the  tunic,  Avorn 
next  to  the  skin,  and  the  toga,  over  it ;  though  in  later  times 
it  was  not  unusual  to  wear  more  than  one  tunic,  and  the 
pallium  or  mantle,  a  garment  borrowed  from  the  Greeks,  was 
thrown  over  the  toga,  or  rather  sid)stituted  in  its  place.  The  / 
tunic  worn  by  men  reached  generally  to  the  middle  of  the  thighs,  ^ 
or  not,  at  all  events,  below  the  knees.  Females  had  a  longer 
tunic  reaching  to  the  feet,  and  over  it  they  wore  the  stola, 
Teaching  a  little  below  the  knees,  instead  of  the  toga,  and  over 


392 


THE  ROMANS. 


[cHAr.   XTI. 


it  the  pallium,  or  mantle.*  In  the  formation  of  these  dresses 
there  was  not  much  '  tailoring' ; '  they  consisted  of  little  more 
than  pieces  of  clotli,  linen,  or  silk,  with  fring-es  and  borders, 
wrapped  loosely  round  the  body.  Almost  the  only  fastenings 
appear  to  have  been  fibuloe,  or  brooches,  which,  from  the  num- 
bers that  are  continually  found  on  all  Roman  sites,  must  have 
been  used  in  great  profusion.  We  scarcely  ever  meet  with  even 
the  smallest  collection  of  Roman  antiquities,  but  a  considerable 
proportion  of  it  consists  of  fragments  of  fibulae.  The  annexed 
cut  represents   the  more  usual  forms  of  these  articles,  which 


Roman  fibulae. 

are  sometimes  more  ornamental,  but  they  always,  with  the 
exception  of  the  circular  brooches,  follow  these  designs.  The 
first  on  the  left  was  found  at  Caerleon  ;  the  second,  which  is  in 
my  own  possession,  came  from  Boulogne  ;  the  third  was  found 
near  Maidstone ;  the  fourth,  at  Caerleon ;  the  fifth,  at  Stroud 
in  Kent ;  and  the  one  to  the  extreme  right,  at  Cirencester.  The 
material  is  usually  bronze,  though  Roman  fibulpe  in  silver  and 
gold  have  been  found.  A  fibula  of  the  form  of  the  last  to  the 
right  in  our  group,  of  a  large  size,  and  made  of  solid  gold,  Avas 
found  at  Odiham  in  Hampshire,  in  1844.  The  round  fibulae 
appear,  from  figures  in  coins  and  pictures,  to  have  been  iised 
for  fastening  the  pallium  over  the  shoulder.  They  are  often 
more  ornamental  than  the  bow-shaped  fibulae,  and  are  some- 
times enamelled.  Lysons  has  published  an  engraving  of  a 
beautiful  circular  fibula,  in  gold,  with  figures  of  griffons  on  one 
side,  and  bears  on  the  other ;  it  was  found  at  Old  Penrith,  in 
Cumberland.     Buttons    are    also    found,   sometimes   elegantly 

*  For  the  forms  of  their  articles  of  dress,  the  reader  may  refer  to  any  of 
the  general  treatises  on  the  history  of  costume,  such  as  that  by  Mr  Fair- 
httlt,  which  I  would  especially  recommend. 


CHAP,  xn.] 


HAIR-riXS. 


39' 


ornamented,  but  the  manner  in  which  they  were  employed  is  not 
well  known. 

Bracelets  {armlllce)  for  the  wrists  are  also  articles  of  common 
occurrence  in  l)ronze,  silver,  and  gold.  They  consist  generally 
of  a  simple  narrow  ring,  seldom  much  ornamented,  and  often 
without  any  ornament  at  all.  Roman  rings,  which  are  more 
frequently  of  gold,  are  so  varied  in  form  that  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  give  any  general  description  of  them.  They  some- 
times contain  engraved  stones,  but  these  are  more  frequently 
found  without  their  mounting.  The  frequency  with  which  Eonian 
engraved  stones,  or  intaglios,  are  met  with,  show  that  they 
were  very  much  in  use  in  all  parts  of  the  empire.  Roman 
ear-rings  are  usually  in  gold,  though  they  sometimes  occur  in 
bronze ;  it  would  be  as  difficult  to  give  a  general  description  of 
them  as  of  finger-rings.  The  beads  of  the  Romans,  which  were 
mostly  of  glass,  have  already  been  described ;  they  are  found 
with  various  fittings  and  adjuncts,  some  of  which  were  no  doubt 
looked  upon  as  amulets. 

Among  the  articles  of  female  ornament  that  occur  in  the 
greatest  abundance  are  pins  {acus),  generally  of  bone  or  bronze, 
which  were  used  for  fastening  the  knot  of  the  hair  behind  the 
head,  and  are  represented  as  thus  employed  in  ancient  busts 
and  statuettes.     Those  figured  in  the  annexed  cut  are  all  of 


B'.'ne  Pius  and  Meedle. 


V 


391  THE  ROMANS.  •  [chap.  xii. 

bone,  and  are  represented  half  the  size  of  the  originals.  The'v 
were  in  the  museum  of  Mr  Rolfe,  of  Sandwich,  and  are  here 
taken  from  Mr  Roach  Smith's  work  on  Richborough.  Mr 
Smith's  own  museum  presents  a  large  and  varied  collection  of 
such  pins.  They  have  sometimes  large  heads,  and  were 
elaborately  ornamented,  terminating,  in  some  instances,  in  a 
bust,  01"  in  a  figure.  Some  very  curious  Roman  hair-pins, 
made  of  coloured  glass,  were  found  near  Dorchester,  in  Dorset- 
shire, in  1850.  Martial  has  left  us  a  shoii  epigram  which 
illustrates  the  use  of  the  hair-pin, — 

u4cus  aurea. 
Tenuia  ne  inadidi  violent  bombycina  crines  ; 
Figat  acus  tortas  sustineatque  comas. 

Eplg.  lib.  xiv.  24. 

An  article  of  personal  ornament,  worn  by  men,  the  torques, 
torquis,  or  collar,  must  not  be  overlooked  in  speaking  of  the 
subject  which  now  occupies  our  attention.  The  torques  is  said, 
by  ancient  writers,  to  have  been  originally  used  by  the  I'ersians 
in  the  east,  and  by  the  nations  of  northern  and  western  Europe. 
Virgil  describes  it  as  worn  by  the  Trojans,  when  they  came  to 
colonize  Italy  :  — 

Omnibus  in  morem  tonsa  coma  prossa  corona, 
Cornea  bina  ferunt  prsefixo  hastilia  ferro  ; 
Pars  leves  humero  pharetras  ;  it  pectore  summo 
Flexilis  obtorti  per  collum  circulus  auri. 

It  is  first  mentioned  in  Roman  history  in  the  year  360  B.C., 
when  Manlius,  having  torn  a  torques  of  gold  from  the  neck  of 
a  vanquished  Gaul,  placed  it  on  his  own,  and  received,  from 
this  circumstance,  the  name  of  Torquatus.  From  this  time,  in 
the  wars  with  the  Gauls,  the  example  of  Torquatus  Manlius 
Avas  often  imitated,  and  the  torques  was  adopted  among  the 
Romans  as  the  reward  of  military  merit.  Torques  are  not 
unfre([uently  found  in  our  island,  and  appear,  in  some  instances, 
to  be  of  British  manufacture,  thougli  in  others  they  are 
undoubtedly  Roman.  The  Roman  writers  speak  of  them  as 
worn  by  the  Britons,  and  the  queen  of  the  Iceni,  Boadicea,  is 
described  by  Dion  Cassius  as  having  a  torquis  of  gold  round 
her  neck.  This  was  the  metal  of  which  they  were  usuallv 
made.  They  consisted  of  a  long  piece  of  gold,  twisted  or 
spiral,  doubled  back  in  the  form  of  a  short  hook  at  each  end, 
and  then  turned  into  the  form  of  a  circle.  The  usual  form  is 
represented  in  fig.  1  in  the  cut  on  the  next  page.  The  gold  was 
sometimes  worked  with  more  elaborate  ornament  into  twisted 


CHAP.    XII.] 


TORQUES  AND  AmilLL.^. 


cords,  &c.,  and  ended  in  serpents'  heads,  instead  of  plain 
hooks  An  inscription  found  in  France,  and  published  by 
Montfaucon,  mentions  a  torques  dedicated  to  yEsculapius, 
which  was  made  by  twistini>:  together  two  golden  snakes.  A 
very  remarkable  torques  of  line  gold  was  found  in  Needwood 
Forest,  in  Staffordshire,  in  18 -i  8,  where  it  had  been  turned  up 
out  of  the  earth  by  a  fox.  It  was  formed  of  eight  plaited 
cords  of  gold,  weighing  together  1  lb.  1  oz.  7  dwts.  and  10  grains. 
At  Pattingham,  also  in  Staffordshire,  a  golden  torques  was  found 
in  the  year  1700,  which  weighed  no  less  than  3  lbs.  2  oz.  It 
is  described  as  being  '  curiously  twisted  and  wreathed,  with 
two  hooks  at  each  end,  cut  even,  but  not  twisted.'  Its 
value,  probably,  hindered  it  from  being  preserved.  The  torques 
found  in  Needwood  Forest  is  now  in  the  possession  of  her 
IMajesty;  and  an  engraving  of  it  was  given  in  the  thirty-third 


Torques  and  Arniillae. 

volume  of  the  '  Archseologia,'  from  which  the  one  in  our  cut 
(2)  is  taken.  The  torques  was  sometimes  bent  into  a  spiral, 
instead  of  a  circular,  form,  in  which  case  it  was  intended  for 
the  arm,  not  the  neck ;  it  was  in  this  case  denominated  torquis 
h'achialis,  and  was  usually  of  bronze.  In  some  instances  it  is 
merely  a  piece  of  metal  like  that  in  fig.  1,  twisted  into  a  spiral 
form  for  the  arm  ;  but  it  is  often  much  more  massive.  The 
elegant  bronze  armlet  (fig.  3  in  our  cut),  found  on  the  coast  of 
Murrayshire,  in  Scotland,  weighed  nearly  two  pounds  and  a 
half.  x\nother  description  of  bronze  armlet,  or  bracelet,  in- 
tended, like  the  one  last  mentioned,  for  the  military,  probably 
as  a  mark  of  honour,  was  formed  of  a  triangular  bar  of  bronze, 

2  B 


156 


THE  ROMANS. 


[ciiAr.  XII. 


first  doubled,  with  a  lobe,  and  then  twisted  round  into  the  fonn 
n;presented  in  fig*.  4  in  our  cut.  The  example  here  p:iven  was 
tbund  in  Northumberland,  on  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall,  and 
weig-hs  about  three-quarters  of  a  pound. 

The  only  part  of  the  dress  of  tlie  Eomans  in  Britain  wliich 
has  come  down  to  us  entire,  is  the  sandal  or  shoe  {calif/a). 
Many  of  these  sandals,  taken  chiefly  from  the  bed  of  tlie 
Thames  opposite  London,  were  in  the  possession  of  Mr 
Jloach  Sinitli.  They  are  of  leather,  of  various  sizes,  and  the 
soles,  formed  usually  of  four  layers  of  leather  held  tog'ether  by 
nails  clenched  on  the  inside,  are  cut  as  in  our  modern  rii>iit- 
and-left  shoes.  The  layer  of  leather  next  to  the  sole  of  the 
foot  is  close  sewn  to  the  lower  portions,  and  then  forms  an 
exterior  ridge,  from  which,  at  the  sides,  rise  strong  loops  for 
fastening  the  sandals  over  the  instep  with  straps  or  fillets.  In 
nearly  all  instances  this  ridge  folds  a  little  way  over,  and 
protects  the  extremities  of  the  toes.  Other  examples,  appar- 
ently intended  for  women  and  children,  have  reticulated  work, 
also  in  leather,  round  the  heels  and  sides,  of  various  degrees  of 
fineness,  and  more  or  less  elegant  in  design.  Three  of  these 
shoes,  or  sandals,  are  here  given,  from  the  collection  of  Mr. 
Eoach  Smith.  The  first  of  these  has  its  upper-leather  made  in 
two  pieces,  and  sewed  at  the  toes  and  at  the  heel.     In  the 


Sandal,  seven  inches  long  by  three  wide. 

second,  the  upper-leather,  which  covered  the  foot  up  to  the 
ankle,  was  sewed  at  the  heel  only,  and  appears  to  have  been 
tied  or  laced  up  the  front  with  a  thong.  The  third  example  is 
constructed  somewhat  difterently  from  the  othei's  in  the  up])er 
part,  as  the  latchets  were  intended  to  tie  over  the  instep,  and 
not  fasten  with  a  thong.  In  this  case,  the  layers  of  the  sole 
are   preserved    quite   perfect,  with    the  nails  Avhich  held  them 


criAp.  xii.] 


ROMAN  SANDALS. 


3); 


togetlier.     In  otlier  examples,  the  heads  of  the  nails  are  flat 
instead  of  pointed.     The  Roman  sandals  found  in  Britain  have 


Sandal,  ten  inches  long,  by  three  and  a  half  wide. 

the  soles  almost  always  covered  with  nails,  which  are  often  veiy 
larg-e  and  clumsy,  thoug-h  sometimes,  as  in  those  found  in  the 
tombs  at  York  and  Avisford,  smaller  and  finer.     In  these  nails 


Sandal,  nine  inches  long,  by  three  wide. 

wc  have  another  link  between  tlie  manners  of  Roman  Britain 
and  those  of  Italy.  Pliny,  describing-  the  scales  of  a  peculiar 
fish,  tells  us  that  they  resemble  tlie  nails  of  sandals ;  *  and 
Juvenal,  alluding  to  the  profusion  of  nails  with  which  the  sole 
of  the  caliga  was  covered,  says  : — 

Dignum  erit  ergo 
Declaniatoris  niulino  corde  Vagelli, 
Quuiu  duo  crura  habeas,  oflFendere  tot  caligas,  tot 
Millia  clavoruiii. — Sat.  xvi.,  1.  22. 

The  sandals  are  here  used  to  represent  the  soldiers  who  woie 

*  '  Squamis    oonspicui   crebris   atque  pcracutis,  clavorum   calij?aruui 
efhgie.'— P/i>^  Hist.  Nat.  hb.  ix.  c.  18. 


398  .  THE  EOMAXS.  [chap.  xii. 

tliein,  and  we  know  that  the  calig'a  was  the  proper  shoe  of  tlie 
military.  The  nailed  soles  from  the  tombs  just  alluded  to 
liclonged  no  doubt  to  the  shoes  of  ladies ;  but  the  upper  cover- 
ing, whether  of  leather  or  other  still  more  perishable  material, 
is  no  longer  remaining,  and  Ave  cannot  even  guess  at  its  form. 
The  shoe  {calccus  or  calceamentnm) ,  worn  by  the  better  classes 
of  society,  appears  to  have  differed  little  in  form  from  those 
made  in  modern  times  ;  they  vvere  of  different  colours,  and  of 
various  materials.  The  ladies,  and  even  men  of  fashion,  appear 
to  have  worn  them  of  linen,  or  silk,  and  sometimes  ornamented 
with  jewellery :  the  shoes  of  a  female  in  a  picture  at  JI?r"ub- 
neum  are  painted  yellow. 

Among  the  Roman  antiquities  found  in  this  island,  mstrn- 
ments  of  the  toilette  are  by  no  means  unfrcquent.  Amon;; 
these  was  the  mirror,  or  speculum,  which  consisted  usually  o(  n 
round  plate  of  polished  metal,  set  in  a  frame  of  the  same  shape, 
with  a  handle.  For,  when  used,  it  was  held  up  to  the  person 
using  it  by  a  servant.  Several  such  mirrors  of  polished  metal 
have  been  found  in  the  cemeteries  at  Colchester ;  and  one, 
found  in  an  extensive  Eoman  burial-place  near  J)everill-street, 
Southwark,  is  engraved  in  the  twenty-sixth  volume  of  tlie 
'  Archseoloo-ia.'  Thev  are  usuallv  small ;  those  found  at  Col- 
Chester  were  between  three  and  four  inches  in  diameter.  I  am 
not  aware  that  any  other  description  of  Roman  mirror  has  been 
met  with  in  this  country ;  rare  examples  of  square  ones  have 
been  found  in  Italy,  and  we  know  that  the  Romans  used 
mirrors  of  glass,  and  that  they  even  placed  large  mirrors  on 
their  walls  and  ceilings. 

The  Roman  comb  {peden)  was  usually  toothed  on  both  sides, 
and  the  common  material  in  Italy  was  box-wood.  This  was 
so  generally  the  case,  that  Martial,  speaking  ironically  of  the 
uselessness  of  such  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  a  woman  ivho 
was  bald,  adopts  the  name  of  the  wood  for  the  cond) : — 

Quid  faciei  nullos  hie  inventura  capillos, 
Multifido  buxus  quae  tibi  dente  datuv  ? 

Ep.^  lib.  xiv.  2o. 

Bone  and  metal  were  also  used.  The  museum  of  Mr  Roach 
Smith  contains  fragments  of  Roman  combs  in  wood  and  bone 
found  in  London.  In  one  of  the  Roman  rubbish  pits  at 
Chesterford  in  Essex,  a  comb  of  bronze,  with  a  double  row  of 
teeth,  was  found.  It  is  now  in  the  museum  of  Lord  Bray- 
brooke,  at  Audley  End,  who  also  possesses  a  similarly  shaped 


CHAV.  x:i.l     THE  TOILETTE;  LOCKS  AND  KEYS. 


399 


K(jinaii  comb  of  iron,  found  on  the  site  of  the  railway  station 
at  Cliesterford.  Small  tweezers  {volsellcs)  are  also  frequently 
met  with  among-  the  Roman  remains  in  this  country,  and 
evidently  formed  a  necessary  part  of  the  toilette  of  the  ladies ; 
their  use,  no  douht,  was  to  pluck  superfluous  hairs  from  th(i 
body.  Small  articles  in  bronze  have  been  dug  up  at  Cirencester 
and  elsewhere,  which,  from  their  form,  appear  to  have  been 
used  for  cleansing-  and  dressing  the  nails. 

We  have  very  few  remains  that  throw  any  light  on  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  houses  of  the  Romans  in  Britain  were  furnish- 
ed, ajid  we  can  only  assume,  from  the  resemblance  iu  other 
things,  that  the  fashions  of  Italy,  in  this  respect,  also  prevailed 
liere.  It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  not  uufrcquent 
occurrence,  in  the  remains  of  Roman  houses,  of  walls  which 
seem  to  run  into  apartments,  and  of  projections  at  the  lower 
parts  of  the  walls  internally,  would  induce  us  to  suppose  that 
these  were  intended  to  serve  permanently  as  seats.  Move- 
able furniture  was  generally  made  of  perishable  materials,  and 
consisted  of  articles  least  likely  to  be  left  among  the  ruins  of 
the  houses  when  abandoned.  The  only  article  of  this  descrip- 
tion that  I  can  call  to  mind  as  having  been  fourid  in  Britain, 
was  the  metal  frame  of  a  folding  seat  found  in  one  of  the 
Bartlow  hills.  From  the  great  number  of  keys  of  all  sizes, 
which  are  found  scattered  about  the  floors  of  Roman  houses 
when  they  are  excavated,  there  must  have  been  many  chests, 
colters,  and  caskets  witli  locks,  independently  of  the  locks  of 
the  doors.  Three  rather  common  forms  of  keys  are  given  in 
the  annexed  cut,  taken  from  examples  found  in  London.     The 


Romiin  Keys. 


400 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    XII. 


interment  of  small  caskets  of  this  kind  in  [graves  has  been, 
in  some  instances,  traced  by  the  existence  of  decayed  wood, 
and  the  presence  among  it  of  ornamental  nails  and  fragments 
of  metal.  Several  Koman  locks,  mostly  of  bronze,  have  been 
found  in  the  cemeteries  at  Colchester,  of  which  one  of  the  most 
perfect  is  represented  in  the  cut  below.  The  plate  of  this  lock 
was  four  inches  broad  by  two  and  three-quarters  deep,  and  it 
lias  evidently  belonged  to  a  chest.  Tlie  key-hole  was  covered 
by  a  guard,  as  in  modern  locks  of  the  same  description.  The 
forms  of  Roman  keys  are  so  extremely  varied  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  give  any  notion  of  them  in  a  general  description. 
They  are  most  commonly,  especially  the  smaller  ones,  of  bronze. 
]\Iany  resemble  closely  the  keys  of  the  present  day.  Others 
present  fanciful  shapes,  with  a  good  deal  of  ornament.  One 
form  of  key,  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  evidently  intended  to 
be  placed  on  the  finger  like  a  ring,  is  represented  in  our  cut. 
The  ring  is  at  right-angles  to  the  axle  of  the  key,  Avhich  is 
always  very  short.  These  keys  are  generally  so  small  and 
delicate,  that  they  can  only  have  been  used  for  locks  of  small 
caskets,  which  required  the  least  possible  force  to  turn  them. 
The  larger  keys  are  often  of  iron,  and  they  are  sometimes  found 
of  a  form  resembling  our  modern  latch-keys,  and  were  no  doubt 
used  in  the  same  manner.  Two  of  these  Roman  latch-lveys, 
found  at  Colchester,  are  represented  in  our  cut ;  they  are  both 


Roman  Lock  and  Keys,  from  Colchester  {Camulodioium). 

of  iron,  the  upper  example  eight  inches  long,  and  the  other  five 
inches  and  a  half,  so  that  they  probably  belonged  to  doors. 
Similar  latch-keys  were  found  in  the  Roman  villa  at  Hartlip  in 
Kent.;  and  they  have  been  met  with  elsewhere  on  Roman  sites 


CHVP.  XII.]  COOKING  UTENSn.S.  401 

in  this  country.  The  padlock  was  also  in  use  amonp;  th( 
Homans,  who  termed  it  sera  pensllls,  a  hang'ing  lock  ;  it  was 
formed  not  like  those  at  present  in  use,  but  somewhat  like  the 
cylindrical  locks,  which  were  in  more  g-eneral  use  some  years 
ago,  but  are  now  becomino-  obsolete. 

It  has  already  been  shown  how  the  Koman  houses  were 
warmed  by  means  of  hypocausts,  and  no  traces  have  yet  been 
found  of  fire-places  in  the  interior  of  the  rooms.  We  know, 
however,  that  in  the  south,  the  Romans  had  portable  fire-places, 
or  braziers,  of  metal,  which  they  could  bring  into  the  room 
when  wanted,  and  which  might  be  used  equally  for  warming 
the  guests,  or  for  keeping  warm  the  plates  or  viands  ;  and  we 
would  fain  believe  that  the  exhortation  of  Horace, — 

Dissolve  frigus,  linga  super  foco 
Large  reponens, — 

was  as  applicable  in  Britain,  as  in  the  land  of  the  snow-clad 
Soracte.  The  appeals  so  frequently  repeated  in  the  Roman 
writers,  that  people  should  amai-e focos,\oYn  their  fire-sides,  and 
that  they  ^\\o\\\.(l  piignare  pro  focis  et  am,  fight  for  their  hearths 
and  altars,  had  doubtless  some  substantial  foundation  in  the 
manners  of  the  people.  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  given  an  engrav- 
ing in  the  second  volume  of  his  '  Collectanea  '  of  a  pair  of 
andirons,  or  fire-dogs,  of  iron,  discovered  in  1839,  in  a  sepul- 
chral vault  at  Mount  Bures,  near  Colchester.  Each  consisted  of 
a  frame,  the  two  upright  sides  of  which  were  crowned  witli 
heads  of  oxen,  with  a  brass  knob  on  the  tip  of  each  horn.  Two 
very  similar  implements,  also  of  iron,  had  been  found  near 
Shefford,  in  Bedfordshire,  in  1832,  and.  an  engraving  of  them 
has  also  been  given  by  Mr  Roach  Smith.  Articles  of  the  same 
character,  but  smaller,  have  been  found  at  Pompeii,  and  in  a 
tomb  at  Paestum.  The  Italian  antiquaries  seem  to  consider 
that  they  were  used,  not  like  the  mediaeval  fire-dogs,  to  support 
the  fuel,  but  that  they  were  cooking  utensils,  intended  to 
support  iron  bars  to  serve  as  a  gridiron  over  the  fire  for  cooking- 
meat.  The  two  fire-dogs  found  near  Shefford  terminated  in 
stags'  heads.  The  gentleman  who  found  them,  Mr  Inskip  of 
Shefford,  has  given  the  following  account  of  the  discovery, 
which  seems  to  confirm  the  opinion  of  the  antiquaries  of  Italy  : — 
'  I  employed  two  men,'  he  says,  '  to  dig  on  the  spot,  and  w(; 
quickly  found  an  iron  fire-dog  of  simple  construction,  and 
doubtless  used  by  the  Romans  for  cooking.  After  this  we  met 
with  a  stout  iron-bar,  one  end  of  which  was  curved  somewhat 


402  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xii. 

like  a  pump-sweep  or  handle,  having  a  hole  thronuh  it  at  the 
ends ;  for  this  I  could  at  first  assign  no  apparent  use.  T  dug- 
further,  and  found  a  second  fire-dog,  a  duplicate  of  the  former  ; 
they  were  both  in  a  small  degree  mutilated,  yet  1  was  led  to 
admire  the  grace  and  spirit  with  which  all  articles  of  Roman 
manufacture  were  executed.  Their  designs  are  still  more 
striking;  and,  even  in  these  homely  utensils,  the  imitations  of 
nature  are  of  the  boldest  order ;  the  graceful  turn  of  the  stag's 
neck,  and  the  outline  of  the  head,  which  form  the  ornamental 
part  of  each  end,  are  singularly  effective ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of 
admiration,  the  simplicity  of  contrivance  in  these  fire-dogs  for 
cooking  the  greatest  quantity  of  victuals  at  one  and  the  same 
fire.  To  eftect  this,  the  bar  before  alluded  to  was  laid  longitudi- 
nally on  one  side  of  the  stag's  head ;  betwixt  that  and  one  of  his 
horns,  another  bar  lay  parallel,  on  the  opposite  side  ;  from  both 
of  which  descended  two  rows  of  hooks,  to  supply  the  means  of 
boiling  or  roasting,  the  curved  ends  of  the  bars  having  holes 
tlirough  each  of  them,  into  which  might  be  thrust  pivots  of 
iron  so  contrived,  that  upon  necessitous  occasions,  they  wouhl 
form  four  bars,  and  thus  multiply  the  means  of  making  the 
most  of  one  fire.  The  end  of  each  bar  also  turned  up  grace- 
fully as  a  hook,  from  which  might  depend  additional  pots  and 
kettles.'  Mr  Inskip's  explanation  may  perhaps  be  altogether 
fanciful ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  an  utensil  undoubtedly 
intended  for  cooking  was  found  at  the  same  place.  This  was  an 
iron  tripod,  consisting  of  three  curved  legs  turning  on  a  swivel 
at  the  top,  under  which  w^as  fixed  a  massive  iron  ring,  Neai- 
it  was  found  a  chain  and  pot-hooks,  which  evidently  belonged 
to  the  ring  at  the  top  of  the  tripod. 

We  have  other  examples  of  such  tripods  used  by  the  llomans 
to  support  culinary  vessels  over  the  fire ;  but  a  great  portion 
of  their  cooking  appears  to  have  been  performed  on  stoves,  and 
the  few  supposed  culinary  vessels  that  have  been  found  in  this 
country  partake  rather  of  the  character  of  saucepans  and  frying- 
pans  than  of  kettles.  The  vessels  found  in  Britain  most  de- 
cidedly belonging  to  the  Roman  kitchen  are  the  earthenware 
mortaria  already  described,  and  metal  as  w^ell  as  earthenware 
strainers  or  colanders.  The  former  were  used  for  pounding  or 
mincing  meats  and  vegetables,  and,  from  the  profusion  in  which 
they  are  found,  seem  to  show  that  the  Romans  in  Britain  were 
very  partial  to  made  dishes.  The  strainer  (colnm)  was  used  in 
Italy  for  many  purposes,  the  chief  of  which  was  that  of  cooling 
wine.      This  sort  of   strainers  wei'e  called  cola  uivaria ;  they 


CHAP.  XII.]  KITCHEN  UTENSILS.  4C3 

were  formed  like  basins,  and  filled  Avitli  snow  or  ice,  and  tlie 
wine  was  passed  throuo-li  them.  Those  found  in  this  country 
consist  generally  of  a  rather  deep  bowl,  perforated  with  small 
holes,  and  a  long  handle,  and  were  evidently  intended  for  taking 
cooked  meats,  &c.,  out  of  the  boiler,  without  carrying  the  water 
with  them— in  fact,  a  ladle  and  strainer  combined.  Utensils  of 
this  kind  were  termed  tnta  or  tridla.  They  are  found  not 
unfrequently  in  this  island.  One  was  foimd  at  Chesteiford,  in 
Essex,  in  1847,  with  the  bowl  partly  filled  with  brass  coins. 
One,  exactly  similar,  even  in  pattern,  and  of  the  same  material 
(bronze),  was  found  some  years  ago  at  Whitfield,  in  Northum- 
berland, along  with  three  kettles  or  boilers,  resembling  camp- 
kettles,  which  were  evidently  intended  to  be  placed  over  a  fire. 
They  are  all  now  preserved  in  the  museum  at  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne.  The  kettles  are  also  of  bronze,  but  of  extremely  thin 
metal,  so  that  they  would  readily  feel  the  fire.  They  have  been 
patched  in  several  places.  One  of  them  has  three  feet  to  stand 
upon,  which  was  a  form  of  boiler  invented  to  supersede  the  use 
of  a  simple  pot  placed  over  the  fire  upon  a  tripod. 

A  general  description  has  already  been  given  of  the  earthen- 
ware used  for  culinary  and  other  dcm.estic  purposes ;  but  it 
would  be  extremely  difficult  to  point  out  the  purposes  for  which 
each  particular  form  of  vessel  was  designed,  though  it  is  pro- 
bable that  most  of  them  were  intended  for  the  table.  The 
m.ortarinm,  as  I  have  just  stated,  belonged  peculiarly  to  the 
kitchen.  The  mnpliora  was  used  to  contain  wine,  and  also 
olives,  oil,  or  honey.  The  amphora  contained  these  articles  in 
large  bulk,  and  occupied  the  place  of  our  modern  barrels ;  the 
liquids  were  served  at  table  in  the  ampulla,  or  bottle,  which 
was  made  of  earthenware  or  glass,  and  was  always  distinguished 
by  its  narrow  neck  and  swollen  body.  Hence  the  term  ampulla 
was  applied  metaphorically  to  anything  swollen,  even  to  turgid 
language  ;  for  Horace  talks  of — 

ampullas  et  sesquipedalia  verba. 

The  other  description  of  earthen  vessel,  which  had  the  mouth 
not  much  less  wide,  or  even  wider,  than  the  body,  was  desig- 
nated by  the  general  term  of  olla,  pot  or  jar.  The  olla  had 
sometimes  a  lid ;  it  was  used  to  hold  solids  rather  than  liquids, 
but  it  was  often  made  large,  to  be  placed  on  the  fire  for  culinary 
purposes.  Great  quantities  of  vessels,  answering  all  these 
descriptions,  are  found  among  the  Roman  remains  in  Britain. 
They  are  sometimes  nuide  of  bronze,  with  verv  eles-antlv  orna- 


404 


THE  EOMAXS. 


[ciiAP,  xir. 


mented  liandles.  Another  article  beloni>'iiii>-  to  the  Uomnn 
kitchen  was  the  quern,  or  handmill,  for  o-rimlino-  corn.  Jt 
consisted  of  a  couple  of  round  stones,  one  forniinfi;  a  sort  o\ 
socket  to  tiie  other,  and  by  turning  the  upper  one  round,  the 
corn  Avas  pounded — a  rude  method  of  manufacturing"  meal. 
Corn  appears  to  have  been  kept  in  the  house  in  grain,  and  to 
have  been  thus  ground  by  the  hand  whenever  it  was  necessary 
to  bake.  These  stone  querns  are  found  frequently  on  Eoraan 
sites  in  this  country.  In  the  back-yard  of  one  of  the  houses  of 
ancient  Tsurium  (Aldboroitf///,  in  Yorkshire),  represented  in  our 
plate  at  p.  193,  the  querns  were  found  in  the  situation  in 
which  they  had  been  used. 

Among  other  articles  which  belonged  to  the  culinary  depart- 
ment of  the  Roman  house  was  the  water-cock  {epistomium) . 
It  is  an  article,  as  might  be  expected,  of  not  very  frequent 
occurrence ;  but  Mr  Roach  Smith  possesses,  among  his  nmner- 
ons  relics  of  Roman  London,  an  ornamental  bronze  water-cock, 
which  issues  from  the  moutli  of  a  dog's  head.  It  is  rather  a 
singular  combination  of  names,  that  it  Avas  i'ound  in  excavations 
in  Philpot  Lane,  Penchurch  Street. 

Before  we  leave  the  kitchen,  Ave  must  speak  of  a  class  of 
remains  intimately  connected  with  its  purposes.  Attached  to 
Roman  vilhis  and  towns,  we  invariably  find  large  heaps  of  the 
remains  of  provisions,  consisting  especially  of  the  shells  of  fish 
and  of  the  bones  of  animals.  These  organic  remains  are  Avorthy 
of  study  in  many  points  of  vicAV ;  they  make  ns  acquainted 
with  the  various  classes  of  animal  food  consumed  by  the  Romano- 
Rritish  population  of  our  island  :  and  they  are  particularly 
interesting  to  the  naturalist,  from  the  circnmstance  that  they 
show  the  existence  of  some  animals — such  as  the  bos  longifroun 
— Avhich  haA^e  now  long  been  extinct.  The  proximity  of  Roman 
sites  is  almost  always  shown  by  the  presence  of  immense  quan- 
tities of  oyster- shells,  Avhich  shoAv  that  there  Avas  a  great  con- 
sumption of  oysters  in  Roman  Britain ;  and  the  shells  of  cockles 
and  mussels  are  also  abundant.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the 
Romans  fed  snails  as  delicacies  for  the  table,  and  it  is  a  curious 
circumstance,  that  a  large  species  of  snail  is  often  found  still 
existing  about  I'oman  stations.  In  excaA'atiiig  on  Roman  sites, 
large  quantities  of  shells  of  snails  are  not  unfrequently  found ; 
at  Lymne,  in  Kent,  {Portus  Lemcnms),  I  have  seen  them  dug 
\ip  at  the  foundations  of  the  walls,  in  masses  almost  as  large  as 
ordinary  buckets,  and  completelv  embedded  together.  The 
snails  may,  hoAvever,  have  thus  collected  together  in  such  places 


CHAP.  XII.]  AXIMAL  REMAINS.  405 

at  «T  much  more  recent  period  than  tliat  Avith  which  tlicir  con- 
nexioa  with  the  ruins  around  w^ouhl  seem  to  identify  them. 

Among-  tlie  animal  remains  found  among  relics  of  the  Roman 
period  in  Colchester  are  horns  of  a  short-horned  ox,  of  the  stag, 
and  of  a   very  large  goat,  as  well  as  of  the  hos  lovgifrons,  jnst 
mentioned,  a  species  of  ox  named  from  the  length  of  its  frontal 
hone,  which  is   found   by  geologists  among  fossil  remains,  but 
which  does  not  exist  at  present ;  bones  of  the  ox.  sheep,  and 
goat ;  jaws,  teeth,  and  tusks  of  wnld  hogs ;   and  teeth  and  jaws 
of  dogs,  and  apparently  of  wolves.     The  different  forms  of  tlie 
horns  discovered  in  ditierent  localities   show   that  there  must 
have  been  many  varieties  of  oxen  in  Britain.     The  bones  and 
horns  of  animals  found  with  lioman  remains  in  London  include 
the  bos  longifroufi,  sheep,  goats,  deer,  and  swdne.      A  deep  pit 
attached  to  the  Eoman  villa  at  Hartlip,  in  Kent,  contained  a 
large  quantity  of  the  bones  of  the  sheep,  hog,  horse,  and  also 
of  the  bos  longifrons.     In  a  Eoman  villa  at  Dursley,  near  Glou- 
cester, were  found  remains  of  the  hoi'se,  stag,  fox,  wild  boar, 
liares,  rabbits,  mice,  wild  ducks,  chickens,  goats,  pigs,  sheep, 
kids,  lambs,  rooks,   and  small  birds,   cats,   polecats,  and   of  a 
small  kind  of  ox.     The  Rev.  Mr  Layton,  of  Sandwicli,  who 
watched  the  opening  of  the  rubbish  pits  at  Richborough,  furn- 
islied    Mr   Roach   Smith  with   the   following    account  of  the 
animal  remains  found  there  : — '  The  major  part  consists  of  tlu; 
common   bones  of  tlie  ox,  sheep,  and   roebuck-  -especially  the 
first. ,   [  have  seen  one  head  also  of  the  ox,  with  the  frontal 
bone  broken  through,  as  if  with  a  pole-axe,  just  as  by  a  butcher 
of  the  present  day.      It  may  be  noticed,  too,  that  the  oxen  and 
sheep  were  small  when  compared  with  ours  ;  and  one  is  pleased 
with  finding  the  account  of  Tacitus,  in  his  "Germany,"  ( pecorimi. 
fecnnda,   sed  plerHinqne  improcera,)  so  Avell  illustrated  by  tin; 
dirt-pits   of   Richborough.'     A  great  variety  of   animal  bones 
are  found  at  Wroxeter   [Urlconinm).     Pieces   of  the   horns  of 
deer  and  other  animals  are  found   sawed  off,  no  doubt  for  the 
])urpose    of  manufacturing   the    different    articles  Avhich  were 
abundantly  made  of  such  materials.      Boars'  tusks  are  often 
found    fitted    up    for    ornaments,    and    sometimes     apparently 
designed  to  be  suspended  on  the  person,  or  to  the  horse — per- 
haps tropics  of  the  chase. 

An  article  found  very  frecjuently  on  the  sites  of  Roman 
buildings  is  the  small  bell  {t'mt'mnabuli(m),  which  was  probably 
used  to  sunnnon  the  slaves  and  attendants  when  their  services 
were  vvanted.     These  bells  are  as  frequently  scpiare  as  round. 


40G 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  xir. 


and  are  usually  made  of  bronze.  One,  in  tlie  cabinet  of  ]Mr 
Koacli  Smith,  is  so  well  preserved,  that  it  still  produces  a  clear 
and  sliarp  sound  ;  it  was  found  in  the  ruins  of  one  of  the  house:; 
of  Eoman  London. 

Another  article  of  very  frequent  occurrence  is  the  lamp 
{Incerna),  made  usually  of  terra-cotta.  It  has  been  already 
stated  that  lamps  are  frequently  found  in  sepulchres.  They 
were  also  used  in  liiihtino*  houses,  apparently  in  considerable 
profusion,  and  it  is  evident  that  it  would  require  a  considerable 
number  to  illuminate  a  room  effectively.  In  one  corridor  of 
the  public  baths  of  Pompeii,  upwards  of  five  liundred  lamps 
were  found  ;  and  in  the  course  of  excavating-  the  different  parts 
of  the  same  buildinp;,  more  than  a  thousand  were  collected 
The  terra-cotta  lamp  is  usually  circular,  from  two  inches  and  a 
half  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  projecting-  spout  for  the 
wick.  A  hole,  or  two  holes,  in  the  circular  body,  allowed  the 
air  to  pass,  and  the  spout  was  sometimes  double  or  treble,  to 
admit  of  two  or  three  separate  wicks.  The  annexed  cut  repre- 
s(!nts  two  examples  of  terra-cotta  lamps,  selected  from  several 


I 


Koman  Laui^js,  frum  Co'cbe.ster  {CajuHiudtniKii.). 

loinid  at  Colchester.  The  field,  often  plain,  is,  however,  fre- 
([uently  ornamented  with  figures,  which  are  no  less  varied  and 
interesting-  than  those  on  the  red  Samian  pottery.  Our  tw(^ 
examples  represent  a  centaur  carrying  an  amphora  of  wine,  and 
what  appears  to  be  a  fuller  at  work.  Others  have  theatrical 
masks,  busts,  mythological  figures,  gladiatorial  subjects,  domestic 
arid   sometimes   licentious  scenes,  &c.     Mr  Eoach    Smith  has 


CHAP.   XII.] 


L.\MrS;  HOUSEHOLD  GODS. 


407 


several  examples  of  a  terra-ootta  lamp,  on  which  is  the  repre- 
s(^iitation  of  a  mill  for  g-riiuling  corn,  turned  by  an  ass,  one  of 
which  is  here  given  in  a  cut.     Lamps  made  of  metal,  usually 


Roman  Lamp,  from  London. 

bronze,  are  of  rarer  occurrence.  One,  in  Mr  Smith's  museum, 
which  was  taken  from  the  Tham.es,  has  been  made  from  a 
bronze  cup,  of  a  very  eleg-ant  pattern,  by  breaking-  in  one  side 
and  adding  a  spout.  An  engraving  of  this  carious  relic  is 
given  in  the  Archseological  Album.  When  used  for  domestic 
purposes,  the  lamp  was  placed  on  a  little  disc,  raised  on  a  shaft 
— a  candelabrum.  The  York  Museum  contains  two  leaden 
stands  with  handles,  evidently  intended  for  carrying  lamps 
about  the  house  without  the  risk  of  dropping  the  oil.  The 
metal  lamps,  which  have  frequently  fanciful  and  grotesque 
forms,  were  often  suspended  by  chains,  or  by  a  rod.  One  of 
these,  with  the  rod  which  suspended  it,  was  fouiul  in  one  of  the 
J^artlow  hills. 

Among  the  articles  of  household  furniture  peculiar  to  the 
llomans,  there  is  one  class  which  deserves  particular  notice. 
1'hese  are  the  images  oi'  the  household  gods,  the  penates  and 
lares,  which  answered  in  some  respect  to  our  niediseval  fairies. 
They  were  supposed  to  watch  over  the  prosperity  of  the  house 
and  its  occupants,  and  visitors  were  in  the  habit  of  saluting 
them,  for  which  purpose  their  images  were  placed  in  the  house 
in  conspicuous  places.  When  iEiieas  had  first  experiencetl 
hospitality  on  the  shores  of  Italy,  he  is  represented  as  paying 
his  respects  to  the  household  gods  :  — 

Hesternumque  larem,  parvosque  penates 
Lyetus  adit. —  Virgil^  ^n.  viii.  543. 


408  THE  ROMAXS.  [cHvr.  xii. 

Tliey  were  called  tlie  little  deities  (dU  viliint'.),  and  it  was  usual 
to  propitiate  theiu  with  oft"erini>-s  of  the  remnants  of  provisions, 
or  other  small  articles,  a  custom  to  which  Juvcmul  refers  in  tlie 
following  lines  : — 

O  parvi  nostrique  lares,  quos  thure  minuto, 

Aut  farre,  et  tenui  soleo  exorare  corona. — Sat.  ix.  137. 

In  accepting  sncli  offerings  they  were  supposed  to  exhibit  a 
sort  of  goodfellowship  towards  the  people  of  the  house,  and  in 
this  resembled  the  brownies  and  cluricaunes  of  modern  times. 
They  were  supposed  to  show  themselves  at  times  in  various 
forms,  often  of  a  grotesque  description,  and  sometimes  as  animals, 
such  as  dogs,  and  even  as  serpents.  A  bronze  figure  of  a  lar, 
or  household  god,  found  at  Hercnlaneum,  represents  him  as  a 
little  old  man  sitting  on  the  ground,  with  his  knees  up  to  his 
chin,  a  large  head,  ass's  ears,  a  long  beard,  and  a  droll  roguish 
face.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  numerous 
bronze  images  of  the  Roman  period  found  in  tliis  country  were 
intended  for  such  household  gods.  Others  probably  owed  their 
existence  to  the  same  love  of  ornament  which  loads  our  chimney- 
pieces  with  figures  in  plaster  or  porcelain.  Others,  again,  of 
the  smaller  bronze  images,  were  probably  mere  toys — play- 
things for  children.  We  must  distinguish  from  all  these  the 
bronze  statuettes  of  the  lloman  deities,  which  are  also  not 
unfrequent,  and  which  were  perhaps  placed  in  some  corner  ot" 
the  house  set  apart  for  private  worship. 

The  traces  of  the  domestic  occupations  of  the  female  part  of 
the  household,  found  among  Roman  remains  in  Britain,  are 
not  very  numerous.  Much  of  their  time  was  probably  em- 
ployed in  spinning  and  weaving.  In  Mr  Roach  Smith's 
nmseum  may  be  seen  a  number  of  small  implements  of  wood, 
found  in  excavations  in  the  city  of  London,  which,  from  the 
circumstance  that  when  brought  to  light  the  remains  of  wool 
were  still  attached  to  them,  were  no  doubt  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cloth.  Needles  for  sewing  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Several  are  in  the  collection  of  Mr  Roach  Smith.  One,  made 
of  bone,  and  found  at  Richborough,  is  represented  in  our  cut 
in  p.  393.  The  Roman  scissors  {forfex)  was  usually  of  the  form 
still  common  among  clothiers  ;  an  example,  found  at  Rich- 
borough,  is  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut.  A  more  com- 
])lete  example,  but  differing  somewhat  in  shape,  is  engraved  in  Mr 
J^ee's  '  Ronian  Antiquities  of  Caerleon.'  Scissors  of  the  same 
construction  as  those  now  in  common  use  are  also  fouiul,  but 


CHAT.  XII.] 


SCISSORS  AND  KXIVE«. 


40!> 


much  less  frequently.  Our  cut  presents  also  some  of  tlie 
commoner  forms  of  lloman  knife-blades  found  in  this  country  ; 
they  are  all  represented  one-fourth  of  the  real  size.     The  kniCci 


Knives  and  Scissors,  from  Richborougb. 

\cu.Uer)  wat;  generally  straight  on  the  cutting"  edge,  and  curved 
on  the  back.  These  probably  have  had  handles  of  wood  ;  but 
they  are  not  unfrequently  found  with  bone  handles,  well 
preserved.  Several  knives,  with  handles  of  bone,  are  in  tlie 
imiseum  of  Mr  Eoach  Smith ;  some  of  which  have  the  ring  at 
the  end,  like  that  in  our  example  to  the  left  in  the  cut,  just 
escaping  from  the  handle.  This  ring  was  no  doubt  intenchxl 
for  suspending  the  knife  to  the  girdle.  Juvenal,  when  describ- 
ing the  frugality  of  his  country-house,  speaks  of  bone  handh.'s 
to  knives  as  a  nuirk  of  poverty  : — 

Adeo  nulbi  uncia  nobis 
Yj>t  eboris,  nee  tessellse,  nee  calculus  ex  bac 
Materia  ;  quin  ipsa  nianubria  cultelloruiu 
Ossea.— *S«^.  xi.  131. 

The  handle  (cnjj/dus)  was  often  made  of  bronze,  and  verv 
elegantly  ornamented.  It  not  unfrequently  terminated  in  the 
head  of  an  animal ;  in  an  example  in  the  possession  of  Mr 
lloach  Smith  it  is  the  head  of  a  horse,  while  in  two  found  at 
Caerleon  and  York  it  is  that  of  a  dog.  lloman  clasp-knives  are 
by  no  means  unconnnon  ;  and  one  sliape  of  hantlle,  represe.iting 


410 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  XII. 


a  dog  in  close  pursuit  of  a  hare,  seems  to  have  been  a  great 
favourite,  from  the  numerous  examples  which  have  been  found 
in  this  country.     The  one  given  in  the  annexed  cut  was  found 


The  Handle  of  a  Clasp-knife.  , 

at  Iladstock,  in  Essex,  and  is  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Lord 
i5ra>H>rooke,  at  Audley  End  ;  it  has  the  remains  of  the  steel 
blade  shut  into  the  handle.  It  is  here  represented  the  size  of 
the  original,  Two,  exactly  similar,  Avere  found  at  Eeculver,  in 
Kent  {Regidblum) ;  and  another  at  Kenchester,  in  Hereford- 
shire {Magna).  Mr  Smith  possesses  what  appears  to  be  a 
Roman  fork,  and  I  believe  that  other  examples  of  that  instru- 
ment have  been  found.  There  is,  also,  in  Mr  Smith's  collection, 
a  steel  for  sharpening  knives,  taken  from  Roman  London, 
exactly  resembling  those  used  by  butcliers  at  the  present  day, 
and  still  retaining  the  ring  by  which  it  was  suspended  to  the 
girdle. 

Spoons,  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  are  also  of  frequent 
occurrence.  The  one  with  the  larger  bowl  {cocJdem')  has  almost 
always  a  handle  terminating  in  a  point,  and  illustrates  the 
epigrammatic  description  in  Martial,  who  speaks  of  it  as  being 
applied  to  two  purposes,  for  picking  periwinkles  or  snails  out 
of  the  shell  (with  the  pointed  end),  or  for  eating  eggs  (with  the 
bowl)  — 

Sum  cochleis  habilis,  sed  nee  minus  utilis  ovis, 
Nuniquid  scis  pocius  cur  cochleare  vocer  ? 

Mart'ml,  Ep.  xvi.  121. 

The  bowl  of  ihe  cochlear  is  more  usually  circular  than  oval. 
One  found  at  Reculver  was  made  of  silver,  but  they  are  gener- 
ally of  bronze.  The  two  examples  of  the  diminutive  spoon 
{I'ljjuld),  given  from  Mr  Eolfe's  collection  of  Eichborough 
antiquities,  in  the  accompanying  cut  (tigs.  1  and  3),  are  also  of 
bronze.  It  is  not  easy  to  explain  the  exact  purposes  of  these 
last-mentioned    articles,  but   they  have  been   supposed  to   be 


ciiAr.  XII.]  SPOONS  AND  STYLT.  411 

designed   for  taking"  ointments  or  prepared  oils  out  of  long- 
necked  bottles. 


^ ^=^Si^.^:m^::::^^ 


izzj-nr^'innT 


:2J30= 


Ligulae  and  a  Stylus. 

The  article  between  the  ligulae  in  the  last  cut  (tig.  2)  is  an 
example  of  the  Roman  stylns,  used  for  writing  on  the  waxed 
tablet  {tabula).  The  tablet  was  composed  of  two  or  more  thin 
pieces  of  wood,  fastened  at  the  back  with  wires,  like  a  book. 
Wax  was  spread  over  the  wood  internally,  and  on  this  the 
person  nsing  it  wrote  with  the  pointed  end  of  the  stylus.  The 
Hat  end  was  used  for  erasing  what  had  been  written,  and 
smoothing  the  wax  for  writing  again.  Hence  vertere  stylum, 
to  turn  the  stylus,  for  the  purpose  of  erasing  and  correcting 
what  had  been  ill  or  incorrectly  written,  became  a  proverbial 
expression  : — 

Siepe  stylum  vevtas,  iterum  quae  dig'na  leg^i  sint 
Scripturus  ;  neque  te  ut  miratur  turba  labores, 
Contentus  paucis  lectoribus — 

says  the  poet  Horace  {lib.  i.,  Sat.  x.,  72).  It  is  from  the 
same  usage  that  we  derive  the  modern  word  style,  applied  pri- 
marily to  the  character  of  a  man's  writing,  and  thence  to  other 
characteristics.  A  painting,  found  in  Herculaneum,  represents 
a  lady  with  a  stylus,  closely  resembling  the  one  in  our  cut,  in 
her  right  hand,  and  the  tablet  in  her  left.  The  tablet  and  its 
styli  was  a  very  necessary  article  in  the  houses  of  educated 
people,  for,  among  other  purposes,  it  served  for  that  of  letter- 
M'riting.  The  letter  was  written  upon  the  wax,  the  tablet  was 
then  closed  and  tied  with  a  thread  and  sealed,  and  so  dis- 
patched to  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  w'ho  could  rub 
it  out,  and  write  the  answer  on  the  same  tablet,  which  was 
then  returned  to  its  original  owner.  Hence,  wdien  one  of 
Plautus's  characters  wants  to  write  a  letter,  he  calls  for  a  tablet, 
stylus,  wax,  and  thread*  — 

EfFer  cito  stylum,  ceram,  et  tabellas,  et  linuni. 

Bacchld.^  iv.  4,  64. 

This  accounts  for  the  number  of  styli  which  are  found  in  all 

2  c 


412 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    XII. 


Roman  sites  in  Britain.  They  are  usually  of  bronze.  As  the 
tablet  was  made  of  more  perishable  materials,  it  is  seldom 
found  :  but  Mr  Eoach  Smith  possessed  two  leaves  of  these 
tablets,  made  of  wood,  found  in  London,  from  which  however 
the  wax  has  perished.  One  of  them,  which  was  an  outside 
cover,  is  represented  in  tl\e  accompanying  cut ;  the  leaves  had 

been  threaded  to^-ether  by  two 
holes  nmuino-  throuu'h  one  side, 
and  the  marks  of  the  string-  or 
thong  which  tied  it  are  distinctly 
visible.  Other  instruments,  bear- 
ing some  analogy  to  the  stylus,  are 
also  frequently  found  on  Eoman 
sites,  especially  in  London,  Avhich, 
from  a  comparison  with  the  tools 
used  at  the  present  day  by  sculp- 
tors, appear  to  be  modelling  tools. 
Among  instruments  connected 
with  the  Eoman  arts  in  Britain,  we 
Leaf  of  a  Tablet,  from  London.  j^^,g|^    ^^^t    overlook     the    compass 

(eircimis).  Two  Eoman  compasses  have  been  found  at  Ciren- 
cester, exactly  representing  those  in  use  at  the  present  day, 
and  an  engravuig  of  one  of  them  will  be  found  in  Buckmau 
and  Newmarch's  work  on  ancient  Corinium.  Similar  instru- 
ments have  been  found  on  other  Eoman  sites. 

The  steelyard  {statera  or  trut'md)  is  also  frequently  met  with 
among  other  Eoman  antiquities  found  in  this  island,  and  bears  a 
perfect  i-esemblance  to  those  now  in  use.  The  two  examples  given 
in  our  cut  on  the  next  page  were  found  at  Eichborough.  A 
weight,  found  in  the  same  place,  is  attached  to  one  of  them. 
The  weights  are  ahvays  more  or  less  ornamental ;   they  often 


Roman  Steelyard  Weights. 


CHAP.    XII.] 


STEELYARD;  STRIGILS. 


413 


consist  of  lii^lily-finished  busts  of  emperors,  or  disting-uishecl 
personao'es,  deities,  or  fabulous  heroes,  or  of  fig'iires  of  birds 
and  animals.  Three  examples  are  given  in  the  cut ;  the  first, 
representing  a  dog's  or  wolf's  head ;  the  second,  a  female  bust ; 
and  the  third,  a  bust  of  Diana.  On  another  example  of  tlu; 
statera,  found  at  Richborough,  the  yard  is  notched  into  frac- 
tional divisions,  and  is  furnished  with  two  hooks.  In  ex- 
amples found  at  Pompeii,  sometimes  a  hook,  at  others  a  scale, 
is  suspended  at  the  end  of  the  yard.*     Scales  {libra,  hllaux) 


Roman  Steelyards,  from  Richborougli  {Rulitp'uc 


were  also  in  use  among  the  llomans  from  a  ver\  early  period, 
and  are  often  figured  on  coins  and  other  works  of  art,  but  tliey 
are  rarely  met  with  in  antiquarian  excavations  in  this  country. 

Among  other  miscellaneous  articles  in  use  among  the  Ro- 
mans in  Britain,  strigils  are  not  unfrequently  found,  an  addi- 
tional proof  how  extensively  the  manners  of  Italy  had  been 
translated  to  our  clime.  The  strigil  was  a  curved  instrument, 
generally  of  bronze  or  iron,  with  which  the  bather  in  the  hot 
baths,  after  having  been  put  into  a  profuse  sweat,  was  scraped — 
somewhat  in  the  manner  that  ostlers  scrape  a  horse  when  he 
comes  in  hot.  While  this  operation  was  performed,  the  patient 
sat  upon  a  seat  which  was  under  the  water — a  seat  of  this 
kind  is  generally  discovered  in  baths  in  Roman  villas  in 
Britain.     Sometimes  the  bather  performed  the  operation  him- 

*  Vitruvius  pives  us  the  names  for  the  different  constituent  parts  of  the 
Roman  steelyard  : — the  scale  [lancula]^  hanginji:  from  the  head  {caput), 
near  which  was  the  point  of  revolution  {centrum),  and  the  handle  (anso)  ; 
on  the  other  side  of  the  centre  from  the  scale  was  the  beam  {scopu,s)^  with 
Ihe  weig-ht  or  equipoise  {requlpo)i(Ui()ii),  which  was  made  to  move  alonj-- 
llio  ]«)ints  {per  puiictn)  expressinp:  the  different  weis,-hrs. 

It  should  be  observed  that  in  the  upper  tigure  in  our  cut.  thn  steelyard 
is  turned  the  wrong:  way  up. 


41 1  THE  ROMANS.  [chap,  xii 

self,  1)ut  if  lie  Avas  rich  enough  he  had  a  slave  for  the  purpose. 
Public  baths  were  provided  with  strigils  for  the  use  of  the 
bathers ;  but  people  of  respectability  had  their  own  strigils  at 
home,  which  their  slaves  carried  after  them  when  they  went  to 
bathe.     Hence  Persius, — 

I,  puer,  et  strigiles  Crispini  ad  balnea  defer. — Saf.  v.  126. 

This  is  sufficient  to  warn  us  against  supposing  that  the  dis- 
covery of  strigils  among  the  remains  of  buildings,  is  any  proof 
that  those  buildings  were  batlis.  Two  strigils  of  bronze  were 
found  in  one  of  the  Bartlow  tumuli,  which  resemble  the 
generality  of  those  found  in  Italy,  in  having  a  hole  in  the 
handle  through  which  the  hand  was  passed  in  using  them.  One 
of  the  same  material  found  at  Reculver,  in  Kent,  more  than  a 
century  ago,  and  engraved  in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  '  Antiquities 
of  Richborough,'  had  a  straight  handle  to  grasp  in  the  haiid. 
This  latter  discovery  furnishes  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
danger  of  forming  hasty  opinions  on  such  objects,  without  the 
previous  knowledge  arising  from  careful  comparison.  An 
antiquary  of  the  time,  Aubrey,  Avho  examined  the  bronze 
strigil  found  at  Reculver,  immediately  judged  it  to  be  one  of 
the  golden  sickles  with  which  the  British  Druids  cut  their 
mistletoe !  *  The  strigil  had,  indeed,  a  sharp  edge  turned 
inward,  which  might  lead  a  person  ignorant  of  its  real  use  to 
suppose  that  it  was  a  cutting  instrument.  The  operation  of 
being  scraped  with  it  could  not  have  been  an  agreeable  one ; 
and  we  are  told  that  the  emperor  Augustus  was  subjected  to 
considerable  suffering  by  an  over-violent  application  of  the 
strigil.  It  was  on  this  account  customary  to  soften  the  edge  by 
the  application  of  oil. 

We  find  fewer  remains  of  Roman  weapons  and  armour  in 
Britain  than  almost  any  other  article.  As  I  have  observed 
before,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  bronze  swords  whicli 
have  been  usually  described  as  British,  are  purely  Roman.  Tlie 
same  may  be  said  of  the  bronze  spear-heads.  A  considerable 
number  of  spear-heads  and  arrow-heads  of  iron  were  found  in 
the  Roman  camp  on  Hod  Hill,  in  Dorsetshire.  They  are  foimd 
also  from  time  to  time  on  other  Roman  sites.  A  few  fragments 
of  what  is  supposed  to  be  Roman  armour,  formed  both  of 
scales  and  of  rings,  have  also  been  found,  and  some  remains  of 

*  It  is  remarkable  tbat  the  Roman  bronze,  under  certain  circumstanres, 
especially  when  it  has  lain  in  the  water  where  it  was  subjected  to  friction, 
bears  an  extraordinary  resemblance  to  gold. 


CHAP.  XII.  ]  SPURS.  41.5 

military  standards.  Very  remarkable  remains  of  one  of  the 
latter  articles  were  found  near  Stoney  Stratford  at  tlie  beg'innini:: 
of  the  present  century,  and  have  been  eno-raved  and  published 
by  Samuel  Lysons.  A  mono;  the  extensive  Eoman  remains 
found  in  tlie  camp  at  Hod  Hill,  already  alluded  to,  were 
several  spurs  of  iron,  wliich  resemble  so  closely  tiie  Norinau  \/ 
pricic-spurs,  that  they  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  them.  J 
suspect  that  many  of  the  prick-spurs  which  have  been  found  oi 
or  near  Roman  sites,  and  hastily  judged  to  be  Norman,  are, 
especially  when  made  of  bronze,  Roman.  As  far,  however,  as 
comparison  has  yet  been  made,  the  Roman  and  the  Saxon  spurs 
are  sliorler  in  the  stimulus  than  those  of  the  Normans. 


416  .  THE  ROM.VXS.  [chap,  xil 


CHAPTER  Xlll. 

The  lloman  Province — Its  Divisions  and  Officers — the  Military  Force — 
Centurial  and  other  inscriptions — Towns  and  their  Municipal  Con- 
stitution— the  Coinage — Roman  Coins  relatinji:  to  Britain — Spurious 
Coinage — Different  methods  of  Hoarding  Money. 

The  importance  of  Roman  Britain  is  sliown  by  the  circumstance 
that  it  was  constituted  a  separate  province  of  the  empire.    From 
the  first,  Britain  was  governed  by  a  propraetor,  who  is  stated,  in 
inscriptions,  to  have  been  a  legatus  Augusti,  or  viceg-erent  of 
the   emperor,  from  which  we  are  to  conclude  that  it  was   a 
province  of  the  Caesar,  and  not  a  province  of  the  people.     At 
tlie  close  of  the  Eoman  occupation,  when  the  '  Notitia  Imperii ' 
was  compiled,  the  o-overnor  of  Britain  was  called  a  vicarius,  and 
was  honoured  with  the  title  of  mr  spectabills.     It  is  at  this 
period   only  that  we  obtain   any  distinct  information  on  the 
political  divisions  of  the  province  and  on  its  officers,  and  these 
had  probably  undergone  considerable  modifications.    According 
to  the  '  Notitia,'  the  province  of  Britain  was  divided  into  five 
departments,  called  Britannia  Prima,  Britannia  Secunda,  Flavia 
Caesariensis,  Maxima  Caesariensis,  and  Valentia.     The  first  of 
these  consisted  of  the  country  to  the  south  of  the  Thames  and 
the    Bristol    Channel ;     Britannia    Secunda    answered  to   the 
modern  Principality  of  Wales ;    Flavia  comprised  the  middle 
portion  of  the  island,  from  the  Thames  to  the  Humber  and  the 
Mersey ;  the  country  beyond  this,  extending  twenty-five  miles 
north  of   Hadrian's  wall,  formed  the  department  of   Maxima 
Caesariensis ;   while  the  lowlands  of  Scotland  were  comprised 
under  the  title  of  Valentia.     It  is  stated  on  the  single  and 
dubious  authority  of  Eichard  of  Cirencester,  that  the  country  to 
the  north  of  the  Wall  of  Antoninus  was  formed  into  a  sixth  de- 
partment under  the  name  of  Vespasiana.     After  the  time  of 
Constantine,  the  first  three  were  governed  by  presidents,  while 


CHAP.  XIII.]-        INTERNAL  ADMINISTRATION.  417 

the  two  northern  departments  were  placed  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  consulares.  These  officers  were  nnder  the  vicarius,  who 
probably  resided  in  Londinium,  or  London. 

The  vicarins  of  Britain  was  himself  subject  to  the  pra^fectus 
])raetovio  Galliarum,  who  resided  first  at  Treviri  (Treiyes),  and 
afterwards  at  Arelatum  {Aries).  His  official  establishment  con- 
sisted of  a  prliiceps,  or  chief  officer ;  of  two  ag-ents  (de  scJiola 
agentum  in  rebus),  chosen  out  of  the  ducenaril,  or  judges;  a 
chief  secretary  {cor)iicidarius)  ;  *  two  accountants  or  auditors 
{numerarios  duos)  ;  a  master  of  the  prisons  {commeutariensis) ; 
a  notary  {ab  act  is) ;  a  srrr'^tary  ^br  despatches  {curam  episto- 
larum) ;  an  assistant  {adjutor) ;  under  assistants  (subadjiwa)  ; 
clerks  for  appeal  {exceptor es) ;  seijeants,  and  other  officers 
{smgulares,  et  rellqnos  qfjlciales')  .■\  For  the  revenues  of  the 
country,  which  were  under  the  control  of  a  supei'ior  officer  in 
Gaul,  entitled  the  comes  sacrarum  largitlonum,  there  were  a 
collector  for  the  whole  of  Biitain  {ratlonalis  summarinn 
Britanuiarum) ;  an  overseer  of  the  Augustentian  treasures  in 
Britain  {praposltiis  thesanrorum  Augiistentimn  m  Brltanrdas) ; 
procurators  of  the  cynegia,  or  hunting  establishment  {procura- 
tores  cyne  iorum) ;  and  another  officer,  entitled  procurator 
ci/negil  in  Britamna  Biennensis.  Under  the  count  of  the 
private  affairs  of  the  western  division  of  the  empire  {comes 
rermn  privatarum)  was  a  collector  of  private  affairs  in  Bi'itaiu 
{rationalis  rei  privates  per  Britarmias).  The  militaiy  affairs  of 
the  province  also  came  at  this  time  directly  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  government  in  Gaul,  without  the  intermediation  of 
the  vicarius,  or  governor,  of  Britain.  They  were  divided 
between  three  chief  officers,  the  count  of  the  Saxon  shore 
{comes  Utoris  Saxonici),  the  count  of  Britain  {comes  Britau- 
'j/lar/fii/),  and  the  duke  of  Britain  {dux  Britariniarum).  The 
garrisons  of  nine  fortresses  along  the  coast  from  Portchester  to 
J3rancaster  in  Norfolk,  were  placed  under  the  command  of  the 
first  of  these  officers,  who  had  an  official  establishment  com- 
posed of  a  chief  officer  from  the  office,  or  court;  of  the  general 
of  foot  in  ordinary  attendance  {principein  ex  officio  magistri 
prcBsentalium  a  parte  peditiim) ;  two  auditors  {uumerarii)  and  a 

*  In  a  sepulchral  inscription  found  near  Great  Chesters  in  Northumbci- 
liind,  a  cornicularius  is  conniieuiorated,  but  whether  he  belonged  to  t\u) 
departmental  court,  or  not,  is  uncertain. — The  inscription  reads  : — D  .  M  . 

AEL  .  MERCVKIALI  COllNICVL  TACIA  SOROR  FECIT. 

t  In  tho  interpretation  of  these  various  official  titles  I  have  chiefly 
followed  Horsley ;  it  is  not  easy  to  explain  the  exact  duties  of  them  all. 


sf 


418  THE  HOMANS.  ciiAr.  xiii. 

master  of  tlie  prisons  {comnwutarleiisis)  from  the  same  office  ;  a 
secretary  ;  an  assistant,  and  nnder-assistant ;  a  reg-isti-ar  {reger- 
eiidariiis)  :  clerks  of  appeals,  Serjeants,  and  other  officers. 
The  count  of  Britain  had  an  official  establishment  exactly 
similar,  but  apparently  without  any  military  command.  The 
duke  of  Britain  had  under  his  command  the  sixth  leg-ion,  which 
was  at  Eburacum  (For/c),  where,  probably,  the  duke  held  his 
court,  and  all  the  g-arrisons  in  the  north  of  Britain  and  along 
the  Wall  of  Hadrian.  His  official  establishment  consisted  of 
the  same  officers  as  the  others. 

This  rather  complicated  system  of  officials,  comoined  with 
the  numerous  secondary  employes  who  must  have  been  scattered 
over  the  island,  shows  us  the  regularity  of  administration  which 
at  this  late  period  prevailed  still  in  Eoman  Britain.  We  have 
no  means  of  knowing  the  details  of  government,  or  the  cha- 
lacter  or  amount  of  the  taxes  which  were  raised  from  the  island. 
The  military  force,  as  we  have  before  stated,  was  fixed  soon 
after  its  reduction  to  a  province,  at  three  legions,  and  it  was 
now  reduced  to  two,  the  second  and  the  sixth.  These  were 
also,  at  the  time  of  the  composition  of  the  '  Notitia  '  (the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century),  directly  under  the  command  of 
the  imperial  government  in  Gaul.  The  military  force  in  Britain 
at  this  time  has  been  estimated,  from  the  information  given  in 
the  '  Notitia,'  at  nineteen  thousand  two  hundred  infantry,  and 
seventeen  hundred  cavalry. 

This  is  the  amount  of  the  direct  information  we  can  at 
present  obtain  relating  to  the  internal  administration  of  the 
government  in  Britain  and  the  amount  of  its  military  establish- 
ment. The  Eoman  troops  have  fortunately  left  us  abundant 
memorials  of  their  presence  in  the  numerous  inscriptions  com- 
memorating their  burial,  their  religious  worship,  or  their  labours. 
Both  the  legions  and  the  auxiliary  troops  seem  to  have  been 
constantly  employed  in  works  of  public  utility,  and  the  share 
each  legion,  or  cohort,  or  century  took  in  them,  is  often  indi- 
cated by  their  names  and  titles  inscribed  on  tiles  or  stones. 
The  latter  are  usually  termed  centurial  stones,  as  they  bear  the 
name  of  the  centuria,  or  troop,  by  which  the  building  or  other 
work,  to  which  they  were  attached,  was  executed.  This  is  often 
expressed  in  the  simplest  possible  form.  Thus,  a  centurial 
stone  found  near  Cilurnum  (^Chesters),  in  Northumberland,  is 
inscribed* — 

*  The  words  centurio  and  centuria  are  generally  fi^'ured  on  the  stones 
by  a  niark  which  is  here  represented  by  a  0  reversed,  but  in  reality  it  is 


CHAP.    XIII.] 


CEXTURIAL   STOXES. 


419 


COH  V 

0   CAECILI 

PKOCOLI 


The  fifth  cohort, 

The  century  of  Caecilius 

Proculus. 


Similar  stones  with  sucli  inscriptions  as  centvria  peregrin i 

CENTVRIA    ARRII,     CENTVRIA     IIERENNIANI,     COH    VI    D    DELI- 

viANA,  are  found  frequently  along  the  line  of  Hadrian's  Wall, 
and  in  Cumberland,  and  sometimes  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
Sometimes,  especially  in  the  legionary  inscriptions,  there  is 
more  of  ornament,  the  name  being  placed  Avithin  a  wreath  or 
tablet,  surrounded  with  the  emblems  of  the  legion  and  other 


A  Roman  Legionary  stone, 

figures.  One  of  these,  found  at  Halton  Chesters,  in  Northum- 
berland (Himufim),  is  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut,  and 
js  to  be  read  thus, — 


LKCr 

II 

AVG 
F 


Legion 
the  second, 
the  Augustan, 
made  it. 


An  inscription  of  this  kind,  found  at  Whitley  Castle,  in  Nor- 
thumberland, speaks  of  the  rebuilding,  or  making  again,  of  some 
temple  or  other  w^ork  : — 


VRX  .  LEG 
XX  vv 


IIKFKC 


A  vexillation  of  legion 

the  twentieth,  the  valiant  and 

victorious, 
remade  it. 


more  like  a  > ,  though  it  was  no  douht  intended  for  a  o.  A  cut  is  given  a 
little  further  on  which  shows  how  oddly,  at  least  at  one  period,  the  cutters 
ul  the  Roman  inscriptions  joined  letters  together. 


420  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiir. 

Sometimes  the  name  of  the  officer  who  directed  the  work  is 
added,  as  in  the  following-  inscription  found  at  Kisinghani 
{Hahitancum)  : — 

COH  ,  I  .  VANG  The  first  cohort  of  the  Vangiones 

FF.ciT  cviiANTK  made  it,  under  the  direction  of 

IVL  .  PAYLLO  TKIB  Julius  Paullus  the  tribune. 

Ou  a  similar  stone  found  at  Rochester,  in  Northumberland 
{Breiiienium),  tlie  name  of  the  tribune  only  is  given  : — 

p  .  AEL  .  ERAS  Publius  iEh'us 

IX vs  TiiiB  Erasinus,  the  tribune. 

The  soldiers  frequently  dedicated  their  work  to  the  reigning* 
emperor,  or  contrived  to  introduce  his  name  into  the  inscription. 
Thus,  along  the  line  of  the  wall  in  Northumberland,  inscriptions 
to  Hadrian  are  very  frequent,  which  leave  no  doubt  on  our 
mind  that  the  g^eat  military  works  there  were  executed  under 
that  emperor.  In  the  same  manner  the  neighbourhood  of  tht; 
more  northern  wall  presents  us  with  numerous  inscriptions 
commemorative  of  Antoninus.  As  an  exam])le  of  the  insci-ip- 
tions  to  Hadrian  along  the  Northumberland  Avail,  we  may  cite 
the  following,  found  at  Milking-gap  : — 

IMP  CAi:s  TRAIAN  Of  the  emperor  Caesar  Trajanus 

HADRIANI  AVG  Hadrianus  Augustus, 

LEG  II  AVG  the  second  legion,  the  Augustan, 

A  PLATORio  NEPOTE  LEG  PR  PR  Auhis  Platorius  Nepos  being  legate 

propraetor. 

Similar  inscriptions  are  found  in  other  places  in  nearly  the 
same  words.  The  inscriptions  along  the  Antonine  wall  are 
more  precise,  detailing  the  quantity  of  work  performed  in  each 
case  by  those  who  set  np  the  inscription,  and  are  often  very 
elaborately  ornamented.  They  occur,  moreover,  in  greater 
numbers.     The  following  was  found  at  West-Kilpatrick  : — 

IMP.  c  To  the  emperor  Csesar 

T.  AE.  HADRIA  Titus  ^lius  Hadrianus 

NO.  ANTONINO.  AVG.  PI.  P.  P.       Antoninus  Augustus  Pius,  father 

of  his  country. 
VEX  A  vexillation 

LEG  XX  of  the  twentieth  legion, 

vv.  FK  the  valiant  and  victorious,  made 

pp  nil  CDxi  four  thousand  four  hundred  and 

eleven  paces. 

In  this  instance  the  slab  of  stone  is  sculptured  into  the 
representation  of  a  Corinthian  portico ;    the   emperor's  name 


CHAP.  XIII.]     IXSCRIITIOXS  TO  THE  EMTERORS.  421 

and  titles  ave  inscribed  on  the  tympanum  ;  the  name  of  the 
legion  is  placed  within  a  wreath  or  garland,  held  by  a  winged 
Victory  between  the  supporting  columns ;  while  the  number  of 
paces  is  given  at  the  foot,  on  each  side  of  a  boar,  the  ensign  of 
that  legion. 

Inscriptions  of  the  reigning  emperors,  or  commemorative  of 
tliem,  are  found  in  other  places,  Avhere  they  have  originally 
appeared  on  public  buildings  or  other  monuments.  As  we  \m\v. 
before  had  occasion  to  observe,  the  emperors'  names  were 
always  placed  on  the  milllaria,  or  milestones.  They  are  his- 
torically important,  as  showing  us  the  interest  which  the  people 
in  this  distant  province  took  in  all  the  changes  and  movements 
of  the  Roman  empire.  We  find  now  and  then  an  inscription 
to  an  emperor  whose  reign  was  so  short  and  insignificant  that 
we  could  hardly  suppose  the  influence  of  his  name  would  have 
been  felt  here.  A  fragment  of  an  inscription  to  Numerianus, 
on  whicii  remained  the  words  imp  c  mar  avr  nvmeriano, 
was  found  at  Kenchester,  in  Herefordshire  {^Maxjnd).  Nume- 
rianus was  the  brother  of  Carinus,  and  reigned  conjointly  with 
him  about  two  years  (from  282  to  284).  It  is  the  only  inscrip- 
tion yet  found  in  Britain  in  which  his  name  occurs.  At  Castor, 
m  TS'orthampton shire  {Durobriva),  a  cylindrical  stone,  appar- 
ently a  milliarium,  was  found  with  an  inscription  to  Florianus, 
the  brother  of  the  emperor  Tacitus,  who  reigned  not  more  than 
two  or  three  montlis,  in  a.  D.  276.  It  is  imperfect,  but  appears 
to  read  as  follows  :  — 

IMP  CAES  To  the  emperor  Caesar 

M.  ANXio  Marcus  Annius 

FLOKiANO  Florianus, 

p.  F.  INVICTO  the  pious  and  faithful,  unconquereJ, 

AVG.  the  Augustus. 

M.  p.  II  Two  miles. 

An  inscription  found  at  Ancaster  {Causemirp),  commemorates 
the  emperor  Constantine  the  Great  (308 — 337) : — • 

IMP  c  To  the  emperor  Caesar 

FL  val  Flavins  Valerius 

(;()NSTANTi>  o  Constantinus, 

p  F  INV  the  pious  and  faithful,  unconquered, 

avg-  the  Augustus. 

Divi  of  the  deified 

CONSTANTI  Constantius, 

Pii  AVG  the  pious,  the  Augustus, 

FiLio  the  son. 

A    milestone  found  in  Cumberland  was  dedicated  to  Flavins 


422 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  XIII. 


Julius  Cri'^pus,  a  son  of  Coiistantine  tlie  Great,  and  therefore 
l)eloi)ge(l  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  fourth  centnry.  One  found 
near  Old  Carlisle  was  dedicated  to  the  emperor  Marcus  Julius 
Philippus,  and  is  fixed  l)y  the  mention  of  his  consulship  to  the 
year  247.  Another,  found  near  the  Eoman  road  at  Greta- 
bri(li>-e,  in  Yorkshire,  was  dedicated  to  tlie  emperors  Gallus  and 
Yolusianus,  in  tlie  year  252. 

At  Bittern,  in  Hampshire  [Clausentnvi),  no  less  than  six 
stones  have  been  found  with  inscriptions  to  various  emperors. 
Three  of  these  are  dedicated  to  Gordinn  the  Younirer,  to  Gallus 
and  Volusiamis,  and  to  Aurelian.  The  other  three  are  all 
dedicated  to  Tetricus,  and  are  particularly  interesting  as  beinu; 
the  only  inscriptions  yet  found  in  ]^ritain  to  any  of  the  local 
usurpers,  with  the  exception  of  one  to  Yictorinus,  found  near 
Neath,  in  South  Wales.  It  is  remarkable  that  we  have  no  such 
memorial  now  remaining  of  Carausius  or  Allectus,  although 
they  reigned  during  ten  years,  and  their  numerous  coinage 
proves  that  they  were  not  neglectful  of  commemorating  them- 
selves. The  want  of  inscriptions  with  their  names  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  great  care  which  was  probably  taken  to  destroy 
or  erase  them,  after  the  island  was  restored  to  its  dependence 
on  Home.  There  are  several  instances  among  the  inscriptions 
found  in  Britain  of  the  erasure  of  the  name  of  an  emperor  by 


Inscription  at  Ctesters  {Cilurnuni). 

his    successor  or  rival.     An  interesting  inscription  found  at 
Hexham  had  contained  the  name  of  Severus  and  his  two  sons, 


1 


CHAP.  XIII.]         THE  VALUE  OF  IXSCRIPTiOXS.  423 

l)ut  tliat  of  Geta  had  been  subsequently  and  carefully  craved, 
no  doubt  after  that  prince  had  been  murdered  by  his  brother, 
(yaracalla.  An  inscribed  slab  was  discovered  some  years  ag-o  at 
Chesters,  in  Northumberland  {Cllurnmn),  of  which  a  represent- 
ation is  given  in  the  accompanying  cut,  and  on  wliich  also 
were  clearly  traced  some  intentional  erasures.  The  inscription 
may  be  given,  by  comparing  and  supplying  from  similar  con- 
temporary inscriptions,  as  follows  : — 

IMP  CAES  Marc  avrei,    .     .     . 

AVG     .     .  pont  max 

TiiiR  P  cos  .     .  PP  Divi  Antonini  fil 

DIVI  SEVER  NEP 

cvi:sAH  iMPEii diiplares 

alae  II.  AsToiivM  teniplvm  vetvstat  conlapsum  restifu- 
ERVNT  per  MARivM  VxVLERiAiiuni  log',  avg'.  pr  pr 

INSTANTE  SEPTIMIO  NILO  PRAK    .       .       . 

DEDICATVM  III  KAL  J^OVEM  GRATO  ET  SELEUCO  COSS. 

which  may  be  translated  : — To  the  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius 

Augustus Pontifex  Maxiinus,  with  the  tribuuitian 

power,  fourth  time  consul,  father  of  his  country,  son  of  divine 
Antoninus,  grandson  of  divine  Severus,  to  Caesar  our  emperor 

the  duplares  of  the  second  wing  of  Asturians  restored  this 

temple,  through  age  dilapidated,  by  command  of  Marius  Valeri- 
anus,  legate  of  the  Augustus  and  propraetor,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Septimius  Nilus  the  Prsefect.  It  was  dedicated 
on  the  third  kalends  of  November  (the  30th  of  October), 
Gratus  and  Seleucus  being  consuls. 

Mr  Bruce,  from  whose  work  on  the  Eon^^an  wall  I  take  this 
inscription,  makes  the  following  illustrative  remarks,  which 
deserve  to  be  impressed  on  the  minds  of  all  students  of  our 
early  antiquities.  '  Hutton,'  he  observes,  'who  has  done  such 
good  service  to  the  wall,  underrated  the  value  of  inscriptions. 
"  When  the  antiquary,"  says  he,  "  has  laboured  through  a  parcel 
of  miserable  letters,  what  is  he  the  wiser?  "  Let  this  fractured 
and  defaced  stone  answer  the  question.  1.  This  dedication 
was  made  by  soldiers  of  the  second  wing  of  the  Astures ; — 
we  thus  learn  the  name  of  the  people  who  garrisoned  the  fort, 
and  by  a  reference  to  the  Notitia,  ascertain  with  certainty  that 
this  was  Cilurnum.  2.  We  acquire  the  fact  that  a  temple, 
which  through  age  had  become  dilapidated,  was  restored  ;  — 
learning  thereby,  not  only  the  attention  which  the  Komans 
paid  to  what  they  conceived  to  be  religious  duties,  but  their 
long  occupation  of  this  spot.      It  has  been  already  observed. 


1^ 


424  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiii. 

tliat  some  of  the  pillars  of  the  hypocaust  have  been  portions  of 
a  prior  building- ; — the  ruin  and  inscription  thus  corroborate 
each  other.  3.  The  date  of  the  dedication  is  given ;  the  third 
of  tlie  kalends  of  November  falls  upon  the  thirtieth  of  October, 
and  the  year  which  Gratus  and  Seleucus  were  consuls  corre- 
sponds to  A.  D.  221 ; — the  data  on  which  antiquaries  found  their 
conclusions  are  not  always  so  vao-ue  as  some  imagine.  4.  Even 
the  erasures  are  instructive.  By  a  reference  to  the  date,  we 
find  that  Ileliogabalus  was  reigning-  at  the  time  of  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  temple ;  we  find  that  what  remain  of  the  names  and 
titles  on  the  stone  apply  to  him  ;  he,  consequently,  is  the, 
emperor  referred  to.  The  year  following  he  was  slain  by  his 
own  soldiers,  his  body  dragged  tlu'ough  the  streets,  jind  cast 
into  the  Tiber.  The  soldiers  in  Britain  seem  to  have  sympa- 
thised with  their  companions  at  Home,  and  to  have  erased  the 
name  of  the  fallen  emperor  from  the  dedicatory  slab.  Human 
nature  is  the  same  in  every  age.  How  often  have  we,  in  modern 
times,  seen  a  name  cast  out  with  loathing,  which  yesterday 
received  the  incense  of  a  world's  fiattery  ! '  * 

This  inscription  also  furnishes  us  with  a  name  of  a  propraetor 
or  governor  of  E-oman  Britain,  who  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere. 
Other  inscriptions  have  added  to  our  list  of  propraetors,  or 
confirmed  the  names  of  those  who  are  mentioned  in  history. 
Thus  : — 

Aulus  Plautius,  the  first  propraetor,  who  came  over  under  tlie 
emperor  Claudius,  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  found  in  Italy, 
and  published  by  Gruter. 

Licinius  Priscas,  who  governed  Britain  under  Hadrian,  is 
commemorated  in  an  inscription  found  at  Bewcastle,  in  Cum- 
berland, as  well  as  on  a  monument  found  at  Rome. 

Lollius  Urbicus,  the  celebrated  propraetor  of  Antoninus  Pius, 
is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  found  in  Scotland. 

Platorius  Nepos  is  mentioned  as  propraetor  under  Hadrian  in 
inscriptions  found  at  more  than  one  place  along  the  line  of  the 
Northumbrian  wall. 

C.  Valerius  Pansa  occurs  as  holding  the  same  office  under 
Trajan,  in  an  inscription  found  at  Novara,  in  Italy,  published 
by  Muratori. 

Virius  Lupus,  the  propraetor  of  the  emperor  Severus,  occurs 

*  It  may  be  observed  that  this  inscription  affords  a  remarkably  good 
example  of  the  combininji,-  of  letters  together,  technically  called  ligature, 
bo  common  in  Roman  inscriptions,  especially  of  this  age. 


CHAP.  xiii.J  MUNICIPAL  TOWNS.  42o 

in  an  inscription  found  at  Ilkey,  in  Yorkshire  {Ollcana),  and 
in  anotlier  found  at  Bowes  {LavatrcB). 

Claudius  Xenoplion,  whose  date  is  doubtful,  is  mentioned  in 
an  inscription  found  at  Little  Chesters,  in  Northumberland. 

Marias  Valerianus,  under  Heliogabalus,  is  mentioned  in  the 
inscription  g-iven  above. 

Maecilius  Fuscus,  propraetor  under  Gordian,  occurs  in  an 
inscription  at  Lanchester,  in  Durham. 

(Inseus  Lucilianus,  propraetor  under  the  same  emperor,  occurs 
in  another  inscription  found  at  the  same  place. 

Claudius  Paulinus,  proprastor,  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription 
found  near  Caen,  in  Normandy,  of  the  date  of  A.  D.  240 

Nonnius  Philippus,  propraetor  also  under  Gordian,  is  men- 
tioned in  an  inscription  found  at  Old  Penrith,  in  Cumberland, 
and  in  anotlier  at  Old  Carlisle,  of  the  date  242. 

As  far  as  we  can  perceive,  the  military,  civil,  and  fiscal 
departments  of  the  administration  of  Britain  were  united,  at 
first,  in  the  office  of  the  propraetor;  but,  as  we  have  seen  above, 
after  Constantine  had  divided  the  empire  into  four  governments, 
the  different  departments  of  administration  in  this  island  wei'c 
each  placed  separately  under  the  prgefect  of  the  west  in  Gaul. 
His  vicar  (vicar lus)  had  the  manag'ement  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment of  the  island.  But  there  was  another,  and  an  independ- 
ent jurisdiction,  that  of  the  towns,  which  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  we  should  not  overlook.  The  very  doubtful  treatise 
attributed  to  Richard  of  Cirencester,  which,  however,  may  pos- 
sibly in  this  case  offer  us  correct  information,  states  that  there 
were  in  Britain  two  municipal  towns  (miauclpla),  Verulamiuni 
{St  Albans),  and  Eburacum  {York).  The  same  authority  enu- 
merates nine  coloiila,  Londinium  {Londori)^  Camulodunnm 
{Colchester),  Rutupiae  {lllchhoroicgJi),  Aquae  Solis  {BatJi),  Isca 
{Caerleon),  Deva  {C/ieste?'), Gleyum  {Gloucester),  Lindum  {Lin- 
coln), and  Caraboricum  {Cambridge) ;  ten  cities  under  the  Latin 
law  {cloltates  La tlo  jure  donates),  Durnomagus,  considered  to  be 
another  name  for  Durobrivae  {Castor),  Cataracto  {Catterlck), 
Cambodunnm  (Slack),  Coccium  (Rlbchester),  Luguballium  (Car- 
lisle), Vtoroion  (Btcrgh-head),  Victoria  {Dealgln  Ross),  Theodosia 
(Dumbarton),  Ooxiniwrn  (Cirencester) ,  Sorbiodunum  (Old  Sarmn); 
and  twelve  stipendiary  towns,  of  less  consequence,*  Venta 
Silurian  (Caerwent),  Vonta  Belgarum  [JViuchester),  Venta  Iceno- 
rnin  {Calstor,  near  Norwich),  Segontinin  (Caer  Segont),  iMari- 

*  Delude  xii.  stipendiaric^e  niinorisque  nioiuenti. 


426  THE  llOMAXS.  [chap.  xiii. 

(luniim  {Cnermnrth(-;)i),  Hatse  {Lelceste)') ,  Caiitiopolis  {Canter- 
bnrij),  Duriiiuin  {IJorchestei'),  Isca  (Exeter),  ]-5remeniiuu 
{Rochester),  Yiiidouum  {m  Ilam-ps/ilre),  and  Durobrivae  (Jloch- 
ester) . 

In  earlier  times  tlie  colonize  were  the  cities  out  of  Italy 
which  possessed  in  tlie  most  perfect  degree  the  rights  of  Eoman 
citizens,  but  at  a  later  period  the  vmuiclpla  and  colonia  appear 
to  have  been  nearly  identical  with  each  other.  The  Latian 
Liw  was  a  uiodiHcation  of  the  municipal  privileges  and  forms, 
which  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  enter  upon.  The  stipendiary 
towns  are  said  to  have  been  distinguished  by  the  payment  of 
their  taxes  in  money,  instead  of  giving  a  certain  proportion  of 
the  produce  of  the  soil.  All  these  towns  enjoyed  the  civltas,  or 
riglits  of  Roman  citizens;  they  consisted  of  the  town  and  a 
certain  extent  of  land  around  it,  and  had  a  government  of  their 
own,  republican  in  form,  resembling  the  ancient  constitution  of 
Home,  and  exempt  from  all  control  of  the  imperial  officers.  As 
soldiers,  they  were  obliged  only  to  defend  their  own  town,  and 
were  not  liable  to  serve  elsewhere.  They  possessed,  in  fact, 
their  own  free  constitution  and  officers,  perhaps  differing  at 
times  from  one  another;  but,  speaking  generally,  the  Roman 
viuulclpiiim,  or  town  corporation,  consisted  of  the  people  at 
large  and  the  curia  or  governing  body.  The  members  of  the 
curia  were  called  curiales,  decuriories,  or  senators ;  the  rank  was 
hereditary,  the  son  of  a  ciirialis  becoming  a  mendjcr  of  the 
curia  by  right  of  birth.  Persons  who  were  not  of  senatorial 
birth  might,  however,  be  elected  into  that  body.  The  curiales 
received  various  emoluments,  and  possessed  important  privi- 
leges ;  they  alone  had  the  right  of  electing  the  magistrates  and 
officers  of  the  viuuiciphim.  These  officers  Avere,  first,  two 
duumviri,  or  chief  magistrates,  who  answered  to  the  consuls  at 
Rome,  and  whose  authority  extended  over  the  civitas,  or  terri- 
tory surrounding  and  depending  upon  the  town.  Sometimes 
the  municipium  had  oidy  one  duumvir.  The  duummri  were 
chosen  from  among  the  curiales,  no  person  not  a  member  of  the 
senatorial  body  being  capable  of  election  to  that  office.  They 
were  obliged  to  accept  office,  if  elected ;  a  curialis  refusing  to 
act  as  duumvir,  or  concealing  himself  to  escape  election,  was 
punished  by  confiscation  of  his  property.  After  the  duumviri, 
a  certain  number  of  officers,  termed  principales,  were  elected 
out  of  the  body  of  the  curia,  who  were  the  administrators  of 
the  municipal  affiiirs,  and  formed  the  permanent  council  of  the 
curia.     The  duumviri  were  in  general  elected  yearly;  i\iQ  prin- 


cii\p.  XIII.]  MUNICIPAL  COXSTITUTIOXS.  427 

clpales  continued  in  office  during-  fifteen  years.  Besides  these, 
there  were  different  inferior  officers,  equally  elected  by  tlie  curia. 
The  whole  body  of  the  citizens — the  plebs — elected  an  important 
officer,  called  the  defensor  clvltatls,  who  was  not  to  be  a  member 
of  the  curia,  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  protect  the  populace 
against  the  senatorial  body,  when  the  latter  acted  unjustly  or 
tyraniucally ;  he  was  to  the  municipium  what  the  tribune  had 
been  in  Rome.  There  were  also  corporations  or  colleges  of  the 
different  trades  in  the  vmnicipia,  who  chose  their  patrons 
among  the  senators  or  curialen. 

At  present  we  have  unfortunately  few  inscriptions  found  in 
Britain  which  illustrate  the  municipal  constitution  of  the  towns 
under  the  Romans,  probably  because  most  of  those  which  were 
thus  constituted  are  now  covered  with  modern  towns,  and  the 
others  have  never  been  properly  explored.  The  few  which  have 
been  found  leave  no  doubt  that  the  Roman  laws  in  this  respect 
were  firmly  established  here.  We  have  already  (p.  385)  given  / 
an  inscription  commemorating  a  decurion  of  the  colouia  of 
Glevum  (Gloucester) ,  who  died  at  Aquse  Solis  (Bath).  Another 
inscription  (p.  381),  mentions  a  sevir  of  the  colonia  of  EI)nra- 
cum  (York).  This  word  is  generally  understood  as  belonging- 
to  a  military  officer,  but  it  must  here  refer  to  a  municipal  one. 
Several  instances  occur  in  which  the  collegia  are  mentioned  in 
inscriptions  in  Britain.  The  collegium  ligniferoriim  mentioned 
in  inscriptions  found  at  Castle  Gary,  in  Scotland,  has  been 
conjectured  to  be  of  a  religious  character.  A  collegium,  fa.brorum, 
is  mentioned  in  a  celebrated  inscription  of  an  early  date  found 
at  Chichester.*  A  still  more  celebrated  inscription  found  near 
Bath,  mentions  a  collegium  fabricensium,  a  guild  of  smiths,  or, 
as  we  should  say  now,  smiths'  company.  This  inscription  relates 
to  a  member  of  this  college  who  belonged  to  the  twentieth 
legion,  and  is  read  as  follows  : — 

ivLivs  VITA  Julius  Vitalis, 

LIS  FABiiiciES  smith  of  the 

IS  .  LiiG  .  XX  .  V  .  V  .  tvventieth  legion,  the  valiant 

and  victorious, 

sTiPEXDiou  who  served,  nine  years, 

VM  IX  AN  NOR  XX  lived  twenty- 

IX.  NATION K  BH  nine,  by  nation  a  Belgian, 

LGA  EX  .  cor.LRGio  by  the  college 

FABKICE  .  ELATV  ot'  the  suiiths  carried  to  burial, 

s  .  H  s  E  He  is  placed  here. 

*  I  have  already  given  this  inscription  in  a  note  to  p.  51.     It  will  be 

2  D 


V 


428  THE  ROMANS.  Lciiap.  xiii. 

G  niter  has  published  an  inscription,  found  on  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Nonientuni,  in  Italy,  which  commemorates  an  indi- 
vidual who  held  the  otfi.ce  of  cemltor  (or  censor)  of  the  citizens 
of  Carauloduuum  {Colchester) :  — 

CN  .  MUNATivs  .  M  .  F  .  PAL       Cneius  Munatius,  Aurelius  Bassus, 
AVHELivs  BASSVS  SOU  of  Mavcus,  ui  the  tribe 

Palatina, 


PR^F  .  COH  .  II  pnefect  of  the  second  cohort 

ASTVRVM  .  CENsiTou  .  civiVM    of  the  Asturiaus,  censitor  of 

the 
UOMANOUVM  .  COLONIAE  .  VIC-  Roman  citizens  of  the  colonla 

TRiCENPis  victrix* 

CiUAE  .  FST  .  IN  .  BRITANNIA       which  is  in  Britannia 
CAMOLODVNI  ....  at  Camulodunum. 

At  first  the  rights  of  citizenship  Avere  o-iven  as  a  mark  of 
honour  and  the  reward  of  merit,  chiefly  to  soldiers,  for  the 
lloman  municipalities  in  the  provinces  were  all  originally  mili- 
tary foundations ;  but  subsequently  they  Avere  granted  more 
lavishly,  and  almost  all  the  free  population  of  the  empire  became 
eventually  Roman  citizens.  In  earlier  times  the  grants  of 
citizenship  were  duly  registered  at  Rome,  and  copies  of  the 
grant,  inscribed  on  plates  of  copper  or  bronze,  appear  to 
have  been  sent  to  the  place  where  these  new  citizens 
resided.  Several  such  plates  have  been  discovered  in  Britain, 
as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  empire.  One  of  these  was 
dug  up  in  the  parish  of  Malpas,  in  Ciieshire,  in  1812;  frag- 
ments of  two  others  were  found  in  a  gravel-pit  on  Sydenham 
Common,  in  Kent,  in  1806;  and  another  was  found  at  Stain- 
ington,  in  Yorkshire,  in  1761.  They  are  all  decrees  of  the 
emperor  Trajan,  in  favour  of  certain  veterans  serving  in  the 
troops  in  Britain,  and  conferring  upon  them  the  clvltas,  or 
rights  of  citizenship,  and  the  consequent  coiinnbiiini,  or  civil 
rights    belonging  to    legitimate    marriage. f      The   inscription 

nnderstood  that,  in  the  inscription  which  follows,  fabriciesis  is  merely 
contracted  or  mis- written  for  fabriciensis. 

*  This  epithet  applied  to  the  colonial  town  of  Camulodunum,  coincides 
with  the  account  of  Tacitus  that  it  was  placed  under  the  auspices  of 
Victory,  whose  temple  served  as  a  refuji^e  to  the  inhabitants  when  attacked 
by  the  insur<;ent  Britons. 

t  The  Romans  termed  a  discharg-e  from  military  service,  mlssio  ;  and 
these  inscribed  plates,  as  honourable  discharges,  are  called  by  antiquarians 
tabulfc  ho)iest(e  iiiissioiiis.  Those  found  at  Malpas  and  Sydenham  were 
published  by  Samuel  Lysons ;  the  other  is  given  in  Gough's  'Camden,' 
edition  of  I80G. 


CHAP.  xiiT.]        TABULtE  honesty  MISSIONIS.  429 

found   at  Malpas,  as   the  most  perfect,  may  be  given  as  an 
example  of  this  important  ckss  of  inscriptions  : — 

IMP  .  CAESAR  .  DIVI  .  NERV.^i:.  F.  NERVA  .  TRAIANVS 

AVGVSTVS  .  GEKMANICVS  .  DACICVS  .  rONTU'EX  .  MAX 

IMVS  .  TRIBVNIC  .  POTESTAT  VII  IMP  IIII  COS  .  V  ,  PP. 

EQVITIBVS  .  ET  .  PEDITIBVS  .  QVI  MILITANT  .  IN  ALIS 

QVATVOR  .  ET  .  COHORTIPVS  .  DECEM  .  ET  .  VNA  .  QVAE  .  A 

PELLANTVR  .  I  .  THRACVM  .  ET  .  I  .  PANNONIORVM  .  TAM 

PIANA  .  ET  .  II  .  GALLORVM  SEBOSIANA  .  ET  .  I  .  HISPA 

NORVM  YETTONVM  ,  C  .  R  .  ET  .  I  .  HISPANORVM  .  ET  .  I 

YALCIONVM  ,  MILLIARIA  .  ET  .  I  .  ALPINORVM  .  ET  .  I 

MORINORVM  .  ET  ,  I  .  CVGERNORVM  .  ET  .  I  .  BAETASI 

ORVM  .  ET  .  I  .  TVNGRORVM  .  MILLIARIA  .  ET  .  II  .  THRA 

CVM  .  ET  .  Ill  .  BRACAR  .  AVGVSTANORVM  .  ET  .  IIII. 

LINGONVM  ,  ET  .  IIII  .  DELMATARYM  ,  KT  .  SYNT 

IN  BRITANNIA  SUB  .  I  .  NERATIO  MARCELLO 

QVI  QVINA  ET  VICENA  PLURAVE  STIPENDIA 

MERVERVNT  .  QVORVM  .  NOMINA  .  SVBSCRIPTA. 

SVNT  IPSIS  LIBERIS  POSTERISQVE  EORVM  .  CIVITA 

TEM  DEBIT  ET  CONVBIVM  .  CVM  .  VXORIBVS  .  QVAS  . 

TVNC  HABVISSENT  .  CVM  .  EST  .  CIVITAS  .  IIS  .  DATA  . 

AVT  .  SI  .  QVI  ,  COELIBES  .  ESSENT  .  CVM  IIS  QVAS 

POSTEA  .  DVXISSENT  .  DVMTAXAT  .  SINGVLI  .  SIN 

GYLAS  .  AD  XIII  K  FEBR 

M  .  LABERIO  MAXIMO  II 

Q  GLITIO  ATILIO  AGRICOLA  II  CO 

ALAE  .  I  .  PANNONIORVM  .  TAMPIANAE  .  CVI  PRAEEST 

C  YALERIYS  CELSYS  .  DECVRIONI 

REBYRRO  SEVERI  .  P  .  HISPAN 

DESCRIPTYM  .  ET  .  RECOGNITVM  .  EX  TABYLA  .  AENEA 

QVAE  .   FIXA  .  EST  .  ROMAE  .  IN  MYRO  .  POST  .  TEMPLYM 

DIVI  AYGYSTI  AD  MINERVAM  . 

Q  .  POMPEI  HOMERI 

C  .  PAPI  EYSEBETIS 

T . FLAVI SECYNDI 

P  .  CAYLI  VITALIS 

C  .  YETTIENI  MODESTI 

P  .  ATINI  HKDONICI 

n.  CLAVDI  MENANDRI 


The  date  of  this  record  is  fixed  by  its  internal  evidence  to  the 
20th  tlay  of  January  a.d.  103.  The  other  similar  monuments 
found  in  Britain  are  all  of  the  same  year.  The  example  given 
aljove  may  be  translated  thus  : — The  emperor  Caesar,  deified 
Nerva's  son,  Nerva  Trajanus  Augustus,  the  German,  the 
Pacian,  Pontifex  Maximus,  invested  with  the  tribunitian  power 
the  seventh  time,  emperor  the  fourth  year,  cousid  the  fifth  time, 
father  of  his  country,  to  the  cavaliy  and  infantry  who  serve 
in  the  four  alae  and  eleven  cohorts,  whicli  are  called  the  first 
of  the  Thraciaus,  and  the  first  of  Pannonians  termed  the  Tam- 
pian,  and  the  second  of  Gauls  termed  the  Sebosiaii,  and  the 


430  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiii. 

first  of  Spanish  Yettoiies,  Roman  citizens,  and  the  first  of 
Spaniards,  and  the  first  of  Valciones,  a  milliary  one,  and  tlie 
Hrst  of  Alpini,  and  the  first  of  Morini,  and  the  first  of  Cng-erni, 
and  the  first  of  Bsetasii,  and  the  first  of  Tung-rinns,  a  niilliarv 
one,  and  tlie  second  of  Tliracians,  and  the  third  of  Braccse 
Aug-ustani,  and  the  fourth  of  Lingones,  and  the  fourth  of 
Dahnatians,  and  they  are  in  Britain  nnder  Julius  Neratius 
IMarcellus,  who  have  sers'ed  twenty-five  or  more  years,  whose 
names  are  written  below,  to  themselves,  their  children,  and 
posterity,  has  given  civitas  and  connublum  (the  rights  of 
citizensliip  and  marriage)  with  their  wives,  whom  tliey  miglit 
then  have  when  citizenship  was  given  to  them,  or  if  any  of 
them  were  unmarried,  with  those  wdiom  they  might  afterwards 
take,  that  is  to  say,  provided  they  have  only  one  each.  On 
the  13th  kalends  of  February.  To  M.  Laberius  Maximns  twice, 
and  Q.  Glitius  Atilius  Agricola  tAvice  consuls.  To  Reburrus, 
son  of  Severus,  the  Spaniard,  decurion  of  the  first  ala  of 
the  Pannonians,  termed  the  Tampian,  wliich  is  commanded  by 
C.  Valerius  Celsus.  Copied  and  revised  from  the  tablet  of 
brass  which  is  fixed  at  Rome  on  the  wall  beliind  the  temple  of 
divine  Augustus  near  that  of  Minerva.  Quintus  Pompeius 
Homerus,  Caius  Papius  Eusebes,  Titus  Flavius  Secundus, 
Pul)lius  Caulus  Vitalis,  Caius  Yettienus  Modestus,  Publius 
Atinius  Hedonicus,  and  Titus  Claudius  Menander. 

We  have  no  traces  of  a  Roman  mint  in  Britain  until  the 
reign  of  Dioclesian  and  Maximian,  on  the  exergue  or  vacant 
space  on  the  reverse  of  some  of  whose  coins  we  find  the  letters 
LON  and  ML,  which  numismatists  seem  agreed  in  interpreting 
Loudinium,  and  moneta  Londlneitsis,  and  in  considering  as  an 
indication  of  the  place  at  which  they  were  minted.  It  is, 
however,  far  from  certain  that  Roman  money  was  not  coined 
in  the  island  before  it  was  thought  necessary  to  indicate  the 
circumstance  by  such  letters,  and  we  cannot  but  be  astonished 
at  the  extraordinary  activity  of  the  Roman  mint  in  Britain 
during  the  usurpation  of  Carausius  and  Allectus.  The  great 
mass  of  their  coins  appear  to  have  been  struck  in  Britain. 
Those  of  Carausius  bear  in  the  exergues  various  combinations 
of  letters,  which,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  refer  to  different 
Roman  towns  in  this  island  where  they  were  minted.  One  of 
the  more  common  forms  is  ml,  which  is  interpreted  moneta 
I  Londiiiensis,  money  of  Londinium  {Loudon).  In  other  examples 
there  is  simply  an  l  for  Londiniinn.  Another  common  form  is 
R  s,  which  is  believect  to   signify   Jiidnplis  signata   (jnoneia), 


CHAr.  XIII.]  ROMAN  MINT-MARKS.  431 

money  coined  at  Rutnpiae  {Rlchhorough) .  The  most  common 
form  of  all  is  iiSR,  which  is  also  supposed  to  mean  mouev 
struck  at  Richboroug-h,  though  the  meaning*  of  the  second  u 
has  not  been  satisfactorily  explained.  The  letters  mrs,  found 
on  some  coins  of  Carausius,  may  also  signify  moneta  Rutup'ux 
slfjn.ata.  Two  difi'erent  types  of  the  same  usurper  have  on  the 
exergue  the  letters  rsp,  which  are  perhaps  the  initials  of 
Riditplls  slgnata  pecimla.  The  letter  c  is  found  singly  on  a 
considerable  number  of  different  types  of  the  coinage  of  Carau- 
sius, and  is  believed  to  refer  to  Clausentum  (^Bittern) ^  one  of 
the  great  naval  stations  on  the  southern  coast  of  Britain  ;  and 
other  similar  inscriptions,  such  as  MC,  sc,  msc,  spc,  are  believed 
to  refer  to  the  same  place,  and  to  admit  of  the  interpretations 
moneta  Clausenti,  slgnata  Clausentl^  vioueta  slgnata  Cluasentl, 
and  slgnata  pecnnla  Clausantl.  The  letters  iiSA,  found  in  the 
exergue  of  at  least  one  type,  may  refer  to  Rutupite.  Other 
types  exhibit  the  letters  MS,  or  msp,  or  simply  M,  which  may 
possibly  refer  to  Magna  {Ken Chester),  where  a  remarkabh^ 
quantity  of  the  money  of  Carausius  is  constantly  found.  The 
letters  may  be  thus  interpreted,  Magnls  slgnata,  Magrils  slgnata 
pecunla,  or  giving*  merely  the  name  of  the  place,  Magnls. 
Many  examples  have  numerals  added  to  the  name  of  the  place, 
but  their  meaning  is  very  doubtful.  Thus  we  have  many  types 
of  coins  of  Carausius  bearing  on  the  exergue  the  letters  mlxxi, 
which  seems  to  stand  for  moneta  Londlnll  xxl ;  a  combination 
of  letters  equally  common  is  cxxx,  which  may  stand  for  Clau- 
senti xxl ;  and  we  have  some  wdiich  are  marked  simply  with  the 
numerals  xxi.  We  have  on  other  examples  mlx  {^nwneta  Lon- 
dlnll »r),  and  x  by  itself;  LVii  {Londlnll  vll) ;  and  the  numerals 
XX  and  xxxx,  without  any  indication  of  the  name  of  the  place. 
On  the  coinage  of  Allectus  we  find  in  the  exergues  the  letters 
ML  (^moneta  Londlnensls) ,  which  is  the  most  common  ;  MSL 
{moneta  slgnata  Londlnll)  ;  c.  {Clausenti),  which  is  also  \('vy 
common;  M  {Magnls?)  CL,  QL,  and  Q,c,  which  have  not  been 
explained.  A  few  of  the  coins  of  Constantine  the  Great  have 
in  the  exergue  p  lon  {pecnnla  Londlnensls),  but  they  are  far 
more  common  w^ith  the  continental  mint-marks.  The  inscrip- 
tion p  LON  IS  also  found  on  the  coins  of  Constantine's  empress 
Fausta,  of  his  sons  Crispus  and  Constantine,  and  of  his  daugh- 
ter-in-law (as  it  is  supposed)  Helena;  but  after  the  time  of 
Allectus  there  are  no  indications  of  other  towns  in  Britain  in 
which  money  was  minted;  and  even  the  simple  p  lon  dis- 
appears after  thj  reigns  of  the  sons  of  Constantine,  There  may, 


4  32  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiii. 

Iiou'ever,  have  still  remained  a  local  mint,  wliicli,  as  fiir  as  is  vet 
known,  has  left  no  distingnishing-  mark  on  its  coinnge.* 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  insular  coins  of  Caransiiis  are 
not  in  general  inferior  in  purity  of  metal  and  in  execution  to  the 
contemporary  coinage  of  the  continent.  But  it  is  no  less  true 
that  among  the  Roman  money  found  in  this  coimtry  we  find  a 
great  mass  of  debased  or  adulterated  coinage,  and,  which  is 
still  more  curious,  that  very  extensive  manufactures  of  spurious 
money  have  been  traced.  A  few  years  ago,  during  the  excava- 
tions for  laying  the  foundations  of  King  William-street,  in  the 
city  of  London,  a  considerable  quantity  of  coins  made  of  iron 
})lated  with  silver,  intended  to  pass  as  silver,  were  found  packed 
up  in  tiers,  as  they  had  been  imported  into  Britain,  probably 
to  pay  the  troops.  The  latest  of  them  were  of  the  emperor 
Claudius,  which  was  perhaps  the  time  when  they  were  brought 
over  hither.  Most  of  these  coins  are  in  the  cabinet  of  Mr 
Koach  Smith,  who  also  possesses  a  number  of  Roman  forged 
coins  cast  in  lead,  found  chiefly  in  the  Thames.  Amongst  the 
numerous  coins  found  at  Mary  port,  in  Cumberland,  were  a  great 
([uantity  of  forged  denarii ,  of  Trajan  and  Hadrian,  mostly, 
like  those  in  Mr  Smith's  museum,  cast  in  lead.  It  has  been 
remarked  that  '  genuine  coin  must  have  been  exceedingly 
scarce  among  the  soldiers  of  this  camp,  and  their  credulity  very 
great,  to  allow  of  the  circulation  of  such  base  imitations.' 

Extensive  remains  of  the  manufactures  of  spurious  money 
under  the  Romans  have  been  found  in  several  places  in  this 
island,  but  more  especially  at  Lingwell  Gate,  near  Wakefield, 
in  Yorkshire ;  at  Edington,  in  Somersetshire ;  at  Ruyton  and 
Wroxeter,  in  Shropshire  ;  and  at  Castor,  in  Northamptonshire. 
The  last  three  places  Avere  the  sites  of  well-known  Roman  towns, 
Rutunium,  Uriconium,  and  Durobrivse.  The  manner  of  casting 
the  coins  was  a  very  simple  process.  A  fine  clay,  found  on  the 
locality,  was  formed  into  small  round  tablets,  of  uniform  size  and 
thickness.  A  coin  of  one  of  the  emperors  was  pressed  between 
each  two  tablets,  so  as  to  leave  a  perfect  impression,  and  the 
latter  were  then  arranged  upon  one  another  in  files  or  columns, 
the  upper  and  lower  tablets  being  impressed  only  on  one  side. 
A  notch  was  broken  into  the  side  all  the  way  down,  which 
admitted  the  metal  into  each  impression.  Two,  or  three,  of 
these  columns,  as  the  case  might  be,  were  placed  side  by  side, 

*  It  must  be  remarked  that  many  of  the  foregoing  explanations  are 
conjectural,  and  they  may  perhaps  admit  of  other  interpretations.  Tlie 
c,  for  instance,  may  stand  for  Camulodunum,  instead  of  Clausentuin. 


CHAP.  XIII.]     MANUFACTURE  OF  FOUGED  MONEY 


433 


witli  the  side  notches  joined  tog-ether,  and  tliese  were  enclosed 
in  a  clay  case,  with  a  hole  at  the  top,  tiirouoh  which  tlie 
melted  metal  ran  down  the  opening-  left  by  the  notches,  by 
whicli  it  entered  into  all  the  impressions.  Tlie  arrangement, 
as  observed  in  the  monlds  found  at  Lingwell  Gate,  is  exhibited 

in  our  woodcut,  where  the  upper 
tigure  represents  the  faces  of  three 
impressed  tablets  as  they  were 
joined  together  in  the  columns. 
It  Avas  only  necessary  that  care 
should  be  taken  to  place  the  tablets 
on  one  another  so  that  the  re- 
verse might  correspond  with  the 
head  belonging  to  it.  Their  mis- 
placement would  produce  those 
wrong  reverses  which  are  some- 
times found  among  ancient  Roman 
coins,  and  which  have  often  puzzled 
the  numismatist. 

From  the  number  of  these 
moulds,  which  are  found  on  the 
sites  where  they  occur,  we  might 
imagine  that  after  being  used  two 
or  three  times,  they  were  thrown 
aside  as  waste,  and  new  ones 
formed.  In  an  account  of  those 
found  at  Edington,  in  Somerset- 
shire, printed  in  the  fourteenth 
volume  of  the  '  Archseologia.' 
the  writer  informs  us  that  '  the  field  in  which  they  were 
found  is  a  meadow  that  bears  no  marks  of  ever  having 
been  ploughed ;  which  accounts  for  the  moulds  remaining  so 
long  undiscovered.  It  is  situated  at  the  north  eih^e  of  Polden 
liill,  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  north  of  the  village 
of  Chilton.  We  were  led  to  this  particular  spot  by  a  person  who 
had,  some  time  before,  cut  through  a  bed  of  them  in  digging 
a  drain.  They  were  lying  promiscuously  scattered  over  a  space 
about  four  feet  square,  and  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  below  the 
snrface  of  the  ground.'  He  adds  that  in  the  space  of  an 
hour  they  picked  uj)  several  hundred  moulds.  They  are  found 
also  scattered  about  very  plentifully  at  Lingwell.  In  somt; 
instances  pieces  of  metal  have  been  found,  and  at  Lingwell 
Gate  an  earthen  crucible  for  melting  it  was  met  with.     Some 


Moulds  for  Coinins;. 


434  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiii. 

moulds  have  even  been  found  to  contain  tlie  forg-ed  coins  as 
the  metal  had  been  poured  in,  which  had  never  been  taken 
out. 

Moulds  of  the  same  kind  have  been  found  in  France,  espe- 
cially in  Lyons,  and  at  Damery,  near  Epernay,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Marne.  This  latter  place  occupied  the  site  of  a 
lloman  station.  Excavations  made  there  in  the  whiter  of  1829, 
brought  to  light,  under  a  heap  of  burnt  matter,  the  remains  of 
extensive  buildings  which  had  evidently  been  destroyed  by 
tire,  and  appeared  to  have  consisted  of  baths  and  a  money er's 
workshop.  In  some  of  the  apartments  were  found  vases  full 
of  coins.  The  tirst  contained  at  least  two  thousand  pieces  of 
base  silver,  more  than  fifteen  hundred  of  which  bore  the  head 
of  Postunuis ;  the  remainder  presenting  the  series  Avhich  is 
generally  found  from  the  elder  Philip  down  to  that  reign. 
The  fjibric  was  bad,  and  the  metal  much  alloyed.  Another 
vase  contained  a  silver  coin  of  Antoninus ;  five  small  brass  of 
the  money  of  Treves,  with  the  types  of  Home  and  Constanti- 
nople ;  a  hundred  other  small  brags  of  the  money  of  Treves, 
Lyons,  Aries,  Aquileia,  and  other  towns,  with  the  heads  of 
Constans  and  Constantius,  sons  of  Constantine ;  and  neai'ly 
ibur  thousand  pieces  in  small  brass  of  the  fourth  size,  all  of  the 
same  emperors,  Constans  and  Constantius.  All  these  coins 
were  so  fresh,  that  it  seemed  evident  they  had  been  made 
in  the  place  where  they  Mere  found,  and  that  they  had  never 
been  in  circulation.  This  circumstance  was  soon  explained  by 
the  discovery  in  an  adjoining  room  of  a  manufactory  of  money, 
which,  at  the  time  the  buildings  were  destroyed,  must  have 
been  in  full  activity.  '  There,  under  a  heap  of  ashes  and 
tiles,  Avere  found  together,  shears  and  the  remains  of  other 
instruments  suitable  for  the  making  of  money ;  and  several 
collections  of  moulds  of  baked  earth,  still  containing  the 
pieces  wdiich  had  been  cast  in  them,  and  the  ingot  formed  by 
the  superlluoiis  metal.  These  moulds  were  moulded  from  the 
money  Avhich  they  were  intended  to  reproduce,  by  pressing  the 
models  between  discs  of  worked  clay  of  larger  diameter,  in 
order  to  form  ledges,  and  were  then  placed  one  upon  another, 
so  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  and  last,  they  received 
on  the  two  faces  the  stamp  of  the  obverse  and  the  reverse  of  a 
piece.  The  cavities  and  the  impressions  being  obtained  by  this 
process,  both  easily  and  accurately,  the  discs  composing  the 
moulds  were  notched,  in  order  to  form  a  passage  for  the  fused 
metal;  Ihey  were  then  hardened  in  the  fire,  and  replaced  on 


CHAP.  XIII.]        COIXS  RELATING  TO  BRITAIN.  43.) 

one  another,  notch    over  notch,  in    tlie   same  order  as   when 
moulded.' 

It  lias  been  a  question  rather  learnedly  and  warmly  discussed, 
whether  these  workshops  were  those  of  private  forgers,  or 
whether  they  were  establishments  under  the  direction  of  the 
imperial  g-overnment.  The  latter  supposition  seems  to  be  au- 
thorized by  the  fact  that  they  are  found  in  large  towns,  and  ap- 
parently, in  some  instances,  in  public  buildings.  The  moulds 
found  at  Polden  Hill,  in  Somersetshire,  were  of  Severus  and 
his  wife  Julia,  of  Caracalla,  Geta,  Macrinus,  Elagabalus,  Alex- 
ander Severus,  Maximinus,  Maximus,  Plautilla,  Julia  Paula, 
and  Julia  Mammaea,  These,  compared  with  other  circum- 
stances, seem  to  show  that  the  forgeries  were  caiTied  on  after 
the  reign  of  Severus,  and  that  it  w^as  probably  one  scheme  of 
the  fiscal  administration  to  raise  money  by  the  issue  of  debased 
coin,  which,  to  protect  the  reigning  emperor  from  odium,  was 
cast  from  moulds  of  the  coins  of  previous  emperors.  Of 
course,  it  does  not  follow  necsssarily  that  some  of  the  moulds 
which  have  been  found  in  other  places  may  not  have  belonged 
to  private  forgers,  who  thus  enriched  themselves  by  defrauding 
the  public. 

Mr  Akerman  has  published  a  useful  volume  under  the  title 
of  '  Coins  of  the  Eomans  relating  to  Britain.'  The  series  of 
Eoman  coins  which  come  under  this  denomination  have  a 
peculiar  interest  connected  with  the  history  of  our  island. 
From  the  moment  wdien  Claudius  set  his  foot  on  our  shores, 
there  was  a  regular  series  of  imperial  coins  conniiemorative  of 
victories  in  l^ritain  by  the  emperors  or  by  their  military  com- 
manders. Those  of  Claudius,  bearing  on  the  reverse  a 
triumphal  arch  wqth  the  inscription  de  brittan  (over  tin; 
l^ritons),  are  well  known.  The  expedition  of  the  emperor 
Hadrian  was  commemorated  by  a  coin  in  large  brass,  struck  in 
the  year    121,  on   the    reverse    of  which   is    the    inscription, 

ADVENTVS  AVG    BllITANNIAE  (the    advcut    of    tllC    AugUStuS    to 

Britain).  The  same  emperor  commemorated  his  exploits  by 
another  coin,  bearing  on  the  reverse  a  figure  of  a  female  seated 
OH  a  rock,  holding  a  spear  on  her  arm,  with  a  shield  resting  by 
her  side,  and  the  inscription  Britannia.  There  are  several 
different  coins  of  Hadrian  with  this  device,  from  which  they 
ara  usually  knoAvn  as  the  Britannia  types,  and  similar  coins 
w^ere  struck  under  Antoninus  Pius  ;  but  in  the  latter  the  figure 
is  more  frequently  a  male  than  a  female.  Tt  is  from  these; 
lionian  coins  that  the  fi<>-ure  of  Britannia  was  taken  for  our 


436  THE  llOMAXS.  [chap.  xiii. 

modem  English  niintap,-e.  Coins  of  Severus  bear  tlie  inscrip- 
tion victoriak  BiiiTANNiCAE,  to  commeuiorate  the  expeditious 
of  that  emperor  against  the  Caledonians.  Similar  inscriptions 
appear  on  those  of  his  sons,  Caracalla  and  Geta.  The  mintage 
of  the  usurpers  Carausius  and  Allectus  furnish  the  most 
important  monuments  of  tlie  history  of  Britain  during  that 
period  ;  Avhile  those  of  their  successors  are  chiefly  connected 
with  our  island  by  the  marks  of  the  London  mint. 

The  great  quantities  of  Roman  coins  which  are  found  in  this 
island,  and  "which  have  been  continually  found  for  many  ages, 
prove  that  there  was  no  want  of  money  in  Roman  Britain. 
They  are  usually  found  hoarded  up  in  earthen  vessels,  each 
containing  sometimes  several  thousand  pieces.  These  had,  no 
doubt,  been  concealed  by  the  original  proprietoi's,  wlio  were,  by 
some  accident  or  other,  prevented  from  taking  them  from  their 
hiding-places.  The  great  number  of  pots  of  Roman  money 
found  in  almost  every  part  of  Britain,  show  that  this  was  the 
ordinary  maimer  of  storing  up  monc}'  which  was  not  in  circula- 
tion. It  was  no  doubt  buried  in  the  ground  within  the  limits 
of  the  residence  of  its  proprietor,  or  in  some  spot  where  it  was 
not  likely  to  be  intruded  upon.  Large  urns  of  this  kind  are 
sometimes  turned  up  by  the  ploughshare,  and  thus  made  to 
display  their  contents  to  the  wondering  eyes  of  the  modern 
Imsbandman.  Roman  urns  filled  with  coins  have  been  found, 
in  some  instances — chiefly  in  the  mining  districts — concealed 
in  crevices  of  rocks.  The  receptacle  of  the  treasure  was  not 
always,  hoAvever,  an  earthenware  vessel.  Li  the  year  1837,  a 
quantity  of  gold  and  silver  coins  of  Roman  emperors,  from 
Nero  to  Hadrian,  was  found  in  a  bronze  vessel,  formed  like  a 
shallow  basket,  and  covered  with  a  lid,  concealed  in  the  crevice 
of  a  rock  at  Thorngrafton,  near  Hexham,  in  Northumberland. 
Several  instances  have  also  occurred,  where  the  coins  had  been 
placed  in  receptacles  of  a  much  more  singular  description.  At 
Cirencester,  in  the  time  of  Leland  (under  Henry  YIIL),  a 
quantity  of  Roman  silver  coin  was  found  concealed  in  the  shank 
bone  of  a  horse,  which  was  closed  at  the  end  with  a  peg  ;*  and 
ten  British  gold  coins  were  found  by  a  boy  tending  sheep,  a 
few  years  ago,  near  High  Wycombe,  in  Buckinghamshire,  in  a 
hollow  flint.  A  still  more  remarkable  circumstance  is  the 
manner  in  wdiich  coins  are  spread  over  almost  all  Roman  sites. 

*  '  By  the  town  nostrls  temporibiis  was  found  a  broken  sliank  bone  of 
a  horse,  the  mouth  closed  with  a  pegoe,  the  which  was  taken  owt,  a  shep- 
ard  t'ounde  yt  tillid  nummis  argenteis.' — Leland' s  Itl//.,  vol.  v.  p.  61. 


ciiAV.  XIII.]  PRorORTIOXAL  NUMBKES  OF  ROMAN  COINS.  437 


In  excavating  a  town,  or  a  villa,  we  iind  tliem  scattered  in  the 
houses  and  courts,  about  the  streets,  and  over  the  fields  around. 
In  the  partial  excavations  at  Lyrane,  where  few  of  the  usual 
articles  of  Roman  antiquity  were  found,  coins  occurred  every- 
where. In  the  ploughed  land  on  the  hill  round  the  walls  of 
Kichborough,  one  cannot  walk  long  without  picking  up  a 
Roman  coin ;  and  on  many  other  long-deserted  sites  there  is 
scarcely  a  cottager  in  the  neighbourhood  who  has  not  a  collec- 
tion of  coins,  which  he  has  picked  up  in  liis  garden,  or  when  at 
work  in  the  adjoining  fields.  Any  one  would  imagine  that  the 
Romans  in  Britain  amused  themselves  with  throwing  their 
money  away ;  and  I  am  not  aware  that  any  probable  explana- 
tion of  this  circumstance  has  yet  been  given.*  The  coins 
found  thus  scattered  about  are  generally,  as  might  be  expected, 
in  much  worse  condition  than  those  which  are  found  in  hoards. 
The  mass  of  the  Roman  coins  found  in  Britain  are  of  very 
common  types,  and  of  small  intrinsic  value ;  but  a  few  rarer 
specimens  are  generally  found  even  in  small  hoards,  and  now 
and  then  an  unique  or  nearly  unique  example  occurs.  This  is 
more  frequently  the  case  with  the  coins  of  Carausius.  Coins 
are  founcl  of  all  periods,  from  the  consular  sei'ies  to  the  time 
when  the  Roman  legions  abandoned  the  island,  and  in  collec- 
tions of  any  extent,  in  whatever  part  of  the  island  they  are 
made,  the  proportional  quantities  of  the  coins  of  the  different 
emperors  are  generally  much  the  same.  There  are  some  local 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  more  especially  with  regard  to  the  coin- 
age of  Carausius  and  Allectus,  which  are  found  to  predominate 
in  one  or  two  places,  which  were  no  doubt  chief  stations  of 
their  troops.  More  than  eleven  hundred  Roman  coins  found 
of  late  years  at  Richborough,  and  described  by  Mr  Roach 
Smith,  presented  the  following  proportional  numbers  for  each 
emperor  or  empress  : — 


British     .        =        .        .        . 

Consular 

Augustus  (B.C.  27 — A.D.  14)     . 
Agrippa  (b.c.  9— a.d.  30)    .     . 
Tiberius  (a.d.  14—37) 
Antonia  (wife  of  Drusus  senior) 
Caligula  (a.d.  37 — 41)         .     . 


1 
3 

7 
1 
2 
1 
2 

ir 


Brought  forward        .  .17 

Claudius  (a.d.  41 — 54)  .     .     15 

Nero  (a.d.  50—68)  .         .  .11 

Vespasian  (a.d.  69 — 79)  .     .     13 
Titus  (a.d.  69—81)  ...       1 

Doinitian  (a.d.  69—96)  .     .     10 

Nerva  (a.d.  96—98)         .  .       1 

68 


*  Great  quantities  of  Rtmian  coins  have  been  brought  up  from  the  bed 
of  the  river  Thames  at  London,  by  dredgers. 


438 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.  xr.i. 


68 
7 
o 
1 

9 


3 
4 

-5 

2 

)       1 


Brought  forward 
Trajan  (a.d.  98—117)  .         -     • 
Hadrian  (a.d.  117—138)  . 
Sabina  (wife  of  Hadrian) 
.Elius  Caesar  (a.d.  136—138)  . 
Antoninus  Pius  (a.d.  138 — 161) 
Faustina    the  Elder   (wife    of 

Antoninus)  .... 
Marc.  Aurelius  (a.d.  161 — 180) 
Faustina  the  Younger  (wife  of 

M.  Aurelius)  .  .  .  . 
Lucius  Verus  (a.d.  161—169) 
Lucilla  (wife  of  Lucius  Verus 
Con)modus  (a.d.  166 — 192) 
Severus  (a.d.  197—211)  .  .  5 
Julia  Domna  (wife  of  Severus)  3 
Caracalla  (a.d.  196-217)  .  .  3 
Julia    Ma3sa    (sister    of    Julia 

Domna)  ....       1 

Severus  Alexander  (a.d.  221  — 

235) 7 

Gordianus  (a.d.  238—244)  .  6 
Philippus  (a.d.  244—249)  .  .  4 
Valerianus  (a.d.  254—260)  .  3 
Valerianus  junior  .  .  .  1 
Gallienus  (a.d.  253-268)  .  .  19 
Salonina  (wife  of  Gallienus)  .  4 
Postunms  (a.d.  260—267)  .  10 
Victorinus  (a.d.  265 — 267)  .  .  1-1 
Marius  (a.d.  267)  ...  1 
Tetricus  (a.d.  267—272)  .  .  13 
Claudius    Gothicus   (a.d.    268 

—270) 15 

Quintillus  (a.d.  270)  .  .  .  2 
Aurelianus  (a.d.  ?'^0 — 275)  .  4 
Tacitus  (a.d.  275)  ...  5 
Florianus  (a.d.  276)  .  .  .  1 
Probus  (A.D.  276—282)  .  .  7 
Carinus  (a.d.  282—285)  .  .  1 
Numerianus  (a.d.  282—284)  .  2 
Uiocletianus  (a.d.  284—313)    .       8 

244 


Brought  forward  .  .  244 
Maximianus  (a.d.  286—310)  .  16 
Carausius  (a.d.  287—293)  .  .  94 
Allectus  (a.d.  293—296)  .  .45 
Constantius  I.  (a.d.  293—306)  4 
Helena  (wife  of  Constantius)  .  <S 
Theodora  (second  wife  of  Con- 
stantius) .  .  .  .13 
Galerius  Maximianus  (a.d.  292 

—311) 1 

Maxentius  (a.d.  306—312)  .  2 
Romulus  (son  of  Maxentius)  .  1 
Licinius  (a.d.  307—324)  .  .12 
Licinius  junior  .  .  .  .  1 
Consrantine  the  Great  (a.d.  306 

—337) 149 

Fausta  (wife  of  Constantine)     .       2 
Crispus  (a.d.  317—326)    .         .18 
Delmatius  (nephew  of  Constan- 
tino)   1 

Constantine  II.  (a.d.  317—340)  9S 
Constans  (a.d.  333—350)  .  .  77 
Constantius  II.  (a.d.  323—361)  42 
Urbs  Roma  .  .  .  .52 
Constantinopolis  .  .  .  .  60 
Magnentius  (a.d.  350—353)  .  21 
Decentius  (a.d.  351 — 353)  .  4 
Julianus  II.  (a.d.  355—363)  .  7 
Helena  (wife  of  Julian)  .  .  1 
Jovianus  (a.d.  363—364)  .  .  1 
Valentinianus  (a.d.  364—375)  22 
Valens  (a.d.  364-378)  .  .  39 
Gratianus  (a.d.  375—383'  .  ..  40 
Theodosius  (a.d.  379—395)  .  14 
Mv.gnus  Maximus  (a.d.  383  — 

388)  .  .  _.  .  .6 
Victor  (son  of  Miiximus)  .  .  3 
Eugenius  (a.d.  392—395)  .       1 

Arcadius  (a  d.  383—408)  .  .  27 
Honorius  (a.d.  393—423)  .       8 

Constantine  III.  (a.d.  407)      .       1 

Total         .         .   1144 


Of  these  Eicliboroup,'li  coins,  seven  (including  tlie  British  coin) 
;u"e  of  gold,  fifty-six  of  silver,  fifteen  of  billon  or  debased 
silver,  and  the  rest  of  brass.  Tiie  coins  of  billon,  like  most  of 
the  debased  silver,  belong  to  tiie  immediate  successors  of 
Severus.  Silver  coins  are  often  found  in  much  larger  propor- 
tions to  the  others  ;  and  the  gold  coins  are  too  often  carried 
away  separately,  on  account  of  their  value,  and  they  have  thus 
frequently  found  their  way  direct  to  the  melting-pot.  Among 
two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  Roman  coins  foimd  at  Caerleon, 
and  described   in   Mr  Lee's  work  on   that  ancient  citv,  there 


CHAP.  XIII.]  PROrORTIOXAL  NUMBERS  OF  ROMAN  COINS.  439 


were  two  of  gold,  forty-four  of  silver,  eleven  plated,  and  three  of 
billon  or  debased  metal.  These  coins  belonged  to  the  different 
emperors  in  the  following  proportions  : — 


Claudius  .... 

1 

Nero 

1 

Vespasian 

Titus    ..... 

i;j 
1 

Domitiau  .... 

o 

Nerva  ..... 

2 

Trajan      .... 

12 

Hadrian        .... 

9 

Antoninus  Pius 

11 

Faustina,  flu;  older 

3 

Marcus  xlurelius 

8 

Faustina,  the  younscr 

1 

Lucius  Verus  . 

1 

Lucilla         .... 

2 

Mamiiiaea 

1 

Julia  Soaiinias 

2 

Com  mod  us 

3 

Se verus        .... 

11 

Julia         .... 

2 

Caracalla      .... 

7 

Geta          .... 

3 

Julia  MaBsa 

I 

Macrinus  .... 

1 

Severus  Alexander 

1 

Elag-abalus  (Heliogabalus) 

1 

Gordianus 

3 

Philippus     .... 
Valerianus 

2 

1 

Brought  forward 
Gallienus 
Salonina   . 
Postumus     . 
Victorinus 
The  Tetrici  . 
Claudius  Gothicus    . 
Probus 
Maximianus 
Carausius     . 
Allectus    . 
Constantius 
Helena 

Galerius  Maximianus 
Licinius    . 

Constantine  the  Great 
Fausta 
Crispus 

Constantine  II. 
Constans 
Constantius  II. 
Urbs  Roma . 
Constantinopolis 
Magnentius 
Decentius 
Valens 
Gratianus 
Ai'cadius 


104 

1 

2 

2 

.       4 

7 
7 

2 

5 

21 

4 

1 

1 

2 

4 

2.S 

1 

4 

o 
13 

6 

13 

o 

12 

1 

7 
2 

1 

:u 


lotal 


2G8 


44C  THE  R()x\rA-XS.  [cuat.  xiv. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

Declining  State  of  the  Roman  Empire  after  the  age  of  Juh'an — Theodosius 
sent  to  Britain — Revolt  and  Career  of  Maximus — Stilicho — Mai'cu? 
and  Gratian  revolt  in  Britain — The  Usui'per  Constantine — Honorius— 
Britain  independent  of  the  Empii'e  and  harasvsed  by  the  Northern  Bar- 
barians— The  Britons  receive  assistance  from  Rome — The  last  Roman 
Legion  withdrawn — The  Angles  and  Saxons  come  in — The  Angles 
settle  in  Northunibria — The  Jutes  in  Kent — Hengest  and  Hoi'sa — 
^Ua  in  Sussex — Cerdic  arrives  in  Hampshire— Essex  and  the  Angles 
— Mission  of  St  Augustine  and  Conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to 
Christianity. 

At  the  period  when  we  have  to  resume  our  sketch  of  tlie  his- 
tory of  Britain,  the  vast  empire  of  the  Csesars,  harassed  on  all 
sides  by  its  outward  enemies,  was  approaching  fast  towards  a 
dissolution.  It  had  required  all  the  courage  and  vigilance  ot 
Julian  to  keep  the  Teutons  at  bay  on  the  northern  frontier,  and 
the  Saxons  were  becoming  every  day  more  Ibrmidable  in  the 
western  seas.  Tlie  governor  or  vicar  of  Britain,  at  the  time 
when  Julian  ascended  the  imperial  throne,  was  an  ofticer  named 
Aly])ius,  who  was  recalled  by  the  emperor,  in  order  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  charge  of  directino-  the  rebuildiu"-  of  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  which  Julian  had  determined  to  restore 
in  a  feeling  of  hostility  to  the  Christians.  We  know  notliiug 
of  the  state  of  Britain  during  Julian's  reign,  but  soon  after  the 
accession  of  Jovian  it  was  fearfully  harassed  by  the  joint 
attacks  of  the  Picts,  Scots,  and  Attacots  from  the  north,  and 
of  the  Saxons  from  the  sea.  They  seem  to  have  met  with 
little  resistance  until  the  reign  of  his  successor  Valentinian, 
who,  giving  up  the  empire  of  the  east  to  his  brother  Valens, 
employed  his  own  energy  in  restoring  security  and  order  to  the 
west.  It  was  in  the  year  368,  as  Valentinian  was  on  his  way 
from  Amiens  to  Treves,  that  he  received  intelligence  from 
Britain  of  a  new  and  terrible  irruption  of  the  barbarians,  who 


J 


CHAP.  XIV.]  TROUBI-ES  IN  BPJTAIN.  441 

had  defeated  and  slain  the  count  of  the  maritime  district  (the 
Saxon  coast),  Nectarides,  while  the  duke  FuUofaudes  (no  douljl 
the  same  officer  called  in  tlie  Notitia  duke  of  Britain),  had 
fallen  into  an  ambush.  In  his  first  moment  of  indignation,  the 
emperor  despatched  Severus,  the  count  of  the  domestics,  or 
steward  of  the  household,  to  take  the  command  in  the  island  ; 
but,  on  reflection,  he  recalled  this  appointment,  and  substituted  a 
in  his  place  Jovinus,  who  instantly  sent  Provertuides  to  Britain  V 
to  assemble  the  troops,  that  they  might  be  ready  on  his  arrival. 
Purther  consideration  seems  to  have  opened  A^dentinian's  eyes 
still  more  to  the  gravity  of  the  crisis,  and  the  appointment  was 
changed  again,  the  conunand  of  Britain  being  finally  entrusted 
to  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  imperial  generals,  the  celebrated 
Theodosius. 

Theodosius  hastened  to  Boulogne,  which  was  at  this  time 
called  Bononia,  and  he  soon  landed  at  Rntupise  with  a  strong 
force,  composed  of  the  Batavii,  the  Eruli,  the  Jovii,  and  the 
A^ictores.  We  are  told  by  the  historian  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  sj^^ 
the  brief  narrator  of  these  events,  that  the  Picts,  who  at  this 
time  were  divided  into  two  great  tribes  (the  Dicalidones  and  the 
Yecturioiies),  had  joined  Avith  the  Scots  and  the  fierce  nation  of 
the  Attacotti,  in  this  invasion,  and  we  can  understand  its  grave 
character,  when  we  are  assured  that  at  the  time  of  the  landing 
of  Theodosius  at  Rutupiae,  the  enemies  were  plundering  the 
country  round  London,  tiie  name  of  which  had  then  been 
changed  to  Augusta.  The  Roman  commander  immediately 
marched  against  them,  and  sub-dividing  his  forces,  defeated 
their  numerous  predatory  bands  with  great  slaughter,  and 
deprived  them  of  their  booty,  a  great  part  of  which  was  re- 
stored to  those  from  whom  it  had  been  taken.  The  citizens  of 
London  joyfully  opened  their  gates  to  their  deliverer,  and  he 
remained  there  a  short  time  to  give  repose  to  his  troops,  and  to 
consider  the  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to  contend.  He 
soon  learnt  from  deserters  and  captives  the  character  of  the 
enemy  with  which  he  had  to  deal,  and  he  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  might  be  conquered  by  policy  as  much  as  by 
arms.  He  issued  a  proclamation  offering  a  pardon  to  all  who 
would  desert  from  their  ranks,  and  '  on  this  promise  a  great 
number  returned  to  their  duty.'  It  is  evident  iVoni  this,  that 
there  was  an  insurrection  of  the  subject  population  combined  >^ 
with  the  invasion.  Theodosins  next  sent  a  report  on  the 
state  of  Britain  to  the  emperor,  and  reconunended  that  an 
officer  named  Civilis,  distinguish(;d  for  his  energy  and  honesty, 


^t2  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  yiv. 

should  be  sent  to  liim  as  o-overnor  of  Britain,  accompanied  by 
a  distinguished  military  commander,  the  duke  Dulcitius.* 

After  remaining-  some  time  at  London,  to  wait  the  effect  of 
his  proclamation,  and  the  arrival  of  Civilis  and  Dulcitius  with 
reinforcements,  Theodosius  left  that  city  at  the  head  of  a  brave 
and  well-appointed  army,  and,  by  his  rapid  and  great  snccess, 
soon  jnstitied  the  high  military  character  for  which  he  was 
previously  known.  '  He  ahvays  anticipated  the  enemy  in 
occupying  the  most  important  positions,  and  gave  no  orders  to 
the  common  soldiers  which  he  was  not  himself  the  first  to 
execute.  In  this  way,  discharging  the  duties  both  of  an  able 
general  and  brave  soldier,  he  routed  the  various  tribes  whose 
insolence,  prompted  by  security,  had  led  them  to  attack  the 
Roman  province,  and  he  re-established  the  cities  and  fortresses, 
Avhich  had  suffered  severely  by  their  manifold  losses,  but  which 
in  their  foundation  had  been  calculated  for  preserving  the  island 
in  permanent  tranquillity. 'f  Among  the  auxiliary  troops  sent 
into  Britain  by  the  emperor  Valentinian,  and  probably  at  this 
time,  was  a  body  of  Germans  {iinmerm  AUemaunoruni),  with  a 
king  or  chief  (j'ex),  named  Fraomarius,  who  received  the  title 
and  office  of  tribune. 

The  ffrst  successes  of  a  commander  like  Theodosius  were 
sufffcient  to  discourage  the  opponents  with  whom  he  had  to 
deal ;  and  he  not  only  cleared  the  southern  districts  of  their 
invaders,  but  he  recovered  from  the  Picts  and  Scots  the  country 
between  the  walls  of  Hadrian  and  Antoninus,  which  he  found 
in  the  undisturbed  posses'sioii  of  the  enemy,  and  to  which  he 
now  gave  the  name  of  Yalentia,  in  honour  of  the  emperoi'. 
He  repaired  and  strengthened  the  forts  and  garrisons  which 
protected  the  northern  frontier,  and  the  island  appears  to  have 
been  restored  to  a  degree  of  peace  and  prosperity  which  it  had 
not  enjoyed  for  many  years.  For  tliis  Britain  was  probably 
indebted  in  some  degree  to  the  indulgence  of  Valentinian, 
whose  constant  study  it  is  said  to  have  been  to  ease  the  pro- 
vinces by  relieving  them  of  taxes  and  protecting  their  frontiers. 

*  Denique  edictis  propositis  impunitateque  promissa,  desertores  ad  pro- 
cinctuni  vocabat,  et  multos  alios  per  diversa  libero  commeatu  disperses. 
Quo  inonitu  utrediere  plerique,  incentivo  peroitus,  retentusque  anxiis  curis, 
Civileni  nomine  recturum  Britannias  pi'o  prtefectis  ad  se  poposcerat  mitti, 
virum  acrioris  ingenii,  sed  justi  tenacem  et  recti  ;  itidenique  Dulcitiuni 
ducem  scientia  rei  niilitaris  insignem, — Ammianus  Marcel.^  lib.  xxvii. 
0.  9. 

t  In  intearum  restituit  oivitates  et  castra,  niultiplicibus  quidem  damnis 
affli(!ta,  sed  ad  quietem  teniporis  longi  fundata. — Ammimnis  Marcel.^  lib. 
xxviii.  c.  3. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  THE  ARCAXT.  443 

Indeed,  ^vllen  we  consider  the  brief  and  imperfect  acconnt  of 
these  events  f;-iven  by  the  ohl  historian,  we  become  convinced 
that  there  was  somethinp;  more  than  a  mere  invasion  of  barba- 
rians, and  tliat  these  had  been  joined,  if  not  called  in,  bv  a 
large  portion  of  the  population  of  the  Eoman  province.  AVe 
have  seen  many  instances  of  the  readiness  with  which  the  cities 
in  Britain  rose  up  in  rebellion  against  the  imperial  authority,  y 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  looked  upon  the  change 
which  had  turned  their  governor  into  a  mere  vicar  under  the; 
government  of  Gaul  as  a  serious  diminution  of  their  independ- 
ence. Pei'haps,  under  the  new  regime,  their  taxes  and  services 
had  become  more  burthensome.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  ,^ 
Ammianus  Marcellinus,  in  resuming  briefly  the  character  of  the 
emperor  Valentinian,  blames  him  for  an  habitual  inattention  to 
the  complaints  of  his  subjects  in  the  distant  provinces,  and 
accidentally  informs  us  that  it  was  this  circumstance  which  had 
caused  the  tumults  in  Britain.*  The  people  of  Britain  had* 
therefore  asked  for  a  redress  of  grievances,  and  the  emperor  had 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  complaints.  Another  incident  men- 
lioned  by  the  historian  shows  us  that  there  was  intelligence  be- 
tween the  insurgents  and  the  invaders.  There  was,  we  are  told, 
in  the  province  a  class  of  men  employed  who  were  entitled, 
according  to  the  text  of  Ammianus  as  now  printed,  Areani,  but 
Avhich  is  supposed  to  be  an  error  for  Areani,  secret  agents ;  for 
he  informs  us  that  their  duty  was  to  travel  as  spies  among 
the  different  peoples  on  the  frontiers  of  the  empire,  and  bring 
early  intelligence  of  their  movements  and  designs.  These  men, 
we  are  told,  in  Britain,  had  entered  into  comnuuiication  Avith 
the  enemies,  and  had  given  them  information  which  enabled  them 
to  make  their  invasions  with  the  greater  security  and  advantage. 
The  Areani  had  become  so  dangerous,  tliat  Theodosius  found  it 
necessary  to  deprive  them  of  the  power  of  doing  further  evil, 
and,  as  far  as  avc  can  gather,  the  otiice  itself  appears  to  have 
been  abolished. f 

*  In  hoc  tantum  deerrans,  quod,  quuni  gregarioruni  etiam  levia  puniret 
orrata,  potiorum  diicuni  flag-itia  progredi  sinebat  in  majus,  ad  querelas  in 
COS  motas  aliquoties  obsurdescens  ;  undo  Britannici  strepitus  et  At'rican;e 
clades  et  vastitas  ernersit  lUyrici. — Ammianus  Marcel.^  lib.  xxx.  c.  9. 

t  Aniniianus  had  given  a  further  account  of  these  Areani,  or  Areani,  in 
a  part  of  his  book  which  is  now  lost.  The  manuscript  which  preserved  his 
history  throuj^h  the  destructive  period  which  followed  the  fall  of  the 
empire  had  been  much  mutilated  ;  and  it  happens  unfortunately  that,  as 
ill  the  case  of  Tacitus,  the  very  books  which  would  have  o-iven  us  imnoi-t- 
ant  informafiou  uu  the  history  and  condition  of  Britain  were  those  whirh 
have  perished. 

2  E 


4U  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiv. 

Another  occurrence  related  by  the  same  liistorian  gives  us  a 
passing-  glance  of  the  divisions  and  intrigues  which  at  this  time 
reigned  in  the  province  of  Britain.  There  was  in  Britain  at 
this  time  a  man  named  Valentinus,  a  native  of  A^aleria,  in 
Pannonia,  notorious  for  his  intrigues  and  ambition,  who  had 
been  sent  as  an  exile  to  Britain  in  expiation  of  some  heavy 
crime.  This  practice  of  banishing  political  offenders  to  Britain 
appears  to  have  been,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  speak- 
ing, very  prevalent ;  for  we  learn  from  the  same  annalist  that  a 
citizen  of  Home,  named  Frontinus,  was  at  tiie  time  of  the 
revolt  just  described  sent  into  exile  in  Britain  for  a  similar 
cause.  Men  like  these  no  sooner  arrived  in  the  island  than 
they  took  an  active  part  in  its  divisions,  and  brought  the  talent 
for  political  intrigue  which  had  been  fostered  in  Italy  to  act 
upon  the  agitation  already  existhig  iu  the  distant  province. 
Such  was  the  case  with  A^alentinus,  who,  as  the  brotlier-in-law 
of  one  of  the  deepest  agitators  of  Eome,  the  vicar  Maximinus 
(described  by  Ammianus  as  ille  exltialis  vlcarlus),  had  no  doubt 
been  well  trained  for  the  part  he  was  now  acting.  As  far  as 
we  can  gather  from  the  brief  notices  of  the  histoidan,  this 
individual  seems,  when  Theodosius  arrived  in  Britain,  to  have; 
heen  actively  engaged  in  some  ambitious  designs,  which  the 
ari'ival  of  tliat  great  and  \ipright  commander  rendered  hopeless. 
Theodosius  had  not  been  long  in  Londinium,  when  he  received 
private  information  that  Valentinus  was  engaged  with  the  other 
exiles  in  a  formidable  conspiracy,  and  that  even  many  of  the 
military  had  been  secretly  corrupted  by  his  promises.*  With 
the  vigour  which  characterised  all  his  actions,  Theodosius 
<'aused  the  arch-conspirator  and  his  principal  accomplices  to  be 
seized  suddenly,  at  the  moment  when  their  designs  were  on  the 
point  of  being  carried  into  execution,  and  they  were  delivered 
over  to  duke  Dulcitius,  to  receive  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes ;  but,  aware  of  the  extensive  ramifications  of  the  plot 
in  which  they  had  been  engaged,  and  believing  that  it  had  been 
sufficiently  crushed,  Theodosius  wisely  put  a  stop  to  all  further 
inquiries,  fearing  lest  by  prosecuting  them  he  might  excite  an 
alarm,  which  would  only  bring  a  renewal  of  the  scenes  of  tur- 
bulence and  outrage  which  his  presence  had  already  in  a  great 

*  Quiet  is  impatiens  niiilefica  bestia  ad  res  perniciosas  consuroebat  et 
novas,  in  Theodosiuiu  tuiuoie  quodam,  quein  solum  resistere  posse  nefandis 
<-ogitationibus  advertebat.  Multa  tamen  clam  palamque  circumspiciens, 
♦■rescente  flatu  cupiditatis  immensae  exsules  solicitabat  et  milites,  pro  tem- 
fforis  captn  ausorum  illecebrosas  pollicendo  mercedos. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  REVOLT  OF  MAXLAIUS.  44.5 

measure   appeased.*     The  lorudence  as  well  as  the   valour  of  \ 
Theodosius  Avere  thus  united  in  restorino-  Britain  to  peace  and  \ 
tranquillity;  and  we  are  assured  that  when,  in  359,  he  quitted    1 
the  island,  he  was  accompanied  to  the  port  where  he  embarked  / 
by  crowds  of  «;rateful  provincials. 

The  spirit  of  discontent  and  rebellion,  which  appears  to  have 
been  so  widely  spread  amon^  the  inhabitants  of  tlie  island 
])rovince,  was  only  suppressed  by  Theodosius  to  break  out  a 
i'ew  years  afterwards  in  a  more  alarming  form.  The  emperor 
Valentinian  died  in  the  November  of  the  year  375,  and  left 
the  empire  to  his  two  sons,  Gratian,  who  had  already  partaken 
in  its  cares,  and  Valentinian,  a  mere  child.  Theodosius  had 
already  fallen  a  victim  to  the  jealousies  of  the  court,  but  he 
had  left  a  son,  also  named  Theodosius,  to  inherit  his  greatness. 
The  empire  of  the  east  having  been  made  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Valens,  Gratian  chose  the  young  Theodosius  as  his  successor, 
in  379  ;  he  had  already  divided  the  empire  of  the  west,  by 
placing  Italy  and  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean 
under  his  younger  brother,  while  he  retained  for  himself  the 
more  difhcult  task  of  governing  Gaul,  Spain,  and  Britain.  The 
elevation  of  Theodosius  to  the  imperial  dignity  was  the  signal 
for  a  general  revolt  in  the  latter  province.  There  was  at  this 
time  in  Britain  a  young  ofiicer,  a  native  of  Spain,  named 
Magnus  Maximus,  who  had  served  in  the  island  along  with 
young  Theodosius,  and  who  was  now  a  great  favourite  with  the 
troops,  although  Ave  are  not  informed  what  command  he  held. 
Tt  is  said  that  his  jealous  mind  was  profoundly  wounded  at 
the  honours  showered  upon  Theodosius,  and  that  he  Avas  easily 
induced  to  join  in  a  conspiracy  for  Avresting  the  Avesteru 
division  of  the  empire  from  Gratian.  In  the  year  383,  the 
soldiers  in  Britain,  who  are  characterised  by  the  almost  contem- 
porary historian  as  the  most  arrogant  and  turbulent  of  all  the 
imperial  troops,f  rose,  it  appears,  unanimously,  and  proclaimed 
Maximus  their  emperor.  Maximus  at  once  placed  himself  , 
at  the  head  of  the  British  army,  and,  passing  over  to  the  con-  . 
tinent,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ehine.  The  troops  in  J 
Germany  immediately  revolted  to  his  standard,  and  the  new  I 
emperor  marched  .triumphantly  into  Treves,  which  he  made/ 
his  capital 

*  De  conjuratis  qusesfiones  agitari  prohibuit,  ne  fonnidine  sparsa  per 
innlfos  revivisoerent  provinciarutn  turbines  ccMiipositi. 

T  Oirt  T<i)v  uWoDu  aiTuvrtaif  irXtov  audnofia  Kai  Oujulu)  vtKvoiJiii'ov^.^ 
Zoniiniis,  lib.  iv.  c.  '6o. 


446 


THE  ROMANS. 


[chap.    XIV 


Of  the  events  which  followed,  the  accounts  of  different 
writers  are  very  contradictory ;  but,  according-  to  that  which 
appears  to  be  entitled  to  most  credit,  Gratiiin  was  residing'  at 
Paris,  without  any  suspicion  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
him,  when  he  received  intelligence  of  this  dangerous  revolt. 
Perceiving  that  he  was  deserted  by  the  troops  in  Gaul,  Avhose 
hostility  he  liad  provoked,  and  having  ascertained  that  it  was 
in  vain  to  attempt  to  resist  the  usurper,  he  tied  tow^ards  Italy, 
accompanied  by  a  faithful  body  of  cavalry.  But  treason  seemed 
to  beset  him  on  all  sides.  The  governor  of  the  province  of 
Lugdunum  {Lyons)  treacherously  persuaded  him  to  remain  in 
Gaul,  and  amused  him  with  deceitful  stories  of  armies  thnt 
were  rising  up  to  support  his  cause,  until  the  general  of  the 
cavalry  of  Maximus,  the  unscrupulous  Andragathius,  arrived 
with  a  strong  body  of  troops,  to  whom  Gratian  was  delivered, 
to  be  sacriticed  immediately  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

The  triumph  of  Maximus  was  uoav  complete,  and  having  no 
longer  any  formidable  rival  to  contend  with  in  the  west,  he 
assumed  all  the  insignia  and  attributes  of  empire,  conferred  the 
rank  of  Caesar  on  his  son  Victor,  still  a  child,  and  sent  an 
junbassador  to  the  court  of  Theodosius,  instructed  to  represent 
to  the  eastern  emperor  that  he  had  been  compelled  by  the 
army  to  assume  the  purple,  to  express  his  grief  for  the  nmrder 
of  Gratian,  which  he  pretended  had  been  done  without  his 
knowledge,  and  to  offer  Theodosius  the  choice  of  war  or  peace. 
Theodosius,  considering  it  prudent  to  temporise,  chose  the 
latter,  and  it  w^as  agreed  that  Maximus  should  retain  Britain, 
Gaul,  and  Spain,  leaving  to  the  young  emperor  Valentinian 
the  provinces  wdiich  had  been  assigned  to  him  by  his  brother 
Maximus  now  took  up  his  residence  in  Treves,  where  he  dis- 
played the  cruelty  of  his  disposition  in  persecuting  some  Chris- 
tian heretics,  with  the  object,  it  is  said,  of  conciliating  the  mo]"e 
orthodox  Christians  in  Italy,  that  they  might  assist  him  in  his 
ultimate  designs  of  reducing*  Italy  to  his  obedience.  At  length, 
v»hen  the  moment  appeared  favourable  for  this  enterprise,  he 
began  by  treacherously  obtaining  possession  of  the  fortresses 
which  guarded  the  passes  of  the  Alps.  This  w^as  no  sooner 
effected,  than  the  usurper,  by  a  secret  and  rapid  march,  canie 
unexpectedly  with  his  formidable  army  before  the  gates  of 
Milan.  Valentinian  fled  with  his  mother,  the  empress  Justina, 
and  his  court,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  in  safety  the  dominions 
of  I'heodosius  ;  while  Maxnnus,  who  had  met  with  no  serious 
opposition,  entered  Aquileia  as  emperoi'  of  the  undivided  west. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  FATE  OF  MAXIMUS.  447 

Theodosius  was  now  roused  to  resistance  and  reveng'e  by  this 
l)olil  usurpation,  and  having  despatched  a  body  of  foreign  auxili- 
aries under  Arbogastes,  to  march  along  the  shores  of  the  Danube, 
he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  another  army  which  marched 
through  Panrionia,  while  a  numerous  fleet  conducted  Valentinian 
and  his  mother  back  to  Italy.  JNIaximus  had  hitherto  succeeded 
by  treason  and  fraud,  and  not  by  arms,  and  he  seems  to  hav(- 
been  overcome  with  the  consciousness  of  the  superior  military 
talents  of  the  adversary  with  whom  he  had  now  to  contend. 
His  troops  were  defeated  whenever  they  attempted  to  oppose 
the  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  Aquileia  itself,  in  spite  of  its 
impregnable  walls,  was  soon  obliged  to  throw  open  its  gates  to 
Theodosius.  Maximus  was  taken,  and  immediately  put  to 
death ;  and  Arbogastes  having  by  this  time  advanced  into  Gaul, 
the  child  Victor  Avas  also  taken,  and  fell  an  innocent  victim  to 
the  ambition  of  his  father. 

The  expedition  of  Maximus  has  been  made  by  the  old  his- 
torians of  Britain  a  fertile  source  of  fable.  It  is  pretended 
that  the  island  was  so  entirely  drained  of  its  population,  that 
it  was  never  again  able  to  defend  itself  against  its  barbarian 
invaders ;  that  the  vast  host  of  Britons  who  followed  Maximus 
into  Gaul  settled  in  Armorica  after  his  defeat,  and  caused  that 
country  to  receive  the  name  of  Brittany  ;  and  that  the  eleven 
thousand  virgins,  who  afterwards  tigured  so  prominently  in  the 
Romish  martyrology,  were  maidens  sent  over  from  the  island  of 
Britain  to  serve  as  Avives  to  these  adventurers.  Such  stories' 
have  no  foundation  in  accurate  history ;  and  we  have  no  good 
reason  for  supposing  that  the  usurpation  of  Maximus  had  led  to 
any  very  formidable  invasion  of  the  province  in  which  he  had 
assumed  the  purple,  although  it  is  not  probable  that  the  Picts 
and  Scots  would  allow  such  an  opportunity  to  pass  Avithout  a, 
reneAval  of  their  predatory  incursions.  All  that  Ave  know  is, 
that  after  the  death  of  Maximus,  Theodosius  marched  into 
(jaul,  Avhere  he  appointed  one  of  his  eastern  officers,  Chrysan- 
thus,  to  the  government  of  l^ritain.  The  new  vicar  probably 
carried  back  Avith  him  most  of  the  British  troops,  and  perhaps 
he  took  reinforcements.  He  is  said  to  have  restored  the  island 
to  a  state  of  trancjuillity.  After  ruling  Britain  for  a  shoi'i 
period,  Chrysanthus  returned  to  the  east,  Avhere  he  Avas  made 
prsefeot  of  Constantinople ;  and  by  a  singular  change  of  pro- 
fession, this  minister  of  the  imperial  Avill  Avas  subsequently 
made  a  bishop. 

We  are  now  a^-ain  left  in  utter  darkness  as  to  the  internal 


)^ 


418  THE  ROMANS.  [chap.  xiv. 

condition  of  Roman  Britain,  but  it  seems  to  liave  been  exposed 
to  continual  attacks  from  the  Picts  and  Scots,  or  from  the 
Saxons.  The  emperor  Theodosius  died  in  395,  and  left  his 
western  dominions  to  be  ruled  by  the  feeble  Honorius,  while 
Arcadius  governed  the  east.  For  a  time  the  talents  of  Stilicho 
arrested  the  fate  of  the  empire,  and  it  appears  that  Britain 
owed  to  this  great  general  some  years  of  unusual  tranquillity. 
In  the  Notitia  Imperii,  composed  in  this  reign,  we  learn  the 
military  force  which  was  then  employed  for  the  protection  of 
the  island.*  The  twentieth  legion,  vvliich  had  been  so  long 
stationed  at  Deva  {Chester),  had  then  been  entirely  withdrawn ; 
it  is  believed  to  have  been  taken  away  towards  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century,  to  be  employed  in  the  Getic  war.  Two  legions, 
however,  still  remained,  with  numerous  bodies  of  auxdiaries ; 
and  as  these  legions  were  the  same  that  had  always  been  in 
Britain,  they  furnish  evidence  of  the  inaccuracy  of  the  state- 
ment that  the  island  had  been  exhausted  of  its  defenders.  The 
sixth  legion  remained  in  its  old  quarters  at  Eburacum,  but  the 
second  legion  had  been  removed  from  Isca  to  Rutupise,  in 
order,  no  doubt,  that  it  might  be  ready  to  act  against  the 
Saxon  marauders,  or,  in  case  of  need,  to  be  transported  into 
(Taul.  The  south-eastern  and  eastern  coasts  were  strongly 
guarded,  and  in  the  latter  several  fortresses  appear  to  have 
been  newly  erected,  which  are  not  mentioned  at  an  earlier 
peiiod ;  such  as  Othona,  on  the  coast  of  Essex  (the  Saxon 
Ythanceaster,  the  site  of  which  is  supposed  to  be  now  covered 
l)y  the  sea),  Gariannonum,  in  Suffolk  (now  Burgh  Castle),  and 
l^ranodunnm,  in  Norfolk  (the  site  of  whicli  is  now  called  Bran- 
caster).  The  cities  and  municipal  towns  no  doubt  retained 
tlieir  military  organisation ;  and  in  the  invasions  to  which  the 
island  was  at  this  time  exposed,  they  had  to  provide  for  thei/ 
own  defence. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  the  soldiers  in  Britain 
revolted,  and  conferred  the  title  of  emperor  on  a  man  named 
Marcus,  Soon  tired  of  his  rule,  they  slew  him  in  407,  and 
chose  in  his  place  Gratian,  a  burgher  of  one  of  the  towns 
in  Britain. t  This  shows  the  prominent  part  Avhich  the  towns 
took  in  the  political  troubles  which  then  prevailed.  Gratian 
was  allowed  to  reign  four  months,  and  then  he  also  Avas  slain. 
The  lot  next  fell  upon  an  obscure  soldier,  who  is  said  to  have 

*  See  before,  p.  418. 

t  Apud   Britannias   Gratianus,    municeps   ejiisdem   insuUie,    tyrannu 
creatur  et  occiditur. — Orosius,  Mist.,  lib.  vii.  c.  40. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  THE  USURPEE  COXST.\XTIXE.  449 

])een  chosen  merely  hecniise  liis  nniiie  was  Constantiiie,  whieh 
was  imagined  to  be  a  good  oineii.  It  is  probable,  however, 
tliat  he  possessed  other  qualities,  for  lie  was  lio  sooner  invested 
with  the  purple  than  he  showed  a  vigour  and  decision  of  cha- 
racter equal  to  the  task  he  had  undertaken.  He  at  once  col- 
lected his  army  and  passed  into  Gaul,  where  he  was  received 
as  a  deliverer,  and  acknowledged  as  the  emperor  of  the  west. 
His  reputation  and  popularity  increased,  when  the  Germans, 
who  had  harassed  the  country,  were  reduced  to  submission  by 
his  two  praefects,  Justinus  and  Neviogastes. 

At  this  moment  (the  earlier  part  of  the  year  408),  the  death 
of  the  emperor  Arcadius,  and  the  elevation  to  the  throne  of  the 
east  of  Theodosius  11.,  occupied  the  attention  of  the  western 
etnperor;  but,  on  the  arrival  of  news  of  Constantine's  revolt, 
Stilicho,    who   was  still   alive,  proceeded  to   Rome  to   concei't 
measures  for  suppressing  it.     He  began  by  sending  one  of  his 
generals,  Sarus,  into  Gaul,  who  defeated  the  praefect  Justinus 
in  battle,  and  slew  him  and  a  great  part  of  his  men.      He  then 
laid  siege  to  Valentia,  where  he  had  been  informed  that  Con- 
stantine  was  holding  his  court.     Here  Neviogastes  ottered  to 
negotiate,  but  he  was  entrapped  by  Sarus,  and  treacherously 
put  to  death.       Constanthie,  not  discouraged,  appointed  two 
new  praefects,  Edovinchus,  a  Frank,  and  Count  Gerontius,  a  ^ 
native  of  Britain,  whose  military  talents  were  so  well  known,    \ 
that  Sarus  raised  the  siege  of  Valentia,  and   made   so   hasty  a    ' 
retreat  before  Constantine's  troops,  that  he  was  obliged  to  give    ; 
up  his  plunder  and  baggage  to  the  Bagandi,  Avho  lield  the  passes  / 
of  the  Alps. 

Constantine  now  felt  secure  in  his  power,  ami  he  proceeded 
to  strengthen  the  frontiers  of  his  territories  wiih  garrisons  and 
military  posts.  He  next  conferred  the  dignity  of  Ca3sar  on  his 
eldest  son  Constans,  whom,  it  is  said,  he  took  from  a  monastery 
to  associate  with  him  in  the  empire.  Constans  marched  with 
a  part  of  his  father's  army  into  Spain,  and,  not  without  some 
dithculty,  reduced  that  province  also  to  his  sway,  and  then, 
leaving  Count  Gerontius  to  command  it,  returned  to  Gaul,  at  a 
moment  when  the  death  of  Stilicho  seemed  to  have  relieved  the 
usurper  from  all  danger.  Constantine  now  followed  a  policy 
simdar  to  that  of  Maximus,  in  sending  an  embassy  to  Eavenna 
to  entreat  the  forgiveness  of  Honorius  for  accepting  an  empire 
which  he  said  had  been  forced  upon  him  by  the  soldiery. 
Honorius,  pressed  by  difficulties  on  all  sides,  reluctantly  per- 
mitted  him  to   retain   the   title  he  had  usurped.     Constantine 


t 


450  THE    EOMAXS.  [criAr.  xiv. 

afterwards  sent  Jovius,  a  man  of  learning;'  aiul  talent,  as  liis 
envoy  to  the  imperial  court,  to  ask  forgiveness  for  the  murder 
of  Didymus  and  Verinianus,  two  near  relations  of  Honoiiiis, 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners  by  Constans  in  Spain,  and  lie 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  formal  recognition  of  his  title. 

The  snceessful  rebel  had  now  to  contend  with  a  rebellion 
against  himself.  Constans  returned  to  Spain,  carrying  with 
him  a  new  general,  named  Justus,  whose  appointment  was  so 
oifensive  to  Count  Gerontius,  that  he  revolted  Avith  the  army 
under  his  command,  and  by  means  of  his  agents  procured  a 
new  invasion  of  Gaul  by  the  barbarians.  Instead  of  assuming 
the  purple  himself,  Gerontius  conferred  the  dignity  of  emperor 
on  a  man  named  Maximus,  and  leaving  him  to  reign  in  Spain, 
pursued  Constans  across  the  Pyrenees,  and  having  captured 
liim  at  Vienne,  immediately  put  him  to  death.  He  then 
marched  to  besiege  the  father  in  the  city  of  Aries.  At  this 
time  (a.  d.  411),  occurred  the  death  of  Alaric,  and  Honorius, 
relieved  from  the  terror  which  the  name  of  the  (jothic  king- 
had  so  long  inspired,  sent  Count  Constantius  with  a  powerful 
army  to  assert  his  authority  in  Gaul  and  Spain.  (Constantius 
approached  Aries  at  the  moment  when  it  was  closely  besieged 
by  Gerontius,  whose  soldiers  raised  the  siege  tuuiultuously, 
and  rising  furiously  against  their  commander,  put  him  to  death. 
Gerontius  being  thus  disposed  of,  Constantius,  wdtli  the  troops 
of  Honorius,  continued  the  siege  of  Aries,  and,  after  defeating  a 
body  of  troops  which  had  come  to  the  assistance  of  Constantine, 
compelled  him  to  surrender.  He  made  conditions  for  his  life, 
a)id  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Italy ;  but  he  was  privately  put  to 
death  before  he  reached  Eavenna. 

The  triumph  of  Constantius  did  not  restore  Gaul  to  obe- 
dience, and  from  this  time  its  Avestern  provinces,  as  well  as 
Spain  and  Britain,  threw  of!:*  all  sid)jection  to  Home,  and  began 
to  rule  themselves  in  their  own  Avay.  This  was  not  in  itself  a 
difficult  task,  for  the  cities  had  always  been  accustomed  to 
govern  themselves,  Avliile  the  superior  government  consisted  prin- 
cipally of  the  fiscal  department  and  the  military  command.  It 
appears  by  the  narrative  of  Zosimus,  that  Avhile  the  usurper 
Avas  establishing  himself  in  Gaul,  Britain  had  been  again  visited 
by  the  Saxon  invaders,  and  Ave  are  assured  that  the  British 
cities  took  up  arms  to  defend  themselves,  and  that  they  drove 
away  their  assailants.*     Their  freedom  was  acknoAAdedged  by 

*  O'iTf  ouv  £/c  tT/s  BpsTTatia;  o7r\a  ei'Ooj/ths,  <y(pcoi/  hutwu  irpoKivGvvtv- 


niAP.  XIV.] 


THE  CITIES  m  EEITAIX. 


4ol 


Hoiiorius,  who,  in  4-10,  scut  letters  to  the  cities  of  Britain 
exhortino^  them  to  provide  for  tlieir  own  safety.* 

We  now  approach  a  period,  tlie  real  liistorv  of  which  is 
involved  in  profound  obscurity,  and  to  understand  it  at  all  we 
must  o'lance  back  on  what  has  been  already  said  of  the  state  of 
the  ishnnd  under  Roman  rule.  Tlie  municipal  cities,  as  it  has 
l)een  seen,  were  founded  for  the  secuiity  and  protection  of  tlie 
province,  and  by  their  constitution  each  was  a  little  republic  in 
itself,  governed  by  itself,  while  they  wxm'c  linked  tog-ether  only 
by  the  superior  fiscal  administration  which  took  from  them 
certain  fixed  -taxes,  by  the  judicial  administration  which  regu- 
lated the  relations  between  them,  and  by  the  military  command 
which  held  the  province  and  defended  it.  During  four  cen- 
turies the  original  population  of  the  island  must  have  been 
much  diminished,  and  perhaps,  except  in  particular  parts,  con- 
sisted of  little  more  than  the  servile  peasantry ;  f  the  popula- 
tion of  the  cities  had  been  recruited  by  the  natural  increase  of 
the  inhabitants  and  by  arrivals  from  the  continent,  and  we 
have  already  seen  by  the  inscriptions  and  other  monuments 
that  the  latter  class  of  I'ecruits  were  becoming  more  and  more 
Teutonic.  In  fact,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  (icrniau 
blood  predominated,  to  a  great  extent,  in  many  of  the  Koman 
cities  in  Britain,  at  the  time  when  Honorius  gave  them  entire 
independence.  They  wei'e  thus  left  somewhat  in  the  position 
of  the  free  cities  of  the  middle  ages,  each  ruling  itself  inter-/ 
nally,  within  its  own  massive  walls  and  surrounding  territory ,\ 
and,  in  external  aflairs,  either  acting  by  itself  or  joining  in  , 
confederacy  with  other  towns. 

The  invasions  of  the  Saxons  resembled  much  that  of  the 
Danes  at  a  later  period.  At  first  mere  predatory  attacks,  they 
had  gradually  made  their  leaders  acquainted  with  the  islauc' 
and  its  inhabitants,  and  these  appear  to  have  attempted  soon  to 
ibrm  permanent  settlements,  selecting  just  the  same  coast  dis- 
tricts as  were  chosen  by  the  Danes  for  the  same  purpose.  It 
seems  to  be  the  received  opinion  that  the  title  littns  Saxouicum, 

rrawTs<;,  7/A.£uOtija)(r«f  tmu  ktr LKELfxtvuiu  ^ap^dpcov  Tag  ttoXei?.  —  Zosilli/(s\ 
lib.  vi.  c.  6. 

*  'OvMfiiov  ok  ypi'i/uL/mdaL  Trpo?  Tag  kv  BpETTauia  xp^craptvov  iruXiig^ 
(pvXitTTtadai  TTapayyiWouTL. — Zoslni/ts,  lib.  vi.  C.  lU. 

t  Some  confusion  hus  been  created  by  mi.sunderstandint?  the  term  Britons 
as  used  by  the  later  historians,  who  apply  it  to  the  Roman  population  born 
in  the  island,  and  not  to  the  ori<>inal  Celtic  race.  In  the  same  way  the 
later  writers  apply  the  term  Celtic  to  the  Romano-Gallic  population  (jf 
Gaul,  to  distin<;ui.sh  it  from  the  Teutonic  invaders  from  the  other  side  of 
the  Rhine. 


iii7 


4 


4o2  THE  r.OMAXS.  [chap.  xiv. 

applied  to  the  coasts  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  (luriiig  Hie  later 
Hoiiian  period,  indicates  that  there  was  a  Saxon  population 
there,  subject  of  course  to  the  Eoman  government.  It  was 
])erhaps  also  the  case  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  When 
new  invasions  took  place,  these  settlers  probably  often  rose  to 
join  their  brethren.  The  latter,  during  the  divisions  of  the 
island  under  the  later  emperors,  were  frequently  called  in  by 
one  party  in  the  island  as  allies,  and  they  took  part  in  the 
attempt  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Rome.  AVhen,  therefore,  the 
British  cities  were  left  to  themselves,  it  is  natural  that  they 
should  become  more  intimately  connected,  either  as  friends  or 
foes,  with  the  Teutons  from  the  Rhine  and  the  Elbe.  It  seems 
certain  that  in  some  parts,  especially  in  some  of  the  cities,  the 
transition  from  Roman  to  Saxon  was  gradual,  and  that  the  two 
races  mixed  together.  At  Canterbury,  Colchester,  Rochestei-, 
and  other  places,  we  find  Roman  and  Saxon  interments  in  the 
same  cemetery  ;  and  in  the  extensive  Saxon  burial-ground  at 
Osengal,  in  the  isle  of  Thanet,  a  Roman  interment  in  a  leaden 
coffin  was  met  Avith.  The  result  of  the  discoveries  which  have 
been  made  in  the  researches  among  the  Saxon  cemeteries  has 
been  to  render  it  more  and  more  probable  that  the  Saxons  were 
gradually  gaining  a  footing  in  the  island  before  the  period  at 
which  the  grand  invasions  are  said  to  iiave  commenced. 

The  Picts  appear  to  have  entered  the  Roman  provinces,  not 
by  scaling  the  wall,  according  to  the  vulgar  notion  published 
under  the  name  of  Gildas,  but  from  the  Solway,  where  they 
were  joined  by  the  Scots,  or  Irish,  and  thence  they  spread 
themselves  over  the  north-eastern  parts  of  England.  When  we 
excavate  the  sites  of  Roman  toAvns  in  this  part  of  the  countiy, 
we  still  meet  with  traces  of  their  destructive  progress.  Thus, 
Avhen  the  interior  of  the  station  at  Maryport,  in  Cumberland, 
was  excavated  in  1766,  the  workmen  Ibund  the  arch  of  the 
gate  beaten  violently  down  and  broken  ;  and  on  entering  the 
great  street,  tliey  discovered  evident  marks  of  the  houses  having 
been  more  than  once  burnt  to  the  ground  and  rebuilt,  as  though 
the  place  had  been  several  times  taken  and  recovered.  At  Rib- 
chester,  in  Lancashire,  the  important  Roman  town  supposed  to 
be  Coccium  appeal's  to  have  betni  destroyed  in  one  of  these  later 
inroads.  In  the  course  of  excavations  made  thei'e  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  present  century,  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  Minerva 
were  discovered ;  they  presented  indisputable  proofs  of  its 
having  been  burnt,  and  among  the  ddhrh  Avere  found  skeletons, 
no  doubt  those  of  soldiers  who  had  here  made  their  last  stand 


CHAP.  XIV.]        R.WAGES  OF  THE  BARBARIANS.  453 

ao'aiiist  tlie  assailants.      It  was  a  parallel  storv  to  that  of  the 
destruction  of  Camulodununi  by  the  tierce  troops  of  Boadicea. 
It  is  also  worthy  of  remark,  that  all  the  Roman  towns  on  the 
Welsh  border  to  the  north  of  Gloucester  were  destroyed,  appar-    ^^^ 
ently,  before  the  period  of  the  Saxon  invasion. 

Such  are  the  sli<i;ht  and  rather  va,<2;ue  notions  we  can  form 
of  what  took  place  in  Britain  after  the  cities  were  left  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  It  was  not  an  independent  state,  but  a 
number  of  small  independent  republics,  which  of  course  had  a 
common  interest  ao;ainst  invaders,  but  which  would  most  pro- 
bably be  soon  divided  into  hostile  confederacies  among'st  them- 
selves. In  these  intestine  wars,  the  prevalence  of  Teutonic 
blood  in  the  population  of  so  many  of  the  towns  would  naturally 
lead  them  to  call  in  Teutonic  allies,  and  we  c;;n  thus  easily 
nnderstand  how  Angles  and  Saxons  were  gradually  establishing 
themselves  on  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  coasts,  while  the 
western  districts  were  harassed  by  continual  invasions  of  Picts 
and  Scots.  The  only  allusion  to  these  events  by  a  contem- 
]iorary  writer  is  found  in  the  Chronicle  of  Prosper  of  Acjuitaine, 
about  A.  D.  455,  who  states  that  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Theodosius  the  Yonnger  (a.  d.  441),  Britain,  after  yy^ 
many  slaughters  and  revolutions,  was  reduced  under  the  rule  of  i^ 
tlie  Saxons.* 

The  period  which  intervened,  left  a  bhmk  by  contemporary 
annalists,  was  at  a  later  period  filled  up  with  fable.     According 
to  the  tract  which  goes  under  the  name  of  Gildas,  wdien  Maximus 
carried  with  him  the  soldiery  of  Britain  to  establish  his  usurpa- 
tion in  Gaul,  he  left  the  island  not  only  destitute  of  military, 
but  without  men   capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  it  was   thus 
exposed  in  a  state  of  helplessness  to  the  attacks  of   the  bar- 
barians.    The  British  soldiers  and  youths,  we  are  told,  never \ 
again  returned,   and    '  for   many  years  '  the    Britons    groaned   j 
under   the    cruel    oppressions    of  the   Picts  and   Scots. f     At/ 
length,  their  power  of  forbearance  being  exhausted,  they  sent 
an  embassy  to  Eome,  offering  as  suppliants  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  the  emperor  if  he  would  render  them  assistance." 
In  his  compassion  for  their  sad  condition,  the  emperor  forgot 
their   past    rebellion,  and    sent    a    legion   to    help  them,  who 

*  Britanni.-v  usque  ad  hoc  teinpus  variis  cladibus  eventibusque  lata?,  in 
ditioneni  Saxonum  redig:untur. 

t  Exinde  Britannia,  onmi  arinato  niilite,  militaribusque  copiis,  rectori- 
bus  linquitur  immanibus,  ingenti  juventute  spoliata,  qua?  condtata  vesti- 
giis  supradicti  tyvanni  donium  nunquaiu  ultra  rediit,  ki^.  — Gildas,  §  14. 


454 


THE  SAXONS. 


[OHAP.   XIV. 


-/- 


defeated    the    invaders    witli    terrible    slaii;2,"liter.      Before    the 
leg'ion  returned,  tliey  showed  the  Britons  how  to  build  a  wall 
f-cross  the  island  from  sea  to  sea,  as  a  defence  against  the  bar- 
barians ;  but  they  were  so  unskilful  as  to  build  it  of  nothing 
but  turf,  and  the  Roman  soldiers  were  no  sooner  gone  than  the 
Picts  and  Scots,  despising  such  a  barrier  as  this,  spread  them- 
selves again  over  south  Britain,  and  committed  greater  havoc 
than  ever.     'And  now  again,'  says  the  writer  we  are  quoting, 
'  the  Britons  sent  suppliant  ambassadors,  with  their  garments 
rent  and  their  heads  covered  with  ashes,  imploring  assistance 
from  the  E-omans,  and,  like  timorous  chickens,  crowding  under 
the   protecting   wings    of   their   parents,   that    their   wretched 
country  might  not  altogether  be  destroyed,  and  that  the  Roman 
name,  which  now  was  but  an  empty  sound  to  fill  the  ear,  might 
not  become  a  reproach  even  to  distant  nations.     Upon  this,  the 
Romans,  moved  with  compassion,  as  far  as  human  nature  can 
be,  at  the  relation  of  such  horrors,  send  forward,  like  eagles  in 
their  flight,  their   unexpected    bands   of   cavalry  by  land  and 
mariners  by  sea,  and,  planting  their  terrible  swords  upon  the 
shoulders  of  their  enemies,  they  mow  them  down  like  leaves 
Avhich    fall  at    the    destined   period.'       On    this   occasion    the; 
Romans  were  more  generous  than  before,  for  they  helped  the 
natives   to  build   a  stone   wall  from   sea  to  sea  (the  Wall  of 
Hadrian) ;  and  they  raised  fortresses  at  stated  intervals  along 
the  south-eastern  coast.     When  they  were  gone,  the  Picts  and 
Scots  reappeared.     Throwing  up  hooks,  they  pulled  the  Britons 
down  from  the  top  of  their  wall,  and  slew  them,  and  then, 
passing  the  wall,  they  destroyed  the  cities  and  murdered  the 
inhabitants.     At   length  the   Britons  made  a  third  appeal   to 
Rome,    and,    addressing    themselves    to    '  a   powerful    Roman 
citizen '  named  vEtius,  in  a  letter  entitled  '  the  groans  of  the 
Britons,'  they  implored  assistance  in  the  most  piteous  terms. 
This,  however,  could  no  longer  be  given,  and  the  Britons  were 
h^ft  to  the  accumulated  evils  of  invasion  and  famine.     After  a 
while,  however,  came  peace  and  plenty,  and  then  the  Britons 
fell  into  luxurious  habits,  became  proud  and   turbulent,  and 
quarrelled    among    themselves.     '  Kings   were    annointed,  not 
according  to  God's  ordinance,  but  such  as  showed  themselves 
more   cruel  than   the   rest ;   and  soon  after  they  were  put  to 
death    by  those  who   had  elected  them,  without  any  inquiry 
into    their   merits,  but    because   ethers   still    more  cruel  were 
chosen  to  succeed  them.'     At  length   rumours  came   of  a  new 
and   terrible   invasion  of  the  Picts  and  Scots,  and  the  British 


CHAP.  XIV.]  HISTORTCAL  LEGENDS.  4o5 

chiefs  \uM  a  council  under  their  proud  tyraut  Gurtlirio-eni 
(Vortig-cni),  and  came  to  tlie  fatal  resolution  of  calling-  in  the 
Saxons.  These,  thong-li  broui;-ht  in  peaceably,  became  worse 
tyrants  than  the  Picts  and  Scots,  until  at  leng-th  the  Britons 
I'ose  under  Ambrosius  Anrelianus,  'the  only  one  of  the  lioman 
nation  who  had  been  left  alive'  in  the  island,  and  then  followe( 
a  Ions*  struii"U'le  between  the  Britons  and  the  Saxons,  until  the 

o  Do  ^  ' 

latter  finally  established  themselves  in  tiie  land. 

Such  is  the  uarrative  which  has  been  usually  taken  for  the 
history  of  Britain  during-  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century.  Its 
composer  Avns  ignorant  of  the  events  wdnch  followed  the  usurpa- 
tion of  Maximus,  as  well  as  of  the  early  Saxon  invasions ;  he 
adopted  later  and  vulgar  l(!gends  relating-  to  the  two  walls,  and 
he  evidently  misunderstood  and  misplaced  the  usurpations  of 
Marcus,  Gratian,  and  Constantine,  who  were  probably  the  cruel 
kings  to  whom  he  alludes.  In  fact,  the  whole  story,  built  ap- 
jjarently  on  some  slight  notes  in  an  old  continental  chroniclej-, 
displays  the  most  profound  ignorance  of  the  period  to  which  it 
relates.  All  we  know  relating  to  the  book  ascribed  to  Gildas 
is.  that  it  existed  before  Bede — the  style  of  its  Latinity  appears 
to  me  to  be  of  the  latter  part  of  the  seventh  century,  and  these 
brief  notices  of  history  seem  to  be  founded  partly  on  Saxon 
traditions.  This,  however,  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the 
question  of  its  authenticity. 

Bede  has  adopted  the  narrative  of  Gildas,  only-adding  to  it 
some   circumstances   from   more  authentic   historians,  and  tiie 
account  of  the  Saxon  invasion  from  the  traditions  of  his  own 
countrymen.     Here  he  is  unfortunately  very  brief.     He  tells  us 
that  the  Teutonic  settlers  came  hither  under  their  two  chiefs, 
Hengest    and    Horsa,  in    the   year  449,   and  that  they  were 
received  in  peace,  and  allowed  to  settle  in  the  isle   of  Thanet. 
Their    success    he    says,  induced    others    to  follow  in  greater 
numbers,  wdio  were  also  received  into  the  island  as  friends  and 
allies.      They  consisted  of  three  of  the  bravest  of  the  Teutonic, 
tribes — ^the  Saxons,  Angles,  and  Jutes.     The  Jutes  formed  the\ 
population  of  Kent,  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  the  opposite  coast \ 
district.     The  Saxons  established  themselves  in  Essex,  Middle-  I 
sex,    and    Wessex.     The    Angles    occupied    East-Anglia,    the  C 
country   of  the  Middle- Angles,  Mercia,  and   all  the  northern   ) 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  ^ 

The  ordinary  notion,  that  the  first  settlement  was  that  under 
Hengest  and  Horsa,  has  arisen  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
Anglo-Saxon  accounts   of  these   events   were   founded   on  the 


) 


X 


456  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xvi. 

traditions  of  Kent.  It  is  probable,  liowever,  tliat  tliey  had  been 
preceded  by  the  Angles  in  the  north,  for  when  we  first  become 
acquainted  with  them,  this  tribe  appears  to  have  been  long-  in 
undisputed  possession  of  the  whole  country  from  the  Humber 
to  the  wall  of  Antoninus,  which  was  formed  into  two  kingdoms, 
that  of  Bernicia  and  that  of  Deira.  Eburacum,  to  which  the 
Angles  gave  the  name  of  Eofor-wic,  afterwards  con-upted  into 
York — the  important  town  on  the  w^all,  Pons  iElii,  which 
was  under  the  Saxons  still  a  great  commercial  town,  known  by 
the  ftame  of  Munuces-ceaster  (Monk's-chester) — with  others 
of  the  Roman  towns  in  Yorkshire,  appear  to  have  passed 
peaceably  or  by  treaty  under  the  rule  of  the  settlers ;  while 
others,  more  especially  in  Northumberland  and  the  lowlands  of 
Scotlarul,  had  perhaps  been  destroyed  before  their  arrival. 
The  presumption,  however,  is  that  the  settlement  of  the  Angles 
in  the  north  had  begun  at  a  very  early  period  after  the  island 
lad  been  abandoned  by  the  Romans,  and  that  they  had  been 
called  in  to  the  assistance  of  the  northern  towns. 

The  Saxon  Chronicle,  composed  ages  afterwards,  gives  us  the 
first  narrative  of  the  wars  between  the  Saxons  and  the  Britons 
in  the  south,  after  the  former  had  gained  a  footing  there ;  it  is 
founded  on  the  Anglo-Saxon  traditions,  perhaps  on  poems,  and 
there  are  many  circumstances  about  it  which  wouki  lead  us  to 
>J-.  believe  that  it  is  partly  romance.  Even  the  names  of  Hengest 
and  Horsa  are  supposed  to  be  mythic*  The  Saxon  Chronicle 
informs  iis^  that  in  the  year  455,  or  six  years  after  the  arrival 
of  Hengest,  a  battle  was  fought  at  ^geles-throp  in  Kent 
{AyleHford),  between  the  Saxons  under  Hengest  and  Horsa, 
and  the  Britons  under  Vortigern,  in  which  Horsa  was  slain  ; 
and  according  to  Bede,  who  also  mentions  this  battle,  his  tomb 
was  still  shown  at  a  place  which,  was  called  by  his  name — it  is 
said  to  be  the  modern  Horsted.  After  this,  the  Chronicle  tells 
us,  Hengest  and  .^sc^  his  son,  obtained  the  Kentish  kingdom. 
The  royal  race  of  Kent  w^as  called,  after  the  latter,  TEscingas. 
Next  year,  Hengest  and  iEsc  defeated  '  four  troops '  of 
Britons  at  a  place  called  Crecganford  {Crayford),  Avith  great 
slaughter.  In  457  there  Avas  another  battle  at  Crecganford, 
in  which  the  Saxons  slew  four  thousand  men,  '  and  the  Britons 
then  forsook  Kent,  and  in  great  terror  fled  to  London.'     Eight 

*  On  the  un-histovic  character  of  the  narrattves  of  the  Saxon  invasion  of 
Britain,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  rather  lonj?  dissertation  in  Lappenberji's 
'  England  under  the  Ang-lo- Saxons '  (Thorpe's  TiMnslation),  and  to  Kem- 
ble's  '  Saxons  in  England.' 


CHAP.  XIV.]  FIRST  SAXON  IXVASIOXS.  457 

years  afterwards,  in  465,  Hena-est  and  ^Esc  are  said  to  have 
IbuLi-lit  'against  the  Welsli '  at  Wippedes-fleot,  a  place  of 
which  we  are  not  acquainted  with  the  modern  representative, 
l;ut  which  is  said  to  have  received  that  name  from  Wipped,  a 
Saxon  ciiief  wlio  was  shiin  on  this  occasion.  We  are  iid'orined 
that  'twelve  Welsh  eahionnen,'  or  chiefs,  were  slain  in  this 
battle.  After  eight  years  again,  in  473,  there  was  another  war 
between  the  Kentish  Saxons  and  the  Britons,  and  '  the  Welsh 
tied  from  tliem  like  tire.'  *  After  this  date,  we  hear  no  more  of 
the  Kentish  kingdom  and  its  wars,  except  that  ^'Esc  succeeded 
to  the  kingdom  in  488,  until  the  accession  of  king  Atlielbeit  or 
Ethelbert,  in  565.  The  principal  iloman  towns  of  Kent  seem 
to  have  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Saxons  peacefully. 
Heugcst  and  Horsa  are  said  to  have  tirst  landed  at  Ypwines- 
Heot  {Ebbs-Jleet),  and  the  Saxons  no  doubt  innnediately  received 
Rutupiae  {Rlchborougli)  into  their  hands.  Durovernum  tliey 
made  their  capital,  ahd  on  that  account  it  received  the  name  of  ^ 
C'antwara-byrig,  the  city  of  the  Keutishmen,  now  Canterbury  ; 
Dubrse  and  E-egulbinm  retained  their  original  names,  slightly 
changed  into  Dover  and  Eeculver ;  and  DurobrivjB  was  called, 
it  is  said,  from  a  chief  who  ruled  over  it,  Hrofes-ceaster,  the 
Chester  or  city  of  Hrof,  now  Rochester. 

Leaving  the  history  of  Kent,  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  taking  np 
another  set  of  traditions,  tells  us,  that  in  the  year  477,  the 
Saxons,  under  iElla  and  his  three  sons,  Cymen,  Wlencing, 
and  Cissa,  landed  on  the  southern  coast,  at  a  place  named  after 
one  of  the  sons,  Cymenes-ora  {Keynor  on  Sdsea),  '  and  there 
they  slew  many  Welsh,  and  some  they  drove  in  flight  into  the 
wood  that  is  named  Andredes-leah,'  the  Roman  Slloa  Aiiderlda. 
^EUa  and  his  sons,  like  Hengest  and  Horsa,  came  in  three 
ships.  Here,  again,  eight  years  passed  nntil  the  next  great 
struggle  between  the  followers  of  /Ella  and  the  Britons.      l\\. 

*'  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind,  tliat  Britons  and  Welsh  are  merely 
lieueval  terms  applied  by  the  Saxons  to  the  Romanised  population  of  the 
island.     The  former  was,  of  coui'se,   merely  the   Roman  name,  as   they 
adopted  it.     The  word  AVelsh  [icilisc,  wcei/'sc)  meant   simply  a  foreigner, 
one  who  was  not  of  Teutonic  race,  and  was  applied  especially  to  nations    \ 
using  the  Latin  language.     In  the  middle  ages  the  French  language,  and,      I 
in  fact,  all  those  derived  from  Latin,  and  termed  on  that  account  iu/r/aee     I 
Roma)ne,  were  called  in  German  IFelsch.     France  was  called  by  the  me-      • 
dia3val  German  writers  daz  xvelschc  Unit,  and  when  they  wished  to  express 
'  in  the  whole  world,'  they  said,  in  alien  icelsehen  n)i(l  in  tlutscheu  richeii^ 
in   all   Welsh  and  Teutonic  kingdoms.      In  modern   German   the  name 
irdlsch  is  used  more  esyjecially  for  Italian.      It  was  in  its  primitive  sense 
that  the  Saxons  applied  the  name  to  the  Britons,  aad  ffom  Ihem  it  has  come 
gradually  to  its  pri'sent  restricted  use. 


si 


s/ 


i<'>S  THE  SAXOXS.  [CHAP.  xiv. 

485,  iElla  foug'lit  against  the  Britons  near  tlie  banks  of  tlie 
Mearcrsedes-bnrna,  and  the  battle  is  represented,  in  traditions 
gathered  by  a  later  writer,  to  have  been  obstimitely  fonght,  and 
to  liave  had  a  doubtful  result.  Eor  six  years  both  pai'ties 
seemed  to  have  remahied  in  peace;  and  then,  in  491,  in  con- 
sequence, it  is  said,  of  new  arrivals  from  the  continent,  the 
Saxons  recommenced  the  war,  and  iElla  and  Cissa  laid  siea-e  to 
the  ancient  Eoman  city  of  Anderida,  which  was  called  by  the 
Saxons  Andredes-ceaster.'  It  is  said  to  have  been  reduced  by 
famine,  and  the  Saxons,  irritated  at  its  long  and  obstinate 
defence,  slew  all  the  inhabitants.  The  massive  walls  of  the 
ancient  city  are  still  seen  at  Pevensey.  Thus  was  established 
the  kingdom  of  the  South-Saxons,  or  Sussex.  Here  the  coun- 
li-y  was  evidently  dependent  on  the  Roman  city,  and  was  only 
conquered  when  that  city  was  taken.  The  other  lloman  city, 
Eegnum,  probably  submitted  without  a  siege,  and  received  the 
name  of  Cissan-ceastei',  the  Chester  or  fortified  town  of  Cissa, 
since  softened  down  into  Chichester. 

The  Saxon  Chronicle  next  informs  us,  that  in  495,  another 
body  of  Saxons,  under  two  chiefs,  Cerdic  and  his  son  Cynric, 
landed  from  five  ships  at  a  place  called  Cerdices-ora,  on  the 
coast  of  Hampshire,  '  and  the  same  day  they  fought  against  the 
Welsh.'  Six  years  afterwards,  another  Saxon  chief,  named  Port, 
with  his  two  sons,  Bieda  and  Alsegla,  landed  at  a  place  named, 
it  is  pretended,  from  him,  Portsmouth,*  and  there  fought  with 
tlie  Britons,  and  'slew  a  young  British  man  of  high  nobility.' 
In  508,  another  great  battle  was  fought  by  Cerdic  and  Cynric, 
in  which  a  British  king  named  Natan-leod  and  hve  thousand 
men  were  slain.  'After  that  the  country  was  named  Natan- 
lea,  as  fciras  Cerdices-ford  {CViarford) .'  In  six  years  again  (a.  d. 
514),  Cerdic's  two  nephew^s,  Stuf  and  Wihtgar,  came  with  three 
more  ship-loads  of  Saxons,  and  landed  at  Cerdices-ora.  The 
Britons  were  still  there  to  oppose  them,  but  the  new-comers 
were  victorious  in  battle.  Cerdic  and  Cynric  are  stated  to  have 
established  the  kingdom  of  the  West-Saxons  in  519,  in  which 
year  they  defeated  the  Britons  in  a  great  battle  at  Cerdices-ford. 
In  527  they  gained  another  great  battle  at  a  place  called  Cerdi- 
ces-leah.  During  the  intervening  years,  Cerdic  was,  no  doubt, 
occupied  in  strengthening  and  regulating  his  conquest ;  the 
lloman  city  of  Venta  had  passed  over  to  him,  and  under  the 

*  This  is  most  undoubtedly  a  legendary  derivation,  and  should  make  us 
the  more  cautious  in  receiving'  the  statements  of  the  Chronicle  with  regard 
to  these  early  events. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  WARS  OF  THE  S AXONS.  450 

name  of  the  Wiritau-ceaster  {JFlucheder),  which,  no  doubt, 
iiieaus  the  Chester  of  Venta,  was  made  the  capital  of  the  West- 
Saxons.  The  last  exploit  of  Cerdic  and  Cynric  recorded  in  the 
Chi'onicle,  is  the  conquest  of  Wight  from  tlie  Jutes ;  Cerdic 
died  in  534,  and  his  son  g-ave  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  Stuf  and 
Wihtgar,  who  had  probably  been  instrumental  in  its  conquest. 

Cynric  soon  sought  to  extend  his  kingdom.  In  552  he  de- 
feated the  Britons  in  a  battle  near  the  Koman  city  of  Sorbiodu- 
num,  called  by  the  Saxons  Searo-byrig  (now  old  Sarnm).  He 
(bed  in  560,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ceawlin,  whose 
power  extended  into  Surrey,  and  he  was  engaged  in  resisting 
an  attack  from  Athelbert,  king  of  Kent;  after  which  he  ex- 
tended his  conquests  northwards,  so  far  as  to  make  himself 
master  of  some  of  the  principal  towns  in  the  modern  counties 
of  Bedford,  Buckingham,  and  Oxford.  He  next  pushed  his 
conquests  westward;  and,  in  5  77,  Ceawlin  and  his  brother 
Cuthwine,  or  Gutha,  defeated  the  Britons  in  a  great  battle  at 
Deorham  {Derhani)  in  Gloucestershire,  and  obtained  possession 
of  the  three  great  Roman  cities  of  Glevum,  Corinium,  and  Aquae 
Solis,  which  became  known  to  the  Saxons  by  the  name  of  Glev- 
ceaster  or  Gleow-ceaster  {Gloucester),  Cyren-ceaster  {Clreu- 
ceder),  and  Bathan-ceaster  {Bath). 

We  have  no  information  to  enable  us  to  judge  on  what 
authority  the  dates  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  during  this 
period  rest;  but  the  singular  manner  in  which  one  kingdom 
begins  to  be  founded,  after  the  preceding  kingdom  had  been 
estabbshed,  cannot  tail  to  arrest  our  attention.  It  seems  as 
though  the  brief  narrative  had  been  abridged  from  some  memo- 
rial poem,  whei-e  the  compiler  mistook  the  order  in  which  the 
establishment  of  the  different  kingdoms  was  told,  as  indicating^ 
the  succession  of  dates  at  which  they  took  place.  It  certainly 
appears  more  probable  that  the  invasion  of  the  Teutonic  tribes 
took  place  nearly  at  the  same  time,  or  in  rapid  succession  one  after 
another ;  and  we  might  expect  them  to  have  begun  in  the  north. 

Tlie  Saxon  Chronicle,  compiled  in  Wessex,  gives  little  in- 
formation on  the  progressive  establishment  of  the  kingdoms 
founded  by  the  Angles.  We  are  merely  informed  that,  in 
547,  Ida  began  to  reign  in  Northumbria,  and  that  he  built  a 
town  which  was  called,  in  honour  of  his  wife  Bebba,  Bebban- 
byrig  {Bamhoroiujlt).  In  560  Ida  died,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  ^lla.  According  to  an  obscure  tradition,  the  Saxons 
first  landed  in  Essex,  under  their  king  J^scwine  or  Ercenwine, 
as  early  as  the  year  527  ;  thev  probably  only  came  to  strengthen 

2  r       ' 


-f 


H- 


460  THE  SAXONS.  ♦  [chap   xiv. 

t]\e  older  settlements  on  what  had  long  been  known  as  the 
Saxon  coast.  Camulodimum  and  other  towns  seem  to  have 
been  occupied  without  any  resistance.  The  coasts  to  the  north 
of  them  were  seized  by  the  Angles,  who  appear  to  have  con- 
sisted of  two  tribes,  distinguished  bv  their  positions  as  the 
North-folk  and  the  South-folk  (Norfolk  and  S/ffolk).  Their 
])o\ver  extended  over  Cambridgeshire  and  into  Lincolnshire.  It 
Avas  from  settlements  in  the  north  of  the  latter  county  that 
another  branch  of  the  Angles  extended  themselves  so  rapidly 
through  the  heart  of  England,  until  they  reached  the  borders  of 

(Wales,  and  intrenched  upou  the  West-Saxons  to  the  south. 
They  took  the  name  of  Myrce,  which  has  been  Latinised  into 
Mercians,  The  great  extent  of  ground  which  the  Angles  oc- 
cupied in  Britain  is  quite  sufficient  to  explain  the  statement  of 
the  old  historians,  that  they  had  completely  evacuated  theii' 
native  land,  and  left  it  uninhabited.  From  them,  as  the 
earliest  settlers,  and  the  most  numerous,  the  island  became 
known  among  foreign  writers  by  the  names  of  Anglla  and 
Anglormii  terra,  and  among  the  Saxons  themselves  it  was 
usually  called  Engla-land  {England),  and  the  language  of  its 
irdiabitants  Englisc  (English).  The  population  of  the  Teutonic 
portion  of  the  island  is  still  known  by  no  other  name  than  that 
of  Englishmen. 

The  Teutons  who  had  come  into  the  island  at  an  earlier 
period  as  auxiliaries,  had  always,  as  a  matter  of  course,  con- 
formed to  the  religions  forms  and  laws  of  the  Romans ;  but 
now  they  preserved  their  own  religion  and  their  own  institu- 
tions. Saxon  paganism  was  everywhere  substituted  for  Roman, 
and  it  was  only  perhaps  in  a  few  cases — chietly,  we  may  suppose, 
in  the  towns — that  individuals  preserved  for  a  while  their  ]-espect 
for  Roman  gods,  or  their  attachment  to  Roman  ceremonies. 
The  latter  are  sometimes  traced  in  Saxon  cemeteries,  where  a 
Roman  interment  is  found  in  the  midst  of  graves  of  undoubted 
T'eutonic  character.  This  is  the  only  indication  we  have  of  the 
transition,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  an  exact  date 
when  pure  Saxon  interments  began.  We  have  less  difficulty  in 
fixing  the  other  limit. 

The  Latin  language,  too,  continued  probably  for  some  time 
to  be  in  use  in  the  towns.  I  believe  indeed  that  when  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  came  into  Britain  they  found  the  people 
talking  not  a  Celtic  dialect,  but  Latin,  and  hence  when  they 
formed  the  English  language,  the  foreign  words  introduced  into 
it  were  not  Celtic  but  Latin.     I  think  I  have  traced  the  citizens 


CHAP.  XIV.]  THE  LANGUAGE.  461 

of  English  towns  speakiuf^  Latin  at  a  later  period,  and  we  find 
that  it  was  the  earlier  language  of  our  municipal  records  and 
deeds,  and  of  the  inscriptions  on  monuments.  There  was  a 
Celtic  people  in  modern  Gaul,  the  Armoricans,  who  talk  a 
Celtic  dialect  down  to  modern  times,  and  who  issued  forth  on 
piratical  excursions  on  the  sea  about  the  time  of  the  Saxon  in- 
vasions ;  and  these  Armoricans  invaded  Cornwall  and  Wales  ap- 
parently about  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  invasions  of  Britain, 
and  they  appear  to  liave  formed  the  population  of  the  Cornish 
peninsula  and  of  the  principality  of  Wales.  The  remarkable 
similarity  between  the  Celtic  languages  of  Cornwall  and  Wales 
and  that  of  the  Bretons  of  Gaul  has  been  frequently  pointed 
out,  and  we  may  perhaps  be  justified  in  considering  that  our 
Welsh  were  really  a  Breton  settlement  from  Gaul  about  the; 
time  of  the  Saxon  invasions  of  our  island,  and  that  they  by  no 
means  represent  the  original  Celtic  population  of  Britain,  the 
ancient  Britons,  and  that  the  Welsh  language  was  not  the 
British.  There  appear  to  be  reasons  for  believing  that  that 
was  similar  to  the  modern  L'isli.'^' 

The  traffic  in  slaves  prevailed  very  extensively  among  all  the 
Teutonic  peoples,  and  it  is  frequently  mentioned  or  alluded  to 
in  the  early  historical  records  of  Saxon  England.  We  are  told 
that,  during  the  pontificate  of  Pelagius  IL,  some  boys  from 
Saxon  Britain,  distinguished  by  their  beauty,  were  exposed  for 
sale  in  the  slave- market  at  Eome.  The  priest  Gregory,  as  he 
passed  through  the  ancient  forum,  Avas  struck  with  their  appear- 
ance, and  on  being  told  that  they  were  Pagans  from  Britain,  he 
lamented  that  people  having  such  bright  countenances  slioidd 
remain  a  prey  to  the  spirit  of  darkness.  Continuing  the  con- 
versation, with  the  same  play  upon  words,  he  was  told  that  they 
were  called  Angles,  upon  which  he  observed  that  it  was  a  just 
name,  for  they  had  angelic  faces,  and  ought  to  be  the  co-heirs  of 
angels  in  heaven.  He  then  asked  the  name  of  the  province 
from  which  they  came,  and  was  told  that  it  was  the  kingdom  of 
Deira.  '  It  is  well,'  he  said,  '  they  shall  be  de  ira  eniH. 
snatched  from  the  wrath  and  brought  to  the  mercy  of  Christ." 
He  was  next  told  that  the  name  of  their  king  was  J^lla. 
'  That,'  he  said,  '  is  Alleluiah,  and  it  is  right  that  the  praise 
of  God  should  be  sung  in  that  land.'  Full  of  projects  of  con- 
version, Gregory  hastened  to  the  pope,  and  begged  to  be  eni- 
ployed  on  this  distant  mission  ;  but  the  citizens,  with  whom  he 

*  See  what  has  boon  siid  on  this  subject  in  a  former  chapter,  at  p.  219 
uf  thi.s  vuluine. 


)^ 


462  THE  SAXOXS.  [chap.  xiv. 

was  extremely  popular,  were  unwilling  to  allow  of  liis  absence. 
Xothin<>-  further,  therefore,  was  done  towards  the  conversion  of 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  until,  in  590,  Gregory  himself  was  elected 
to  the  papal  see.  The  Anglian  children  were  then  remembered, 
and  Gregory  despatched  missionaries  under  the  guidance  of  St 
>J  Augustine  to  visit  the  distant  island.  Their  zeal,  however,  was 
not  equal  to  that  of  their  employer ;  for  they  had  proceeded  no 
further  than  Provence,  when  they  were  so  alarmed  by  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  barbarous  character  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  that 
Augustine  was  sent  back  to  Eome  to  obtain  the  revocation  of 
their  mission.  Gregory  exhorted  him  to  persevere,  gave  him 
hitters  of  recommendation  to  the  Frankish  kings,  Theoderic  and 
Theodebert,  and  to  their  grandmother  Brunhilda,  as  well  as  to 
the  Prankish  bishops,  who  furnished  them  with  interpretei-s. 
In  the  year  597,  Augustine,  with,  it  is  said,  above  forty 
nio:d<;s,  landed  in  the  isle  of  Thanet,  no  doubt  in  the  old 
Roman  port  of  Rutupise ;  from  whence  he  sent  a  messenger  to 
Etlieibert,  king  of  Kent,  to  announce  the  object  of  his  mission. 
It  happened  that  Ethelbert  had  married  Berta,  the  daughter 
of  Charibert,  king  of  Paris  ;  and  it  was  one  of  the  terms  of  the 
marriage  contract  that,  as  a  Christian  princess,  she  should  b(; 
allowed  the  free  exercise  of  her  faith,  and  that  she  should 
retain  for  that  purpose  the  Frankish  bishop  Liudhard,  who  had 
accompanied  her  to  England,  and  who  now  officiated  in  the 
little  church  of  St  Martin,  near  Canterbury.  Christianity  was 
not  thus  totally  unknown  among  the  Kentish  Saxons.  Ethel- 
bert received  the  message  of  the  missionaries  with  favour,  and 
directed  that  they  should  remain  for  the  present  in  Thanet.  A 
few  days  after  he  went  to  visit  them,  and  gave  audience  in  the 
open  air;  for,  influenced  by  the  ancient  superstitions  of  his 
forefathers,  he  feared  that  if  he  received  them  in  a  house,  they 
might  get  the  better  of  him  by  magical  arts.  It  is  recorded, 
that  when  the  king  liad  patiently  listened  to  what  they  had  to 
say,  he  replied,  '  Your  words  and  promises  are  very  fair,  but 
as  they  are  new  to  us,  and  of  uncertain  import,  I  cannot  so  far 
approve  of  them  as  to  forsake  that  which  I  have  so  long  fol- 
lowed with  the  whole  English  nation.  But  because  you  are 
come  from  afar  into  my  kingdom,  and,  as  I  conceive,  are 
desirous  to  impart  to  us  those  things  which  you  believe  to  be 
true,  we  will  not  molest  you,  but  give  you  favourable  enter- 
tainment, and  take  care  to  supply  you  with  your  necessary 
sustenance ;  nor  do  we  forbid  you  to  preach  and  gain  as  many 
as  you  can  to  your  religion.'     The  Roman  monks  m:irche.l   in 


I 


CHAT.  XIV.]    CONVERSION  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXONS.  463 

solemn  procession  to  Canterbury,  where  tliev  established  them- 
selves, and  of  which  city  Augustine  was  subsequently  made  the 
lirst  bishop. 

The  new  faith  was  ultimately  accepted  by  king  Ethelbert, 
and  soon  spread  with  extraordinary  rapidity  ov^r  Kent,  and 
through  the  other  kingdoms  wherever  that  king's  influence  ex- 
tended. The  East-Saxons  received  baptism  in  604;  and  in 
(i07,  tlie  year  of  the  battle  near  Chester,  rendered  celebrated  by 
the  slaughter  of  the  Welsh  monks,  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  must 
have  been  established  far  towards  the  west.  With  the  mass  of 
the  people  conversion  wus  at  tirj,t  a  n.cie  change  of  forms,  and 
they  easily  resumed  their  old  customs  ;  and  it  naturally  took 
some  years  to  make  the  change  permanent.  Thus  Augnstiuc 
had  appointed  Mellitus  bishop  of  London,  and  he  is  said  to 
have  selected  there  the  site  of  a  ruined  temple  of  the  Roman 
])eriod  to  build  a  church,  no  doubt  because  it  furnished  an  un- 
occupied place  and  ready  materials.  The  Saxon  Chronicle 
informs  us,  that  after  Mellitus  became  bishop  of  Cantei'bnry, 
an  event  Avhich  is  generally  placed  in  the  year  619,  'then  the 
men  of  London,  where  Mellitus  had  been  formerly,  became 
heathens  again.'  The  example  had  already  been  set  them  by  v/ 
the  East-Saxons,  and  even  by  the  Kentish  men,  after  the  death  ■ 
of  their  first  Christian  kings. 

The  progress  of  the  Christian  faith  among  the  Anglo-Saxons 
was,  on  several  occasions,  materially  assisted  by  intermarriages 
among  their  chiefs.  Ethelbert  of  Kent,  before  the  arrival  of 
the  missionaries,  had  married  a  Christian  lady,  the  daughter  of 
a  Erankish  king.  The  king  of  Essex,  who  first  received  the 
Gospel,  had  married  a  daughter  of  king  Ethelbert,  who  was  also 
a  Christian.  Another  daughter  of  Ethelbert,  Ethelberga,  was 
married  to  Edwin,  king  of  the  Northumbrians,  and  she  no 
doubt  paved  the  way  for  the  preaching  of  Paulinus.  The  con- 
version of  king  Edwin  took  place  in  the  year  626.  The  West- 
Saxons  were  converted  by  l^irinus  in  635  ;  the  East-Angles 
had  embraced  the  ucav  faith  under  their  kii.g  Earpwald,  about 
the  year  632  ;  but  the  Middle-Angles  were  not  converted  until 
the  reign  of  Peada,  the  son  of  l^enda,  about  the  year  653.  This  J 
king  became  a  Christian  on  marrying  a  daughter  of  the  king  of 
the  Northumbrians,  and  from  Lincolnshire,  the  country  of  the 
Middle- Angles,  the  faith  soon  spread  through  the  extensive 
dependencies  of  Mercia.  At  this  time  the  faith  of  Christ  had 
penetrated  into  every  part  of  the  island,  except  the  small  and 
secluded  kinirdom  of  the  South-Saxons,  which  was  cut  oft"  from 


4t)4 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.   XIV. 


-^ 


the  other  Saxon  states,  and  protected  in  its  independence,  by 
the  ancient  forest  of  Anderida,  the  impervions  Andredes-weahl, 
As  late  as  the  year  681,  the  people  of  Snssex  remained  pag-ans. 
Tlieir  condition  became  known  to  Wilfrid,  archbishop  of  York, 
Avho,  in  returning-  from  the  continent  was  driven  by  stress  of 
Aveather  on  the  coast,  and  who  subsequently  founded  a  monas- 
tery on  the  little  island  of  Sehe-i, 


CHAP.  XV. T  SAXON  ANTIQUITIES.  46a 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Anglo-Saxon  Antiquities — Barrows,  or  Graves,  and  the  general  Character 
of  their  Contents — Arms — Personal  Ornaments  ;  Fibulae,  &c. — An^lo- 
Saxon  Jewellery — Pottery — Glass — Other  Articles  found  in  the  Bar- 
rows ;  Bowls,  Buckets,  &c. — Coins — Early  Anglo-Saxon  Coinage. 

We  derive  our  antiquities  of  the  period  of  Anglo-Saxon 
paganism  almost  entirely  from  one  source,  the  graves.  It  hap- 
])ens,  however,  fortunately  for  the  study  of  the  history  of  this 
])eriod,  that  the  contents  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  graves  are  par- 
ticularly rich  and  interesting,  and  that  we  are  enabled,  from  the 
various  articles  found  in  them,  to  form  a  tolerable  estimate  of 
the  civilisation  of  our  ancestors  before  the  days  of  St  Augustine. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  graves  occur  generally  in  extensive  groups, 
and  on  high  ground.  They  are  found  thickly  scattered  over 
the  downs  of  Kent,  Sussex,  and  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Extensive 
cemeteries  have  also  been  found  in  Gloucester  and  Oxford- 
sliire,  as  well  as  in  Leicestershire,  Derbyshire,  Nottinghamshire, 
Northamptonshire,  Lincolnshire,  Cambridgeshire,  Suffolk,  and 
Norfolk,  and  in  Yorkshire.  They  exist,  no  doubt,  in  other 
counties,  where  they  have  not  been  explored.* 

*  The  larg'est  and  most  important  collections  of  Ang-lo-Saxon  antiquities 
are  those  of  Lord  Londcsboroug:h,  the  late  Dr  Faussett  of  Heppin<iton  neai- 
Canterbury,  and  the  late  Mr  W.  H.  Rolfe  of  Sandwich,  all  taken  from 
barrows  in  Kent.  The  two  latter  collections  are  now  in  the  possession  of 
Mr  Joseph  Mayer  of  Liverpool.  Smaller  private  collections  are  found  in 
different  parts  of  England,  and  a  few  articles  belonging  to  this  class  are 
met  with  in  most  local  museums  ;  but  there  is  as  yet  no  public  collection 
of  early  Anglo-Saxon  remains  of  any  importance.  The  most  valuable  work 
on  the  subject  is  the  *  Nenia  '  of  Douglas,  a  folio  volume  published  in  . 
1793.  An  interesting-  volume  on  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemeteries  in  Gloucester-  \^ 
shire,  bus  been  recently  published  by  Mr  W.  M.  Wylie,  under  the  title  of 
'  Fairford  Graves  ;  '  and  extensive  materials  for  the  archaeology  of  this 
period  will  be  fimnd  in  Mr  Koach  Smith's  '  Collectanea,'  and  in  some  ut" 
the  volumes  of  the  '  Arcba^ologia.'  We  may  also  recommend  Mr  Aker- 
niun's  '  Pagan  Saxendom.' 


466  THE  SAXO^fS.  [chap.  xv. 

An  Ano-lo-Saxon  poem  belonginii',  no  doubt,  to  tliis  primitive 
period — the  adventures  of  Beowulf — has  been  preserved;  and, 
altliough  it  has  been  considerably  modified  in  the  transition,  it 
still  gives  us  gdimpses  of  the  manners  of  our  forefathers  before 
they  had  turned  from  the  worship  of  Woden.*  In  this  poem, 
but  unfortunately  in  a  part  of  it  which  is  imperfect  in  the 
manuscript,  we  find  a  description  of  the  ceremonies  attendant 
on  the  burial  of  the  hero.  Beowulf's  dying-  request  was,  that 
his  people  should  raise  a  barrow  '  on  the  place  of  his  funeral 
pile,'  proportionate  in  size  to  the  celebrity  of  his  deeds.  They 
accordingly  raised  a  mighty  funeral  pile  to  burn  his  corpse;  it 
was — 

hung  round  with  helmets, 

with  boards  of  war  {shields) 

and  with  bright  byrnies  {coats  of  mail), 

as  he  had  requested. 

Then  the  heroes,  weeping, 

laid  down  in  the  midst 

the  famous  chieftain, 

their  dear  lord. 

Then  began  on  the  hill, 

the  warriors,  to  awake 

the  mightiest  of  funeral  fires  ; 

the  wood-smoke  rose  aloft, 

dark  from  the  lire  ; 

noisily  it  went, 

mingled  with  weeping. 

After  the  burning  of  the  body  had  been  completed,  Beowulf's 
people  proceeded  to  raise — 

a  mound  over  the  sea  ; 

it  was  high  and  broad, 

by  the  sailors  over  the  waves 

to  be  seen  afar. 

And  they  built  up 

during  ten  days 

the  beacon  of  the  war-renowned. 

They  surrounded  it  with  a  wall 

in  the  most  honourable  manner 

that  wise  men 

could  desire. 

They  put  into  the  mound 

rings  and  bright  gems, 

all  such  ornaments 


*  The  Anglo-Saxon  jjoem  of  Beowulf  was  published  with  an  English 
translation  by  my  friend  Mr  J.  M.  Kemble,  in  1837.  An  edition,  in  many 
7-espects  more  convenient,  was  subsequently  published  by  Mr  Thorpe,  in 
1855 


CHAP.  XV.]  ANGLO-SAXON  BARROWS.  467 

as  before  *  from  tlie  hoard 

the  fiei'ce-minded  men 

had  tak(>n  ; 

they  suffered  the  earth  to  hold 

the  treasure  of  warriors, 

g-old  on  the  sand, 

where  it  yet  remains 

as  useless  to  men 

as  it  was  of  old. — Beowulf,  line  62  ;8. 

Wlien  the  mound  was  completed,  the  war-chiefs  rode  round 
it,  chanting  the  praises  of  their  departed  king. 

In  Enghmd  we  find  in  the  graves  of  the  Saxon  period  tlie 
same  mixture  of  the  two  modes  of  interment,  cremation  and 
the  burial  of  the  body  entire,  as  among  the  Romans,  but  in 
different  and  varying  proportions.  Tlie  custom  in  this  respect 
appears  to  have  varied  with  the  different  tribes  who  came  into 
the  island.  In  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemeteries  in  Kent,  cremation 
v/'  is  the  rare  exception  to  the  general  rule  ;  while  it  seems  to  have         J^^i^ 

been  the  predominating-  practice  among  the  Apgles,  from  Nor-   ^^^ 

folk  into  the  centre  of  Mercia.     The  poemof  Beowulf   was    -, 

perhaps  derived   from  the  Angles,  and  it  thus  describes  the  \r^ 
mode  of  burning  the  dead  as  it  existed  among  them. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  barrows  in  general  have  a  character  very 
distinct  from  those  of  the  Komans  or  Britons.  They  were  the 
prototypes  of  our  modern  graves  in  country  churchyards.  A 
rectangular  cist,  or  pit,  was  cut  in  the  ground,  varying  in  depth 
from  thi'ee  or  four  feet  to  seven  or  eight,  on  the  fioor  of  which 
the  body  was  laid  on  its  back  in  full  dress,  surrounded  with  a 
variety  of  articles  which,  no  doubt,  the  deceased  had  valued  when 
alive;  the  grave  was  then  filled  up,  and  a  mound  of  earth  raised 
above.  This  mound  was  termed  hlfsw,  a  hillock,  the  modern 
word  low,  as  in  names  like  Ludlow,  which  is  still  used  in  Derby- 
shire, and  beorh,  beorg,  or  bearw,  a  word  having  the  same  signiri-  y 
cation,  from  wlrch  is  derived  our  modern  name  of  barrow.  In 
Sussex  they  are  still  called  burghs.  Generally,  each  grave 
contains  the  remains  of  one  body  ;  but  instances  occur  where  more 
than  one  body  has  been  interred  in  the  same  grave,  and  under  cir- 
cumstances which  show  that  they  must  have  been  buried  simul- 
taneously. We  can  only  account  for  this  by  supposing  that 
they  were  members  of  the  same  family  who  had  been  carried 
off'  by  an  epidemic  disease  or  slaughtered  in  a  sudden  invasion 

*  Reowulf  had  sig-nalised  himself  by  killing  a  dragon  which  guarded  a 
hoard  of  treasures,  of  which,  as  a  matttT  of  course,  he  took  possession. 


468 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.  XV. 


of  plunderers.     In  the   Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  at  Osengal,  in 
the  Isle  of  Thanet,  one  grave  contained  a  male  and  a  female 
skeleton,  laid  side  by  side,  with  their  faces  turned  toward  each 
other ;  and  another  contained  three  skeletons,   a  lady    in  the 
middle,  a  man,  no  doubt  her  husband,  on  her  right  side ;  and 
a  child,   apparently  a  little  girl,  on  lier  left ;  they  lay  arm  in 
arm.     More  than  one  instance  has  occurred  where  a  grave  con- 
tained all  the   articles   usually  interred  with  a   body,  but  no 
traces  of  the  body.     A  remarkable  instance  of  this  was  found 
in  a  large  Anglo-Saxon  grave  in  the  cemetery  in  Bourne  Park, 
near  Canterbnry.     The  grave  was  nearly  fourteen  feet  long, 
about  half  that  width,  and  somewhat  more  than  four  feet  deep. 
The  floor  was  very  smoothly  cut  in  the  chalk,  and  surrounded 
by  a  narrow  gutter ;  and  the  grave  was  filled  up  with   fine 
mould  brought  from  a  distance,  and  not,  as  in  most  other  cases, 
Avith  the  chalky  soil  of  the  spot.     At  the  foot  of  the  grave,  in 
the  right-hand  corner,  had  stood  a  bucket,  of  -wliicli  the  bronze 
hoops,  in  perfect  preservation,  occupied  their  position  one  above 
the  other  as  if  the  wood  had  been  there  to  support  them.     A 
little  higher  up  in  the  grave,  in  the  position  generally  occupied 
by  the  right  leg  of  the  person  buried,  was  found  a  considerable 
heap  of  fragments  of  iron,   among  which  were  the  boss  of  a 
shield  of  the   usual   Saxon   form,  a  horse's  bit,  a  buckle,  and 
other  fragments  which  appeared  to  have  belonged  to  the  shield, 
a  number  of  nails  with  large  ornamental  heads,  with  smaller 
nails,  the  latter  mostly  of  brass.  From  the  position  of  the  boss, 
it  appeared  that  the  shield  had  been  placed  with  the  convex 
(or  outer)  surface  downwards.     Not  far  from  these  articles,  at 
the  side  of  the  grave,  was  found  an  iron  ring  with  two  smaller 
ones  attached  to  it,  apparently  belonging  to   the  horse's  bridle, 
or  to  a  belt.     On  the  left-hand  side  of  the  grave   was  found   a 
small  piece  of  iron  resembling  the  point  of  some  weapon.     At 
tlie  head  of  the  grave,  on  the  right-hand  side,  was  an  elegantly- 
shaped  bowl,  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  two  inches  and  a  half 
deep,  of  very  thin  copper,  which  had  been  thickly  gilt,  and  with 
handles  of  iron.   It  had  been  placed  on  its  edge  leaning  against 
the  wall  of  the  grave,  and   was  crushed   and  broken  by  the 
weight  of  the  superincumbent  earth.     Two  small  round  discs, 
resembling  counters,  about  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
were  found  near  the  head  of  the  grave.     They  were  flat  on  one 
side  and  convex  on  the  other,  the  one  of  bone,  while  the  other 
had  been  cut  out  of  a  piece  of  Samian  ware.  There  was  not  the 
slightest  trace   of  a  body  having   ever  been  deposited  in  this 


CHAP.  XV.  J  ANGLO-SAXON  BARROWS.  469 

grave;  the  appearances  were  decisive  to  tlie  contrary.  Tliis 
may  be  explained  by  supposing  that  tlie  person  for  whom  the 
grave  was  made  had  been  a  chief  killed  in  battle  in  some  distant 
expedition,  and  that  his  friends  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  his 
body.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  Anglo-Saxon  cenotaph.  This  view 
of  the  case  seemed  to  be  supported  by  the  fact  that,  although 
so  many  valuable  articles  were  found  in  the  grave,  there  were 
no  traces  of  the  long  sword  and  the  knife  usually  found 
with  tlie  bodies  of  male  adults  m  the  Saxon  barrows.  These 
would  have  been  attached  to  the  body  itself  as  a  part  ot  the 
dress. 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance  connected  with  the  Anglo-Saxon 
graves  that  human  bones  are  often  found  among  the  earth  at 
tlie  top,  sometimes  in  the  mound  above,  and  the  unexperienced 
excavator  is  discouraged  by  this  discovery,  in  the  belief  that  tlie 
grave  has  been  previously  broken  up,  whereas,  when  he  reaches 
the  bottom,  he  finds  that  the  original  deposit  has  not  been  dis- 
turbed.* I  can  only  explain  this  by  the  supposition  that  they 
are  the  bones  of  slaves  or  captives,  L-..,m  as  a  propitiation  to  the 
shades  of  their  master  or  mistress,  and  thrown  upon  the  grave. 
We  know  that  the  immolation  of  slaves  at  funerals  was  a  com-  ! 
mon  practice  among  the  Teutonic  races.  In  the  northern  Edda  / 
when  Brynhild,  like  Dido,  slew  herself  for  her  faithless  lover, 
we  are  told  that  she  ordered  that  at  her  funeral  pile  two  im- 
molated slaves  should  be  placed  at  her  head,  and  two  at  her 
feet. 

As  I  have  said,  the  Anglo-Saxon  barrows  are  generally  found 
in  large  groups  or  cemeteries,  and  the  moimd  which  covers  each 
grave  is  very  low,  but  this  is  perhaps  to  be  attributed  to  the 
effect  of  time,  as  they  are  generally  placed  in  exposed  situations. 
But  we  sometimes  find  isolated  Anglo-Saxon  barrows,  which  we 
can  only  appropriate  by  the  Saxon  character  of  the  articles  they 
contain.  Several  of  these  are  found  in  the  peak  of  Derbyshire  ; 
but  they  are  met  with  chiefly  on  elevations  near  the  sea.  A 
bold  conical  hill  overlooking  Folkestone,  in  Kent,  is  crowned 
with  a  fine  Saxon  barrow.  The  sentiment  which  led  to  the  choice 
of  such  positions  may  be  gathered  from  more  than  one  passage 
in  the  poem  of  Beowulf.  It  was  the  hero's  dying  request  to 
his  people, — 

*  In  a  few  instances  the  bones  in  the  upper  part  of  the  mound  have 
been  found  so  much  less  decomposed  than  those  underneath,  that  we  can 
hardly  avoid  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  tb'^v  belonj;cd  to  some  later 
iaternient. 


470 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.    XV. 


command  the  war-chiefs 

to  make  a  mound, 

bright  after  the  funeral  fire, 

upon  the  nose  of  the  promontory  ; 

which  shall  for  a  memorial 

to  my  people 

rise  high  aloft 

on  Hronesness  ; 

that  the  sea- sailors 

may  afterwards  call  it 

Beowulf's  barrow, 

when  the  Brentings 

over  the  darkness  of  the  floods 

sliall  sail  afar. — BeowiclJ\  line  .7e599. 


The  hill  of  Oseiigal,  overlooking  Pegwell  Bay  near  Eamsgatc;, 
and  furnishing-  a  niagnitioent  view  of  the  Channel  with  the  dis- 
tant coast  of  France,  is  perforated  like  a  honeycomb  with  the 
graves  of  an  immense  Saxon  cemetery.  Here  time  has  entirely 
obliterated  the  barrows  which  once  covered  the  graves,  and  the 
latter  w^ere  only  discovered  accidentally  in  the  course  of  the 
railway  cutting.  Many  of  them  have  been  since  opened  by  the 
late  Mr  Eolfe,  of  Sandwich,  and  have  added  considerably  to 
tlie  richness  of  his  museum.  The  Anglo-Saxons  generally 
placed  their  cemeteries  on  elevated  spots,  where  these  coidd  be 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  settlements.  People  seem 
to  have  been  carried  for  burial  there  from  the  country  at  a 
distance  around;  we  generally  also  find  Saxon  cemeteries  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  a  Eoman  city  or  town,  where 
it  continued  to  be  occupied  in  Saxon  times,  and  it  is  not  un- 
frequently  placed  on  the  site  of  the  older  Roman  cemetery  of 
the  town.  Such  is  the  case  at  Canterbury,  Colchester,  and 
other  places. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  was  buried  in  his  full  dress,  with  all  his 
arms  and  accoutrements.  By  his  side  we  often  find  the  long 
iron  sword,  the  presence  of  which  is,  in  itself,  an  unfailing 
evidence  of  the  people  to  whom  the  grave  belonged.  These 
swords  are  often  nearly  a  yard  long,  and  Avere  evidently  in- 
tended rather  for  cutting  than  for  thrusting.  They  appear 
usually  to  have  been  double-edged,  and  the  blades  are  plain, 
and  nearly  uniform  in  shape.  The  one  represented  in  our 
plate  (fig.  5),  fc^xivi  in  the  cemetery  at  Osengal  in  Thanet, 
seems  to  have  had  but  one  edge,  with  a  blunt  back.  The 
hilts  appear  usually  to  have  been  made  of  wood  or  some  other 
})erishable  material ;  but  sword  hilts  of  metal  have  also  been 
found,  and  thev  are  then  extremeiv  ornamental.     Their  general 


Anglo-Saxon  Weapons,  &c. 


I 


CHAP.  XV.]  AXGLO-SAXOX  SWOEDS.  473 

form  may  be  understood  by  fig.  10  in  our  plate,  which  repre- 
sents the  hilt  of  a  sword  found  in  a  barrow  at  Ash,  near  Can- 
terbury, and  now  in  the  collection  of  Mr  Eolfe.  The  metal 
appears  to  have  been  g-ilt  or  silvered.  A  very  handsome  hilt  of 
the  same  description,  found  with  the  sword  in  the  parish  of 
Coombe,  in  Kent,  is  engraved  in  the  second  volume  of  Mr 
Eoach  Smith's  Collectanea;  the  ornamental  parts  in  this  in- 
stance were  of  bronze  gilt.  Mr  Ilolfe  also  possessed  tin; 
extremity  of  a  Saxon  sword-hilt  of  silver,  ornamented,  and  bear- 
ing an  inscription  in  rudely  formed  runes,  which  nobody  has  / 
yet  been  able  to  decipher.  This  curious  relic,  which  was  found  ' 
also  in  the  parish  of  Ash,  is  engraved  in  the  Archaeological 
Album.  In  the  poem  of  Beowulf,  swords  are  not  unfrequently 
described  as  having  richly  ornamented  hilts.  Thus  one  of  the 
heroes — 

gave  his  oi-namented.  swoi'd, 

the  costliest  of  irons, 

to  his  servant. — Beowulf^  line  1338. 

Aiul  in  another  passage  it  is  said, — 

and  with  it  the  hilt, 

variegated  with  treasure. — BvowulJ\  line  3.228. 

And  a  little  further  on  tliere is  a  description  particularly  intei-- 
esting  as  illustrating  the  description  of  the  sword-hilts  just 
given,  especially  of  the  silver  hilt  with  the  runic  inscription. 
A  sword,  described  as  follows,  bore  not  only  the  name  of  the 
possessor  inscribed  in  runes,  but  also  an  episode  of  the  ancient 
Saxon  mythologv, — 

Ho  looked  upon  the  hilt, 

the  old  legacy, 

on  which  was  written  the  origin 

of  the  ancient  contest ; 

after  the  flood, 

the  pouring  ocean 

slew  the  race  of  giants  ; 

dai'ingly  they  behaved  : 

that  was  a  race  strango 

to  the  eternal  Lord, 

therefore  to  them  their  last  reward 

through  floods  of  water 

the  ruler  gave. 

So  was  on  the  surface 

of  the  bright  gold 

with  runic  letters 

rightly  marked. 


474  THE  SAXOXS.  [chai.  X7 

set  and  saifl, 

for  whom  that  swovd, 

the  costliest  of  irons, 

was  first  made, 

with  twisted  hilt  and  variegated  like  a  snake. 

Beowulf,  line  3373. 

The  slieath  appears  to  liave  been  frenerally  of  wood,  tipped 
with  metal,  and  it  Avas  sometimes  covered  with,  or  made  en- 
tirely of,  leather.  One  found  at  Strood,  in  Kent,  was  covered 
externally  with  a  substance  resemblinfi-  shagTeen.  A  Saxon 
sword  found  at  Faivford,  in  Gloucestershire,  had  its  wooden 
scabbard  partly  remaining,  protected  at  the  top  and  bottom 
with  bronze. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  body  from  tlie  shield,  and  simi- 
larly attached  to  the  girdle,  we  usually  find  one  or  even  more 
knives.  These  are  nsnally  of  not  very  large  dimensions,  though 
they  probably  served  tli':  purposes  of  a  dagger  as  well  as  those 
of  a  knife.  In  former  days,  people  did  not  keep  knives  for  the 
use  of  their  guests,  but  the  latter  always  carried  their  knives 
with  them.  A  small  knife  is  usually  found  with  the  other 
articles  which  ap])ear  by  their  position  to  have  been  suspended 
at  the  girdles  of  the  Auglo-Saxon  ladies.  Mr  lloach  Smith 
has  engraved  an  interesting  collection  of  Anglo-Saxon  knives  in 
the  second  volume  of  his  Collectanea.  The  four  represented  in 
our  plate,  figs.  13  to  16,  are  from  the  Saxon  cemetery  at 
OsengaL  Some  antiquaries  have  supposed  that  these  knives 
are  the  seaxas,  from  which  the  Saxons  were  pretended  to  have 
dt;rived  their  name. 

The  figures  in  our  plate,  Nos.  6  to  9,  are  examples  of  Saxon 
spear-heads,  obtained  from  the  cemetery  of  Osengal ;  they 
represent  the  usual  forms  of  this  weapon.  The  position  of  the 
shaft  in  the  grave  may  generally  be  traced  by  a  long  line  of 
black,  decomposed  wood,  and  a  ferrule,  with  a  knob  or  spike,  is 
sometimes  found  at  the  bottom.  The  spear  appears  in  some 
cases  to  have  been  seven,  or  even  eight,  feet  long.  A  remarkable 
spear-head,  with  four  edges,  was  found  in  the  Saxon  cemetery 
at  Fairford.  The  spear-heads  are  usually  from  ten  to  fifteen 
inches  long.  Arrow-heads  are  occasionally  found,  but  they 
are  rare. 

The  shield  was  generally  laid  flat  over  the  middle  of  tlie 
corpse.  It  has  been  traced  in  some  instances  to  have  been 
round,  and  not  of  large  dimensions.  It  was  usually  formed  of 
wood,  generallv  of  the  linden  tree,  which  was  of  a  vellow  tint. 


CHAP.  XV.]  AXGLO-SAXON  WEAPONS.  47o 

Hence,  tlie  poem  of  Beowulf  speaks  of  '  the  broad  shield,  yel- 
low-rimmed,' and  it  is  sometimes  railed  a  '  war-board  '  [hilde- 
hord).     Ill  one  instance  we  are  told — 

he  seized  his  shield, 

the  yellow  linden-wood. — Beowulf,  line  o21o. 

The  wood  of  the  shield  seems  to  have  been  sometimes  covered 
with  leather;  and  mention  is  made  in  Beowulf  of  a  shield  of 
iron.  It  may  be  suspected  that  tlie  round  metal  shields  whicli 
have  been  pronounced  to  be  British,  are  really  Saxon.  The 
principal  relic  of  the  shield  found  in  the  g-raves,  is  the  iron  boss 
which  occupied  the  centre  externally,  and  which  has  usually 
attached  to  it  all  or  some  of  the  rivets  whicli  fixed  it  to  the 
wood.  The  usual  form  of  the  boss  is  tliat  of  a  small  basin, 
tapering-  at  the  top  to  a  point,  and  endiiio-  in  a  knob.  Some 
of  our  old  writers  on  antiquities  have  indeed  taken  the  Saxon 
bosses  for  basins,  and  others  liave  thought  them  to  be  skull- 
caps, so  little  observation  was  made  on  the  circumstances  of 
their  discovery.  Fig.  1,  in  our  plate  of  Anglo-Saxon  weapons, 
is  also  rather  a  common  form  of  the  boss  of  the  shield.  The 
three  other  bosses  represented  in  the  plate  are  unusual  forms ; 
fig.  2  was  found  in  a  barrow  on  the  Breach  downs,  and  was  in 
the  collection  of  Lord  Londesborough,  and  fig.  3  was  found  at 
Sittingbourne,  also  in  Kent.  Fig.  4  is  a  very  singular  boss, 
which  was  found  among  Anglo-Saxon  graves  near  Driffield, 
in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire ;  the  boss  itself  is  not  of  an 
unusual  form,  but  it  has  four  circular  discs  arranged  round  it,  as 
represented  in  the  cut. 

Strips  of  iron,  formed  into  different  shapes,  but  evidently 
designed  to  be  held  by  the  hand,  are  often  found  in  Saxon 


Braces  ot  Ansrlo-Saxon  Shields, 


ixraves,  among  the  remains  of  the  shield,  and  were  supposed  by 
Douglas  to  be  the  braces  of  bows.     This  explanation,  liowe\er, 


476  THE  SAXOXS.  [chap.  \v. 

Iiad  been  lonp;  doiibtetl,  wlien,in  opening;  the  o;raves  at  Oseiig-al, 
in  Thanet,  a  more  careful  observation  cleared  np  the  nivsterv. 
Jn  every  instance,  the  article  referred  to  was  found  in  the  centre 
of  the  shield,  just  under  the  boss,  and  in  such  a  position  that 
there  could  be  no  longer  any  doubt  of  its  having  been  the 
liandle  of  the  shield.  Two  of  these  handles,  from  the  graves 
at  Osengal,  are  represented  in  the  annexed  cut.  The  lower 
example  retains  the  rivets  by  which  it  was  fixed  to  the  woqd  of 
the  shield,  in  which  there  was,  no  doubt,  in  the  middle,  a  hole 
to  receive  the  hand,  which  was  covered  by  the  boss  on  the  out- 
side. We  thus  learn  the  importance  of  very  careful  observation, 
^  even  of  the  minute  circumstances  connected  with  antiquarian 
discoveries. 

The  (Hscovery  of  buckles  of  different  forms  shows  clearly  that 
the  swords  and  knives  were  suspended  to  a  girdle  drawn  tight 
round  the  body.  Two  such  buckles,  from  the  cemetery  at 
Osengal,  are  represented  in  figs.  11  and  12  of  our  plate  at 
p.  471.  These  buckles  are  often  highly  ornamented,  and  they 
are  sometimes  enamelled.  We  find  very  little  traces  of  dress 
in  the  graves,  though  a  fragment  of  the  material  found  some- 
times impressed  in  decomposed  metal,  seems  to  show  that  it  was 
generally  of  rather  coarse  texture.  We  know  from  passages  in  the 
poem  of  Beowulf,  that  the  early  Saxons  wore  armour,  apparently 
composed  of  rings,  but  no  very  distinct  traces  of  it  have  yet 
been  found  in  the  graves.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  accounted 
for  by  the  rapid  decomposition  whicli  articles  made  of  iron 
undergo  in  the  ground.  Perhaps,  moreover,  it  was  not  the 
custom  to  equip  the  body  in  armour  and  helmet  when  it  was 
buried.  The  ril)s,  or  framework,  in  bronze,  of  a  defensive  cap 
of  some  kind  or  other,  supposed  to  be  Saxon,  were  discovered 
on  a  skull  dug  up  at  Leckhanipton  Hill,  near  Cheltenham,  and 
are  preserved  in  the  museum  of  that  town.  A  framework  of  a 
helmet,  not  very  unlike  that  at  Cheltenham,  was  taken  by  Mr 
Bateman  from  an  Anglo-Saxon  barrow  in  Derbyshire,  and  his 
description  of  it  is  sufficiently  curious  to  be  given  in  his  own 
words.  It  had  been  formed,  he  says,  '  of  ribs  of  iron,  radiating 
fi'om  the  crown  of  the  head,  and  coated  with  narrow  plates  of 
liorn,  running  in  a  diagonal  direction  from  the  ribs,  so  as  to  form 
a  herring-bone  pattern  ;  the  ends  were  secured  by  strips  of  horn, 
radiating  in  like  manner  as  the  iron  ribs,  to  which  they  were 
riveted  at  intervals  of  about  an  inch  and  a  half;  all  the  rivets 
had  ornamented  heads  of  silver  on  the  outside,  and  on  the  front 
rib  is  a  small  cross  of  the  same  metal.     Upon  the  top  or  crown 


CHAP.  XV.]  ANGLO-SAXON  ARMOUR.  477 

of  tlie  helmet,  is  an  elongated  oval  brass  plate,  upon  wliicli 
stands  tlie  fii;-ure  of  an  animal,  carved  in  iron,  now  much  rusted, 
l)ut  still  a  very  good  representation  of  a  pig  ;  it  has  bronze  eyes. 
There  are  also  many  smaller  decorations,  abounding  in  rivets, 
all  which  have  pertained  to  the  helmet,  but  Avhicli  it  is  impos- 
sible to  assign  to  their  proper  places,  as  is  also  the  case  with 
some  small  iron  buckles.'  Mr  Bateman  adds,  that  there  was 
found  with  the  helmet  a  mass  of  chain-work,  formed  of  '  a  large 
quantity  of  links,  of  two  descriptions,  attached  to  eacli  other 
by  small  rings,  half  an  inch  in  diameter ;  one  kind  is  Hat  and 
lozenge-shaped,  about  one  inch  and  a  half  in  length ;  those  of 
the  other  sort  are  all  of  one  pattern,  but  of  different  lengths, 
varying  from  four  to  ten  inches ;  they  are  simply  pieces  of 
square  rod  iron,  with  perforated  ends,  through  which  are  passed 
the  rings  connecting  them  with  the  diamond-sliaped  links. 
Along  with  them  was  a  six-pronged  instrument,  similar  to  a 
hay-fork,  with  the  difference  that  the  fang,  which,  in  a  fork,  is 
inserted  into  the  shaft,  is  in  this  instance  flattened  and  folded 
over,  so  as  to  form  a  small  loop,  as  for  suspension.  All  the 
iron  articles,  except  this  and  the  helmet,  were  amalgamated 
together  from  the  effects  of  rust ;  they  also  present  traces  of 
cloth  over  a  great  part  of  their  surface  ;  it  is  therefore  not 
improbable  that  they  may  have  originally  constituted  some 
kind  of  defensive  armour  by  being  sewn  upon  or  within  a 
doublet.'  Mr  Roach  Smith  has  quoted,  in  illustration  of  the  \ 
swine  or  boar  on  this  helmet,  passages  from  Tacitus,  and  from  \ 
the  Anglo-Saxon  poem  of  Beowulf,  which  shows  that  that  | 
animal  was  a  favourite  ensign  on  the  helmets  and  arms  of  the  / 
ancient  Saxons.* 

Another  weapon  found  in  Anglo-Saxon  graves,  though  it  is 
of  very  rare  occurrence,  must  not  be  overlooked.  This  is  the 
axe,  which  seems  to  have  been  more  common  among  the  Franks 
tlian  among  the  Saxons  in  England.  The  lower  of  the  two 
examples  given  in  the  accompanying  cut  was  taken  from  a  Saxon 
barrow  in  the  isle  of  Thanet,  and  is  preserved  in  the  museum  of 
Mr  Rolfe ;  the  axe  represented  in  the  upper  figure  was  found 
in  a  grave  of  this  same  period,  from  a  cemetery  discovered  nt 
Selzen,  in  Ehenish  Hesse, f  and  is  here  given  for  the  sake  of 

*  Cuts  of  these  helmets  will  be  found  in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  Collectanea, 
vol.  ii.  p.  238. 

t  A  very  interesting^  account  of  this  cemetery,  which  resembled  closely 
the  Anglo-Saxon  cemeteries  in  England,  was  published  at  Maintz,  in  1S18, 
bv  the  brothers  W.  and  L.  Lindenschmidt. 

2   G 


478 


THE  SAZONS. 


[chap.  XV. 


\^' 


4 


Saxon  Axes. 


comparison.  Their  identity  of  form  is  remarkable.  A  similarly 
shaped  axe  was  found  in  a  grave 
at  Ash,  near  Canterbury ;  Mr 
Eoach  Smith  possesses  one  which 
was  obtained  in  Berkshire ;  and 
two  or  three  others  have  been 
found  in  different  parts  of  Eng- 
land. 

It  will  be  seen  by  what  has 
been  already  said,  and  by  the  ex- 
t/  amples  given,  that  the  weapons 

of  our  Anglo-Saxon  forefathers 
were  purely  Teutonic,  and  that 
so  far  they  had  borrowed  nothing 
of  the  Romans.  In  war,  they 
fought  as   Saxons  :    and   it  was 

only  when  they  came  in  social  contact  with  the  people  who  had 
preceded  them  that  they  felt  the  superiority  of  the  Romans  in 
the  arts  of  peace.  The  personal  ornaments  found  in  our  Anglo- 
Saxon  barrows  are  numerous,  especially  in  Kent,  where  the 
discoveries  hitherto  made  show  a  greater  degree  of  wealth  and 
refinement  than  in  the  other  Saxon  or  Anglian  kingdoms.  Of 
all  the  articles  of  personal  ornament  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
interments,  the  fibulce  are  the  most  remarkable,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  most  characteristic ;  and  they  have  a  peculiar 
interest  from  the  circumstance  that  there  are  several  distinct 
varieties,  and  that  the  difference  arose  evidently,  not  from  indi- 
vidual caprice,  but  from  the  distinctive  fashions  of  the  different 
races  who  came  into  the  island.  They  help  to  corroborate  the 
statements  of  the  early  Anglo-Saxon  annalists  of  the  positions 
of  these  various  tribes  in  Britain.  We  have  given  examples  of 
these  different  varieties  in  the  accompanying  plate. 

The  first  and  the  richest  variety  of  these  ornaments  are  the 
circular  fibulae  found  in  the  barrows  in  Kent,  of  which  some 
very  fine  examples  are  preserved  in  the  museums  of  Lord 
Londesborough,  Dr  Eaussett,  Mr  Rolfe  (the  two  latter  now 
united  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Mayer,  of  Liverpool),  and  other 
collectors.  They  are  more  usually  of  gold  than  any  other 
matei'ial,  are  genei'ally  ornamented  with  filigree  work,  and  are 
set  with  stones,  usually  garnets,  or  with  glass  or  vitreous 
pastes,  and  sometimes  with  enamel.  One  of  the  finest  examples 
of  this  class  of  fibulae  was  found  a  few  years  ago  at  Sitting- 
bourne,  in  Kent.     The   form  of  the  ornament  was  that  of  a 


Anglo-Saxon  Fibuloe. 


cuAP.  XV.]  AXGLO-SAXON  FIBUL.E.  481 

double  star,  set  with  garnets,  or  coloured  glass,  upon  cliequered 
fods  of  gold.  The  rays  of  the  inner  star  were  of  a  Ijlue  stone. 
Between  tjie  rays  of  the  larger  star  were  four  studs,  with  a 
ruby  in  each,  surrounded  with  a  circle  of  garnets,  the  spaces 
between  being  tilled  up  with  gold  filigree. 

A  much  diminished  sketch  of  this  fibula  is  given  in  the 
upper  figure  to  the  left  in  our  plate.  In  another  very  hand- 
some round  fibula  in  the  collection  of  Lord  Londesborough, 
found  in  a  barrow  at  Wingham,  in  Kent,  the  outer  riin  is 
bronze,  but  all  the  rest  gold,  set  with  garnets  and  blue  stones, 
as  usual,  over  thin  gold  foil,  which  was  indented  with  cross 
lines,  to  give  greater  brilliancy ;  the  spaces  between  the  limbs 
of  the  cross  or  flower  formed  by  the  stones  were  here  also  filled 
up  with  the  twists  of  gold  filigree  which  are  so  common  in 
Anglo-Saxon  jewellery.  These  round  fibulae  appear  to  have 
been  worn  by  ladies,  and  from  the  position  in  which  they  are 
found  they  seem  to  liave  been  placed  on  the  breast.  They 
were  evidently  peculiar  to  the  people  of  Kent  and  to  the 
kindred  inhabitants  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  examples  have 
bf,en  found.  It  is  very  unusual  to  find  them  in  other  parts  of 
England ;  though  a  very  rich  gold  fibula  of  this  description  was 
found  some  years  ago  at  Sutton,  near  Woodbridge,  in  Suffolk, 
which  was  covered  with  filigree  work,  and  had  been  set  Avith 
stones  and  enamel.* 

The  second  class  of  Anglo-Saxon  fibulae  present  a  totally 
different  type ;  they  are  generally  made  of  bronze  or  brass, 
though  they  appear  in  almost  every  instance  to  have  been  gilt. 
They  have  been  usually  termed  cross-shaped,  a  term  Avhich  is 
not  always  correct,  and  we  must  be  careful  not  to  imagine  that 
the  approach  to  the  form  of  the  cross  has  any  connexion  witli 
Christianity,  for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  all  these  barrows 
belonged  to  the  pagan  Saxons.  Several  examples  of  this  class 
of  fibulae  are  given  in  our  plate.  The  upper  one  to  the  right 
was  found  at  Ingarsby,  ten  miles  from  Leicester.  It  has  been 
broken,  and,  as  will  be  seen  by  comparison  with  the  other 
examples,  the  upper  part  only  remains.  When  perfect,  it  must 
have  been  very  large,  for  the  part  here  represented  is  five 
inches  in  length.  The  figure  immediately  below  it  represents 
one  of  this  class  of  fibulae,  of  a  rather  different  type,  found  at 

*  This  beautiful  fibula  is  given  in  colours,  and  of  the  size  of  the  original, 
with  several  other  examples  of  the  round  Kentish  fibula,  in  a  plate  in  tiie 
'  Archyeological  Album.'  Other  examples  will  be  found  in  Douglas's 
'  Neuia.' 


Ib2 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.  XV. 


Stowe  Heath,  adjoiniii<^  to  Icklingham,  in  Suffolk.  The 
original  is  six.  inches  in  length,  and  it  is  ornamented,  like 
others  of  the  same  class,  with  attempts  at  representing  mon- 
strous heads.  The  ornamentation  of  the  large  fibulae  of  this 
class  is  often  very  elaborate,  though  rude  in  character.  The 
fibulae  of  this  form  are  found  in  large  quantities  in  the  counties 
of  Derby,  Leicester,  Nottingham,  Northampton,  and  thence 
through  Cambridgeshire,  Suffolk,  and  Norfolk,  as  well  as  in 
Yorkshire.  They  were  evidently  peculiar  to  the  Angles,  who 
formed  the  population  of  Mercia,  East-Anglia,  and  North- 
umbria.  As  shown  in  the  examples  just  described,  some  of  the 
more  ornamental  ones  were  of  very  large  dimensions ;  but 
others,  and  that  by  much  the  most  numerous  class,  are  smaller 
and  plainer.  The  two  examples  given  in  our  plate,  between 
the  circular  fibulae,  both  from  Stowe  Heath,  in  Suffolk,  are 
types  of  rather  a  numerous  class  of  the  smaller  fibulae,  found 
chiefly  in  Mercia  and  East-Anglia.  Many  similar  fibulae  were 
found  by  Lord  Braybrooke  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  at 
Wilbraliam,  in  Cambridgeshire.  Sometimes  in  these  smaller 
fibulae,  the  head  was  formed  into  a  plain  trefoil,  or  clover  leaf, 
as  in  the  example  found  in  Yorkshire,  which  is  given  in  fig.  1, 
in  the  cut  below.  Fibulae  of  this  form  were  found  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  cemetery  at  Barrow  Furlong,  in  Northamptonshire,  de- 
scribed in  the  thirty-third  volume  of  the  Archaeologia.  Others 
with  square  heads  were  found  in  the  last-mentioned  cemetery, 
one  of  which  is  reprosented  in  fig.  2  in  our  cut.     This  class  of 


Anglo-Saxon  Fibulse. 

fibulae  is  fo\md  much  more  rarely  out  of  the  Anglian  districts. 
Some  have  been  found  in  Kent,  difiering  a  little  in  form  and 


CHAP.  XV.]  AXGLO-SAXOX  FIBULJE.  483 

ornament,  and  by  no  means  so  common  as  the  circular  ones. 
We  find  also  in  Kent  a  fibula  of  this  class,  but  of  a  peculiar 
pattern,  having-  its  head  semicircular.  One  of  these,  found 
near  the  turnpike  road  at  Folkestone-hill,  between  Folkestone 
and  Dover,  is  represented  in  fig.  3  in  the  preceding-  page.  The 
body  was  of  bronze-gilt,  the  central  band  had  been  ornamented 
with  slices  of  "-arnet,  one  of  which  still  remains  at  the  bottom 
in  a  silver  rim ;  and  the  projecting  buttons  in  the  upper  part 
had  also  been  set  with  stones,  or  with  some  kind  of  glass.  A 
fibula  exactly  similar  to  this  was  found  at  Osengal  in  Thanet, 
and  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr  Roife.  Precisely  the  same  type 
has  been  found  in  Germany  and  in  France.  In  fact,  the  class 
of  fibulae  we  are  now  describing  is  that  usually  found  in  the  ^ 
graves  of  the  same  period  on  the  Continent,  especially  in  those 
of  the  Franks  in  Gaul. 

The  third  variety  of  Anglo-Saxon  fibula?  is,  as  far  as  has  yet 
been  discovered,  peculiar  to  the  counties  of  Gloucester,  Oxford, 
and  Buckingham ;  and  it  can  now  hardly  be  doubted  that 
they  belonged  to  the  West-Saxons,  but  comparatively  little 
accurate  observation  has  yet  been  made  of  Anglo-Saxon 
remains  found  in  the  purely  Saxon  districts.  These  fibula?, 
which  are  also  of  brass  or  bronze,  are  circular,  and  deeply 
concave,  or,  rather,  formed  like  a  saucer.  The  rim,  or  side, 
is  usually  plain,  but  the  flat  bottom  is  ornamented  with  Saxon 
tracery.  The  example  represented  in  our  plate  at  p.  480,  is 
now  in  the  museiun  of  Lord  Braybrooke,  who  bought  it  at 
the  sale  at  Stowe,  in  Buckinghamshire ;  it  is  said  to  have 
been  found  with  a  skeleton  at  Ashendon,  in  that  county,  with 
a  smaller  fibula  of  the  same  description,  which  is  also  in  Lord 
Braybrooke's  collection.*  In  Lord  Braybrooke's  example, 
which  is,  I  believe,  in  this  respect  unique,  the  centre  and  the 
four  points  of  the  cross  of  the  ornament  are  set  with  coloured 
glass  on  gold  foil,  like  the  circular  fibula?  of  Kent,  from  which, 
in  other  respects,  it  differs  widely.  It  is  much  larger  than  the 
Kentish  fibulae,  measuring-  in  diameter  nearly  three  inches  and 
a  half.  Others  of  equal,  and  of  smaller,  dimensions  have  been 
found  in  the  counties  above  mentioned.  The  field  is  always 
covered  with  ornamentation  of  the  same  class,  in  some  instances 
with  rude  figures  of  faces  and  animals,  and  resembling  in  style 

*  It  is  a  proof  of  the  low  state  of  antiquarian  science  in  England  till  a 
very  recent  date,  that,  while  this  fibula  was  in  the  collection  at  Stowe,  it 
was  considered  to  be  one  of  a  pair  of  scales,  and  as  such  it  was  described 
in  the  sale  catalo<>ue. 


484  THE  SAXONS.  ,  [chap.  xv. 

and  diameter  that  of  the  cross-shaped  fibulce.  Tlie  only  in- 
stance I  know  at  present  of  the  discovery  of  one  of  these 
ribnlae  out  of  the  counties  mentioned,  occurred  in  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  burial-place  in  Yorkshire. 

Other  small  circular  fibulae  of  a  much  plainer  and  less  clia- 
racteristic  description  are  also  found  with  Saxon  remains  in 
different  parts  of  the  island.  Sometimes  they  consist  of  a 
circular  plate,  at  others  of  a  mere  circular  rim,  or  fiat  ring-, 
the  material  being  generally  of  bronze.  They  are  sometimes 
ornamented  in  the  style  of  the  fields  of  the  saucer-shaped  fibulae, 
while  in  many  instances  they  are  merely  marked  with  small 
circles,  or  lines,  or  are  left  quite  plain.  Fibulae  of  more  fan- 
ciful forms  are  also  foinid  with  Anglo-Saxon  remains,  and  not 
unfrequently  shaped  into  the  rude  figure  of  a  bird.  Circular 
fibulae,  apparently  of  the  early  Anglo-Saxon  period,  made  of  lead, 
have  also  been  found,  but  they  are  very  rare,  and  possess  many 
j)('culiarities.  Of  three  which  I  have  examined,  one  was  found 
in  Yorkshire,  and  the  other  two  in  London.  The  first  is  in  the 
collection  of  Mr  Hargrove,  of  Y^ork ;  it  is  a  thin  circular  plate 
of  lead,  exactly  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  ornamented 
with  three  concentric  circles,  and  a  rude  figure  in  the  centre. 
The  outer  cn'cle,  or  rim,  is  of  a  chain  or  cable  pattern ;  the  two 
inner  circles  are  hatched  in  square  compartments  ;  Avhile  the 
central  figure  was  intended  to  represent  a  dragon,  with  its  tail 
twisted  and  inserted  in  its  mouth.  In  one  of  the  London  spe- 
cimens, the  field  in  the  centre,  which  is  raised  above  the  rest, 
bears  the  figure  of  a  lion  ;  it  is  surrounded  with  a  series  of  con- 
centric rings  formed  of  ovals  and  circles  of  various  sizes.  The 
other  London  example,  which  was  in  the  museum  of  Mr  Hoach 
Smith,  is  still  more  curious,  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
ornament  of  the  central  field  is  made  of  a  confused  mass  of 
letters,  exactlv  resemblino'  those  marked  on  the  earlier  Anglo- 
Saxon  coins. 

We  have  no  very  distinct  notion  of  the  particular  use  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  fibulae  in  attaching  the  dress,  though  the  larger 
and  more  ornamental  ones  Avere  probably  employed  in  fastening 
a  mantle.  The  Kentish  circular  fibulae  are  usually  found  on 
the  breast,  and  the  others  are  often  in  front  of  the  body,  some- 
.  what  nearer  the  girdle.  In  East-Anglia  and  Mercia,  the  cross- 
T-shaped  fibulae,  and,  more  to  the  south-west,  the  saucer-shaped 
fibulae,  are  often  found  in  pairs,  either  over  the  breast,  or, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  saucer-shaped  fibulae,  on  tlv) 
shoulders.     It  mav  be  observed,  that  the  buckle  of  the  belt  cr 


CHAP.  XV.]  PERSONAL  ORXAMEXTS.  485 

girdle  is  often  ornamented  in  the  same  style  as  the  fibuh^,  and 
sometimes  it  bears  some  resemblance  in  form  to  the  cross-shaped 
variety.  The  use  of  other  personal  ornaments  is  more  exactly 
defined  by  tlieir  form  and  position.  Amongst  these  the  most 
remarkable  and  numerous  are  rings,  armlets,  ear-rings,  hair-pins, 
})cn(hints  to  the  neck,  and  beads. 

Eings  and  bracelets  are  not  found  so  abundantly  as  we  miglit 
expect  from  the  manner  in  which  they  are  spoken  of  in  the  old 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry,  and  they  are  seldom  of  better  material 
than  bronze.  Finger  rings  of  silver  have  been  found  in  Kent, 
but,  from  their  character,  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  were 
of  Roman  workmanship.  In  the  cemetery  at  Barrow  Purlong, 
in  Northamptonshire,  only  one  ring  was  found,  which  was  on 
the  finger-bone  of  one  of  the  skeletons ;  it  was  made  simply  of 
a  bit  of  silver  wire,  bent  into  a  circle,  and  tied  at  the  two  ends 
by  twisting  the  wire.  In  the  graves  at  Fairford,  in  Glouces- 
tershire, were  found  several  rings  of  bronze,  all  of  them  unorna- 
mented.  A  rather  massive  bronze  spiral  ring,  perhaps  of 
Eonian  workmanship,  was  found  in  a  Saxon  grave,  in  the  same 
county.  The  Saxon  ladies  were  evidently  more  anxious  to 
adorn  their  heads  and  necks,  than  their  hands  and  arms.  Ear- 
rings are  not  very  uncommon,  but  they  are  extremely  varied  in 
form.  Sometimes  they  consist,  like  the  finger-rings,  merely  of 
a  bit  of-  silver  wire,  either  bent  into  a  plain  ring,  or  twisted  in 
a  spiral  form.  In  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  at  Chavenage,  in 
Gloucestershire,  was  found  a  pair  of  ear-rings,  formed  of  thin 
plates  of  silver,  shaped  like  crescents,  the  ends  drawn  out  fine 
and  twisted  together.  Hair-pins  are  common,  and  resemble  in 
character  those  of  the  Romans.  They  are  usually  of  bronze,  a 
metal  the  use  of  which  the  Saxons  probably  derived  from  th(^ 
people  on  whose  lands  they  came  to  reside.  They  are  often 
ornamented,  and  in  some  cases  they  seem  to  have  been  en- 
amelled. A  hair-pin  with  the  head  set  with  jewels,  was  found 
in  a  barrow  at  Wringham,  in  Kent.  A  very  highly  ornamented 
hair-pin,  of  bronze  gilt,  found,  in  a  Saxon  grave  at  Gilton,  in 
East  Kent,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Canterbury  museum,  is 
engraved  in  the  second  volume  of  the  '  Collectanea  Antiqua ' 
of  Mr  Roach  Smith,  who  considers  it  to  be  of  late  Roman 
workmanship.  These  pins  were  no  doubt  intended,  like  the 
Roman  ones,  for  fastening  up  the  hair  behind  the  head.  The 
greater  immber  are  mere  pins  of. bronze,  or  sometimes  of  bone  ; 
but  it  is  remarkable  that  these  plain  hair-pins  have  almost 
always  a  ring  at  the  top,  or,  at  least,  the  head  pierced  for  one, 


v/ 


•186  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xv. 

wliicli  was,  no  douljt,  intended  for  attaeliino^  some  part  of  the 
liead-dress  with  which  we  are  unacquainted.  The  jewellery 
suspended  round  the  neck  was  often  rich  and  highly  orna- 
mented. A  beautiful  necklace  of  stones  set  in  gold,  pendent 
to  a  gold  band,  was  found  by  Mr  Bateman,  in  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  barrow  in  Derbyshire.  Sometimes  a  gold  ornament  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  or  a  circular  bulla,  or,  in  place  of  these, 
a  gold  lioman  or  Merovingian  coin,  was  suspended  to  the 
necklace.  Examples  of  all  these  ornaments  are  found  abund- 
antly in  the  Kentish  barrows,  but  they  are  rare  in  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom.  A  few  of  these  necklaces  and  bullse  are  re- 
presented in  our  plate,  chiefly  taken  from  barrows  in  Kent. 
Fig.  1,  from  the  cemetery  at  Sibertswold,  is  curious  as  inclosing 
a  K-oman  intaglio ;  fig.  2,  is  a  gold  bulla  from  Kingston  Down  : 
7  and  8  are  examples  of  the  bullae  from  Breachdown  and  Wing- 
ham  ;  3  and  4,  beads  or  ornaments  in  glass  from  Sibertswold 
and  Beakesbourne ;  5  and  6,  the  parts  of  a  neck-ornament  from 
Roundway  Down,  near  Devizes,  in  Wiltshire.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  of  these  ornaments  being  of  native  workmanship, 
and  they  show  us  to  what  a  high  state  of  perfection  the  art  of 
the  goldsmith  was  carried  among  our  forefathers  at  this  early 
period.  At  a  later  date,  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  celebrated 
throughout  Europe  for  the  beauty  of  their  jewellery,  ■  A  poem 
on  the  various  fortunes  of  men,  in  the  valuable  collection  of 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry  called  the  Exeter  Book,  describes  the  high 
consideration  in  which  the  Saxon  goldsmifh  was  held  ;  — 

For  one  a  wondrous  skill 

in  goldsmith's  art 

is  provided, 

full  oft  he  decorates 

and  well  adorns 

a  powerful  king's  nobles, 

and  he  to  him  gives  broad 

land  in  recompense. 

Beads  are  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  barrows  in  great  variety, 
and  they  present  a  mixture  of  the  common  Eoman  types  and 
of  others  which  were  doubtless  of  Saxon  manufacture.  Per- 
haps tiie  Roman  manufactories  of  beads  continued  to  exist  after 
the  settlement  of  the  Saxons ;  but  whether  this  were  the  case 
or  not,  it  is  certain  that  almost  every  variety  of  Roman  beads 
are  found  in  the  Saxon  interments.  The  Roman  beads  are 
generally  of  glass,  while  of  those  which  are  purely  Angi(»- 
Saxon   a  large  proportion  are  of  terra-cotta  or  earthenware,  aid 


Anglo-Saxon  Jewellery. 


CHAP.  XV.]  AXGLO-SAXOX  BEADS.  4S9 

these  are  sometimes  incrusted  with  vitreous  substances.  The 
Saxons  introduced  the  same  kind  of  ornament  into  their  eartlien- 
ware  beads  which  had  been  used  by  the  Komans  in  beads  of 
glass,  and  we  find  them  often  tastefully  variegated  with  stripes 
of  different  colours.  These  colours  are  often  very  brilliant.  A 
few  examples  of  the  o-lass  beads  are  given  in  the  plate,  fig.  5. 
Two  examples  of  the  striated  earthenware  beads  from  the 
cemeterv  at  Osengal,  in  Thanet,  are  given  in  the  annexed  cut. 


Beads  from  Oscngal. 

Other  substances  used  very  extensively  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  in 
the  manufacture  of  beads,  were  amethystine  quartz,  which  is  of 
a  lilac  colour,  and  amber.  Beads  appear  to  have  been  worn 
round  the  neck  very  generally  by  persons  of  both  sexes  ;  and  it 
is  probable  that  they  were  not  only  considered  as  personal  orna- 
ments, but  that  they  were  looked  upon  with  a  superstitious  feel- 
ing as  preservatives  against  danger,  and  especially  agamst  witch- 
craft. This  was  peculiarly  the  case  with  amber,  which,  according 
to  the  belief  of  the  ancients,  protected  the  person  who  bore  it  about 
him  against  the  evil  spirit.  Hence  we  find  continual  instances 
of  interments  in  which  the  deceased  had  merely  one  bead  of 
amber  attached  to  the  neck,  and  sometimes  it  appears  to  have 
been  simply  placed  in  the  grave  by  the  side  of  his  head.  The 
lumps  of  amber  were  generally  made  into  beads  by  drilling  a 
hole  through  them,  without  attempting  to  shape  them  into 
regular  form. 

At  the  girdle  of  the  Saxon  lady  was  suspended  a  bunch  of 
various  small  implements,  answering  to  what  in  modern  times 
is  called  a  chatelaine,  and  which  appears  to  have  been  usually 
buried  wdth  the  person  to  whom  it  belonged.  These  articles 
appear  to  have  been  very  numerous,  but,  unfortunately,  from 
tlie  circumstance  of  many  of  them  being  small,  and  of  iron, 
which  decomposes  rapidly,  they  are  often  reduced  to  mere 
shapeless  bits  of  rust.  Sometimes,  however,  they  are  more 
nerfect,  and  articles  of  bronze  are  always  better  preserved.  We 
usually  find  among  these  articles  a  small  knife — sometimes  more 


490 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.  XV. 


than  one — and  a  pair  of  scissors.  The  scissors,  or  rather 
shears,  are  almost  always  of  the  description  represented  in  onr 
cnt  on  page  409,  which  were  no  doubt  borrowed  from  tlie 
Eomans;  but  one  or  two  instances  have  been  met  with  in 
Anglo-Saxon  barrows  of  scissors  of  the  same  construction  as 
those  used  at  the  present  day.  Scissors  of  this  latter  descrip- 
tion were  found  in  the  Saxon  burial-place  at  Driffield,  in  York- 
shire. Needles  and  pins,  made  of  bronze  or  bone,  are  some- 
times found  ;  they  had  prol)ably  been  placed  in  a  case  or  sheath. 
Of  articles  of  the  toilet  found  attached  to  the  chatelaine,  if  we 


Anglo-Saxon  Tweezers. 

may  adopt  the  word,  the  one  of  most  frequent  occurrence  is  a 
pair  of  bronze  tweezers,  used,  no  doubt  ,  for  extracting  super- 
fluous hairs  fi-oni  the  body.  This 
instrument  is  so  perfectly  identical 
in  form  and  character  with  the  Ro- 
man tweezers,  that  we  might  sup- 
pose it  to  be  a  mere  relic  of  the 
Roman  period  preserved  by  one  of 
the  Saxon  conquerors,  if  it  were  not 
of  such  common  occurrence  in  An- 
glo-Saxon graves,  that  it  must  have 
been  an  article  in  general  use.  One 
of  these  bronze  tweezers,  from  the 
cemetery  at  Osengal,  is  represented 
in  our  cut.  A  number  of  small  im- 
plements resembling  bodkins,  are 
often  found  attached  together  by  a 
ring  ;  some  of  them  seem  to  have 
been  intended  for  tooth-picks  and 
others  for  ear-picks,  and  they  all 
sl.o\>  Ih'.it  the  Anglo-Saxon  ladies 
paid  considerable  attention  to  per- 
sonal cleanliness.  As  jl  have  before 
observetl,  it  would  be  impossible, 
from  the  state  in  which  they  are 
generally  found,  to  particularise  all  Anglo-Saxon  LatcIi-keT7(:') 
the  various  articles  which  the  Anglo- 


CHAP.  XV.] 


ANGLO-SAXOX  ANTIQUITTES. 


491 


Saxoii  lady  carried  at  lier  girdle.  Some  are  almost  inexplicable. 
The  three  implements  suspended  by  two  rings,  represented  in  the 
cut  on  the  preceding  page,  were  found  in  the  cemetery  at  Osen- 
gal,  and  are  in  the  collection  of  Mr  Eolfe.  Tlie  only  explana- 
tion that  can  be  offered  is,  that  they  may  have  been  latch- 
keys ;  but  I  believe  that  nothing  exactly  similar  to  them  has 
been  found  elsewhere  to  assist  in  explaining  them,  though 
they  may  be  compared  with  the  Eoman  latch-keys,  which  we 
have  given  at  p.  400.  Another  class  of  objects,  found  always 
with  the  articles  hung  to  the  lady's  girdle,  and  invariably  in 
])airs,  has  furnished  a  puzzle  to  antiquaries.  Several  pairs  of 
them  were  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  at  Wilbraham, 
in  Cambridgeshire,  in  most  cases  attached  together  by  a  ring, 
or  small  frame  at  the  top.  One  of  these  is  gi^^en  in  our  next 
cut,  of  the  form  which  seems  to  have  been  most  common.  The 
extremities  of  others  were  of  the  form  represented  by  the  figure 

at  the  side.   A  number  of  other 
^\ — ».  \  examples  found  at  Stowe  Heath, 

\     j)  ill  Suffolk;   near  Swaff'ham,  in 

'  "  Norfolk ;  at  Scaleby,  near  Cais- 

tor,  in  Lincolnshire  ;  and  at  an 
unascertained  locality  in  Lei- 
cestershire ;  are  given  in  the 
second  volume  of  Mr  Eoach 
Smith's  '  Collectanea.'  They 
seem  to  be  confined  to  the 
x\nglian  districts,  and  I  am 
not  aware  of  any  example 
found  in  Kent ;  but,  curiously 
enough,  they  are  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  Prankish  cemeteries 
in  "France.  They  have  puz- 
zled the  few  antiquaries,  who 
have  observed  them,  extremely. 
They  were  supposed  at  first  to 
be  latch-keys,  but  their  being 
found  in  pairs  and  the  thin- 
ness of  the  metal  (bronze) 
seemed  to  militate  against  this 
explanation,  which  was  quite 
exploded  when  other  examples 
were  found  with  the  ends  perforated  for  small  rings,  and  in  some 


y 


V^ 


Articles  from  Wilbraham. 


402  THE  SAXOXS.  [chap.  xv. 

the  rings  were  still  foun;l  in  the  perforations.  The  most  pro- 
bable explanation  seems  now  to  be,  that  each  pair  either  formed 
the  framework  of  a  bag"  or  purse ;  or  that  they  belonged  to  a 
frame,  to  which  the  various  articles  the  lady  carried  by  her  side 
wei'e  attached.     In  some  cases  they  are  slightly  ornamented. 

Among  other  articles  of  the  toilette,  we  must  not  forget  to 
mention  comb«5,  which  have  been  found  in  several  instances  in 
Anglo-Saxon  graves.  A  double-toothed  comb,  of  bone,  with 
I'ivets  of  iron,  was  found  in  an  urn  in  the  cemetery  at  Barrow 
Furlong,  in  Northamptonshire  ;  and  a  single  one.  of  the  same 
material,  was  found  in  a  grave  in  Kent. 

Eemains  of  various  smaller  articles  are  found  scattered 
about  the  Anglo-Saxon  graves,  many  of  which,  made  of  perish- 
able materials,  are  only  indicated  by  decayed  matter.  Thus  we 
often  trace  the  place  once  occupied  by  a  small  box,  or  coffei", 
and  find  hinges,  or  clasps,  or  metal  guards,  which  have  belonged 
to  it.  A  very  remarkable  small  bronze  coffer,  or  box,  was  found 
in  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemetery  at  Stroud,  in  Kent.  It  was  made 
of  two  thin  plates  of  bronze,  riveted  together,  and  bound  round 
at  the  lower  part  with  a  narrow  band  of  the  same  metal ;  on 
one  side  was  a  ring,  which  appeared  to  have  been  intended  for 
hanging  it  to  the  girdle.  It  was  stamped  with  Christian  figures 
and  emblems,  and  was,  doubtless,  of  foreign  manufacture : 
perhaps  obtained  in  barter  or  in  war,  for  the  interment  Avas 
clearly  a  pagan  one.*  It  is  unnecessary  to  attempt  an  enu- 
meration of  all  the  small  miscellaneous  articles  found  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  graves.  In  one  of  those  at  Osengal,  a  pair  of 
compasses  was  found,  and  in  another  lay  a  pair  of  scales,  the 
scales  of  which  were  very  neatly  made  of  thin  bronze  ;  along 
with  them  were  the  weights,  which  were  formed  of  Roman 
coins,  carefully  adjusted  by  i-ubbing  away  the  surface.  It  is 
not  unusual  to  find  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  graves  in  Kent,  sea- 
shells,  and  even  snail-shells,  and  we  sometimes  meet  with 
cowries,  which  nuist  have  been  brought  from  the  East.  These, 
with  the  occurrence  of  Byzantine  coins,  and  articles  like  the 
coffer  described  above,  show  to  what  extent  the  early  Anglo- 
Saxon  settlers  held  communication  with  foreign  and  even  dis- 
tant nations. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  pottery  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 

*  This  very  curious  relic  is  engraved  in  Mr  Roach  Smith's  '  Collec- 
tanea Antiqua,'  vol.  ii,  plate  36.  A  somewhat  similar  hox,  ornanjented 
with  Christian  subjects,  has  recently  been  found  by  Mr  Ackerman  in  Qie 
Saxon  cemetery  of  Little  Wittenham,  Oxfordshire. 


CHAP.    XV.] 


AXGLO- SAXON  TOTTERY. 


493 


cT'-aves  ill  Kent,  is  Eoman,  often  cups  and  paterae,  sometimes 
in  frag-nients,  of  the  red  Samian  ware.  Tlie  pottery  of  Saxon 
manufacture  found  in  tliis  country  occurs  chiefly  in  tlie  cenip- 


Anglo- Saxon  Pottery. 

teries  wliere  cremation  was  practised,  that  is,  in  JNIercia  and 
East  Ang'lia,  and  consist  of  burial  urns.  These  were  long- 
classed  indiscriminately  as  British,  and  it  is  not  till  lately  that 
their  distinctive  cliaracteristics  have  been  pointed  out.  The 
cut  given  above  presents  five  examples  of  Ang-lo-Saxon  earth- 
enware vessels.  The  two  to  the  left,  taken  from  a  Saxon 
cemetery  at  Kingston,  near  Derby,  are  the  ordinary  types  of 
burial  urns  found  in  interments  of  this  period  in  England.  They 
are  usually  made  with  the  hand,  without  the  use  of  the  lathe, 
of  a  dark-coloured  clay,  and  are  not  well  baked ;  their  colour  is 
generally  a  dark  brown,  passing  either  to  a  black  or  to  a  dark 
green  tint.  Their  distinguishing  characteristics  are  projecting 
knobs  or  bosses  at  the  sides,  peculiar  zigzag  patterns,  and  a 
still  more  usual  ornamentation  of  circles  or  squares,  which  have 
the  appearance  of  having  been  stamped  with  the  end  of  a  notched 
stick.  The  small  unornamented  vessel  on  the  right  was  found 
in  the  same  cemetery,  but  without  bones,  and  it  was  probably 
a  cup  for  domestic  purposes:  it  exactly  resembles  one  found 
in  a  grave  in  Kent.      The  long-nocked  amj)ulla  in  the  middle 


494 


THE  SAXONS. 


[chap.  XV. 


was  found  in  an  Ang-lo-Saxon  grave  in  Kent.  Tlie  vessel 
at  the  bottom,  to  the  right,  from 
the  same  cemetery  at  Kingston,  was 
also  used  as  a  burial  urn.  An  Anglo- 
Saxon  burial  urn,  of  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent pattern,  but  similar  in  general 
character,  is  represented  in  the  annexed 
cut.  It  was  found  by  Mr  Bloxam,  at 
Chertersover,  in  Warwickshire,  tilled 
with  ashes,  and  accompanied  with  an 
iron  sword,  a  spear-head,  and  other 
articles,  all  undoubtedly  Saxon.  The 
articles  constantly  found  with  the  urns 
of  this  class,  leave  no  room  for  doubt 

that  they  have  been  correctly  appropriated  to  the  early  Saxon 
settlers  in  our  island  ;  and  this  appropriation  is  corroborated  in  a 
very  remarkable  manner  by  discoveries  made  on  the  continent.  In 
1848,  two  German  antiquaries,  the  brothers  Lindenschmit,  pub- 
lished an  account  of  the  opening  of  an  ancient  Teutonic  cemetery 
of  the  pagan  period,  at  Selzen,  in  Rhenish  Hesse,  the  articles 
found  in  which  presented  exactly  the  same  character  as  those 
in  our  Anglo-Saxon  barrows.     There  w^as  a  similar  mixture  of 


Anfflo- Saxon  Urn. 


^g9   Q  &    gi>&  & 

1^^)  a)  ©  S)  ®  ®  ® 


Germano- Saxon  Pottery. 

tliC  two  kinds  of  interment,  but  tlie  practice  of  burying  the 
body  entire  seemed  to  prevail.  The  pottery  was  of  precisely 
the  same  character;  it  was  similar  in  form,  and  was  ornamented 


CHAP.  XV.] 


GLASS  DRINKING  VESSELS. 


49o 


with  tlie  same  bosses  on  the  sides,  and  the  same  impressed 
notches  as  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  pottery  described  a1)ove.  Yov 
the  sake  of  comparison,  fonr  examples  of  the  pottery  from 
Selzen  are  given  in  the  annexed  cnt :  the  two  to  the  left  arc 
cinerary  nrns,  like  those  found  in  Derbyshire. 

TheAng-lo-Saxon  glass,  which  is  not  uncommon,  differs  from 
the  Roman  in  being  thinner,  not  so  fine  in  texture,  and  more 
subject  to  that  kind  of  decomposition,  which  destroys  its  trans- 
parency, and  gives  it  a  variegated  tint.     It  is  probable  that  tlie 


Anglo-Saxon  Drinking'-glasses. 

Saxon  glass-workers  derived  the  art  from  their  Roman  pre- 
decessors, and  they  certainly  possessed  very  great  skill,  although 
the  form  and  ornament  of  their  work  differed  entirely  from 
Eoman  work.  The  glass  vessels  found  in  Anglo-Saxon  graves 
are  generally  drinking-cups,  the  forms  of  which  will  be  best 
understood  by  the  cut  above.  When  ornamented,  they  are 
usually  ribbed  or  striated.  The  forms  were  evidently  derived 
from  the  imitation  of  drinking-horns.*  The  examples  given 
in  our  cut  were  all  taken  from  barrows  in  East  Kent,  and 
were  in  the  collections  of  Lord  Londesborough  and  Mr  Kolfe. 
The  ornamentation  answers  sufficiently  well   to  the   epithet   of 

*  It  will  be  observed  that  these  drinking-- cups  are  so  made  that  they 
could  not  stand  upright ;  each  guest  was  expected  to  drink  his  glass  oti'  at 
a  draught.  It  is  said  that  this  custom  of  making  drinking-cups  which 
would  not  stand,  in  order  to  compel  the  drinkers  to  empty  thein  at  once,  was 
the  origin  of  the  modern  name  of  tttmblers,  given  to  glasses  which  are  not 
now  placed  in  the  same  predicament. 


496 


THE  SAXO^iS. 


[chap.  XV. 


twisted,  which  is  applied  in  Ano-lo-Saxon  poetry  to  drinkiiio;- 
eiips.     Thus  in  Beowulf  (line  983),  we  are  told  that — 

the  thane  observed  his  office, 
he  that  in  his  hand  bare 
the  twisted  ale-cup. 

The  small  cup-shaped  glass  vessel  at  the  bottom  of  our  cut  is 
also  the  type  of  a  class  of  not  uncommon  occurrence  in  Kent. 
A  remarkable   characteristic   of  the   early  Anglo-Saxon  glass 


Anglo-Saxon  Glass  Vessels. 

manufacture  is  an  ornamentation  formed  by  separate  threads  of 
glass  twisted  round  the  vessel  after  it  had  been  formed ;  and 
sometimes  of  large  knobs  added  to  the  glass,  these  latter 
assuming  very  singular  shapes.  It  is  difficult  to  say  how  far 
this  kind  of  ornament  was  derived  from  the  late  Roman  period, 
but  there  is  in  the  little  museum  at  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  a 
glass  ampulla,  said  to  have  been  found  among  purely  Roman 
remains,  which  is  ornamented  with  the  same  strings  twisted 
round  the  neck.  I  give,  on  this  page,  two  examples  of  An»-lo- 
Saxon  glass  vessels,  with  these  singular  ornamentations.  The 
one  with  knobs  attached  was  found  at  Reculver,  in  Kent,  and 
is  now  preserved  in  the  museum  at  Canterbury  :  it  is  about 
six  inches  high,  of  a  colour  varying  from  olive  green  to  yellow 
(the  variations  perhaps  caused  by  decomposition),  the  projections 
being  of  a  dark  green — it  is  also  ornamented  with  the  strings 
mentioned  above.  The  other  vessel  represented  in  tlie  cut  was 
found  at  Ash,  in  Kent,  in  1849,  and  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr 
Rolfe ;  it  is  a  curious  specimen  of  the  application  of  the  thread 
ornament.     Other  examples  of  glass  vessels,   resembling  the 


CHAP.    XV.] 


DIIIXKIXG  VESSELS. 


407 


first  of  these,  with  the  projecting;  claws,  have  been  found  'm 
(litterent  parts  of  Saxon  Eng-laiid.  One  is  given  in  Mr  Wylie's 
account  of  the  Fairford  o-raves,  in  Gloucestershire,  where  it  was 
I'oLind.  Another  was  found  in  a  Saxon  g-rave  in  liampshirc, 
and  a  fourth  at  Coonibe,  in  East  Kent.  Another  was  found  at 
Castle  Eden,  in  Durham,  and  was  engraved  in  the  fifteenth 
volume  of  the  Archseologia. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance,  and  shows  us  the 
necessity  of  comparing  the  antiquities  of  cognate  races,  that 
one  of  these  cups  with  the  projecting  claw^s,  so  similar  to  those 
foiuid  in  England  that  w^e  might  suppose  it  bad  come  from  the 
same  workshop,  was  found  in  a  grave  in  the  ancient  cemetery  j~ 
at  Selzen,  in  Rhenish  Hesse.*  To  show  the  close  similarity  \f 
between  the  glass  vessels  found  in  the  Selzen  graves  and  those 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  which  is  the  best  evidence  we  could  have 
of  their  purely  Teutonic  chai'acter,  I  give  in   this  page   three 


Gennauo- Saxon  Drinking-  Vessels. 

(Irinking-glasses  copied  from  the  work  of  the  brothers  Lindcn- 
schmit.  One  of  the  cup-shaped  glasses,  like  those  in  our  Anglo- 
Saxon  graves,  with  two  earthenware  jugs,  also  from  Selzen,  are 
given  in  our  cut  on  the  next  page.  These  two  vessels  are  evi- 
dently the  original  type  of  our  modern  pitcher.  They  are  not 
often  found  in  Anglo-Saxon  barrows,  but  exam})les  have  occur- 
red, and  others  probably  have  been  passed  over  unobserved.  A 
good  specinu'u  is  preserved  in  the  museum  of  Dover;  it  is  said 
to  have  been  dug  up  in  that  neighbourhood.      Mr  Koach  Smith 

*  Mr  Roach  Snutli  has  o-iven  enpravings  of  this  Selzen  specimen,  aloii.ir 
wirh  theditferent  cxaniples  found  in  England,  in  his  •  Collectanea  Antiqua,' 
vul.  ii. 

2  11 


4«}S 


THE  SAXOXS. 


[chap.  XT. 


extrarted  frai>-nients  of  nnotlier  from  a  barrow  on  tlie  siuiniiit  of 
tiie  liills  beliind  Folkestone. 


Germano-Saxon  Pottery  and  Glass. 

Although  there  is  no  doubt  much  of  purely  Teutonic  cliaractcr 
iu  tlie  ornamentation  of  the  pottery  and  glass,  and  of  many  of 
the  other  articles  manufactured  by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  it  is  pro- 
bal)le  tliat  much  of  it  also  originated  in  attempts,  more  or  less 
rude,  to  imitate  that  which  was  seen  on  Homan  woi'k.  In  some 
of  the  jewellery  we  observe  an  evident  design  to  inntate  late 
Koman  and  Byzantine  ornaments,  and  perhaps  if  we  compared 
more  closely  the  ornamental  pottery,  we  should  tind  it  was  the 
same.  This  is  observable  more 
distinctly  on  the  Prankish 
])ottery,  which  differs  some- 
what in  character  from  tliat 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The 
accompanying  cut  represents 
a  prevailing  type  of  the  Frank- 
ish  burial  urns,  which  have  ,'^^/^,!<^$x^cnn 
often,  however,  much  more  f^^^@^^J^'^^ 
ornament.  The  ornament  here  '^^^^ 
is  evidently  a  rude  imitation 
of  that  found  on  the  lloman 
red  Samian  wares  ;  it  may  be 
i-ompared   with   that  of  some 

late  lloman  pottery  found  in  ,^  Fraukish  TJru 

Britain,  of  which  we  have  al- 

r;^ady  given  a  cut  at  p.  279,  ai;d  also  with  the  orn.iment   of  a 
Itjuum  altar  given  in  p.  370.     The  comparison  ot  these  ex- 


CHAP.    XV.] 


ANGLO-SAXON  POTTERY, 


499 


ainples  shows  how  an   elegant  ornament,  in   passing  through 
successive  imitations,  degenerates  into  a  very  rude  one. 

There  are  two  chisses  of  househokl  utensils  found  frequently 
in  Anglo-Sax:on  interments,  which  are  worthy  of  particular  notice. 
Bowls  of  ])rouze,  highly  gilt,  are  met  with  in  the  cemeteries  in 
Kent,  and    generally  so    eleu'aut   in    form,  that    we  can  hardlv 


Anglo-Saxon  Bowls. 

hesitate  in  looking  upon  them  as  the  work  of  Roman  manufac- 
turers. Three  examples  of  these  bowls  are  given  in  our  cut, 
the  first  of  which  was  found  in  a  barrow  at  Wingham,  in  Kent ; 
the  lower  example  was  found  at  Bourne  Park,  near  C-anterbury; 
and  the  one  in  the  middle,  on  Barham  Downs.  They  are  of 
different  sizes,  from  five  or  six  inches  to  thirteen  in  diameter. 
Another  article,  found  very  frequently  in  Anglo-Saxon  graves, 

is  a  bucket,  which  generally  retains 
sufficient  proofs  of  having  been  more 
or  less  highly  ornamented.  These 
buckets  are  found  in  Anglo-Saxon 
cemeteries  in  all  parts  of  England. 
Many  of  them  have  been  found  at 
different  times  in  Kent,  and  traces 
of  others,  which  had  been  formed  of 
more  perishal)le  materials,  have  been 
met  with.  One  found  in  a  grave  in 
Bourne  Park,  near  Canterbury,  had 
been  of  rather  large  dimensions  ;  tlie 
hoops  only  remained  perfect,  but 
they  were  of  bronze,  and  very  eU?- 
gantly  formed  ;  the  lower  hoop  was 
a  foct  in  diameter,  the  upper  hoo}) 


Bucket,  from  Bourne  Park. 


iOO 


THE  SAXONS. 


fciIAP,    XV. 


ten  inches,  and  the  wliole  heig'lit  of  the  bucket  appeared  to 
lir.ve  been  about  a  foot.  The  lioops  are  represented  in  the 
annexed  cut  as  they  must  have  stood  on  tlie  wood,  whicli  had 
pcrislied ;  the  liooked  feet  of  the  lower  bronze  hoop  appear  to 
luive  been  intended  to  turn  over  the  woodwork  and  hold  it 
Hrni.  The  l)ucket  on  the  rig'ht,  in  our  uext  cut,  was  found  in 
a   liTHve  on   the  Chatham   lines,  and  is  engraved  in  T)ou<>;las's 


Anglo- Saxon  Buckets. 

'  Nenia.'  It  was  made  of  iron  and  brass,  and  was,  tlierefore, 
l)ettcr  preserved.  This  bucket  was  only  seven  and  a  half 
inches  in  heig'ht,  by  eight  inches  in  diameter.  Buckets  found 
in  the  East- Anglian  cemeteries  are  often  of  still  smaller  dimen- 
sions. Several  were  found  by  Lord  Braybrooke,  at  Wilbndiam,  in 
(/andjrido-eshire.  The  bucket  on  the  left  in  the  last  cut  was 
found  in  a  barrow  near  Marlborough,  in  AViltshire,  opened  by 


Bucket  from  Fairfurd. 

Sir    Richard   Colt    Iloare,  who  erroneously  supposed  ii  ic  be 


CHAP.  XV.]  ANGLO-SAXON  BUCKETS.  oOl 

llomau.  The  in(;tal  hoops,  in  this  case,  were  embossed  or 
stamped  with  figures  of  animals.  Our  last  cut  on  the  preceding 
page  represents  one  of  these  bucket-formed  vessels  found  in  a 
grave  at  Fairford,  in  Gloucestershire,  formed  as  nsual  of  wood, 
with  brass  lioops,  and  ornaments;  it  was  ouly  four  inches  in 
diameter,  and  between  three  and  four  inches  high.  These  buckets 
are,  as  far  as  I  have  observed,  always  found  in  the  graves  of  num, 
and  they  were  evidently  vessels  which  served  for  something  moi'(^ 
than  ignoble  purposes.  The  only  explanation  1  can  suggest  is, 
that  they  were  for  containing  the  ale,  mead,  or  wine,  which 
was  to  be  served  in  the  Saxon  hall.  Tliey  are  probably  the 
vessels  {vats)  alluded  to  in  the  words  of  the  poem  of  Beowulf, 
which  describes  how 

ciip-bcarers  ^ave 

the  wiiio  from  wondrous  vats. 

Beowidf,  line  231G. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  translation  of  the  book  of  Judges   (vii.   20), 
rendered  lujdnas  coufregisseid,  by  '  to-brsecon  ]7a  bucas,' they      / 
broke   the   buckets.      A   common  name  for  this  vessel,  which    ^ 
Avas  probably  called  buc,  was  cescen,  signifying  literally  a  vessel 
made  of  ash,  the  favourite  wood  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

Roman  coins  are  not  unfrequently  found  in  Anglo-Saxon 
graves,  and  in  some  instances  a  single  coin  has  been  found,  as 
though  the  deceased,  or  his  relatives,  had  retained  some  of  the 
older  Roman  customs.  A  few  later  Byzantine,  and  also  Frankish, 
coins  have  been  found,  but  they  are  much  rarer  than  the 
Roman  coins,  which,  uo  doubt,  continued  in  circulation  under 
the  Saxons.*  The  earlier  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  coimige 
is  very  obscure.  On  many  Roman  sites,  especially  such  as  are 
known  to  have  been  occupied  down  to  a  late  period,  are  found 
very  small  coins  in  brass,  which  appear,  from  their  rude  cha- 
racter and  imperfect  design,  to  have  been  late  imitations  of  the 
Roman  coins  of  the  size  denominated  third  brass.  These  coins, 
from  their  diminutive  size,  are  termed  by  luunismatists  ui'uumi, 
and  are  supposed  to  have  been  struck  during  the  period  be- 
tw(!en  the  abandonment  of  the  island  by  the  imperial  govern- 
ment, and  the  establishment  of  the  Saxon  kingdoms.  It  is 
vei-y  probable  that  these  coins  began  to  be  struck  very  soon 
after  the  imperial  authority  was  extinct,  and  they  are  of  his- 

*  It  is  by  no  means  imcominon  to  find  coins,  especially  of  gold,  both 
Roman,  Byzantine,  and  Merovingian,  witli  loop.s  attached  to  them,  for  the 
I'urpose  ot  svispension  as  ornaments.  It  was  a  custom  which  prevailed 
among  the  Koniaus  themselves. 


r)02 


THE  SAXONS. 


fCHAP.   XV, 


torical  interest,  because  tliey  seein  to  show  tlie  continued  ex- 
istence of  the  municipal  g-overniuent  in  the  town.  Tliese  so- 
called  vilniml  are  not  always  of  the  diminutive  size  which  irave 
rise  to  their  name,  as  we  find  tliem  sometimes  as  large,  or 
nearly,  as  the  small  copper  coin  of  the  mintage  of  the  emperors 
of  the  Constantine  familv, 
which  seem  in  most  cases 
to  have  been  the  types  from 
which  they  wcrtt  rudely 
copied.  I  give  two  exani- 
])les  from  coins  recently 
found  at  AVroxeter  ( Urico- 
iiliuu).  On  this  site,  two 
instances  have  already  been 
met  Avith  in  which,  at  the 
time  the  ancient  city  was 
destroyed,  individuals  have  ^J^inimi,  iromWroxetcv  [Uricoiiium). 
dropped    the    money    with 

which  they  were  attempting  to  make  their  escape,  leaving  ^is 
curious  evidence  of  the  class  of  money  which  was  at  that 
moment  in  circulation.  The  first  of  these  individuals  was  an 
old  man,  whose  skeleton  was  found  where  he  had  sought  to 
conceal  himself  in  one  of  the  hypocausts  of  the  public  baths, 
and  he  may  have  been  the  money-taker  in  that  establishment, 
for  liis  treasure  consisted  almost  entirely  of  coins  of  small 
value.     They  were  : 


Tetricus  (much  worn) 

.        1 

The  type  urbs  koma  . .         . .     24 

Claudius  Gothicus 

1 

That  of  COXSTANTINOFOLIS    .  .       31 

Constantine  the  Elder 

.     13 

Valens  (much  worn)    . .          .  .        1 

Constans 

.       1 

llude  copies  of  llomau  coins,  or 

Constantine  IT. 

.     36 

minDni            . .          .  .          . .       G 

Constantius  II. 

o 

Illegible G 

Julian  (a  plated  denarius) 

.        1 



Helena    . . 

2 

Total  132 

Theodora 

.        1 

The  second  bundle  of  coins  alluded  to,  appeared  to  have 
Ix^longed  to  some  one  who  was  making  his  escape  from  what  is 
supposed  to  have  been  an  enameller's  workshop,  and  consisted 
of  the  followino-  coins  : — 


C'aracalla  (a  silver  denarius)  . . 

1 

Salonina  (copper, 

washed 

with 

Severus  Alexander  (a  plated  de- 

silver) . . 

1 

narius)             . .          

1 

Postunius 

1 

Maximus  (second  brass) 

1 

Victorinus 

. . 

, . 

8 

(tallienus 

2 

Tetricus  . . 

3 

,:i!Ar.  XV.  i  EARLY  AXGLO-SAXOX  COIXS.  503 


Claudius  Gotliicus        . .  . .  2 

Carausius            . .          .  .  . .  1 

The  Constantine  family  . .  12 

Valentiniaa       . .         . .  . .  1 


Gratian   . .          . .          . .          . .  1 

A  minimus         . .          . .          . .  1 

Illegible  . .          . .          . .          . .  2 

Total  ;5S 


The  m'utlnins  foinul  in  this  second  lot  is  tlie  lower  coin  of  t1i(^ 
two  engraved  on  the  preceding  page.  All  tliese  coins,  which  arc 
not  otherwise  described,  are  small  copper;  and  Ave  cannot  bnt 
remark  how  large  a  proportion  are  those  of  tlie  Constantine  family. 
The  very  small  comparative  number  of  miuimi  found  in  circula- 
tion in  so  important  a  town,  would  seem  to  show  that  this  coinage 
was  quite  recent  when  Uriconium  was  destroyed.  On  the  site 
of  some  other  Roman  tow^ns,  which  had  continued  to  exist 
through  the  period  between  the  Romans  and  the  Saxons,  they 
are  found  in  pi'oportionally  greater  numbers.  In  London  a 
large  cpiantity  of  these  have  been  found;  and  Mr  Roach  Smith 
enumerates  among  the  coins  found  of  late  years  at  Richborough 
{Riiti^plfp),  no  less  than  two  hundred  of  these  iiwilmi,  which 
show  that  that  post  continued  to  be  occupied  as  a  place  of 
importance  during  the  period  just  mentioned.  These  coins 
were  followed  by  a  different  coinage,  which  was  undoubtedly 
Saxon,  but  whicli  nlso  was  imitated  from  that  of  the  Romans, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  old  minting  establishmerits 
continued  to  exist.  These  early  Saxon  coins,  for  the  classifica- 
tion  of  which  very  little  has  yet  been  done,  are  called  scmttas.'^ 
it  is  remarkable,  that  while  the  Roman  riiudiiiL  are  all  in  brass, 
the  sceattas  are  invariably  in  silver.  The  devices  may  generally 
be  traced  to  he  rude  imitations  of  Roman  types,  especially  of 
the  coinage  of  Constantine  and  his  family,  which  are  found  in 
great  abundance  in  this  country.  Of  the  two  examples  given 
in  our  cut,  the  upper  has  on  one  side  a  copy  of  a  very  common 
reverse  of  tlie  coins  of  the  Constantine  period,  which  are 
usually  classed  under  the  head  of  nrbs  Roma,  representing  Ro- 
mulus and  Remus  suckled  by  the  wolf.  The  second  lias  a 
head  on  one  side,  aiul  on  the  other,  a  device  which  is  pro- 
bably copied  from  the  altar  which  occurs  on  the  coins  of  the 
Constantine  family.  Many  are  copied  from  the  coins  of 
Arcadius,  Honorius,  and  others   of  that  period.     The  sccatfa-s 

*  The  sfoattds  were  the  common  coins  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  at  an  early 
period;  and  the  name  was  often  used  as  a  general  term  for  money.  'J'he 
wt)rd,  in  the  singular,  is  seeat  or  scfct,  and  to  pay  your  sceat,  was  literally 
to  pay  your  reckoning.  This  has  been  by  course  of  time  corrupted  into  the 
modern  ale-house  phrase  of  pnywcj  your  shot. 


5C4 


THE  SAXOXS. 


[chap,  XV, 


liave  been   foiiiul  at  Eicliboroug-li,   lleculver,  and  other  places 

in  East    Kent,   in  considerable  nnui- 

bers,  as  well  as  in  tlie  north  of  Eno:- 

land.  They  are  met  with  occasionnlly 

in  the  pairan  Anulo-Saxon  barrows  or 

<>'raves,    which    fixes    the    period    to 

which   they    belong*.     The    monlder- 

ing"    remains    of   what    appeared     to 

liave  been  a   small  purse,  with  four 

.sreattas  of  silver,  were  found  by  the 

side  of   a  skeleton    in   a   barrow    on   Anglo-Saxon  Sceattas  from 

tiie  Breach  Downs,  in  Kent.  Richborouiih. 


;HAr.  xvi.i  AXGLO-SAXOX  SETTLEMENT.  oC: 


CtlAf  J'^.R   A  N  1. 

Anglo-Saxon  ©erclcinent — Division  ot  the  Land — Population  of  the  Countr/ 
and  of  the  Towns — Continuance  of  the  Roman  Municipalities — Traces 
of  Municipal  Privileges  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Towns  ;  Canterbury, 
Rochester,  Dover,  Exeter,  London. 

The  remains  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  Ibrefatliers,  as  described  in 
tlie  precedino;  chapter,  present  sufficient  evidence  that  society 
then  consisted  of  two  very  distinct  elements  :  one  purely  Teu- 
tonic, the  other  derived  from  intercourse  with  the  Konian  popu- 
lation. The  Teutonic  settlers  took  possession  of  the  land,  which 
the  various  chiefs  divided  anioni;-  themselves  by  lot ;  and  it 
was  held  by  a  totally  different  tenure  to  that  which  existed 
under  the  imperial  g-overiiment.  The  characteristic  of  Teutonic 
society  Avas  a  deeply  implanted  aristocracy,  that  of  the  heads  of 
clans,  or  tribes,  and  there  was  very  little  tendency  to  the  central- 
isation which  was  exhibited  in  the  Roman  imperial  constitution. 
Each  chief  received  his  share  of  land,  on  which  he  settled  with 
his  household  and  followers,  and  which  descended  in  his  family 
as  a  freehold.  We  still  trace  these  orig-inal  allotments  of  land 
in  the  names  of  places  in  every  part  of  En>>lan(l,  which  are  com- 
posed of  the  patronymic  of  the  family  or  race.  Thus,  when  we 
find  such  a  name  as  Birmingham,  we  may  be  sure  that  it  was 
originally  the  ham,  or  residence,  of  the  Beormingas,  the  descend- 
ants or  clan  of  ]3eorm,  for  this  was  the  regular  form  of  the  Teu- 
tonic patronymic — Bt'ODidiig,  the  son  of  Beorm.  And  thus  we 
hav6"]^adlinghamin  Canibrid<>:eshire,  the  seat  of  the  Bsedliniras  ; 
J-Juckingham,  of  the  Bueingas ;  Warmingham,  in  Cheshire,  of 
the  Wearmingas ;  Littlington,  the  tun  or  head  residence  of  the 
Lytlingas  ;  Elvington,  the  seat  of  the  Elfingas  ;  Killinghall, 
the  hall  of  the  Cylingas ;  and  a  vast  number  of  similar  names. 
The  family  or  clan  did  not  always  take  its  name  from  the  chief 
who  obtained  the  allotment  of  land  ;  it  was  often  but  a  branch 
of  a  much  older  family  in  the  land  from  which  the  settler  canif. 


606  THE  SAXOXS.  Tchap.  xvi. 

Hence  we  find  tlie  same  patronvinics  in  distant  parts  of  Eng'land, 
A\  liieli  would  seein  to  indicate  that  ditt'ereut  members  ol'  the  same 
orig-inal  family  had  joined  in  various  separate  expeditions  to 
l^ritain ;  and  it  is  still  more  curious  that  this  identity  of  name 
is  found  in  districts  peopled  severally  by  the  ditierent  races, 
Angles,  or  Saxons,  or  Jutes.  This  admits  of  two  explanations  : 
it  shows  the  close  relationship  between  the  three  races  them- 
selves ;  and  it  proves,  probably,  that  when  a  great  chieftain  of 
one.  race,  an  Angle,  for  instance,  planned  an  expedition  to 
Britain,  subordinate  leadei's  from  the  other  races,  Saxons, 
Jutes,  or  others,  were  ready  to  enlist  among  his  followers. 
Thus  we  find  the  Billingas  at  Billingham,  in  D'lvham  ;  at  Bil- 
lingley,  in  Yorkshire;  at  Billinghay,  in  Lincolnshire:  at  Bil- 
lington,  in  the  counties  of  Bedford,  Statt'ord,  and  Lancaster  ; 
as  well  as  at  other  places,  all  within  the  districts  occupied  by 
the  Angles.  We  find  a  settlement  of  the  same  family  at  Bil- 
lingshurst,  in  Sussex  ;  and  some  of  them  appear  to  have  estab- 
Jished  themselves  in  the  outskirts  of  London,  and  to  have 
given  their  name  to  Billingsgate.  The  Bosingas  are  found  at 
J^ossingham,  in  Kent,  and  again  at  the  two  Bossingtons,  in 
Ham])shire  and  Somerset.  The  Scearingas  are  found  at  Shar- 
ringtou,  Sheringford,  and  Sharringham,  in  Norfolk ;  at  Sheer- 
ing, in  Essex ;  at  Scarrington,  in  Nottinghamshire ;  and  at 
Sherrington,  in  Buckingham,  and  in  AViltshire.  AYe  have  the 
Haningas  at  three  places  named  Hannington,  in  Northampton- 
shire, Hampshire,  and  Wiltshire,  and  also  probably  at  Han- 
uingfield,  in  Essex.  When  Ave  examine  further  we  find,  among 
these  patronymics,  names  which  belong  to  the  great  families 
Avhose  history  is  mixed  up  in  the  earliest  Teutonic  mythology. 
The  Wselsings,  who  are  found  at  Walsingham,  in  Norfolk,  at 
Walsingham,  in  Durham,,  and  at  Woolsington,  in  Northum- 
berland, appear  to  have  been  offsets  of  the  great  family  of  the 
Yolsungar  of  the  Edda,  the  Volsungen  of  the  old  German  ro- 
mances. The  Harlings  (Herelingas),  who  are  found  at  three 
places  named  Harlington,  in  Middlesex,  Bedfordshire,  and 
Yorkshire,  as  well  as  at  Hai'ling,  in  Norfolk,  are  also  connected 
with  the  ancient  Teutonic  mYtholo"T,  and  their  name  is  found 
at  Harlingen,  in  Eriesland.  The  Swasfas,  a  tribe  who  are 
known  to  have  dwelt  on  the  borders  of  the  Angles,  on  the  con- 
tinent, appear  to  have  given  their  najne  to  Swatfham,  in  Nor- 
folk. Mr  Kemble,  quoting  other  well-known  names  from  the 
iHvthic  and  half-mythic  history  of  the  continental  Teutons, 
points  out,  as  further  instances,  that  the  Brentings  of  northern 


ciixw  XVI.]       THE  ANGLO-SAXON   SETTLEMENT.  o07 

romance  arc  foiiiul  in  England,  at  P)rentino;ley,  in  Leicester- 
shire, and  at  Brantinghani,  in  Yorkshire.  The  Scylding's,  and 
Scylfing-s,  celebrated  Northern  races,  gave  their  names  to  Skel- 
ding,  and  to  two  places  named  Skillington,  in  Northnmherhind 
and  Dorset;  the  Ardings,  wlio  are  found  at  Ardington,  in 
Berkshire,  and  at  Ardingly,  in  Sussex,  are,  he  says,  the 
Azdingi,  the  royal  race  of  the  Visigoths  and  Vandals ;  and  the 
Banings  of  the  continent,  over  whom,  when  the  curious  Anglo- 
Saxon  fragment  called  the  Traveller's  Song-  was  written,  a 
prince  named  Becca  ruled,  are  recognised  in  Banningham,  in 
Norfolk.  The  Helsings  gave  nam3  to  Helsington,  in  West- 
moreland, and  to  Helsingland,  in  Sweden;  and  we  find  the 
name  of  the  Bleccingas  as  well  in  Bleckingen,  in  Sweden,  as  in 
Bletchington,  in  Oxfordshire,  and  Bletchingley,  in  Snri-ey.  In 
the  Gytingas,  found  at  Guyting-,  in  Gloucestershire,  we  perhaps 
trace  the  Jutungi  of  Germany  ;  and  another  Alamannic  tribe, 
the  Scuding-i,  are  supposed  to  be  traced  in  the  Scytiugs,  who 
gave  their  name  to  Shuttington,  in  Warwickshire.  In  these 
instances,  conjecture  is,  perhaps,  carried  too  far,  as  well  as  in 
the  supposition  that  the  Wasrings,  wdio  left  their  name  in  two 
Warringtons,  in  Lancashire  and  Buckinghamshire,  and  to  the 
same  number  of  Werringtons  in  Northamptonshire  and  Devon, 
belonged  to  the  same  race  as  the  Varangians  (Vajrinjar),  so 
celebrated  in  ])yzantine  history  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  carefvJ  study  of  the  xVnglo-Saxon  names  of  localities  is 
calculated  to  throw  a  light  upon  the  history  and  condition  of 
the  first  settlers  which  we  can  hope  to  derive  from  no  other 
source.*  Many  of  these  names  point  directly  to  the  state  of 
the  country  itself,  at  the  time  the  Teutonic  population  came  in, 
and  we  can  have  no  doubt  that  then  the  site  of  Beverley  was  a 
plain  so  unfrequented  by  man,  that  it  was  occupied  only  by 
beavers,  or  that  places  with  names  compounded  of  those  of 
wolves,  boars,  &c.,  were  the  usual  resorts  of  wild  beasts. 

The  Teutonic  settlers  established  themselves  chiefly  in  the 
country,  where  they  retained  all  their  old  national  feelings. 
\\e  know  that  they  Avere  averse  to  living-  in  towns,  and,  from 
a  superstitious  feeling  which  led  (hem  to  believe  that  the  houses 
budt  by  other  peoples  might  be  rendered  dangerous  for  them 
by  means  of  charms  and  magic,  they  preferred  the  houses 
nhich  they  built  for  ^hemselves.     ^Moreover,  the  country  villas 

*  Extensive  materials  on  this  interesting  subject  have  been  oollootetl  liv 
Mr  Keiiible  in  t.ie  tir^^t  voluuic  uf  his  '  Saxun  iu  Enu-land.' 


o08  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xvi. 

of  the   llomaiis,    and  the   smaller  and   unfortified   towns,  liad 
Ijeeii  mostly  burnt  or  overthrown,  and  their  plan  and  construc- 
tion were  not  tliose  to   which  the  Saxons  were  accustomed. 
However,  we  do  meet  with  instances  of  E,oman  villas  occupied 
and  altered  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  settlers,  and  in  some  instances 
we  find  that  the  residence  of  the  Saxon  chief  did  occupy  a 
lloman   site.     This  was   the  case  with  the  two   seats  of  the 
Iclings  ;  Icklingham,  in  Suffolk,  and  Tckleton,  or  Icklini>-ton, 
in    Cambridgesiiire,   in   both  which  places    have    been    found 
extensive  traces  of  lloman  settlement.     One  of  them  is  sup- 
posed to  occupy  the  site  of  the  lloman   station  of  Iciani,  and 
it  is  not  quite  impossible  that  the  Saxon  name  in  this  case  may 
liave  arisen  from  mistaking-  the  Roman  n.ame  for  a  patronymic. 
Tlie  Anglo-Saxon  landholders  held  a  position  totally  different 
IVom  that  of  the   Komans ;    they  were  lords  over  their  own 
allotment  of  soil  and  its  population,  and  the  principle  of  cen- 
tralisation existed   so  little  amongst   them,  tliat,   rather  than 
look  up  to  a  superior  head  for  justice,  the  laiullords  formed 
associations   among   themselves,   to  manage  their  own  affairs, 
and    administer   justice  in    their   mutual   transactions.      Such 
mutual  associations  formed  the  groundwork  of  the  subsequent 
division  of  the  country  into  hundreds,  shires,  &c.     Each  land- 
holder, nevertheless,  acknowledged  a  certain  dependence  upon, 
or  subjection  to,  the  chief  under  whom  he  had  come  into  the 
island,  and  the  latter  assumed  the  title  of  king  over  his  chief- 
tains and  their  people.     These  kings  were  soon  tempted  by  the 
splendour  of  the  old  Roman  rule,  and  they  tried  to  establish 
and  increase  their  authority  by   imitating  Roman  forms,  and 
adopting,  as  far  as  they  could,  the  Roman  principles  of  admin- 
istration.    Tiiey  were  wealthy,  by  the,  extensive  landed  estates 
wliich  they  had  reserved  to  themselves  in  the  division  of  lands, 
and  by  the  possession  of  the  old  Roman  towns,  "which  fell  to 
their  share ;  and  they  had  a  natural  influence  over  the  oilier 
chi(>fs  Aviio  had  followed   their  banner  from  the  first,  because 
they  belonged  to  the  great  families  of  supposed  divine  blood, 
who  alone  commanded  that  sort  of  confidence  and  respect  which 
was  necessary  to  insure  obedience. . 

Tlie  population  of  the  country  consisted  of  two  elements — 
the  chiefs  and  their  followers,  who  had  obtained  possession  and 
lordship  of  the  lands,  and  the  agriculturists  and  labourers,  Avho 
were  in  the  position  of  serfs  and  bondmen,  and  comprised 
chiefly  the  old  Romano-Rri^ish  population,  which  under  the 
Saxons  was  probably  quite  as  well  off  as   under  the   Romans. 


CHAP.  XVI.]     THE  ANGLO-SAXOX   LANDHOLDEUS.  509 

The  Saxous  thus  held  the  country,  while  the  Uomau  citizens 
continued  to  liold  the  towns  as  tributaries  of  the  Saxon  kinj>-s, 
within  whose  bounds  tliey  stood.  The  country  tlnis  exhibited 
Teutonic  rudeness,  while  the  towns  were  the  representatives  of 
Koman  civilisation,  and  tlioug'h  the  intercourse  between  tlie 
two,  and  the  fjradual  infusion  of  Saxon  blood  into  the  towns, 
laid  the  foundation  of  modern  society,  there  was  a  feelin<>-  of 
hostility  and  rivalry  between  town  and  country,  which  has 
hardly  yet  disappeared.  Between  the  aristocratic  feeling*  of 
the  Saxon  landholders,  and  the  republican  principles  that 
existed  in  the  towns,  arose,  under  the  balancing  inlluence  ot 
the  crown,  the  modern  political  constitution. 

We  can  understand  best  the  mode  and  forms  in  which  the. 
Anglo-Saxons  established  themselves  here,  by  comparing  them 
with  what  took  place,  under  simihar  circumstances,  in  other 
parts  of  Europe,  where  our  historical  accounts  are  more  detailed 
and  precise.  There,  also,  the  barbarian  settlers  seized  upon  the 
lands,  while  the  cities  were  generally  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
old  citizens.  On  a  former  occasion  [  have  described  briefly  the 
internal  constitution  of  the  Romaii  towns,  with  their  cnriahs, 
or  senators,  and  their  various  numicipal  officers,  which  we 
know  were  all  preserved  after  the  Teutonic  conquests  in  the 
cities  in  Gaul  and  the  other  Roman  provinces  on  the  continent, 
and  which  were,  no  doubt,  also  ])reserved  in  Britain.*  h\ 
Italy,  where,  in  the  mixture,  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  institu- 
tions prevailed  most  over  the  barbarian  population,  the  cities, 
relieved  from  the  imperial  power  to  which  they  had  been  pre- 
viously subjected,  became  in  the  middle  ages  powerful  repub- 
lics, and  the  curia  was  the  prototype  of  those  bodies  of 
patrician  princes,  whose  personal  feuds  led  in  the  end  to  their 
subversion.  In  other  parts  of  Europe,  amid  the  general 
w^reck,  some  powerful  commercial  cities  retained  a  complete 
independence,  and  became  known  as  free  cities,  and  some  ot 
them  have  continued  so  to  the  present  day.  In  France,  M. 
Haynouard  has  traced  the  existence  of  the  municipal  officers 
by  their  original  titles,  even  the  defensor  clvitatls,  during 
several  centuries  after  the  fall  of  the  Eoi^ian  power.  We  have 
unfortunately  few  documents  which  throw  any  light  on  the 
condition  of  the  towns  in  England  during  the  Saxon  period  of 
our  history;    but   we   catniot   help  recognising  in  the  Roman 

*  The  following-  remarks  were  first,  published  in  .a  paper  coniniuiiicatc  1 
to  the  Society  of  Auticiuurios,  and  printed  in  the  thirty-second  vuluine  ol 
the  Arch;eolo"ia. 


■^10  THE  SAXOXS.  [CHAP.  xvi. 

rinia  tlie  ori<>-iu  of  the  elective  body  in  our  medieval  towns, 
the  probl  honiuies  or  hoiil  hoinbies  of  the  older  records,  the 
l)iir<2,-esses,  who,  like  the  cnrlales  or  senators,  obtained  their 
rank  by  birth  or  election.  The  dniimmn  answered  to  the  two 
bolUvl  or  bailiffs,  or  as  the  Saxons  called  i\\Qm,p)YpfectloY  reeves, 
Avho  were  the  chief  ma^'istrates  in  most  of  our  medieval  borondis. 
1  he  pniiapaJes  were  the  .scab'uii  {JiclteoinH)  of  the  continental 
towns,  in  Eng-land  o^enerally  known  by  the  Saxon  name  of 
ahk^rmen.  We  might  g-o  on  to  enumerate  other  minor  points 
of  resemblance  betw^een  the  constitutions  of  the  munic'ipiuui 
and  of  the  medieval  borough  at  the  time  when  we  become 
fully  acquainted  with  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  latter ;  but  I 
will  only  now  point  out  a  few  circumstances  which  tend  to 
thVow  a  light  upon  the  condition  of  these  boroughs  under  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  when  they  have  commonly  been  supposed  by 
legal  wiiters  to  have  had  no  corporate  existence. 

It  strikes  us  at  the  first  glance,  that  the  few  historical  facts 
relating  to  the  condition  of  our  towns  during  the  Saxon  period, 
preserved  by  the  older  annalists,  exhibit  them  in  a  state  of 
importance  and  independence,  wdiich  they  could  hardly  have 
reached,  had  it  not  been  derived  from  municipal  constitutions 
already  existing  when  the  Saxons  settled  in  this  country,  and 
which  is  observed  most  distinctly  in  those  places  which  are 
known  to  have  occupied  the  sites  of  the  more  powerful  Roman 
towns.*  All  traditions  (for  our  history  of  the  first  Saxon 
invasion  is  nothing  more  than  tradition,  and  that  very  vague) 
represent  East  Kent  as  having  been  occupied  by  the  Saxons 
under  a  pacific  arrangement,  when  they  took  Durovernura,  or 
Canterbury,  as  their  capital.  Recent  discoveries  show  that  the 
Saxons  not  only  continued  to  inter  their  dead  on  the  site  of 
the  Roman  burial-places  around  the  ancient  city,  down  to  the 
time  of  their  conversion,  but  that  they  afterwards  erected 
^Christian  churches  on  the  same  spots  ;  one  of  the  strongest 
proofs  we  could  have  of  the  gradual  change  from  Roman  to 
Saxon  in  that  city.  We  find  Canterbury  at  an  early  period 
■governed  by  a  prefect,  or  reeve,  who  gives  land  to  the  monks ; 
and  in  a  later  charter  confirming  his  grant,  dated  in  805,  there 
is  a  remarkable  distinction  between  the  villa  or  town,  and  the 
ciintas  or  corporate  body,  such  as  we  might  naturally  expect 

*  It  may  be  observed  that  the  destruction  of  Roman  towns  is  rarely 
"mentioned  in  our  earlier  historians.     The  Saxons  Chronicle  speaks  of  the 
destruction  of  Audredesceaster  in  491   as  though  it  were   a  remarkable 
occurrence. 


CHAP.  XVI.]  ROCHESTER  AND  DOYEIl.  511 


ill    the    transiiiissiou    of   tlie    Uouian   principle    to    the   Saxon 
people.* 

Rocliester  (^llrofes.-ede)')  derived  its  Saxon  name,  accordini;- 
to  Bede,  from  one  of  its  eai'lv  riders  or  prefects  named  Hrof, 
wlio,  for  some  circnmstance  or  other,  had  probably  g-ained 
irreater  notoriety  than  most  persons  of  his  class  and  rank.f 
In  the  reign  of  king  Ethelred  (in  the  latter  half  of  the  tenth 
centnry),  on  account  of  some  dissensions  Avith  the  bishop,  the 
king"  besieged  tiiis  city  witli  an  army,  but,  being  unable  to  take 
it,  he  in  revenge  Hid  waste  the  surrounding  and  dependent 
district.:]:  We  here  find  the  body  corporate  of  the  city  taking 
part  Avith  its  bishop,  engaged  in  open  war  with  the  king,  ami- 
successfully  resisting  him.  The  anger  of  the  king  is  said  to 
have  been  finally  appeased  by  a  sum  of  money  given  by  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dnnstan). 

Dover  occupies  the  site  of  the  Roman  Dnbra?.  It  is  not 
often  mentioned  by  our  earlier  historians,  because  Ricliborough 
{Tlutnpiai)  was  the  more  usual  port  in  landing  from  Prance  ; 
but  an  incident  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor 
which  throws  some  light  on  the  position  of  its  municipal  body. 
In  1048,  Eustache  count  of  Boulogne,  Edward's  brother-in- 
law,  visited  the  king  at  Gloucester,  where  he  was  then  holding 
his  court.  On  liis  return,  when  at  a  short  distance  from 
Dover,  Eustache  and  his  men  put  on  their  armour,  and,  enter- 
ing the  toAvn  in  a  rude  manner,  they  proceeded  to  take  forcible 
possession  of  the  lodgings  which  pleased  them  best.§  This 
Avas  a  right  which  the  feudal  barons  of  the  continent  claimed 
under  the  title  of  the  droit  tie  gite,  and  which  was  ex- 
pressly provided  against  in  the  English  municipal  charters 
subsequent  to  the  Conquest.  One  of  Eustache's  men  went  to 
the  dwelling  of   a   townsman,  and  Avounded  the  householder, 

*  Hnnc  pfienoniinatani  terrain  quidam  homo  bonus  nomine  Aldliun,  qui 
in  liac  rei^ali  villa  inlustris  civitatia  pra3t'ectus  fuit,  pro  intuitu  interna; 
nieivodis  t'ratribus  nostris  ad  mensam  tradidit.  Kemble's  Codex  Dii)b)iiia- 
ticus  Anglo-Saxonum,  vol.  i.  p.  231. 

t  Quam  gens  Anfi,lorum  a  primario  quondam  illius,  qui  dicebatur  Ilrof, 
Hroi'cscestir  cognonunat.  Bede,  Hist.  Ecel.  lib.  ii.  c.  3.  In  another  ])lacc, 
lib.  ii.  0.  6,  Bede  calls  the  city,  in  Latin,  civitas  llrofi. 

X  Osborn's  Life  ot  Dunstan,  in  the  Act.  SS.  Benedict.  Sonc.  Y.  p.  G83. 
W.  Malmsb.  de  Ge.st.  Keg.  p.  Go.  (Ed.  Savile.) 

§  \>;\.  hi  l>ider  coinon,  ])a  woldon  hi  innian  lii  \nx}X  heoni  sylfan  ge-licode. 
Sax.  Chron.  From  the  circumstance  oi'  their  arming  before  they  cjuae  to 
ilie  town,  we  might  be  led  to  suspect  that  h]ustache  and  his  men  had  had 
a  ijrevious  dispute  with  the  townsuieu  of  Dover  on  this  subject,  perhaps 
when  they  first  came  to  England.  ^ 


.512  THE  SAXOXS.  [chap.  xvr. 

Ix'cause  lie  refiiseJ  to  admit  liim.  The  latter  seized  liis  own 
weapon  and  slew  the  intruder.  'Then,'  to  use  tlie  Avords  of 
the  contemporary  Saxon  chronicler,  '  Eustache  got  upon  his 
horse,  and  his  companions  upon  theirs,  and  they  went  to  the 
householder  and  slew  him  within  his  own  dwelling;  and  then 
went  up  towards  the  burgh,  and  slew,  as  well  within  as  with- 
out, more  than  twenty  men.  And  the  townsmen  slew  nineteen 
of  the  count's  men,  and  wounded  they  knew  not  how  many, 
and  Eustaehe  escaped  with  only  a  few  companions.'  Eustache 
returned  to  the  king,  gave  a  partial  account  of  the  affair,  and 
made  him  so  'wroth  with  the  townsmen,'  that  he  ordered 
Godwin,  in  whose  earhlom  of  Kent  the  occurrence  had  taken 
place,  to  proceed  with  an  army  against  the  men  of  Dover. 
But  earl  Godwin,  knowing  that  Eustache  ]iad  begun  the  quarrel, 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  townsmen,  and  an  irruption  of  tlie 
Welsh  seems  to  have  turned  the  king's  attention  in  another 
direction.  Eonr  years  after  this,  in  1052,  count  Eustache 
again  visited  king  Edward,  and  on  his  landing  at  Dover  the  old 
feud  was  renewed.  '  Then,'  says  the  chronicler,  '  went  his 
men  inconsiderately  after  lodgings,  and  slew  a  certain  man  of 
the  town,  and  then  another,  until  seven  lay  slain.  And  much 
harm  was  then  done  on  both  sides,  both  with  horse  and  witii 
Aveapons,  until  the  people  gathered  together,  and  then  Eustache's 
men  tied  aAvay  till  they  came  to  the  king  at  Gloucester.'  On 
this  second  occasion,  Godwin  more  openly  took  part  with  the 
townsmen  of  Dover,  and,  raising  a  considerable  army,  marched 
towards  the  king,  and  demanded  that  count  Eustache  and  his  men 
should  be  delivered  into  his  hands.  We  have  here  a  town 
virtually  claiming  a  very  important  municipal  right,  and  defend- 
ing it  by  force  ;  Avhile  the  king  proceeds,  not  judicially  against 
the  indivi(Uials  who  had  offended,  but  against  the  whole  cor- 
porate body,  as  though  it  were  an  independent  state.*  ^^  e 
learn,  also,  from  the  Domesday  Survey,  that  in  this  same  reign, 
the  burgesses  of  Dover  had  purchased  certain  immunities  of  the 
king,  for  the  con(Htion  of  serving  him  with  twenty  ships  foi" 
fifteen  days  in  the  year  f 

*  The  above  version  of  tlie  story  is  taken  from  the  Saxon  Chronicle  as 
printed  in  the  text  and  in  the  notes  of  the  Collection  of  Historians  edited 
by  order  of  the  Record  Commission,  which  appears  to  be  the  best  authority. 
The  subsequent  historians  have  confounded  the  two  riots,  and  made  only 
one.  See  Florence  of  Worcester,  sub  an.  1051  ;  W.  Malnisb.  de  Gest.  Key- 
p.  81.  &c. 

+  Burg-enses  dederunt  xx.  naves  regi  una  vice  in  anno  ad  xv.  dies  ;  et  in 
nnaquaque  navi  trant  homines  xx.  et  unus.  Hoc  faciebant  pro  eo  quo! 
eis  perdonaverat  sacani  et  sucam. 


I 


criAr.  xvT.]     INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  TOWNSMEN.  513 

We  liave  another  instance  of  municipal  responsibility  in  the 
case  of  Thetford,  in  Norfolk.  In  952,  the  people  of  that  town 
were  engaj^ed  in  hostilities  with  the  monks  (probably  in  defence 
of  some  of  their  privilef>-es),  in  the  conrse  of  which  they  slew 
their  abbot  Eadhelm.  King  Edred  appears  to  have  taken  no 
steps  to  discover  the  persons  immediately  concerned  in  this  act 
of  violence,  but  he  sent  an  army,  and  caused  '  a  great  slaughter  ' 
to  be  made  of  the  townsmen.* 

In  1040,  king  Hardacnut  imposed  a  very  heavy  tribute  on 
his  English  subjects.  Two  of  the  king's  kmcarles  were  sent  to 
enforce  its  payment  by  the  citizens  of  Worcester,  who  rose 
against  them,  and  slew  them  in  the  cathedral.  The  king,  in 
revenge,  sent  an  army  to  ravage  the  neighbourhood  and  destroy 
the  city,  but  the  inhabitants  had  taken  shelter,  with  their 
most  valuable  effects,  in  an  island  in  the  river  Severn,  and 
there  they  set  their  persecutors  at  defiance. f  We  here  find  a 
town  asserting  its  right  to  exemption  from  extraordinary  taxa- 
tion ;  another  of  the  municipal  privileges  guaranteed  by  the 
charters  of  a  later  period. 

The  city  of  Exeter  affords  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Roman  municipal  institutions  w^re  pn-- 
served.  In  other  towns  the  Romano-British  population  gradu- 
ally disappeared ;  but  we  learn,  from  William  of  Malmsbury, 
that,  down,  to  the  reign  of  Ethelstan,  Exeter  was  inhabited  by 
English  and  Welsh,  who  lived  on  an  equality  of  rights  (jEquo 
jiireX),  which  they  could  only  have  done  by  virtue  of  an 
original  composition  with  the  Saxon  conquerors.  It  may  be 
cited  as  a  proof  of  the  correctness  of  this  view  of  the  mode  in 
which  the  Roman  corporations  outlived  the  shock  of  invasion, 
and  thus  became  a  chief  instrument  iu  the  civilisation  of  s\d)se- 
(juent  ages,  that  even  the  Danes,  in  their  predatory  excursions, 
often  entered  into  similar  compositions  with  the  Saxon  towns, 
as  with  Canterbury,  in  1009.  It  may  be  added,  that  there  is 
no  greater  evidence  of  the  independence  and  strength  of  the 
towns  under  the  Saxons,  than  the  circumstance  that,  while  the 
king  and  his  earls,  with  the  forces  of  the  counties,  were  not 
able  to  make  a  successful  stand  against  the  Danish  invaders,  it 
frequently  happened  that  a  town  singly  drove  a  powerful  army 

*  Saxon  Chron.  sub  an. 

t  Saxon  Chron.     Florence  of  Worcester. 

4^  Illos  [Cornewallensesl  (pioquo  iinpi<ire  adorsus,  ab  Excestria.  qiiani  ;i(l 
id  loiiiporis  aiquo  cum  Anf;lis  jure  inhabitarant,  cedere  oonipulit. — W. 
ISlalin.sb.  do  Gost.  Ilej^-.  p.  50. 

2  I 


•5U  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xvr. 

from  its  gates,  and  the  townsmen  sometimes  issuad  forth  aud 
defeated  the  enemy  in  a  pitched  battle.  The  Saxon  Clironicle 
furnishes  many  examples.  In  855,  the  townsmen  of  Rochester 
made  a  brave  defence  against  the  Danes,  till  they  were  relieved 
by  Alfred.  The  iidiabitants  of  Exeter  opposed  the  invaders 
with  success  on  several  occasions  ;  the  townsmen  (bnrgvvare) 
beat  them  in  battle  in  895.  In  918,  the  men  of  Hereford  and 
Gloucester  went  out,  and  defeated  the  Danes  in  a  pitched  battle. 
In  921,  the  Danes  wer^^  beaten  by  the  men  of  Bedford,  and 
also  by  the  inhabitants  of  Maldon  in  Essex.  In  1001,  the 
people  of  Exmonth  drove  away  tlie  Danisli  army  which  came 
to  attack  that  town.  When  the  Saxons  began  to  obtain  the 
ascendancy  by  the  abilities  of  the  family  of  Alfred,  we  find  the 
towns  revolting  from  the  Danes  in  a  manner  which  can  hardly 
leave  a  doitht  of  their  acting  as  free  corporate  bodies.  The 
Saxon  Chronicle,  under  the  year  918,  speaking  of  Ethelfleda, 
tells  us,  '  in  the  early  part  of  this  year,  by  God's  help,  she 
got  into  her  power,  by  treaty,  the  burgh  of  Leicester,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  army  which  owed  obedience  thereto  {pe 
]?aer-to  hyrde)  became  subject  to  her;  and  the  people  of  Tork 
(Eforwicingas)  had  also  covenanted  with  her,  some  having  given 
a  pledge,  and  some  having  bound  themselves  by  oath,  that  they 
would  be  at  her  command.'  And  again,  in  the  same  year, 
'  Thurcytel  the  eorl  sought  king  Edward  to  be  his  lord,  and 
all  the  lioldas  and  almost  all  the  chief  men  who  owed  obedience 
to  Bedford,  and  also  many  of  those  who  owed  obedience  to 
Northampton.'  In  the  year  following,  'those  who  owe  obe- 
dience to  Bedford'  are  called  <i'/;^ry^^(2r«^,  burgesses.  In  921, 
'  the  army  which  owed  obedience  to  Cambridge  '  chose  king 
EdAvard  to  be  their  lord. 

We  can  trace  the  power  and  independence  of  the  citizens  of 
London  from  the  earliest  period  of  our  annals.  We  have  no 
reason  for  believing  that  this  city,  which  was  a  powerfid  com- 
nun'cial  port,  was  ever  taken  and  ravaged  by  the  Saxon  in- 
vaders. It  appears  to  have  afforded  a  shelter  to  the  people  of 
West  Kent,  when  that  district  was  overrun  by  the  Saxons  in 
their  first  inroads.*  At  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  London 
was  considered  as  the  capital  of  the  East-Saxons,  although 
Ethelbert,  king  of  Kent,  appointed  Mellitus  to  the  bishopric, 
and   built   there    for  him   the  church  of   St    Paul.f     At   that 

*   See  the  Saxon  Cliron.  sub  an.  457. 
t  Bade,  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  ii.  c.  o. 


ci-iAr.  XVI.]  LONDON.  515 

])eriod  it  was  still  a  rich  trading-  town,*  and  it  appears  to  liave 
experienced  no  clieck  to  its  prosperity.  After  the  relapse  of 
the  East-Saxons  to  idolatry,  tiie  Londoners  i-efused  to  receive 
back  their  bishop,  and  neither  the  king-  of  Kent,  nor  the  two 
l^]ast-Saxon  kings,  had  power  to  force  him  upon  theni.f  About 
the  year  635,  AVini  boiig-ht  of  Wulfhere,  king-  of  the  Mercians, 
the  see  of  the  city  of  London,  and  i-emained  bishop  thereof  till 
his  death.  At  a  subsequent  period,  archbishop  Theodore 
appointed  bishops  of  the  East-Saxons  '  in  the  city  of  London,' 
and  Essex  has  been  ever  since  included  in  the  diocese.  In  679, 
we  hear  of  Friesland  merchants  in  London,  and  it  appears  to 
have  been  then  a  great  mart  of  slaves. :{:  A  comparison  of  these 
ditferent  circumstances  gives  us  some  grounds  for  believing- 
that,  although  nominally  the  metropolis  of  the  kings  of  the 
East-Saxons,  London  was  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word  a 
free-trading-  town,  neutral  to  a  certain  degree  between  the 
kingdoms  around,  although  each  king-  exercised  a  greater  or 
less  degree  of  influence  over  it  according-  as  he  was  more  or  less 
powerful  than  his  neighbours,  and  perhaps  each  had  his  officers 
there  to  look  after  the  interests  of  his  own  subjects.  This 
would  explain  in  some  deg-ree  an  obscure  law  of  the  Kentish 
kings,  Hlothhere  and  Edric  (673 — 685),  made  at  a  time  when 
we  should  expect  London  to  have  been  under  the  power  of  the 
kings  of  Mercia  : — '  If  any  Kentish- man  buy  a  chattel  in  Lun- 
den-wic,  let  him  then  have  two  or  three  true  men  to  witness, 
or  the  king's  wlc-reeva.  If  it  be  afterwards  claimed  of  the  man 
in  Kent,  let  him  then  vouch  the  man  who  sold  it  him  to  Avar- 
ranty,  in  the  2olc  (town)  at  the  king's  hall,  if  he  know  him  and 
can  bring-  him  to  the  warranty :  if  he  cannot  do  that,  let  him 
prove  at  the  altar,  with  one  of  his  witnesses,  or  with  the  king's 
wic-reeve,  that  he  bought  the  chattel  openly  in  the  zvic,  with  his 
own  money,  and  then  let  him  be  paid  its  worth  :  but  if  he 
cannot  prove  that  by  lawful  averment,  let  him  give  it  up,  and 
let  the  owner  take  possession  of  it.'§  The  king's  wie-reece 
appears  to  have  been  an  officer  of  the  king  of  Kent  who  exer- 
cised a  jurisdiction  over  the  Kentish  men  trading  wit]i  or  at 
London,  or  who  was  appointed  to  watch  over  their  interests. 

*  Et  ipsa  niultorum  emporium  popiilorum  terra  marique  venientium. 
Becle,  ib. 

t  Bedo,  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  ii.  c.  4. 

X  Bede,  Hi«r.  Eccl.  lib.  iii.  c.  7,  and  lib.  iv.  cc  6,  12,  22. 

§  Thorpe's  Anj^lo- Saxon  Laws,  j\  14.  Some  aiitiquaiies  have  supposed- 
very  erroneously,  that  Landcn-ivic  is  here  another  name  for  Sandwich. 


516  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xvr. 

AVhen  the  different  Saxon  king-doms  became  consolidated  into 
one,  the  influence  of  the  sole  monarch  over  the  metropohs 
would  be  of  course  greatly  increased,  but  we  still  meet  with 
remarkable  proofs  of  its  power  and  independence.  Ethelstan 
was  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  monarchs  of 
England;  yet  under  his  reign,  soon  after  the  year  900,  we  And 
'  the  bishop  and  reeves,  who  belong  to  London,'  making  in 
the  name  of  the  citizens  laws,  which  were  confirmed  by  the 
king  (because  they  had  reference  to  the  whole  kingdom),  and  are 
preserved  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  code.  These  laws  prove  that  the 
body  corporate  of  the  city  of  London  exercised  an  independent 
jurisdiction  in  matters  which  concerned  themselves  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  their  own  territory,  and  tlie  necessity  of  making 
this  power  known  tliroughout  the  kingdom  was  the  cause  that 
their  laws  on  this  subject  were  entered  among  the  public  laws  of 
t]ie  land,  which  circumstance  has  led  to  tlieir  preservation, 
while  every  document  relating  to  the  internal  government  of 
the  city  at  this  early  period  has  perished.  These  laws  relate 
chiefly  to  robberies  committed  by  strangers,  to  whicji  a  large 
commercial  city  was  naturally  exposed,  and  against  which  it 
could  provide  itself  with  no  redress  unless  it  could  pursue  the 
offenders  to  a  distance.  One  of  the  clauses  provides,  '  if  it  then 
should  happen  that  any  kin  be  so  strong  and  so  great,  within 
land  or  without  land,  whether  twelve-hynde  or  two-hyude,  that 
tliey  refuse  us  our  right,  and  stand  up  in  defence  of  a  thief,  that 
we  all  of  us  ride  thereto  with  the  reeve  within  whose  district 
{manicng)  it  may  be ;  and  also  send  on  both  sides  to  the  reeves, 
and  desire  from  them  aid  of  so  many  men  as  may  seem  to  us 
adequate  for  so  great  a  suit,  that  there  may  be  the  more  fear 
in  those  culpable  men  for  our  assemblage,  and  that  we  all  ride 
thereto,  and  avenge  our  wrong,  and  slay  the  thief,  and  those 
who  fight  and  stand  with  him,  unless  they  be  willing  to  depart 
from  liim.'  *  The  power  of  making  a  law  like  this,  implies 
something  like  an  understood  agreement  or  treaty  between  a 
free  commercial  city  and  the  states  which  surround  it,  whereby 
those  states  are  allowed  commercial  privileges  on, condition  of 
giving  the  citizens  the  right  of  pursuing  offenders  through  their 
territories ;  and  it  agrees  perfectly  with  the  interpretation  given 
to  the  earlier  law  of  the  kings  of  Kent. 

This  also  explains  to  us  why,  at  a  very  early  period  after  the 
Norman   Conquest,  the  privileges  of  the  city  of  London  are 

*  Judicia  civitatis  Lundoniae,  viii.  §  2,  3.     Thorpe,  p.  100. 


I 


cuAP.  XVI.]  LONDON.  517 

excepted  and  protected  in  charters  given  to  corporate  towns  in 
far  distant  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In  a  dispute  with  the  abbot 
of  Bury,  in  the  twelfth  century,  the  citizens  of  London,  so  far 
from  admitting  (as  Brady  supposed)  that  their  privileges  wer(; 
newly  acquired  from  their  Norman  sovereigns,  professed  to 
have  enjoyed  them  from  the  first  foundation  of  their  city, 
which  they  carried  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  the  foundation  of 
Home.* 

We  learn  from  the  Saxon  Chronicle  that,  in  the  Danish  inva- 
sion of  the  year  994,  '  Anlaf  and  Swegen  came  to  London,  on 
the  Nativity  of  St  Mary  (Sept.  8),  with  ninety-four  ships  ;  and 
tliey  then  continued  fighting  stoutly  against  the  town;  and 
would  eke  have  set  fire  to  it.  But  they  there  sustained  more 
harm  and  evil  than  they  ever  imagined  that  any  townsmen 
{biiruhwani)  would  be  able  to  do  unto  them.'  In  1009,  the 
men  of  Canterbury  bought  a  peace  with  the  Danish  invaders, 
aud  then,  as  we  learn  from  the  contemporary  authority  just 
quoted,  the  latter  '  fought  oft  against  the  town  of  London  ; 
but,  praise  be  to  God,  that  it  yet  stands  sound,  and  they  there 
ever  fared  ill.'  In  1013,  king  Ethelred  sought  shelter  in 
London,  Avhich  was  besieged  by  Swegen  :  '  When  he  came  to 
the  town,'  says  the  chronicle,  '  the  townsmen  (seo  burhwaru, 
la  honrgeolsie,  it  is  a  collective  noun  in  the  singular  number) 
would  not  submit,  but  held  out  against  him  with  all  their 
might.'  Although  the  Danes  now  overrun  without  opposition 
the  rest  of  the  kingdom,  the  Londoners  defended  the  Saxon 
king,  until  at  length  he  deserted  his  protectors,  and  then, 
Swegen  being  generally  acknowledged  as  king  of  England; 
'  the  townsmen  of  London  submitted,  and  delivered  hostages, 
because  they  dreaded  lest  he  should  utterly  undo  them.'  f 
When  king  Etlielred  returned,  after  the  death  of  Swegen,  he 
was  again  received  by  the  Londoners,  who  formed  his  surest 
defence.  -  In  1016,  Edmund  Etheling  collected  his  forces 
against  Cnut.  '  When  the  forces  were  assembled,  then  would 
it  not  content  them,  except  it  so  were  that  the  king  were 
there  with  them,  and  they  might  have  the  help  of  the  townsmen 
of  London.'     As  the  townsmen  would  not  go,  Edmund's  army 

*  Et  dicebant  cives  Lundonienses  fuisse  quietos  de  theloneo  in  orrni  fore, 
et  semper  et  ubique,  per  totain  Angliam,  a  tempore  quo  Roma  primu 
t'undata  fuit,  et  civitatem  Lundonia;  eodem  tempore  fundatum.  Josceliue 
de  Brakclonde,  p.  56. 

t  Compare  W.  Malmsb.  de  Gest.  Reg.  Angl.  p.  G9,  with  the  Saxou 
Chrouicle. 


518  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  X' i. 

dispersed  itself.  On  king  Etlielred's  deatli,  wliicli  occurred  tlie 
same  year,  '  all  the  witan  who  were  in  London,  and  the  towns- 
men (seo  burhwaru,  William  of  Malmsbury  calls  them  the 
proceres  Limdonice),  chose  Edmund  to  be  king-.'  The  Danes 
soon  afterwards  laid  siege  to  London,  but  the  citizens  again 
defended  themselves  with  obstinacy,  until  Edmund  came  and 
relieved  them.  They  sustained  a  second  siege  the  same  year, 
but,  after  Edmund's  defeat  at  Assandun,  '  the  men  of  London 
made  a  truce  with  the  army.'  * 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  statements  of  a  contem.porary 
chronicler,  that  the  men  of  London  were  brave  and  experienced 
warriors;  but  they  were  evidently,  like  the  citizens  of  the 
Koman  WAmicipium,  not  liable  to  be  called  out  of  their  own 
walls  to  fight,  even  when  the  country  was  on  the  brink  of  ruin 
])y  a  successful  invader ;  and  the  power  of  the  monarch  over 
ihem  was  very  limited.  In  the  course  of  the  history  I  have 
just  recited,  they  act  in  every  respect  as  a  small  independent 
state.  Another  incident  occurred  at  this  period,  which  illus- 
trates in  a  remarkable  degree  the  extent  of  their  power.  When 
archbishop  Elfey  had  been  slain  by  the  Danes  in  1012,  the 
Londoners  purchased  his  body  of  the  murderers,  and  deposited 
it  in  St  Paul's  cathedral.  After  Cnut  had  obtained  the  crown 
by  conquest,  and  peace  was  restored,  archbishop  Agelnoth 
( Elfey 's  successor)  applied  to  the  king  to  give  up  the  body  of 
the  martyr  to  the  monks  of  Canterbury.  Cnut,  wdio  was  then 
jjolding  his  court  in  London,  consented,  but  he  would  only 
undertake  to  get  away  the  body  by  deceiving  the  citizens.  He 
gave  orders  to  his  Jmscarles,  or  household  soldiers,  to  disperse 
themselves  in  parties,  some  on  the  bridge  and  along  the  banks 
of  the  river,  whilst  others  went  to  the  gates  of  the  city,  and 
there  raised  tumults  and  riots. t  By  dint  of  promises  and 
persuasions,  the  men  who  had  the  care  of  the  body  of  Elfey 
were  prevailed  upon  to  assist  in  the  plot,  and,  whilst  the  atten- 
tion of  the  citizens  was  called  to  the  disturbances  at  the  gates, 
the  sacred  deposit  was  carried  by  stealth  to  the  river  and  there 
placed  in  a  boat,  which  was  roAvedin  all  haste  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  capital,  and  then  landed  in  Kent.  The  king  stood  on 
the  bank  of  the  Thames,  and  watched  its  progress  with  anxious 

*  Saxon  Chi'onicle. 

f  Mandans  omnibus  familia3  sua?  militibus,  quos  lingua  Dannrum 
hnscarles  vocant,  ut  alii  eoruui  per  extrenms  civitatis  portas  seditiones  cou- 
c.itent,  alii  pontem  et  ripas  fluminis  armati  obsideant,  ne  exeuntes  eus;  cum 
Curpove  sancti  Lundanus  pupulus  pra^j^edire  valeat. 


ciiAr.  XVI.]  LOXDOX.  519 

eye,  for  lie  vxis  of  raid  of  the  citlzeus*  When  tlie  latter  dis- 
covered tlie  trick  which  liad  been  played  upon  them,  they  sent 
out  a  party  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives,  who,  however,  had 
reached  a  place  of  safety  before  they  were  overtaken.! 

This  anecdote  gives  us  a  curious  glance  at  London  manners 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century.  About  half  a  century 
later,  at  the  entry  of  the  Normans,  we  find  tlie  citizens  of 
London  again  holding  the  same  bold  position ;  and  the  con- 
queror of  Hastings  was  obliged  to  make  conditions  with  them 
before  they  would  acknowledge  him  as  king.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  enter  into  their  subsequent  history  ;  but  it  must  be 
stated  to  their  glory  that,  if  we  begin  with  their  defence  against 
the  Danes,  in  the  tenth  century,  the  citizens  of  London  have 
been,  through  at  least  nine  centuries,  the  constant,  powerful, 
and  untlinching — perhaps,  sometimes,  turbulent — champions  of 
the  liberties  of  Englishmen. 

To  return  again  to  the  more  general  subject,  we  trace  by 
various  allusions  during  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,  that  in  these 
corporate  towns  there  was,  independent  of  the  municipal  officers, 
an  officer  of  the  king,  or  king's  reeve,  who  took  certain  tolls  or 
dues  which  were  reserved  for  the  king  on  sales,  manumissions, 
judicial  executions,  &c.,  and  which  tlie  king  had  obtained  in 
the  transmission  of  the  municipal  system  from  the  Roman  to 
the  Saxon  government.  Thus  at  Exeter,  as  we  learn  from  the 
entries  on  the  Hy-leaves  of  the  now  Avell-known  '  Codex  Ex- 
oniensis,'  such  duties  were  regularly  paid  to  an  officer  '  for  the 
king's  hand,'  to  use  the  phrase  of  the  original ;  as,  for  instance, 
Alfric  Hals  took  the  toll  in  Tovie's  house  '  for  ])8es  kynges 
liand '  (fol.  6,  r°)  ;  Widfet  took  the  toll  'for  ]?as  cinges  hand' 
(\'o\.  6,  v"j,  and  so  forth.  When  we  hear  of  a  Saxon  king  giving 
a  town  to  a  queen,  or  to  a  bishop,  or  to  an  abbey,  it  means,  of 
course,  that  the  king  gave  to  those  persons  merely  the  duties 
which  accrued  to  him  from  the  towns  in  question. 

Although  the  municipal  privileges  were  all  derived  directly 
from  the  Romans,  it  does  not  of  course  follow  that  such  privi- 
leges Avere  enjoyed  only  by  towns  which  had  been  founded  in 
Roman  times.  As  the  Saxons  became  established  throughout 
the  island,  and  adopted,  to  a  certain  degree,  the  manners  of 
their  Roman  predecessors,  they  founded  other  towns,  and  they 

*  Tiinclnit  nainque  civium  intorruptiones. 

t  Tnuislatio  S.  Elphegi,  ty  Osborn,  up.  Act.  SS.  Ordinis  Benedict. 
s{«c.  Yl.  part.  i.  pp.  124 — 126.  Osboni  received  his  accuuut  I'roin  people 
who  were  present,  see  p.  12j. 


520  THE  SAXONS.  [cHAr.  xvi. 

naturally  imitated  the  forms  presented  to  their  view  in  the 
Roman  models  already  existini^-.  Most  of  these  were,  as  tlie 
Eoman  towns  had  become,  royal  towns,  that  is,  they  had  no 
superior  lord  but  the  king.  But  others,  after  the  conversion  of 
the  Saxons  to  Christianity,  gradually  sprung  up  about,  and 
luider  the  protection  of,  episcopal  sees  and  abbeys,  and  these 
eventually  received  their  rights  and  privileges  at  tlie  hands  of 
their  ecclesiastical  protectors.  Numerous  instances  of  such 
towns  might  be  pointed  out,  such  as  St  Alban's,  Bury, 
]-)everley,  &c.  It  was  more  common  for  the  early  Saxon  and 
Frankish  monarchs  to  give  towns  to  bishops  and  abbots  than 
to  any  other  class  of  persons,  or,  at  least,  gifts  to  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries  were  always  of  a  more  permanent  character.  Hence 
it  arises  that,  at  a  later  period  of  mediaeval  history,  we  find 
so  many  corporate  towns  whose  charters  are  derived  from 
ecclesiastical,  and  not  from  lay,  lords.  On  the  continent,  one 
or  two  towns  became,  in  this  manner,  ecclesiastical  princi- 
palities. 

We  trace  in  these  ecclesiastical  towns  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
period  the  existence  of  a  municipal  government,  and  the  same 
jealousy  of  their  privileges,  as  in  the  more  perfect  models  de- 
rived from  Roman  times.  When  the  Danish  king  Swegen, 
then  at  Gainsborough,  ignorant  or  careless  of  local  privileges, 
demanded  a  tax  of  the  people  of  Bedricsworth,  or  Bury  St 
Edmunds,  the  latter  pleaded  their  exemption  from  royal  taxes, 
and  refused  to  pay.  The  monks  of  St  Edmund's  of  course  took 
their  part,  because  to  them  the  regular  taxes  of  the  town  had 
been  given.  Swegen  was  furious,  and  threatened  with  his 
vengeance  both  the  monks  and  the  townsmen :  but  the  ecclesi- 
astics have  recorded,  exultingly,  that  that  same  night  the  hand 
of  death  was  laid  upon  the  proiid  and  scornful  Dane,  and  that 
the  country  was  thus  delivered  from  one  ferocious  enemy.* 

In  the  foregoing  remarks,  my  ol^ject  has  been  to  bring  toge- 
ther a  few  historical  incidents  which,  in  the  entire  absence  of 
more  explicit  documents,  seem  to  show  clearly  that  the  muni- 
cipal government  and  privileges  of  corporate  towns,  derived 
from  Roman  civilisation,  had  existed  in  this  country,  as  on  the 
continent,  uninterruptedly  from  Roman  times.  In  these  inci- 
dents we  trace  here  and  there  the  pi'eservation  of  Roman  forms 
and  Roman  principles,  and  we  trace  still  more  distinctly  almost 

*  An  infprestina;-  account  of  this  afFiiir  is  given  among  the  miracles  of  St 
.Edmund,  MS.  Cotton.  Tiber.  B.  II.  fol.  25  and  26.  See  also  W.  Malmsb. 
de  Gest.  Reg.  p.  71- 


CHAP.  XVI.]  CHARTER  OF  TOWNS.  .*i?l 

every  municipal  rig-ht  and  municipal  power  whicli  were  at  a  later 
period  guaranteed  by  royal  or  other  charter,  and  which,  by 
comparison  with  the  privileges  and  government  of  corporate 
towns  in  France  and  Italy,  and  elsewhere  on  the  continent,  we 
know  to  liave  been  derived  from  the  political  constitution  of 
the  Romans.  From  these  circumstances  we  are  justified  in 
concluding  that  our  municipal  corporations  were  not  the  crea- 
tions of  the  royal  will  in  Norman  times,  but  that  they  had 
existed  in  a  perfect  form  throughout  the  Saxon  period.  By 
these  considerations,  also,  we  are  enabled  to  understand  better 
the  entries  relating  to  the  towns  in  Domesday  Book.  We  find 
there  that  in  many  of  these  towns  the  king  received  Jus  rates 
by  his  receiver  (the  pr^sposUiis  rerjis),  from  each  particular 
person  from  whom  they  were  due  individually,  and  in  each 
individual  case.  In  such  towns  the  numbers  of  burgesses  paying 
rates  are  enumerated,  both  in  the  time  of  king  Edward  and  in 
that  of  king  William.  Tiie  propositus  regis,  or  king's  reeve, 
is  frequently  mentioned,  as  at  Dover,  Lewes,  Guildford,  &c. 
In  other  instances,  and  these  are  not  few,  we  find  that  the 
municipality,  to  escape  the  too  officious  interference,  and  some- 
times oppressive  conduct,  of  a  collecting  officer  who  was  not 
under  their  own  jurisdiction,  had  compounded  for  the  king's 
taxes,  by  the  yearly  payment  of  a  certain  sum  of  money.  Such 
was  the  case  with  Dorchester,  Bridport,  Wareham,  Sliaftesbury, 
Hertford,  and  other  places.  It  was  a  very  necessary  safeguard, 
especially  for  smaller  towns,  whose  revenue  the  king  might  let 
out  to  farm  to  some  one  who  paid  a  certain  sum,  and  mai'e  as 
much  of  it  as  he  could,  and  would  probably  practise  every  kind 
of  extortion  to  enrich  himself.  This  was  experienced  more 
severely  in  Norman  times ;  and  when  the  towns  obtained 
charters,  they  invariably  bought  the  farm  of  the  king's  dues  for 
ever,  which  was  called  the  fee-fi\rm  of  the  town. 

The  judicial  entries  on  the  fiy-leaves  of  the  Exeter  manu- 
script, written  before  and  after  the  Conquest,  show  us  that  the 
municipal  forms  and  conditions  of  that  city  underwent  no 
change  upon  the  transfer  of  the  English  crown  to  a  Norman 
line  of  sovereigns  ;  and  such  was  probably  the  case  in  all  other 
cities  and  towns  then  in  existence.  But,  although  their  privi-  ' 
leges  and  constitution  were  in  principle  untouched,  iu  practice 
they  were  frequently  trespassed  upon.  A  new  race  of  feudal 
lords  had  entered  upon  the  land,  who  were  ignorant  of  the 
customs  of  the  people  over  whom  they  had  intruded  tl\em- 
selves,  and  who  had  little  respect  for  any  customs  which  stoo  I 


522  THE  SAXONS.  [chap.  xvi. 

as  obstacles  in  the  gratification  of  tlieir  views  of  agi^randise- 
ment.  This  must  have  led  to  continual  riots  and  disturbances 
in  the  old  Saxon  towns,  and  to  infringements  of  their  privileges 
where  they  had  little  power  to  obtain  permanent  redress.  After 
undergoing  all  these  vexations  during  a  few  years,  they  saw  the 
advantages — or  we  may  perhaps  better  say  the  necessity — of 
purchasing  from  the  king  written  charters,  confirming  their  old 
rights,  which  became  an  effective  protection  in  a  court  of  law. 
Thus  originated  municipal  charters,  which  are  rather  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  proof  of  the  antiquity,  than  of  the  novelty,  of  the 
privileges  they  grant.  They  were  given  most  abundantly  under 
Henry  11.  and  his  sons,  when  it  became  the  policy  of  the  Eng- 
lish monarchs  to  seek  the  support  of  the  independent  burghers 
against  a  turbulent  feudal  aristocracy. 

Perhaps  we  may  be  thought  to  linve  wandered  a  little  from 
our  immediate  subject  in  the  preceding  remarks  ;  but  in  the 
absence  of  all  contemporary  inibrmation  on  the  state  of  the 
Roman  towns  in  Britain  after  they  had  fallen  under  the  sub- 
jection of  the  Saxons,  it  is  only  by  these  traces  of  their  con- 
dition at  a  subsequent  period  that  we  can  perceive  how  the 
Ixoman  element  of  civilisation  was  preserved  in  them.  They 
hold  a  very  important  place  in  the  history  of  social  develop- 
ment, ina-smuch  as,  while  the  country  itself  underwent  so  many 
violent  revolutions — while  Britons,  and  Saxons,  and  Normans, 
alteniately  gained  possession  of  the  soil — the  population  of  the 
towns  contimied  to  exist  without  any  further  alteration  than 
that  gradual  infusion  of  foreign  blood  which  must  necessarily 
take  place  in  the  course  of  ages,  and  to  which  we  owe  that  due 
mixture  of  Saxon  and  Eoman  that  forms  the  basis  of  modern 
civilisation. 

If  we  possessed  the  necessary  information  on  the  subject,  we 
should  no  doubt  find  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  had  adopted  many 
of  the  arts  and  amusements  of  society  from  the  Romans. 
Although  the  large  potteries  and  such  establishments  in  the 
country,  having  been  deserted  by  the  workmen,  were  no  doubt 
left  in  ruin,  many  of  the  manufactories,  where  they  existed  in 
the  towns,  continued  probably  in  activity.  We  know  nothing 
of  the  fate  of  public  buildings  in  the  towns,  but  we  have  a 
proof  that  the  amphitheatres  continued  in  use,  in  the  circum- 
stan.ce  that  long  afterwards  we  find  them  the  scene  of  perform- 
ances of  bears  and  of  bull-baiting.  I  have  stated  before  that 
the  Anglo-Saxons  adopted  the  Roman  roads  and  bridges  in 
every  part  of  the  island.     To  the  former  they  gave  the  name  of 


CHAP.  XVI  ]  THE  SAXON  TK)ADS.  .^23 

Hin^eU  {drret),  a  Avord  no  doubt  derived  from  the  Latin  word 
.sirnfa,  by  which  probably  tliey  heard  theni  designated  among 
the  Roman  population.  We  may  still  trace  their  course,  by  the 
continued  recurrence  of  names  of  places  in  which  the  Saxon 
word,  under  such  forms  as  stret,  drat,  drcat,  occurs  in  compo- 
sition, as  Stretton,  Stratford,  Streatham,  &c.  A  glance  at  tlie 
map  will  show  that  the  great  Roman  military  roads  resolved 
themselves  into  a  few  grand  lines  Avhich  traversed  the  island  in 
diti'erent  directions.  Of  these  there  were  four  principal  lines, 
of  which  perhaps  the  most  important  was  that  which  ran  from 
Richborough  or  Dover,  through  Caul-e/uury  and  I.ondon,  across 
the  island  to  Chester.  The  Saxons,  who  planted  their  own 
local  traditions  wherever  they  settled,  connected  tiiis  uoiidei'm'. 
work  with  one  of  their  own  mythic  traditions,  and  called  it 
AYiiitlinga-strset,  the  road  of  the  Wsetlings,  or  sons  of  Wyetk,-'- 
and  it  was  celebrated  down  to  recent  times  as  the  Watlinu- 
street,  a  name  still  retained  by  the  portion  of  it  which  ran 
through  London.  To  the  road  which  ran  direct  from  Pevensey 
and  Reguum  through  London,  and  by  Lincoln  and  the  great 
Yorkshire  towns  to  the  south-east  of  Scotland,  they  gave  i\\?. 
name  of  Eormen-strget,  the  street  of  Eormen,  who  was  one  of 
the  chief  Anglo-Saxon  divinities,  and  whose  name  was  often 
compounded  in  those  of  persons  and  things  which  were  regarded 
as  great  or  wonderful.  The  name  at  a  later  period  was  cor- 
rupted to  Ermyn-street.  Two  other  great  roads  which  crossed 
the  island,  one  from  the  coast  of  Norfolk,  by  Cambridge,  Old 
Sarum,  and  Exeter,  to  the  extremity  of  Cornwall ;  the  other, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Tyne  to  Gloucester,  and  thence  to  St. 
David's ;  were  named  the  Iknield-street  and  the  Ryknield- 
street,  but  the  origiu  of  these  names  is  very  doubtful.  Other 
roads  of  less  importance  received  also  their  distinctive  appel- 
lations.    Two,  originating  at  the  great  saltworks  at  Droitwich, 

*  The  milky  way  was  also  popularly  called  Watling- street,  and  it  is 
mentioned  under  this  name  in  Chaucer's  house  of  Fame  : 

Lo  there,  quod  he,  cast  up  thine  eye, 

Se  yondir,  lo,  the  galaxie, 

The  wiehe  men  clepe  the  milky  way. 

For  it  is  white  ;  and  some,  p((>' /((ij, 

Y-cullin  it  han  Watlinge-strete. 
Florence  of  Worcester,  in  his  chronicle,  under  the  year  1013,  mentioning- 
the  British  Watling--street,  says,  '  Omnia  populisqui  habitabant  insepteu- 
trionali  plag-a  Weatlingastreatro,  id  est  strata  quam  filii  Weatla?  reg-is  ab 
orientali  mare  usque  ad  occidentale  per  Angliam  straverunt."  King 
Weatla  was  no  doubt  a  personage  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  mythology. 


524  THE  SAXOXS.  [chap.  xvj. 

and  proce(^,ding",  one  eastwardly  to  the  coast  of  Lincolnshire, 
vlie  other  southwardly  to  the  Hampshire  coast,  have  been 
desio^nated  as  the  Salt-ways ;  and  another  leading  from  the  east 
to  Cirencester,  was  known  as  the  Akeman-street,  it  is  supposed 
because  it  was  the  way  by  which  invalids  travelled  to  Bath,  ono 
of  the  Saxon  names  of  which  was  Akemannes-ceaster,  or  the 
citv  of  J  aval  ids. 


CHAP.  XVII  J  THE  WELSH.  OZD 


CHAPTEfl  XVTI. 

wf'.'tii  E.stp-blishments — Strath-Cluyd,  Cornwall,  Wales — Early  sepulchral 
inscriptions  found  in  the  two  latter  countries. 

While  the  Saxon  tribes  were  penetratinp^  into  the  island 
fiom  the  east  and  south,  other  races  were  establishing  them- 
selves on  the  western  side,  whose  history  is  completely  lost.  We 
are  assured  by  nearly  contemporary  writers  that,  when  the 
Teutonic  invaders  beo;an  to  harass  Britain,  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
who  were  of  course  joined  by  the  Irish,  carried  on  their  de- 
structive inroads  on  the  other  side  of  Britain,  which  would  be 
left  in  a  comparatively  defenceless  state  by  the  withdrawal  of 
the  legions  from  Deva  (^C/tester)  and  Isca  {Caerleou)  some 
years  before  the  Roman  emperors  relinquished  the  island. 
From  this  time  history  and  tradition  are  equally  silent,  until, 
when  we  arrive  again  at  the  period  when  the  annals  of  at  least 
one  part  of  the  island  become  authentic,  we  find  three  distinct 
Celtic  states  in  existence,  that  of  the  Strath-Cluyd  Britons 
in  the  north,  that  of  the  Wealas,  or  Welsh,  in  the  moimtainous 
region  to  which  they  have  given  their  name,  and  which  was 
divided  into  several  petty  states,  and  that  of  the  Cormvealas, 
who  gave  their  name  to  Cornwall.  It  has  been  a  doubted 
(juestion  as  to  whence  the  population  of  these  districts  came, 
whether  they  were  the  primitive  Britons,  who  had  arisen  and 
taken  possession  of  the  land  of  their  forefathers ;  whether  they 
were  Caledonians  from  the  north,  who,  like  the  Saxons,  at  last 
settled  down  in  the  country  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
invade  ;  or  Irish  from  the  neighbouring  island  ;  or  perhaps  even 
Armoricans,  at  a  later  period,  from  Gaul ;  but  the  latter  appears 
to  be  the  more  correct  explanation  of  the  subject.  We  know 
too  little  of  the  language  of  the  Britons  before  Caesar's  invasion 
to  found  any  certain  argument  upon  it ;  and  all  that  we  can  say  is, 
that  these  Celtic  settlers  seem  to  have  been  a  barbarous  people, 


o'lQ  THE  SAXOXS.  L^^HAP.  XVII. 

who  were  much  less  tliau  the  Saxons  capa1)le  of  l)enefitirig  by  tlif^ 
Roman  civilisation  with  which  they  came  in  contact.  We  find  no 
antiqnities  of  this  period  among  the  Welsh,  as  we  do  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  in  Wales  at  least  the  Eomaii  towns  seem 
to  have  been  mostly  destroyed. 

We  can  hardly  doubt  that  it  was  the  Caledonian  Picts  who, 
while  the  Angles  were  establishing  themselves  in  Bernicia  and 
Deira,  got  possession  of  the  district  extending  on  the  western 
side  of  the  island  from  Lancashire,  of  which  they  formed  a 
kingdom,  called  by  the  Scots  the  kingdom  of  Strathcluyd, 
because  its  northern  limits  lay  upon  the  Clyde.  They  have 
been  called  by  historians  Cumbrian  Britons.  The  Cumbrian 
('elts  preserved,  we  know,  two  Eoman  towns,  Luguballium 
m  the  neighbourhood  of  the  wall  of  Hadrian,  and  a  stron<>: 
town  on  the  waters  of  the  Clyde,  which  had  been  called,  under 
the  Eomans,  Tamea  and  Theodosia.  The  latter  became  the 
metropolis  of  the  chieftains  of  the  Cumbrians,  and  they  named 
it,  from  its  situation,  Al-cloyd ;  the  Irish  Scots,  their  neigh- 
bours, called  it  Dun-Breton,  the-  fortress  of  the  Britons,  a 
name  still  preserved  in  that  of  Dumbarton,  by  which  it  is 
known  at  the  present  day.  Their  southern  town,  Luguballium, 
retained  its  old  name,  corrnpted,  with  the  addition  of  caer, 
which,  like  the  Saxon  ceaster,  is  a  mere  corrnption  of  th(3 
Roman  castrum,  and  was  called  Caer-luel,  or  Caer-leol,  now 
Carlisle.  The  legendary  Scottish  annalists  give  us  names  of  the 
kings  of  Strathcluyd,  and  speak  of  their  exploits ;  some  of 
them  pretend  that  Carausius  granted  Cumberland  and  West- 
moreland to  a  Scottish  king  named  Crathlynt,  in  consideration 
of  important  services  which  he  had  rendered  to  that  usurper, 
and  they  add  that  Crathlynt's  son  was  confirmed  in  possession. 
These,  however,  are  no  doubt  mere  ftibles ;  and  all  that  we 
know  with  certainty  is,  that  the  Cmnbrian  Britons  were  at  an 
early  period  engaged  in  war  with  the  Angles,  and  that  the 
sonthern  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Alcluyd,  with  the  city  of 
Carlisle,  fell  eventually  under  the  power  of  the  Northumbrian 
kings.  Carlisle  is  celebrated  in  British  legend  as  the  favonrite 
]-esidence  of  king  Arthur. 

To  judge  by  the  tenor  of  these  legends,  the  Cumbrians 
appear  to  have  preserved  more  of  Eoman  culture  than  the 
Welsh  or  Cornish.  The  latter  seems  to  have  had  a  close  con- 
nection with  the  Irish  and  with  the  Celts  of  Armorica,  and  we 
can  hardly  help  believing  that  invaders  from  the  one  country, 
and    settlers    from   the   '^ther,   helped  to   swell  its  population. 


CHAP,  xvn.]  THE  CELTIC  DISTRICTS.  527 

They  were  dependent  on  the  important  Roman  town  of  Isca, 
which  the  Saxons  called  Exan-ceaster,  the  city  on  the  river 
Exe.  The  Corn-wealas  preserved  their  independence  until  tliV 
time  of  kin<^  Ethelstan. 

Wales  was  divided  under  several  petty  chiefs,  of  whom  those 
who  inhabited  the  southern  district,  where  the  principal  lloman 
towns  stood,  seem  to  have  been  the  least  barbarous.  Hei'e 
they  are  believed  to  have  taken  possession  of  the  important 
Roman  town  of  Maridnnuni,  and  to  liave  preserved  tlie  niemoiy 
of  its  ancient  name  in  that  of  Caer-Marddyn,  or  Caermarthen, 
which  dnriuij;  the  mi(hlle  ages  was  tlie  most  important  town  in 
Wales.  Most  of  the  names  of  Roman  towns  in  Wales  were 
preserved  in  the  same  manner,  as  in  Caer-Seiont  {Scgontluin\ 
Caer-Went  (f^enta),  Neath  (Nldum),  &c. ;  and  this  might 
certainly  make  us  incline  to  l)elieve  that  the  Welsh  race  was  an 
indigenous  one,  and  that  it  consisted,  at  least  in  part,  of  ;r 
population  which  had  been  left  there  by  the  Romans.  In 
memory  of  tlie  second  legion,  which  had  been  so  long  estab- 
lished at  \\m  Silurian  Isca,  they  gave  to  the  ruins  of  that  city 
the  name  of  Caer-Legion,  the  city  of  the  legion,  now  softened 
to  Caerleon.  They  gave  the  same  name  of  Caer-Legion  to 
Deva,  or  Chester,  the  head-quarters  of  the  twentieth  legion. 

ft  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  connected  with  these  Celtic 
kingdoms,  that  when  we  first  become  acquainted  with  them — ■ 
about  the  time  of  St  Augustine— we  find  that  Christianity 
was  established  among  them.  We  have  no  evidence,  indeed, 
that  the  Cumbrian  Britons  were  Christians,  and  we  may  per- 
haps presume  the  contrary  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Welsli  and  the  ]3eople  of  Cornwall  professed  the  Gospel,  and  tlie 
former  had  a  large  establishment  of  monks  at  a  place  called  by 
the  Saxons  Bancorna-byrig,  which  probably  occupied  the  old 
Roman  station  of  Bovinm,  which  may  have  been  called  at  the 
close  of  the  Roman  period  Banchorinm  (a  name  found  only  in 
the  Itinerary  of  Richard  of  Cirencester),  and  is  supposed  to 
be  the  place  now  called  Baugor  Iscoed,  in  the  Welsh  county  of 
Flint.  The  origin  of  Christianitv  in  Cornwall  and  Wales  is  a 
Very  obscure  question,  and  one  which  it  is  not  a  part  of  our 
plan  to  discuss.  It  has  been  already  intimated  that  we  find  no 
traces  of  Christianity  among  the  innumerable  Roman  remains 
found  in  this  country  ;  and  the  Christian  faith  of  the  Britons 
seems  to  have  been  closely  allied  with  that  of  Ireland.  To 
this  connection  the  later  legends  of  the  Welsh  and  Cornish 
saints  seem  distinctly  to  refer;  and   we  might  be  induced  by 


523  THE  AVELSIl.  [chap.  xvri. 

these  legends  and  otlier  circumstances  to  suspect  that  their  first 
missionaries  came  from  Spain  or  Armoi'ica,  after  the  period 
wlien  the  island  was  relinquished  by  Rome. 

There  is  one  class  of  antiquities  ibutid  in  Wales  and  Corn- 
wall, but  more  especially  in  the  latter  county,  wliich  appears  to 
belong-  to  the  period  following  immediately  after  that  of  the 
departure  of  the  Roman  legions.  These  are  large,  roughly- 
hewn  stones,  bearing  sepulchraL  inscriptions,  in  letters  nearly 
resembling  those  of  the  late  Roman  monuments.  They  are  in 
Latin,  bnt  the  names  are  apparently  Celtic,  and  they  give 
simply  the  name  of  the  individual  commemorated  and  his 
father.  They  differ  from  the  Roman  inscriptions  in  this,  that 
usually  the  inscription  runs  the  length  way  of  the  stone,  instead 
of  being  read  across.  A  number  of  examples  will  be  found  in  the 
volumes  of  Lysons's  Magna  Britannia  for  Devonshire  and  Corn- 
wall, and  in  Borlase's  Antiquities  of  Cornwall.  One  of  the 
earliest  and  best  preserved  stands  in  the  parish  cf  St  Colomb 
Minor,  in  the  latter  county ;  it  is  five  feet  high,  by  twenty 
inches  in  width,  and  the  inscription  is  particularly  curious,  as 
giving  to  the  person  it  commemorates  the  Roman  title  of 
tribune  : — 

HONEMIMOR  Honemimorus 

TRIBVN  the  tribune. 

Another  of  these  stones,  which  is  found  at  Lanyon,  in  the 
parish  of  Maddern,  where  it  is  popularly  known  as  the  men 
skrjjfa,  or  inscribed  stone,  has  the  inscription ; — 

RIALORRAX  Rialobranus, 

CVXOVAL  FIL  son  of  Cunovalis 

The  inscription  on  a  similar  stone,  at  Tavistock  in  Devonshire, 

is  :  — 

NKPRAXl  ISepranins, 

FiLi  CONDEVI  son  of  Condevus. 

Lysons  gives  two  others  found  in  Devonshire,  at  Buckland 
Monachorum,  and  at  Lastleigh.  One,  which  had  been  used 
as  the  gate-post  to  the  vicarage-house  at  St  Clement's,  near 
Truro,  had  the  following  inscription  in  one  line,  giving  a 
Roman  name  combined  with  a  Celtic  or  a  Teutonic  name : — 

ISNIDC  VITAL  FILI  TORRici        Isniocus  Yitalis,  son  of  Torricus. 

Sometimes  the  words  Jdc  jacet  are  added  to  the  inscription. 
Thus  the  inscription  on  one  of  these  monuments,  standing  in  the 


CHAP.  XVII.]     EARLY  SEPULCHRAL  INSCRIPTIONS.  529 

road  between  Eowey  and  Castledor,  and  popularly  called  from 
its  height  (eight  feet)  the  long  stone,  is  : — 

c^RVRivs  Hic  lACET  Cirusius  lies  here, 

CVNOMOKI  riLivs  the  son  of  Cunomorus. 

At  Worthyvale,  not  far  from  Camelford,  in  Cornwall,  there 
is  an  inscribed  stone,  nine  feet  nine  inches  long,  and  two  feet 
three  inches  wide,  which  had  been  formerly  thrown  across  a 
small  stream  to  serve  as  a  bridge.     The  inscription  is  : — 

CATiN  HIC  lACiT  Catinus  lies  here, 

riLivs  MAGAKi  the  son  of  Magarus. 

These  inscriptions  are  usually  assigned,  and  probably  with 
reason,  to  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  Those  found  in  Wales 
have  generally  a  mixture  of  cursive  letters  with  tlie  capitals, 
and  belong  apparently  to  a  later  period,  perhaps  from  the  nintli 
to  the  eleventh  centuries.  One  stone,  however,  which  was  dis- 
covered near  the  Eoman  road  from  Nidum  {Neath)  to  the 
southern  Bovium  {Eioenny),  is  of  a  date  as  early  as  those  found 
in  Ccrnwall,  and  is  expressed  in  the  same  form.  The  insmp- 
tion.  in  one  line,  commemorates  Cantusus,  the  father  of  Pavi- 
nus  : — 

HICI  ACIT  CANT"\  SVS  TATER  PAVINVS. 

It  was  evidently  written  by  one  who  spoke  Latin  corruptly ; 
but  its  greatest  singidarity  is  the  circumstance  that  the  inscrip- 
tioit  is  cut  on  the  back  of  an  older  inscribed  stone,  dedicated  to 
the  emperor  Maximinus ;  and  although  the  pure  Roman  in- 
scription is  written  in  lines  across  the  stone,  the  later  inscription 
is  written,  like  those  found  in  Cornwall,  lengthways.  It  re- 
mains to  be  stated  that  one  or  two  of  these  stones  have  evi- 
dently had  a  cross  at  the  top,  so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 
the  people  to  whom  these  belonged  being  Christians. 


5J  K 


1 


APPENDIX. 


T.— THE  ITINERARIES  AND  LISTS  OF  TOWNS. 


In  our  fifth  chapter  we  have  given  a  general  account  of  the  Roman 
towns  in  Britain,  with  their  modern  representatives,  as  far  as  these 
have  been  ascertained,  or  where  they  have  been  fixed  conjecturally. 
Many  of  them  are  identified  without  any  room  for  doubt,  while  others 
(though  comparatively  few)  remain  still  uncertain,  from  errors  in  the 
distances  given  in  the  Itineraries,  or  for  the  want  of  a  proper  investi- 
gation of  the  neighbourhoods  in  which  they  must  have  stood.  It  will 
be  perhaps  of  use,  to  assist  such  investigations,  if  wo  give  here  the 
texts  of  the  Itineraries  relating  to  our  island,  with  the  distances  as  there 
given  in  Roman  miles. 

The  first  and  most  undoubtedly  authentic  of  these  is  the  great  Itinerary 
of  the  Roman  empire  which  goes  under  the  name  of  Antoninus  Augustus. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  composed  about  the  year  320.  The  best 
edition  is  that  of  "Wesseling,  from  which  the  portion  relating  to  Britain  is 
here  taken. 


A  Gessoriaco  de  Galliis  Ritupis  in 
portu  Britanniarum  stadia 
numero  ccccl. 

(1)  A  limite,  id  est  a  vallo,  Prse- 
torio  usque  .  m.  p.  clvi. 

A  Bremenio  Cor- 

stopitum      .  m.  p.  xx. 

Vindomora  .     .  m.  p.  ix. 

Vinovia     .         .  m.  p.  xix. 

Cataractoni  .     .  m.  p.  xxii. 

Isurium     .         .  m.  p.  xxiv, 

Eburacum,  leg. 

vi  victrix      .  m.  p.  xvii. 

Derventione       .   m.  p.  vii. 

Delgovitia    .     .  m.  p.  xiii. 

Praetorio    .         .  ni.  p.  xxv. 


(2)  Iter  a  vallo  ad  portum  Ritupis, 
m.  i[>.  cccclxxxi,  sic  : 
A  Blato  Bulgio 
Castra  Explo- 


ratorum 

.  m. 

P- 

xii. 

Luguvallo 

.  m. 

P- 

xii. 

Voreda 

.  m. 

P- 

xiv. 

Brovonacis 

.  m. 

P- 

xiii. 

Verteris 

.  m 

P- 

xiii. 

Lavatris    . 

.  m. 

P- 

xiv. 

Cataractoni 

.  m. 

P- 

xiii. 

Isurium 

.  m. 

P- 

xxiv. 

Eburacum 

.  m. 

P- 

xvii. 

Calcaria 

.  m. 

P- 

ix. 

Camboduno 

.  m. 

P- 

XX. 

Mamucio 

.  in. 

P- 

xviff. 

Condate    . 

.  m. 

P- 

xvij;. 

532 


ArPEXDIX. 


Deva  leg.  xx.  vie 
trix .         .     . 

Bovio 

Mediolano     .     . 

Rutunio    . 

Uroconio       .     . 

Uxacoiia   . 

Pennocrucio 

Etoceto 

Manduessedo     . 

Venonis    . 

Bennavenna 

Lactodoro     . 

Magiovinto 

Durocobrivis     . 

Verolaniio 

SuUoniacis   . 

Londinio  . 

Noviomago  .     . 

Vagniacis 

Diirobrivis   .     . 

Durolevo  . 

Duroverno    .     . 

Ad  portuni  Ri- 
tupis    . 


ni.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p, 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
in.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
ni.  p. 
m.  p. 
ni.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 


XX. 

X. 

XX. 

xii. 

xi. 

xi. 

xii. 

xii. 

xvi. 

xii. 

xvii. 

xii. 

xvii. 

xii. 

xii. 

ix. 

xii. 

X. 

xviii. 
ix. 
xiii. 
xii. 


m.  p.  xii. 


^"8)  Iter    a     Londinio    ad    portum 
Dubris,  n>.  p.  Ixvi,  sic  : 

Durobrivis   .     .  m.  p.  xxvii. 

Duroverno         .  m.  p.  xxv. 

aC.  i»ertuni  Du- 

bris      .         .  m.  p.  xiv. 

{-t'f    iter    a    Londinio    ad    portuni 
Lemanis,  ni.  p.  Ixviii,  sic  : 

Durobrivis    .     .  m.  p.  xxvii. 

Duroverno         .  m.  p.  xxv. 

Ad  portuni  Le- 
manis     .     .  m.  p.  xvi. 


(';)  Iter  a  Londinio 
vallum,  m.  p 
Caesaromago 
Colonia 

Villa  Faustini  . 
Icianos  .     . 

CaniDorico' 
Duroliponte .     . 
Durobrivas 
Causennis     .     . 
Lindc 

Segeloci        .     . 
Dano 

Legeolio       .     . 
Eburaco    . 
Isubrigantunx  . 
Cataractoni  .     . 


Luguvallio  ad 
.  ccccxliii,  sic  : 
m.  p.  xxviii. 
m.  p.  xxiv. 
m.  p.  XXXV. 
m.  p.  xviii. 
m.  p.  XXXV. 
ni.  p.  xxv. 
m.  p.  XXXV. 
m.  p.  XXX. 
ni.  p.  xxvi. 
m.  p.  xiv. 
m.  p.  xxi. 
ni.  p.  xvi. 
m.  p.  xxi. 
m.  p.  xvii. 
m.  p.  xxiv. 


(fi) 


liavatris    . 
Verteris 
Brocavo     . 
Luguvallio  ,     . 

Iter  a   Londinio 

clvi,  sic  ; 
Verolamio 
Durocobrivis     . 
Magiovinio 
Lactodoro     .     . 
Isannavatia 
Tripontio  . 
V8nn,..nis     .     . 
Ratis 

Veronieto     .     . 
Margiduno 
Ad  Ponteni  .     . 
Crococalano 
Lindo 


m.  p.  xviii. 
m   p.  xiii. 
ni.  p.  XX. 
ni.  p.  xxii. 

Lindo,  ni.  p. 


P- 
P- 
P- 
P- 
P- 
P- 
P- 
P- 

m.  p. 

m.  p. 

m.  p. 

in.  p. 

m.  p. 


xxi. 
xii. 

xii. 

xvi. 

xii. 

xii. 

ix. 

xii. 

xiii. 

xiii. 

vii. 

vii. 

xii. 


(7)  Iter  a  Regno  Londinio,  ra 

xcvi,  sic  : 
Clausentum       .  m.  p.  xx. 
Venta  Belgaruni  in.  p.  x. 
Calleva  Attreba- 

tum  .  .  m 
Pontibus  .  .  m 
Londinio      .     .  ni 


xxn. 

xxii. 

xxii. 


(8)    Iter  ab   Eburaco    Londinium, 
m.  p.  ccxxvii,  sic  : 


Lagecio 

Dano    . 

Ageloco    . 

Lindo  . 

Crococalano 

Margiduno 

Vernemeto   . 

Ratis 

Vennonis 

Bannavanto 

Magiovinio 

Durocobrivis 

Verolamio 

Londinio 


m.  p.  XXI. 
m.  p.  xvi. 
lu.  p.  xxi. 
m.  p.  xiv. 
m.  p.  xiv. 
m.  p.  xiv 
111.  p.  xii. 
m.  p.  xii. 
111.  p.  xii. 
in.  p.  xviii. 
m.  p.  xxviii. 
m.  p.  xii. 
m.  p.  xii. 
m.  p.  xxi. 


(9)  Iter  a  Venta   Icenorum    Lon- 
dinio,  m.  p.  cxxviii,  sic  : 
Sitomaao  . 


Combretonio 
Ad  Ansani  . 
Camuloduno 
Canonio  . 
Cajsaroinago 
Durolito  . 
Londinio 


m. 
ni. 
m. 
m. 
m. 
ni. 
m. 
m. 


xxxii. 
xxii. 

XV. 

vi. 
ix. 

xii. 
xvi. 

XV. 


ITINERARY  OF  ANTONINUS 


5.']  3 


(10)  Iter  a  Glanoventa  Mediolano, 
m.  p.  cl,  sic  : 
Galava 


Bravinio   . 
Viroconio 


Alone  . 
Galacuin  . 
Bremetoiiaci 
Cacicio 

Mancunio     . 
Condate     . 
Mediolano     . 


m.  p.  xviii. 
m.  p.  xu. 
ni.  p.  XIX. 
ni,  p.  xxvii. 

111.  p.   XX. 

ni.  p.  xvii. 
111.  p.  xviii. 
in.  p.  xviii. 


(11)  Iter  a  Sep:ontio  Devam,  m.  p. 
Ixxiv,  sic : 
Conovio     .         .  m.  p.  xxiv. 
Varis   .         .     .  m.  p.  xix. 
Deva         .         .  m.  p.  xxxii. 


(12)  Iter  per  Muridunum 

nium,  ni.  p.  clxxxv 

Vindomi       .     .  m.  p. 

Venta  Belgaruni  ni.  p. 


Brige 

Sorbioduni   .     . 

Vindogladia 

Dumovaria 

Muriduno     . 

I  sea  Duninunio- 
rum 

Leucaro        .     . 

Nido 

Bomio  .         .     . 

Iscae,  leg:,  ii.  Au- 
gusta 

Burrio  . 

Gobannio 

Waa-nis 


m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
ni.  p. 
ni.  p. 

m.  p. 
ni.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 

m.  p. 
m.  p. 
ni.  p. 
ni.  p. 


Viroco- 
i,  sic  : 

XV. 

xxi. 

xi. 

ix. 

xii. 

viii, 

xxxvi. 

XV. 
XV. 
XV. 
XV. 

xxvii. 
ix. 

xii. 
xxii. 


m.  p.  XXIV. 
m.  p.  xxvii. 


(13)  Iter   ab    Isca  Calleva,   m. 
cix,  sic  : 
Burrio 
Blestio 
Ariconio   . 
Glevo   . 
Durocornovio 
Spinis 
Calleva 


ni.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
m.  p. 
ni.  p.  xiv, 
ui.  p.  XV. 
111.  p.  XV. 


IX. 

xi. 
xi. 

XV. 


(14)    Item    alio     itiaere     ab    Isca 
Calleva,  in.  p.  ciii,  sic  : 
Venta  Siluruni .  m.  p.  ix. 


Abone 

Trajectus 

Aquis  Solis 

Verlucione 

Cunetione 

Spinis  . 

Calleva 


m.  p.  IX. 
ni.  p.  ix. 
in.  p.  vi. 
m.  p.  XV. 
m.  p.  XX. 
m.  p.  XV. 

111.  p.  XV. 


(15)  Iter  a  Calleva  Isca  Dumnu- 
niorum,  m.  p.  cxxxvi,  sic  ; 
Vindomi       .     .  in,  p.  xv. 
Venta  Belgarum  ni. 


Brige         .  .  m. 

Sorbioduni   .  .  ni. 

Vindogladia  .  m. 

Durnovaria  .  .  in. 

Muriduno  .  m. 
Isca  Dumnunio- 

rum         .  .  ni.  p.  xv. 


XXI. 

xi. 

viii. 
xii. 
viii. 
xxxvi 


The  description  of  Britain  attributed  to  Richard  of  Cirencester  has 
been  ihe  subject  of  much  discussion,  and  appears  to  be  made  up  of 
very  discordant  materials.  How  much  was  r«a)ly  the  work  of  a  monk 
of  Westminster,  and  iiow  mucn  we  owe  to  the  modern  editor,  Bertram 
of  Copenhagen,  it  is  not  easy  to  say,  for  the  manuscript  has  very 
strangely  disappeared.  It  is  supposed,  however,  that  the  old  monk  may 
have  had  before  him  a  Roman  Itinerary  similar  to  that  of  Antoninus,  or 
perhaps  a  map,  from  which  he  extracted  the  part  relating  to  Britain, 
which  is  inserted  in  his  book  under  the  title  of  Diaphragmata.  I  confess 
that  the  more  I  read  this  book,  the  more  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
M'hole  is  a  mere  fabrication.  The  following  is  the  text  of  Richard's 
Diaphragmata,  which  is  in  some  parts  imperfect,  as  stated,  from  the 
damaged  state  of  the  manuscript : — 


^ 


Iter  I.  Rhutupis  prima  in  Bri- 
tannia insula  civitas  versus 
Galliam,  apud  Caiitios  sita,  a 
Gessoriaco     Boununiai    portu, 


unde  commodissimus  in  su- 
pradictam  insulam  transitus 
obtingit,  ccccl.  stadia,  velut 
alii    volunt    xlvi.    mille    pas- 


o34 


APPENDIX. 


suum  reniota.  Ab  eadeni 
civitate  ducta  est  via  Guethe- 
lino^a  dicta,  usque  in  Segon- 
tiuin,  per  ni.  p.  cccxxiiii.  plus 
minus,  sic  : 

Cantiopoli,  quae  et 

Dm-overno    .     .  m,  p.  x. 

Durosevo      .         .  xii. 

Duroprovis       .     .  xxv. 

deinde  in.  p.  xxvii.  transit  'Ihame- 
sin,  intrasque  provinciani  Fla- 
viain  et  civitatem  Londiniuin 
(Aug'ustain), 

Sulomag-o      .         .  m.  p.  ix. 

Verolamio     Tuuni- 
cipio     .         .     .  xii. 

Unde  fuit  Amphibalus  et  Albanus 
inartyres. 

Foro  Diaufe .         .  xii. 

Mag'iovinio       .     .  xii, 

Lactorodo     .         .  xii. 

Isantavaria      ,     .  xii. 

Tripontio      .         .  xii. 

Benonis   ...  ix. 

Hie  bisecatur  via,  alterutrumque 
ejus  brachium  Lindum  usque, 
alterum  versus  Viriconiuiu 
proteiiditur,  sic  ; 

Manduessuedo      .  m.  p.  ix. 

Etoceto         .         .  xiii. 

Pennocrucio     .     .  xii. 

Uxaconia      .         .  xii. 

Yirioconio        .     .  xi. 

Banchorio     .         .  xxvi. 

Deva  colonia        .  x. 

Fines  Flavian  et  Secundfe. 

Varis   .         .         .   in.  p.  xxx. 

Conovio  .         .     .  XX. 

Seguntio       .         .  xxiv. 

Iter  II.    A  Seguntio  Virioconium 
usque  m.  p.  Ixxiii,  sic  : 
Heriri  monte        .  in.  p.  xxv. 
Mediolano        .     .  xxv. 

Ilutunio        .         .  xii. 

Yirioconio        .     .   -  xi. 

Iter    III.      A     Londinio     Lindum 
coloniaiii  usque,  sic  : 
Durosito        .         .  m.  p.  xii. 
Csesaromago     .     .  xvi. 

Canonio         .         .  xv. 

Camaloduno  colonia  ix. 

Ibi  erat  teinplum  Claudii,  arx 
triumphalis,  et  imago  Yic- 
toriie  dea3. 


Ad  Sturium  am- 
nem      .         .     ,  m.  p.  vi. 
et  finibus  Trinobantum  Ceniman- 
nos  advenis. 


Cainbretonis 

in.  p.  XV. 

Sitomago 

xxii. 

Yenta  Cenom. 

xxiii 

Camborico        .     . 

xxii. 

Duraliponte . 

XX. 

Durnomago      .     . 

XX. 

Isinnis . 

XX. 

Lindo 

XX. 

Iter    lY.      A    Lindo    ad     vallum 
usque,  sit; : 

Argolico        .         .  m.  p.  xiv. 

Dano        .         .     .  XX. 

Ibi  intras  Maximam  Caisariensom. 

Legotio         .         .  m.  p.  xvi. 

Eboraco  municip. 
olim  colonia  sex- 
ta  ...  m.  p.  xxi. 

Isurio  .         .         .  xv'i. 

Cattaractoni     .     .  xxiv. 

Ad  Tisain     .         .  y., 

Yinovio   .         .     .  x'.i. 

Epiaco .         .         .  x;x.. 

Ad  Murum       .     .  ij;. 

Trans  Murum  intras  Yalentiam. 

Alauna  amne        .  m.  p.  xw. 

Tueda  flumine      .  xxx. 

Ad  vallum    . 


er     Y.     A 

linii 

te 

X   1 

ajlui'um 

usque,  sic 

Curia 

.     .  m. 

P- 

.  .  . 

Ad  Fines 

i... 

r- 

.  .  . 

Bremenio 

. 

m. 

P- 

... 

Corstoplio     . 

XX. 

Yindomora 

, 

ix. 

Yindovio 

xi-:. 

Cattaractoni 

, 

jk.A..A. 

Eboraco 

X.. 

Derventione 

. 

\r.. 

Delgnvicia    . 

x;ii. 

Prieturio  . 

. 

.<..-» , . 

Iter    YI.      Ab     Eboraco  "Oevam 

usque,  sic : 

Calcaria         .         .  m.  p.  ix. 

Camboduno      .     .  xxii. 

Mancunio     .         .  xviii. 
Finibus  MaxiiUcie  et 

Flaviae  .     .  xviii. 

Condate        .         .  xviii. 

Dova        .        .     .  xviii. 


ITINERARY  OF  RICHARD. 


535 


Iter  VII.     A  portu   Sistuntiorum 
Eboracum  usque,  sic  : 
Rerigonio     .         .  m.  p.  xxiii. 
Ad  Alpes  Peninos  viii. 

Alicana    ...  x. 

Isurio  .         .        .  xviii. 

Eboraco  .        .     .  xvi. 

Iter  VIII.     Ab  Eboraco  Luguva- 
lium  usque,  sic  : 


Cattaractoni 

Lataris     . 

Vataris 

Brocavonacis 

Vorreda 

Lugiibaiia 


xl. 

xvi. 

xvi, 

xviii. 
xviii. 
xviii. 


Iter  IX.    A   Luguballio  Ptoroto- 
rurn  usque,  sic 
Trimontio 
Gadanica 


Corio    . 
Ad  Vallum 
Incipii;  Vespasiana. 
Alauiia 
Lind'j 
Vijtcria 
Ad  Iliernani 
Orrea   . 
Ad  Tavum 
Ad  JEsicain 
Ad  Tinam 
Devana 
Ad  Itunam 
Ad  montem  Gram 

pium 
Ad  Selinam 
Tuessis 
Pto"(  tone 


m.  p. 
m.  p. 


m.  p. 


XII. 

ix. 
ix. 
ix. 

xiv. 
xix. 

xxiii. 
viii. 
xxiii. 
xxiv. 


m. 
m. 


Iter  X.     Ab  ultima  Ptorotone  per 
ni'jdium  insula?  Iscam  Damno- 


ncrum  usque,  s 

ic  : 

Va^is   . 

m. 

P- 

viii. 

Ad  Tuessim     . 

xvMii. 

Tatnpa  . 

xxix. 

ra. 

P- 

xxi. 

xn  Medio 

ix. 

Orrea   . 

ix. 

Victoria  . 

xviii. 

Ad  Vallum  . 

xxxii. 

Luguballia 

Ixxx. 

Brocavonacis 

xxii. 

Ad  Alauuam   . 

.  m. 

P- 

•    •    • 

Coccio  . 

m. 

P- 

.    .    . 

Maucunio 


Condate 

Mediolano 

Etoceto 


xxni. 
xviii. 


m.  p. 


Salinis . 


m.  p. 


Glebon  colonia  .  m.  p.  .  .  . 

Corino  .         .  .  xiv. 

Aquas  Solis     .  .  m.  p.  .  .  . 

Ad  Aquas     .  .  xviii. 

Ad  Uxellam  am- 

nem  .         .  .  m.  p.  .  .  . 

Isca  .         .  .  m.  p.  .  .  . 

Iter    XI.      Ab    Aquis    per    viain 
Juliam  Menapiam  usque,  sic  ; 
Ad  Abonani  .  m.  p.  vi. 

Ad  Sabrinam   .     .  vi. 

Undo     trajectu    intras    in     Brit- 
taniam    Secundam    et    statio- 
nem  Trajectum    m.  p.  iii. 
Venta  Silurum     .  viii. 

Isca  colonia     .     .  ix. 

Unde  fuit  Aaron  martyr 

Tibia  amne  .         .  m.  p.  viii. 
Bovio       .         .     .  XX. 

Nido     .         .         .  XV. 

Leucaro   .        .     .  xv. 

Ad  Vigesimum     .  xx. 

Ad  Menapiam       .  xix. 

Ab  hac  urbe  per  xxx.  m.  p.  navi- 
gas  in  Hybemiam. 

Iter   XII.     Ab  Aquis   Londiniuni 

usque,  sic  : 
Verlucione    .        .  m. 

Cunetione  .     . 
Spinis  . 
Calleba    Attreba- 

tum       .  .     .  XV. 

Bibracte        .         .  xx. 

Londinio .  .     .  xx. 


p.  XV. 
XX. 
XV. 


Iter   XIII.      Ab   Isca  Uriconium 
usque,  sic  : 
Bultro  . 
Gobannio. 
Magna . 
Branogenio 
Uriocouio 


p.  vni. 
xii. 
xxiii. 

xxiii. 
xxvii. 


Iter   XIV.     Ab    Isca   per   Glebon 
Lindum  usquc^,  sic : 
Ballio       .         .     .  m.  p.  viii. 
Blestio .        .         .  xii. 

Sariconio  .     .  xi. 

Glebon  colonia      .  xv. 


536 


APPENDIX. 


Au  Amonam     . 
Alauna 

.  ir 

.   p.  XV. 
XV. 

Voluba 

m.  p.  xxviii. 

Vennonis 

.  ni. 

P- 

xii. 

Cenia 

ni.  p.  .  .  . 

Ratiscorion 

xii. 

Venromento 

xii. 

Iter  XVII.     Ab  Anderida  [Ebora- 

Margiduno 

xii. 

cum]  usque,  sic 

■ 

Ad  Pontem  . 

xii. 

Sylva  Anderida 

m.  p.  .  .  . 

Crococolaua     . 

^ 

. 

•          •          • 

Noviomago  . 

ni.  p.  .  .  . 

Lindum 

xii. 

Londinio  . 
Ad  Fines 

ni.  p.  XV. 
ni.  p.  .  .  . 

Iter  XV.     A  Lone 

inio 

per  Clau- 

Durolisponte    .     . 

m.  p.  .  .  . 

sentuni  iu  Loiidinium, 

sic: 

Durnoniago . 

m.  p.  XXX. 

Caleba 

.  m. 

P- 

xliv. 

Corisennis        .     . 

XXX. 

Yindomi 

XV. 

Lindo  . 

XXX. 

Venta  Belgarum 

xxi. 

In  Medio 

XV. 

Ad  Lapidem 

vi. 

Ad  Abum     . 

XV. 

Clausento 

iv. 

Unde  transis  in  Maxiniam. 

Portu  Magno 

X. 

Ad  Petuariani . 

m.  p.  vi. 

Regno  . 

X. 

Deinde  Eboraco,  ut 

Ad  Decirnum  . 

X. 

supra 

m.  p.  xlvi 

Anderida  portu    . 

m. 

P- 

. .  . 

Iter    XVIII.      Ab 
medium     insul 

Eboraco    per 
fe    Clausentum 

Ad  Lemanum 

m. 

P- 

XXV. 

Lemaniano  portu 

X. 

usque,  sic : 

Dubris . 

X. 

Legiolio   .         .     , 

m.  p.  xxi. 

Rhutupis  colonia 

X. 

Ad  Fines 

xviii. 

Regulbio 

X. 

m.  p.  xvi. 

Contiopoli     . 

X. 

m.  p.  xvi. 

Durolevo          . 

xviii. 
xii. 

Made    . 

Derventione . 

m.  p.  xvi. 

Vagnaca . 

xviii. 

Ad  Trivonam  .     . 

xii. 

Noviomago  . 

xviii. 

Etoceto 

xii. 

Londinio          .     . 

XV. 

Manduessuedo 
Benonnis 

xvi. 
xii. 

Iter  XVI.      A   Londinio 

Ceniara 

Tripontio          .     . 

xi. 

usque,  sic  : 

Isannavaria  . 

xii. 

Venta  Belgarum . 

m. 

P- 

xc. 

Brinavis  . 

vii. 

Brige    . 

xi. 

^lia  castra . 

xvi. 

Sorbioduno      .     . 

viii. 

Dorocina . 

XV. 

Ventageladia 

xii. 

1'araesi 

vi. 

Durnovaria  . 

ix. 

Vindomi  . 

XV. 

Moriduno 

xxxiii. 

Clausento 

xlvi. 

Isca  Damnon 

XV. 

Plurima   insuper 
mani    in    Brits 
suis   quseque   n 

habebant   Ro- 
mniis    castella, 

Durio  amne  . 

.  m. 

P- 

... 

mris,  turribus, 

portis,  et  repagi 

ilis  munita. 

Tamara   .         .     . 

m. 

P- 

.  .  . 

The  work  known  by  the  title  of  the  Cosmography  of  the  anonymous 
writer  of  Ravenna,  is  a  treatise  on  geographical  science  compiled  in 
that  city,  apparently  in  the  seventh  century.  Its  writer  had  evidently 
before  him  large  maps  of  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire,  from 


THE  RAVENNA  LIST. 


537 


which  he  derived  liis  lists  of  towns  and  rivers,  but  as  he  took  them 
without  any  apparent  system,  paying  no  attention  to  the  roads  of  the 
Itineraries,  and  as  his  names  are  written  very  corruptly,  we  can  only 
identify  them  by  similarity  of  sound.  Two  manuscripts,  one  in  the 
Vatican,  the  other  in  the  National  Library  in  Paris,  furnish  various 
readings,  which  sometimes  give  assistance  in  explaining  the  printed 
text.  I  here  give  the  part  relating  to  Britain,  placing  opposite  such  of 
the  names  as  can  be  made  out,  the  parallel  names  from  the  two  pre- 
ceding Itineraries,  or  the  conjectures  of  Horsley  as  to  the  present  sites. 
Such  of  the  various  readings  as  seem  important  are  given  at  the  foot 
of  the  page. 


In  Britannia  plurimas  fuisse 
legimus  civitates  et  castra,  ex 
quibus  aliquantas  designare  volu- 
mus,  id  est, — 

Giano 

Eltabo 

E  Iconic 

Nemetotacio 

Tamaris  .         .        .  {Tamerton) 

Durocoronavis 

Pilais 

Vemalis 

Ardua 

Ravenatone 

Devionisso 

Statio  Deventia 

Stene 

Duriarno  .         .         (Durnovaria) 

Uxelis       .         .         [Lostwithiel) 

Vertevia 

Melarnoni 

Scadum  Namorum   (Isca   Dum- 
noniorum) 

Termonin 

Mostevia 

Milidunum 

Apaunaris 

Masona 
^  Alongium 

Item  juxta  suprascriptam  civita- 
tem  Scndomorum  est  civitas 
quae  dicitur 

Moriduno 

Alauna  silva 

Omire 

Tedertis 
"  Londinis 

Canca 

Dolocindo 

Clavinio 


(Maridunum) 


Morionio 

Bolvelaunio 

Alauna 

Coloneas 

Aranus 

Anicetis 
^  Moiezo 

Ibernio 

Bindogladia        .     (Vinuo^-Iudia) 

Noviomagno 

Onna 

Venta  Velgarum  (Vcnta  Bi-lga- 
rum) 

Armis 

Ardaoneon  . 
4  Ra  vim  ago  . 

Regentium 

Leucomago 

Cunetzone  . 

Punctuobice 

Venta  Silurum 

Jupania 

Metambala 

Albinunno 

Isca  Augusta 

Bannio  . 

Brenna 

Alabum 

Cicutio 

Magnis  . 

Branogenium 

Epocessa 

Ypocessa 

Macatonion     . 

Glebon  colonia 

Argistillum     . 

Vertis 

Salinis 

Corinium  Dobunorum 

Caleba  Atrebatium     .     (Callsva) 


Sorbioduuu!!. ';) 
(Noviuinagut-) 

(Leucaruir;  ': ) 
.  (Cunetio) 
{Coivbridge) 


^Tsca  Silurum) 
(Gobannium) 
[Brenbriclge) 


(Magna) 
(Biuviniuiii) 


(-.'^v.conium) 
.  (Glevum) 
{Arwystli) 

(Salinaj) 


Alovergium,  Vet.  '^  Laiidinis,  Fr.  Lindinus,  Vat.  "^  Malezo,  Vat. 

4  Noviomago  Regentium,  t.  e.  Noviomagus  of  the  Regni. 


5;^8 


APPENDIX. 


1  Anderesio        .         .  (Anderida  F) 
Miba   .         .         .         [Midhurst) 

2  Mutuantonis 

Lenianis  .  (Portus  Lemanis) 

Dubris        .        .         .      (Dubrae) 

Durovemo   Cantiacorum   (Duro- 
vernuni) 

Rutupis  .         .         .      (Rutupiae) 

Durobrabis  .        (Durobrivae) 

Londini  .         .         .  (Londinium) 

Taniese        .         .        .  (Tamesis) 

Brinavis  .         .         .      (Brinavse) 

Alauna 

Uriconiuni  Cornovinorum 

Lavobrinta 

Medioniaiio  .    (Mediolanum) 

Seguntio         .         .   (Segontium) 
'  Canubio      .         .         .    {Conway) 

Mediolano  .          {Meivod) 

Sandonio 

T'rv.n  vict'ix 

Yeratino 

Lutudaruin 

r»orbenti(jno        .  (Derventio) 

Salinis    .        .  {JSantwich) 

Condate 
*Ratocorion  .         .        (Ratae) 

EUanori 

Lectoceto        .        .     {Litchfield) 
^  lacio 

Dulina        .        ,         (Dujwitffble) 

Yirolaniuni     .         (Verulamiuni) 

Londinium  Augusta 

Caesaromaguni 

Camulodulo     colonia     (Camulo- 
dunura) 

Durcinate 

Duroviguto 

Durobrisin     .         .     (Durobrivae) 

Venta    Cenomnm  (Venta  Iceno- 
rum) 

Lindum  colonia 

Banovailuni         .         .  [Benwell) 

Navione 

Aquis      .         .       {Aidon  Castle) 

Arneme'/:  \. 

Zerdotalia 

Mantio 

Alunna  .    {Allen ton,  or  Whetley) 

Camulodonu  .    {Almonburij) 

Calunio  .         .         .     {Coin) 

Gallunio  .         .  ( Whaley) 


Modibogdo 
Cantiurneti 
Juliocenon 

Gabrocentio        .     {^Gabrosentai) 
Alauna 
Bribra 
Maio 
Olerica 

Derventione     .        .  (Derventio) 
Ravonia        .         .  {Ravenglosse) 
Bresneteuati  Vetcranorum  {Over- 
borough) 
Pampocalia 
Lagentiuni 

Valteris  .  .  .  (Vert  eras) 
Bereda  ....  (Voreda) 
Lugubalum  .  (Luguballiuni) 
Magnis  .  .  .  (Magna) 
Babaglanda  .  (Amboglanna) 
Vindolande 
Lineojugla 

Vinovia      .  (Vinovium) 

Lavaris  .  .  .  (Lavatrae) 
Cataractonion  .  (Cataracto) 
Eburacum 

Decuaria         .         .       (Petuaria) 
Devovicia    .        .     .  (Delgovitia) 
Dixie 
Lugvmdino 

Coganges         .  {CayngJiam) 

Corie    ....  (Corium) 

Lopocarium 

Iterum     sunt     civitates    ipsa    in 

Britannia,  quae  recto  traniite 

de   una  parte  in  alia,  id  est 

de  oceano  in  oceano,  et  Sis- 

tuntiaci    dividunt    in    tertia 

portione  ipsam    Britanniani ; 

id  est, — 

Serduno  .         .         (Segedunum) 

Conderco      .         .     (Condercum) 

Vindovala        .         .  (Vindobala) 

Onno    .        .        .        (Hunnuni) 

Celunno     .        .        .  (Cilumum) 

Procoliti         .         .      (Procolitia) 

Yolurtion  .         .      (Borcovicus  F) 

Aesica  ....    (-Slsica) 

Banna       .         .         .         (Banna) 

Uxeludiano  .  (Axelodunum) 

Avalaria        .         .        (Aballaba) 

Maia 

^  Fiir.ocedi 


^  /Vrdereliomiba,  Vat.         ^  Mantuantouis,  Vat.         3  Conovio. 
Ratae  Coritanorum.        S  Static  Dulma,  Vat.       6  Fauococidi,  Vat. 


THE  RAVEXXA  LIST. 


.'^'^0 


Brocara  .         (Crocavonacpe) 

Croucingo  .         .      {Crosby) 

Stodoion 

Sinetriadum 

Clidum   . 

Carbantium 

Tadoriton 

Maporiton 

Alitacenon 

Loxa 

Locatrene 

Canibruiana 

Snietri 

Uxela 

Lucotion 

Corda 

Camulossesa 

Praesidium    , 

Brigomono 

Abisson 

Ebio 

Coritiotar 
1  Celerion 

Itucodon 

Maremago 

Duablisis  . 

Venutio 

TrimuntiuTii 

Ebiirocassuiii 

Brenieniuiu 

Cocuneda 

Alauna 

Oleiclavis 

Ejudensca 

Runiabo  .  {Drumburgh  Castle) 
Iterum  sunt  civitates  in  ipsa  Bri- 
tannia retro  {al.  recto)  tra- 
mite,  una  alteri  connexa,  ubi 
et  ipsa  Britannia  plus  angus- 
tissinia  de  oceano  in  oceano 
esse  dinoscitur,  id  est, — 

Velunia 

Volitanio 

Pexa 

Begesse 

Colanica        .         .  (Colania) 

Medionenietom 
■  Subdobiadon 

Litana 

Cibra 

Credigone 
Iterum  est  civitas  qu«  dicitur 
-  I  a  no 

Maulion 


{Glasgow) 
(Carbantoriguni) 


.        .  {Elgin\ 

[Innerlochy) 

( Loch  Catrine  ?) 


(Lucopibia) 
(on  Lough  Cure) 

{Camuloit) 
(Rerigoniuni) 


(Curia  Otadenorum  ?) 
.     [Calendar  Castle) 


{Duplin) 

.  (Banatia) 

(Trin)ontium) 


{Coquet) 

{Alnwick) 

.  {Ogle  Castle) 


[  Dumfries) 


Pemcrof-e^a 
Cindocellum 
Cerino 
Veronio 
Matovion 
Ugrulentum 
Ranatoniuni 
Iberran 
3  Praematis 
Tuessis 
Ledone 
Litinoniagj     . 
Devoni 
Memanturuni 
Decha 
Bograndium 
Uguesto 

Leviodanuin  ^ ^ 

Poreo  Classis  IForfar,  or  linr*-  <) 


{Berwick) 

.    {Dunbar) 
[Linlithgow) 


{Livingston) 


Levioxana 
Cerniium 
Victorice 
Marcotaxvn 
Tagea 
Voran     . 
Sunt    autem     in 
di versa   loca, 


{Lennox) 


.  {j\[enteith'\ 
.{Caer  Voram\ 
ipsa    Britannia 
ex  quipus  aii- 
quanta  nominari  vclumus,  lu 
est, — 
Maponi 
Mixa 
Panovius 
Minox 

Taba        .         .  .  (Tava) 

Manavi 
Segloes 
Daunoni 
Currunt  autem  per  ipsam  Britan- 
niani     plurima     flumina,    ex 
quibus    aliquanta     nominare 
volumus,  id  est,- 


Fraxula 

Axium     , 

Maina 

Sarva 

Tamaris 

Nauruiu 

Aboua 

Isoa 

Taniion     , 

Aventio 

Leuca 

Juctius 


(Ashbourne) 

.     {Axe, 

.  {Mintern) 

{iieverne) 

{ Taniar) 

'Nacier,  Wilts) 

{Avon) 

{lavy) 

(Aun) 

.    'Low) 


C«lorion,  Ku<. 


Lane,  Vat. 


^  Pinna tis,  Vaf. 


0 

APPENDIX. 

Coantia 

.  {Keutzey) 

Vividin     . 

( tnwey) 

Dorvatium 

{Bart,  or  JJarent) 

Duiolani 

{Leiiham  river) 

Anava 

Alauna 

Bdora 

Coguvensuvon 

{Soar) 

Novitia 

Durbis     . 

{Dour,  or  Dover) 

Adron 

Lemana 

.     {Lij»me  river] 

Certisnassa 

^  Rovia     . 

{Rother\ 
(KacotA 

Intraum 

Ractomessa 

Tinea 

{Teing) 
{Livor) 

Senua 

Liar 

2  Ciiiiia 

Lenda 

Yelux 

No  via,  Kif. 

»  Cunia  velRT,  Vat 

APPENDIX  II. 


ROMAN  POTTERS'  MARKS. 

It  will  be  useful  to  local  antiquaries  to  furnish  them  with  a  list  of 
the  names  of  potters  stamped  on  the  red  Samian  ware,  as  mentioned 
at  p.  275.  This  list  is  naturally  incomplete,  for  new  names  are  turning? 
up  daily,  but  it  will  enable  those  who  are  occupied  in  researches  on 
Roman  sites  to  judge  it  tne  names  they  meet  with  are  new,  or  of  com- 
n  on  occurrence,  and  it  will  assist  the  general  reader  in  forming-  a 
notion  of  the  extent  of  the  Roman  power.  It  will  be  observed  in  this 
numerous  list  of  names,  that  many  are  not  Roman,  and  some  are 
a^iparently  Teutonic.  The  explanation  of  the  different  formulae  of  the 
potters  will  be  found  in  our  text  at  the  page  just  referred  to.  It  will 
be  seen  in  the  list  that  most  of  the  potters  used  the  different  formula) 
indiscriminately. 

Before  these  potters'  marks  were  collected  and  explained,  writers 
who  had  met  with  single  instances,  fell  into  the  most  ridiculous  mis- 
takes in  attempting  to  interpret  them.  Dr  Leigh,  who  published  in 
1G99  a  '  Natural  History  of  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  and  the  Peak,  with 
an  account  of  the  Antiquities  in  those  parts,'  obtained  at  Ribchester, 
where  the  Samian  ware  is  found  in  great  abundance,  a  fragment  with 
the  stamp  fab.  pro  {fabrica  Frobi),  which  he  conjectured  must  have 
been  made  when  one  of  the  Fabii  was  proconsul  or  procurator ! 
A  still  more  curious  blunder  was  made  in  the  county  of  Essex.  By 
the  road  siae,  at  Coga-eshall,  in  that  county,  a  sepulchral  interment 
was  found,  in  which,  among  other  objects,  was  a  vessel  of  Samian  ware 
with  the  stamp  cocciLLi.  M,  which  will  also  be  found  in  the  following 
list.  It  was  immediately  interpreted  as  an  abbreviation  of  CocciUl 
incDiibus,  to  the  manes  of  Coccillus,  and  it  was  resolved  that,  from  this 
personage,  who  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  lord  of  the  spot,  and  to 
have  been  buried  there,  the  place  derived  its  name  of  Coggeshall ! 
Such  errors  show  us  how  necessary  it  is  for  the  antiquary  to  begin  by 
studying  his  science  elementarily. 

At  the  end  of  the  list  of  potters'  marks,  I  have  given  very  imperfect 
lists  of  names  stamped  on  mortaria  and  amphorai  found  in  this  island, 
which  have  hitherto  been  less  carefully  noted  than  those  on  the 
Samian  ware.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  formula;  and  the  names  are 
ditierent. 

The  frequent  use  of  the  n,  for  E,  will  be  observed  in  these  potters' 
marks.     See  the  observations  on  this  subject  at  p.  23o. 


542 


APPENDIX. 


POTTERS'  MARKS  OX  THE  RED  WARE,  TERMED  SAMTAN. 


OF.  A.  AN 
ABALANIS 
OF.  ABALI 
OF.  ABARI 
OF.  ABIN 
ABIANI 
ABILI.  M 
ACCILINVS.  F 
OF.  ACIRAP 
A.  C.  E.  R.  O 
AGO.  M 
ACRIS.  O 
ACVRIO.  F 
ACVTVS 
ADIECTI.  M 
ADIVTORI 
L.  ADN.  ADGEXI 
ADVOCISI 
ADVOCISI.  OF 
ADVVCISI.  O 
AEI.  XANT 
AELIANI.  M 
AEQVIR.  F 
AEQVR.  F 
AESFIVINA 
AIISFIVI.  M  (!') 
AIISTIVI.  M 
AISTIVI.  M 
AESTIVI.  M 
M.  INaiTaA 
M.  AIAVCNI 
AETERNI.  M 
AGEDILLI 
AGEEDILLVS.  F 
AGIILITO 
OFF.  AGER 
OF.  ALBAN 
OF.  ALBANI 
ALBANI.  M 
ALBILLI.  M 
OF.  ALBIN 
ALBIN.    F 
ALBINVS 
ALBINI.  MA 
ALBVCI 
ALBVCIANI 
ALBVS 
ALBV8.  FE 
ALBVSA 
ALIVS.  F. 
AMABIVS 


AMANDO 

AMARiLis.  F  (?  Ama- 
bilis) 

AMATICI.  OF 
AMATOR 
AMATORIS 
AMIIEDV 
AMICI.  M 
AMMIVS.  F 
AMONVS 
ANDORN 
ANISATVS 
ANNLOS.  F 
ANVNI.  M. 
A.  POL.  AVSTI 
At'oLAVCIR 
OF.  APRILIS 
OF.  APRIS 
OF.  APRO 
APRONIS 
AQVIINVS 
AQVIT 
AGVIT 
OF.  AQVITA 
OF.  AQVITANI 
ARACI.   MA 
ARDAC 
ARGO.  P 
ARICI.  M 
ARICI.  MA 
ARRO 

ASCILLI.  M 
ASIATICI.  M 
ASIATICI.  OF 
ATECII.  M 
ATEI 

ATIL1«\.NI.  M 
ATILIANI.  O 
ATILIAN.  01- 
ATILIANVS.   F 
ATILLVS 
ATTIUI.  M 
ATTILLI.  M 
ATTILLII.  M 
ATTINVL 
ATTIVS.  FE 
AVCELIA.  F 
AVENTI 
AVENTINI.  M 
AVGVSTALIS 
AVGVSTINVS 
AVITI.  M 
i    AVITOS.  OF 


AVITVS 
AVITVS.  F 
AVLIVS.  F 
OP.  AVRAP 
AVRICV.  F 
AVSTRT.  M. 
AVSTRI.  OF 
AVSTVS.  F 


B. 

BALBINVS.  F 

BANOLVCCI 

BASSI 

OP.  BASSI 

OF.  BASSICO 

BELINICCI 

BELINICCr.  M 

BELINICCVS.  F 

BELINOI.  M 

BELINICI 

BELLIAIICI 

BELSO.  ARV.   F 

BELSO.  ARVE.  F 

BENNICCI.  M. 

BENNICI.  M 

BICAAICD 

BIGA 

BIGA.  FEC 

OFIC.  BILICANI  (?) 

BILICAT 

OFIC.  BILICAT 

BILLICI 

BILLIC.  OP 

BIO.  FECIT 

BIR.  ANIII 

BIRANII 

BIRBIIIXI 

BISENE  .    .   , 

BISSVN 

BITVRIX 

BL.  AESI 

BOINICCI.  M 

BOLDVS 

BONOXVS.  P 

BORTLL   OP 

BORILLI.  M 

BORILI.L  OV 

BORILLr.  OKFIC 

BORVSL  FE 

BOVTL  M 

BUACKILLO 


POTTERS'  MARKS. 


nn 


BIIICCI 

MRICC.  M 

BRITAEXII 

MV.  1)0 

BVCCIO 

M.  BVCIANl 

BVRDO.  r 

BVRDONIS.  OF 

OF.  KVRILINDI 

BVTRIV, 


c. 

C.  C.  F 
CABIAN 
CABRVS 
CACAS.  M 
CACASI.  M 
CACILANTRO 
CADDIRON 
CAI.  M.  S 
CAIVS.  F 
CAIVS.  OF 
OF.  CAI.  IVI 
OF.  CAIVI 
CAKIVFDO.  FE 
CALENVS.  OF 
CALENVS.  F 
CALETI.  M 
CALAVA 
CALCIO.  F 
T.  CALIXA 
CALLI.  M 
CALMVA.  F 
CALVI.   M 
OF.  CAL 
OF.  CALVI 
CALVINI.  M 
CALVINVS 
CAMBVS.  F 
CAMPANO 
CAMTI.  M 
CANAI.  M 
CAN.  PATR 
0.  ANPATR 
CANETII.  M 
CANRVCATI 
CAPAS 

CAPELLIV.  F 
CAPIIRI.  O 
CAPRASTAS,  FE 
CAPRASIVS 
CARANI 
CARANI.  F 
OF.  CARAN 
CARANT 


FECI 


CARANTIXI.  M 

CARATILLI 

CARETI.  M 

CARBONIS.  M 

OF,   CARI 

CARINVS 

CARINOS 

CARITI 

CARVS.  F 

CARO 

O.  CARO 

CARVSSA 

CASIVS,  F 

CASSIA.  O 

CASTVS 

CASTVS.  P 

CASVRIVS.  F 

CATASEXTVS.  V 

CATIANVS 

CATVCI 

CATVLII 

CATVS.  F 

CAVPI . 

OF.  CE 

OF.  CEI 

CELSIANI.  F 

L.  C.  CELSI.  O 

CELSINVS 

CELTAS.   FC 

CENETLI.  M 

M.  CENI 

CENSORI 

CENSORIXI 

OF.  CEN 
f   OF.  CENSO 
I    CENT.  AI.  E 
!    OF.  CERA 
I    CEREA 
i    CEREALIS 

CERIALIS 
j    CERIAL.  M 
I    CERESI.  M 
I    CERTVS.  F 
I    CETI 
I    CHRESI.  M 
!    CIAMAT.  F 
1    CIMINI 
i    CINIVS.  M 
j    CINNAMI 
I    CINNVMI 
i    CINTIRIO.  M 
I    CINTVAGENI 
'    CINT.  VGEN'J 
I   CIN.  T.  VSSA 
j    CINTVSMI.  J»i 
I    CINTVSMIJi 
I    CINTVSMV 


CINTVSMVS.  P 
CIRIil.  M 
CIRRVS.  FEO 
CIVPPI.  M 
CLEMENS 
CLIVINTI.  O 
COBNERTI.  Sf 
COBNERTVS 
COCCIL.  M 
COCCILLI.  M 
OF.  COCI 
COCVRNV.  F 
COCVRO 
COCVHO.  P 
OF.  COE 
OF.  COKLI 
OF,  COET 
OF.  COFI 
COLLO.  P 
COLLON 
COLON 
COMITIALIS 
COMPRIN,  P 
COMPRINNL  M 
CONSERTI.  M 
CONGI.  M 
CONSTANS.  P 
CONSTAS.  F 
COSAXTIS.  P 
COSIA.  F 
COST.  R  .    .   . 
COSIRV 
COSIRVFIN 
F.  L.  COS.  V 
COSMI.  M 
COSRV.  P 
COTTO.  F 
OF,  COTTO 
CRACIS.  M 
CRACI.  S.  M 
CRACIS  A.  F 
CRACVNA.  P 
CBANI 
CRAOSNA.  F 
CRASS lACVS.  F 
CRAVNA.  F 
CRECIRO.  OFI 
OF.  CREM 
OF.  ORES 
CRESCENI 
CRESCENTI 
OF.  CRESI 
CREST.  M 
CRESIMT 
M.  CRFSTT 
M.  CRESTF.  O 
OF.  CRESIIC 


544 


APrEXDIX. 


CRIMVS.  FE 
CRISP  IN  I.   ^[ 
CUOBISO    M 
CROHUO.  y 
CRVCVKO 
CVCALl.  M 
CVCCIL 
CVCCILIJ.  M 
OK.  CVEN 
CVFF 
CVI.  M 
OFI.  CVIRTTt 
CVNI.  I  A.  F 
CVSPICI 
CVTAI 


D. 

DAGO.  M 

DACUIMNVS.  F 

DAGO 

D0G0DVBNV8.  F 

DAGOMARV.S 

DAGOMARVS.  F 

DAGOMARVS.  FiS 

DAMIMI.  M 

DAMONVS 

DAVICI.  M 

DECMI.  M 

DECVMINI.  M 

DECVMNI.  M 

DEM   ...    R.  M 

DESTEll.  F 

DIGNVS 

DIOGNATO 

DIVICATI.  M 

DIVICATVS 

DIVICL.  M 

DIVIX 

DIVIX.  F 

DIVIXI 

DIVIXTI 

DIVIXTVL 

DMCCIVE 

DOCALT.  M 

DOCCIVS.  F 

DOIICCI 

DOECA 

DOLIC  (?) 

DOMETOS.  P 

DOMINAC 

DOMINCI 

DOMINICr 

D0MITIANV8.  F 

DOMITVS 

DONATVS 


DONATVS.  F 
DONNA.  M 
DONNA.  OF 
DONNAV 
DONTIOM 
DONV.  M 
DOVIICCVS 
DOVIIICCVS 
DRAVCVS.   F 
DRAVCI.   M 
DVPI  .  .  . 
DVKINX 


E. 

ECVESF.R 

ELVIL     J 

OF.  IIMAN 

EPPA 

EPPN 

ERICI.  M 

EROK 

E    03    CTI    Cfi    I.  IVI 

ERRIMl 

ESCVSI 

ETVS.  F 

1 1  VST 


F. 

0.  FABIN 
OF.  FAGE 
FALENDl.  O 
FELIX.  F 
FELIXS.  F 
FELICIO.  O 
FELieiS.   O 
OF.  FELIC 
OF.  FELICI? 
FELICIOMS 
p.  FELMA 
FESTVS.  F 
FESTVS.  FO 
FETI       \ 
FIR  .  .  . 
O.  FIRMONIi^ 
FIVI.  M 
FLOI 

FLORVS.  I 
FOVRI 
FRONTINJ 
FRONTINVS 
O.  FROM! 
OF.  FRONTf 
G.  FRONT  IN  I 


OF.  FHONTTNI 
M.  FVCA 
OF.  FYS 
OFF.  FYS 


G. 


GABRVS.  P 

GAIVS.  F 

GALHINVS.  F 

GENIALIS.   FECI 

GEMINI.  M 

GENITOR.  F 

G.  E.  N.  I.  T.  O.  R    F 

GENIV. 

GERMANI 

GERMANI.  F 

GERMANI.    OF 

GERMANYS 

OFF.  GER 

GERTAL.  M 

GLVPEI.  M 

GONDI.  M 

GRACCHYS 

GRANANI 

GRANI 

GRANIANI 

GRANIO.  M 

GRANIVS.  F 


H. 

HABICNS.  M 

HABILIS.  P 

HABITIS.  F 

HELI  .  .  .  VS.  FI.   FE 

HELINIY 

HELL  .  .  .  S.  FKC 

HIBI  .  .  . 


I. 

I    +  OFFIC 
lABI 

lABVS.  FK 
lACOMIO.  F 
IANYARIV& 
lANVARII 
lANVARI.  OF 
lASSO.    F 
ICMCRIMO.  F 
IGINI.  MA 
ILLIANI.  M 
ILLIOMEN 


POTTERS'  MARKS. 


ILLIOMUm 

LOLLIVS.   F 

MARCELIJ.  M 

IMANN 

LOSSA 

MAUCELLI.>1.  M 

INPRINTV.  F 

OF.  LOVIRILO 

MA  UCI 

lOKNALIS 

LVCANVS 

MAKCI.  F 

TOVAXTI 

LVCANVS.  F 

MARCI.  MA 

ISABINI.  F 

LVCANTVS.   F 

MAUCI.  O 

ISTVllOXIS 

M.  LVCCA 

MARCILLI.  M 

IVCANVS.   F 

OF.  LVCCEI 

MAKCVS.   Fl  C 

OF.  IVCVX 

LVGETO.  FE 

MARIM.  M 

IVENALIS.  MA 

LVPEI.  M 

MAUITVS.  M 

IVENIS.  M 

LVPI.  M 

MAROILLI.  M 

OF.  IVLIA 

LVPINI.  M 

MAUTANJ.  M 

IVLIA 

LVPPA 

OF.  MARO 

IVLIA.  PATH 

LYPPA 

MAROI.  M 

OF.  IVL.  FAT 

LVTAEVS 

MARONI.  M 

IVLII.  MA 

LVTAEVS.  FKC 

MARONI.  F 

IVLIOS 

LVTAFVS 

MAR8I,  M 

IVLI.  M 

MAHSVS.  FECI 

IVLIVS.  F 

MARIAN  I.   M 

IVINVMI.  M 

M. 

MARTI 

IVRONIS.  OF 

MAKTI.  M 

IVSTI.  MA 

MACCAIVS.   F 

MARTIALIS,  FEC 

OF.  IVSTI 

MACCALI.  M 

MARTIALIS.  M 

OF.  IVVENAL 

OF.  MACCIA 

MARTINI 

MACCIVS 

MARTIM.  M 

MACCIVS.  F 

MARTIN  V 

K. 

MACERATI 

MARTINVS.  F 

MACI.  OF 

MARTII.  O 

KALENDI.  () 

MACILLI.   M 

MARTI  VS 

MACIRVS 

MASCL 

MACRI.  M 

MASCVLVS.  F 

L. 

MACRIA 

OF.   MASCVL.  .VVlilU 

MACRINVI 

MASVETI 

O.  LAE 

MACRIXVS 

MASVRIAXI 

OF.  LAHIONIS 

MACRIANI.  M 

MAT EM I 

LALLI.  MA 

MAGNVS.  F 

MATERXI 

LANCIV  .   .  . 

MAIANVS 

MATERNIXVS 

LATINIAX.   F 

OF.  MAIO 

MATERNNI.   M 

LATIXIAXVS 

MAIORI.  M 

OF.  MATE 

LATIXVS 

MAIOR.  I 

MATRIANI 

LIHEKALIS 

MAIORIS 

MATVCEXVS 

LI15EKIVS 

MAIORIS.  F 

MATVCVS 

LIHER   VS 

MALCI.  O 

MATVRI.  M 

LIIJERTI.  M 

MALLIIDO.    F 

MATVRX 

OF.  LICIM 

MALIVRX 

MAXI.  MA 

OF.  LICIXIAX 

MALLI.  M 

MAXIMI 

LICINILVS 

MALLIACI 

MAXMII.  M 

LICIXVS 

MALLIACI.  M 

MAXMINI 

LICIXVS.  F 

MALLICI.  M 

OF.  MEM 

LICXVS 

MALLVRO.  F 

MEMORIS.  M 

LILTAXI.  M   (!') 

MALXCNI 

MERCA 

LIXIVSMIX 

MAMILIAXI 

MERCAO 

I.ITVOAMVS 

MAXDVIL.  M 

MERCATOR 

LOCCO.  F 

OF.  MANX  A 

MERCATOR.  M 

LOCIRM.  M 

MANTIIO.  F 

MERCVSSE,  M 

LOGIRX.   M 

MANVS.  F 

MERCVSSA.  M 

L0LIV8.  F 

a.  MAR.  F 

MEDETI.  M 

2  L 

ArPEXDIX. 


METHILLV8 
METTI.  M 
MICCIO 
MICCIO.  F 
MICCIOXIS.    M 
MIDI.  M 
MILIACI 
MILIANI 
MILLIAKII 
OF.  MINI 
MINYLI.  M 
MINVS.  FE 
MINTS.  O 
MINVTIVS. 
MISCIO.  F 
MO 

OF,  MO 
OF.  MODEST 
OF.   MODEST  I 
OF.   MOE 
MOM 
I).  MOM 
MOMI.  M 
MON 

OF.  MOXO 
OF.  MONT  AX  I 
OF.  MONTRCI 
OF.  MONTEI 
OF.  MONTI 
OF.   MONTO 
MOSSI.  M 
MOXIVS 
MVISVS.  F 
OF.  MVllRA 
OF.  MVIUIANI 
OF.  MVSEKA 
MVXTVLI.  M 
MVXTVLLI.  M 
MVXIVIII.  M  {.- 

N. 

NAMILI 
NAMILIANT 
NANII.  CKOES 
OF.   NAKIS 
NASSO.  F 
NATALIS 
O.  NATIVI 
NEBVRRI.     OF 
OF.   NEM 
NEPOTIS 
NEKT.  M 
OF.  NERT 
NERTVS 
OF.  NEKI 


NEQVREC 
NICEPHOK 
NICEl'IIOR.  F 
OF.  NI 
OF.  NIGRI 
OF.  NIGRIAN 
NIGRINI 
NIMILIANI 
OF.  NITORI 
NO  HI  LI  AM.  M 
NORILIANVS 
NVMIDI.   M 
IVL.  NVMIDI 
NVTIS 


o. 

OCRI.  MA 
ONATIVI   {?) 
OFPHIN  (:) 
OPTATI.  M 
OPVSIA 
ORI.  MAN  {?) 
OSBI.  MA 
OVIDI 


P. 

PANI.  L.   F 
OF.  PARI 
PASSENI 
PASSI.  F 
PASSIENI 
OF.  PASSIENI 
OF.  PASS  [EN  VS 
O.  PAS.  F  (r) 
PATER.  F 
PATERATI.   OF 
PATERCLINI.   OF 
PATEHCLOS 
PATEB0L03.  FE'J 
PATEUCLVS.  F 
PATERIKANVS.  FIT 
PP.  PATERMI 
PATERNI 
PATEHNI.  M 
PATERNI.  OF 
PATERNVLI 
PATIIRNV 
PATNA.  FEC 
PATNI.   FEC 
PATRC  M  LIXI 
PATRCIINI 
PATRICI.  M 
C.  AN.  PATH 


OF.  PATHC 
OF.  PATKICI 
OF.  PATRVCI 
PAA^LIANI 
PAVLTVS.  F 
PAVEI.  M 
PAVLI.  MA 
PAVLIANI.  M 
PAVLLI.  M 
PAVLLVS.  P 
PAVLVS 
PAZZENI 
PECVLIAE 
PECVLIAH.  P 
PECVLIARIS.  F 
PIINTII.  MANV 
PERE  .... 
PERECUILT 
PEREGRIN 
PERPET 
PERRVS.  F 
PERVS 
PERVS.  FB 
PITVRICI.  M 
OF.  POLIO 
OF.  POLLIO 
OF.  PONTEI 
OF.  PONTHEI 
PONTI.  OFFIC 
O.  PONTI 
POTIACI 
POTITINI.  M 
POTITIANI.  M 
C.  IVL.  PR 
PRID.  FEC 
PRI.  IMO 
PRIM 
PRIM  AX  I 
PRI  MI 
OF.  PRIM 
OFIC.  PRIM 
OF.  PRIMI 
PRIM  IS 
PRIMITIVI 
PRIMVL 
PRIMVLI 
PRIMVL.  PATER 
OF.  PRIMVL 
OF.  PRIMVS 
PRISC.  L.  M 
I   PRISCINI.  M 
PRIVATI.  M 
OF.  PRM 
FAB.  PRO 
PROBI.  OF 
PROBVS.  F 
PROTVLI 


rOTTERS'  MARKS. 


■  tn 


OF.  PVDEN 
I'VOXI.  M 
I'VRIXX 
I'VTHI.   M 
PYLADES 


Q. 

QVADUATI 
(iVADUATVb 
aVARTVS 
QVAKTVS.  I- 
QVIETVS,  !•■ 
QVINNO 
aVIXTl.  M 
QVINTIXI.  M 
QVINTIXIAM 
QV.  C 


R. 

JIAC'VXA.  F 
KAMVLVS 
KEHVUKI.   or 
KEBVHUIS 
KEBVKRVS   F 
KECEN.  F 
KECMVS 
REDITI.  M 
HEGALIS 
REGALIS.  F 
REGEXVS 
REGENTS.  F 
REGINI.  M 
REGINVS 
REGINVS.  F 
RUGNVS 
REGVILL 
REGVLI.  M 
RIIGVLI.  M 
REGVLIX  VS 
REGVLIN.  F 
REXECR.  M 
RIIOGENI.   M 
REVILIXVS 
RI.  lOGEXl 
OF.  RICIMI 
RIPAXI 
RIVICA 
ROFFVS.  TY(^ 
ROFFVS.  FE 
ROIPVS.  F 
ROLOGEXI.    M 
ROMVLI.  OF 
KOPPVS.  FF 


ROPVSI.  FE 
ROPPIRVI.  M 
ROTTLAI.   IM 
OF.  RVRA 
RVFFI.  MA 
RVFFI.  M 
OF.  RVFI 
UVFIA 
RVFIXI 
RVFINI.   M 
OF.  RVFIX 
OF.   RVFXI 
RVFVS.  FE 


SA.  ARTI  (r) 
OF.  SAR 
SABELLVi; 
SAKELVr 
SAJUAXl 
SARIXIAXVS.  I 
SARINYS 
SARINVS.   F 
SARINI,  M 
OFF.  SAB 
SACERVASIII 
SAOERVASIFi' 
SACEH.  TASl.  OF 
SACERI.  OF 
SACEROT.  M 
SACIANT 
SACIRAP.    O 
SACIRO.  M 
SACREM 
SACRI.  OF 
SACRILI.  M 
SACROTI.   M 
SACROT.  M.  S. 
SALIAPVSi 
SALV.  F 
SALVS.  F 
SAMACVIS 
SANTINVOV.  O 
SANVCIVS.  F 
SANVILLI    M 
SANVITTI.   MA 
SAREXTIV 
OF.  SARRVT 
SATERNYS 
SATERNIXE.  O 
SATVRNNI.  OF 
SATTO-.  F 
SCOLYS 
SCOPLI.  F 
SCOPLI.  M 


SCORVS 
SECANDI.  M 
SECANDJN 
SKCINI 
SECVNDI.  OF 
OF.  SECVN 
SECVNDINI 
SEC VXD VS 
SECVXDVS.   F 
SEDATVS.  y 
SEDATI.  M 
feEDETl.  M 
SKN[.  A.  M 
hEXICA.  M 
SEXICI.  O 
SENILA.  M 
SENNIVS.  F 
8KXO.  M 
SENONI 
SENTRVS.  FE 
SERRVS 
SERVILIS 
SEVERI 
SEVElir.  OF 
SEVERI.  M 
OF.  SEVKKI 
SEVEEIAXVS 
SEVEUIANI 
SEVEIIIAXI.   M 
SEVER] N VS.  YV. 
OF.  SEVERPVJi 
OF.  SEVIEMi 
SEXTI.  O 
SEXTI.  M 
SEXTI.  MA 
SnXTI.  J[A 
SIIXTI.  MAN 
SEXTVS.   F 
SIIXTITJ.  F 
8HVLXI 
SILDATIANI.   M 
SILENVS 
SILVAXI 
SILVIIRI.  M 
SILVI 

SILVI.  PATER 
SILVINl 
STLVINI.  F 
SILVI NVS.  F 
SILVI    OF 
C.  SILVII 
SILVI.  PATIU.  O 
SILVIPATRICI 
SILVVS 
SIMVBS.  O 
SlNTVl^NV    .    .    . 
SITVSIRI.  M 


548 


APPENDIX 


SOIIILLI.   M  (?) 
80LIMI.  OKI 
SOLLEiMNl.  or 
SOLLVS 
SOLLVS.  F 
MA.  SVETI 
SVLPICl 
OF.  SVLPTCI 
SVLPICIANI 
SVOBNI.  () 
SVODNED.  OF 
8VRIVS 
SYMPHO 

T. 

TALLIN! 
TASCONVS.    F 
TASCIL.   U 
TASCILLA 
TASCILLI.  M 
TAVRI 
TAVRIANVS 
TAVRICVS.  F 
TEBBIL 
TEDDI 
TENEV.  M 
lEKRVS 
TERCII.  M 
TEKT.  M 
TERTI.  MA 
TERTIVS 
'J'EST\S.  FO 
TETTVR 
TETTVH.  O 
TETVR.  O 
TITTICl 
TITTILI 
TITTIVS 
TITVKI.  M 
TITVRONIS 
TITVRONJS.  OF 
TVLLVS.  F 
TVLLVS.  FE 


TVUTVNN 


V. 

VACIR.   O 

C.  VALA]? 

VALERI 

VAKIVS.   F 

VASSALI 

VAXTI 

VECETI.   M 

VEGETI.  M 

VENKUAND 

VENI.  M 

VENICAKV?      F 

VERECV 

VRRECVNDl 

VEREDV.   M 

VERTECISA.  F 

VIIRI.  M 

VERVS 

VESPO.   i 

VESPOXI 

VEST.   M 

VESTRI.  OF 

VETERXIV 

OF.  VIA 

VICARVS.  r 

VICTOR'.   M 

VICTORINVS 

VIDVCOS.  F 

VIDVCVS.  V 

A'IMPVS 

VINN 

VIRIL 

O.  VIKILI 

VIRILIS.  F 

OF.  VIRTLLI 

OF.  L.  COS.  VTRIL 

OF.   L.  C.  VIRIL 

OF.  L.  Q.  VIRIL 

VIRONI.  OF 

VI RT 


VIRTHV 

VIRTHVS 

V1RTHV8.  FECI-^ 

VIRTIVAS 

VIRTVTI.   F 

OF.  VIRTVI  IS 

VISI.  M 

VITA 

OF.  VITA 

OF.  VITAL 

OF.  VIIALIS 

OF.  VITALI 

VITAL].  OF 

VITALIS.  FE 

VITA  LIS.  M.  S.  F. 

VITALIS.  M.  S.   FECIT 

VITALIS.  PP 

VITINVS.  F 

Q.  VO 

Q.  VOVO 

VOCEV.  F 

VOSIICVNNVS 

VNICVS.  F 

VRNINI 

VRSVLVS.  FE 

VSTI.  MA 

VXMLIM 

VXOPILLI.  M 


XANTHl 

XIVI 

XViNX 


Z 

ZAPEPIDIV 

ZOIL 

ZOLVS 

.  .  RVIL  LV     F 
OIVNV 


POTTERS'  MARKS  ON  MORTARIA. 


ALBTNVS 
ALBINVS.  FECIT 
APBILIS 
ANDON 
P.  ARVA 
ANDID.  FECIT 
AMMIVS 
BRIXSA 


CAS  .  .  . 
CATVLVS.    F 
CIKEKOFNS 
CKICIR.  OF 
DEVA  .  .  . 
DVBITATVS 
DOINV 
DO  .  .  . 


EOAB 
ESVNERT 
Q.  VALKKI 
GATTIV.> 
MANSINVS 
LICINIL  »  S 
LITVCEM 
LVGVDI.  i; 


rOTTERS'  xMARKS. 


WJ 


I.VGVDVS.  FACTVS 

T.VGVDV 

F.  LVGVDV 

LVGVDV.  FACTV 

L.  E.  ECIT 

M  AKIN  VS.  FECIT 

MARTIN  VS.  F 

MATVCKNVS 

MATVSEXS.  F 

MAXI 

FRASSO.  OF 

PRIMVS,  F 

L.  LVRIVP.  niiscvs 

P.  P.  R 


P.  R.    B 

POTATICVS.  FE 

Q.   S.   D 

RIDANVS 

KID  AN  VS.  M 

RIPANI 

RIPANVS  TIHKR.  F 

A.  TEREX 

RIPANI 

RVCCVS 

SAVRANVS 

SATVRNIXVS 

SATYRNINVS.  FEC 

Q.  VA.  SE 


L.  CAN.  bfiO 
6ECVNDVS 
SOLLVS 
SOLLVS.  F 
TANK) 
SEX.  VAL 
Q.   VALC.  F 
VERANI.  F 
Q.  VALERI. 
ESVNERTI 
Q.  VALERIVS 
; VERANIVS 
T  .   .  .  S.  VALEN 
VIALLA 


POTTERS'  MARKS  ON  THE  HANDLES  OF  AMPHOR.li. 


A.  A.  F 

AERI 

C.  F.  AI 

C.  AZ. 

AXII 

BELLVCI 

L.  VI.  Rll 

C. 

C.  IV.  R 

C.  V.  H 

L.  CES 

C.  AP.  F 

CRADOS 

CARTVNIT.  M  (!') 

CORI 

F.  C.    CVFIA 

L.  F.  CRESCIV.  FE  (?) 

EIPC 

EROV.  IF 

FAVSTI.   MAN  IB 


GMT. 

G.  S.  A. 

HILARI 

L.  A.  GE 

L.  C.  F.  P.  C.  O 

IIVN.  (r)  MKLISSAE 

MELISSE 

L.  IVNI  (r) 

MELISSI 

MAMILI  (?) 

MELISSI 

M.  P.  R 

MCC 

MIM 

NYMPH 

P.  S.  A 

POR.  L.  AN 

Q.  S.  P 

CAT.  QVIE 

CANTON.  GV 


CANTON.  QV.  ET 

CANT.  QVESI  (?) 

QIMFN 

ROMANI 

L.  V.  ROPI.  M 

RVFSANI 

SAENAS 

OF.    SANI 

SCALENS 

L.  SER  SENC 

C.  SEMPOL 

L.  S.  SEX 

L.  C.  SOL 

C.  MARI.  STIL 

S.  VENNR 

VALERI 

VENVSTI 

VIBIOR 

S.  VENN'S 


INDEX. 


A. 


Aballnba  [IVatch-cross),  158 

Ahoiia  {JBitton),  169 

AcHs,  393 

Ad  Abonam  {Bitton),  109 

Ad  Abum  {JFintcrton),  152 

Ad  Alaunam  [Lancaster)  164 

Ad  Alpes  Penninos,  16  i 

Ad  Ansaiii  (Stratford),  160 

Ad  Autonani,  165 

Ad  Aquas  {Wells),  168 

Ad  Decimuni,  169 

Ad  Fines,  [Bronghing),  150 

Ad  Lapidem  {S to/wham),  167 

Ad  Leraanura  {on  tlie  Lxjmiie),  170 

Ad  l^etuariam  [BrougJt),  153 

Ad  Pontera  [Farndon),  152 

Ad  Sabrinam  [Sea  Mills),  169 

Ad  Tisam,  154 

Ad  Trajectuin  [Severn  sid^),  169 

Ad  Trivonam  [Burg),  165 

Ad  Uxellam  [Bridgetvater),  168 

Ad  Yigesinium    [Castle   Fle/iiish), 

162 
Adminius,  a  British  prince,  41,  43 
JSi-atus,  18 
.Es,  18,  19 

^■Elia  Castra  [Alcester),  166 
^EUa,   the    leader    ot    the    West 

Saxons,  457 
JEquipondium,  413 
^•Esc,  king  of  Kent,  456 
^•Esculapius,  worship  of,  325 
..Escwine,  king  of  the  East  Saxons, 

•±59 


^sica  [Great  Chester!<),    1'^.  214 
.Etius,  letter   cl    iU    Bvitons  to, 

451 
Ago,    average    of  the   Romans  in 

IBritain,  385 
Agelocuni  [Littlchorough),  152 
Agger,  222 
Agminales,  223 
Agricola,  Julius,  57 — 60 
Agriculture,    state    of,    under    the 

Pomans,  255 — 257 
Akeman-street,  524 
Akemannes-ceaster  [Bath),  524 
Alauna  [Alcester),  165 
Alauna  [Lancaster),  164 
Alauna  (Kier),  123,  155 
Alhani  [Scottish  tribe),  63 
Albinus,  Decimus  Clodius,   128 — 

131 
Alcluyd  [Dumbarton),  526 
Aldermen,  510 
Aliona  [WJiitley  Castle),  158 
Allectus,  his  usurpation,  142 
Alon«  [Ambleside),  164 
Altars,  Eonian,  316—320 
Amber,  use   of,  and    superstitions 

connected    with,    among     the 

Anglo-Saxons,  489 
Araboglanna  [Birdostcald),  158 
AmOrosius  Aurelianus,  455 
Amphitheatres,  Ponian,  212 
Amphoric,     280,     403,     used     for 

cofhns,  365 
Ampulla,  363,  403 
Ancjilites  [People   (f   Bahshiref), 

34 


INDEX. 


5.^1 


Aiicastn,  a  goddess  \voi-s!iip[)cd  in 
Koiuun  liritilin,  'Sol 

Aiiderida  {Pevoiscy),  169 

Amlredes-cejister  [recenscy),  4o8 

Audredes-leah  [tiUca  Auckridd), 
4.37 

Angles,  45o 

Anglo-Saxons,  their  mode  of  snt- 
tling  on  tlie  conquered  lands, 
505,  prejudiced  against  set- 
tling in  towns,  507 

Animal  remains  found  near  Pto- 
mari  sites,  405 

Ansa,  413 

Antivesta3Uin  {tJie  LcnuVs  End),  61 

Antoninus  ]*ius,  126 

Antoninus,  Itinerary   of,  146,  531 

Antonii.Lb  J  waT.,  J27,  133 

A[)(dl(),  worship  of,  322,  324 

A(pi;ie  Calida?,  Aqiuc  Solis  {Bath), 
68,  121,  210 

Arcani,  agents  employed  in  Bri- 
tain, 443 

Arciaconus,  a  deity  worshipped 
in  lloiiian  Britain,  351 

Ariconium  [Weston),  161 

ArniilUe,  393 

Armour,  Roman,  414,  Anglo- 
Saxon,  470,  471 

Arrow-heads  of  stone,  96  ;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  474 

Astarte,  worship  of,  325 

Athelbert  beconics  king  of  Kent, 
457;  converted  to  Christi- 
anity, 462,  463 

Attacotti  {Scottish  tribe),  63,  139, 
441 

Attrebates  (Berkshire),  62 

Augustine,  St.,  the  apostle  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  462 

Auteri  {Irish  tribe),  64 

Avebury,  British  circles  at,  83 

Avisford,  in  Sussex,  remarkable 
llonian  tomb  found  there,  364, 
387 

Axe,  Anglo-Saxon  war-axe,  477 

Axelodununi  [Bowness),  158 


B. 

Banatia  [Bonness),  123 


Banchorium  {Fxnif/or),  163 
Bancorna-byrig    [Bangor   Iscoed), 

527 
Banna,  a  Boman  town  near  ILi- 

drian's  Wall,  257 
Barrows,    or    seijulchral     mounds, 
70,  71,  86;   Boiuan,  377,  378; 
Ando- Saxon,  467,  469 
Barth)w  hills,  377 
Hasilica,  Boman,  211 
Bathan-ceaster  {Bath)  459 
I  Baths,    in   lloman    houses,     19i), 

2G0  ;  public,  211,  212,  414 
I  Beads,  Ilt.man,  287,  288  ;  Anglo- 
I         Saxon,  486,  489 
,  Bebban-byrig  ( Bamborongh),  built, 
459 
ReLitucadrns,    a    ^od   Avorsbipped 

in  lloman  Britnin,  349 
Belg;e  [Hants,  ITilts,  and   So'nc-'-- 

set),  25,  43,  61 
Bells,  Roman,  405 
Bennaventa  [Barroiv  Hill),  149 
iienonii;  [High  Cross),  149 
Beorh,  beorg,  bearw,  467 
Beowulf,  the  Anglo-Saxon   poem 

of,  466 
Bericus,  a  15ritish  prince.  40,  42 
Bernic'ia,  kingdom  of,  456 
Bibracte,  161 

Bibroci  [People  of  Sassca:),  34 
Bignor,  Roman  villa  at,  243 
Bilanx,  413 
Blanii  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Blatuin  Bulgium  {Middlebg),   156 
Blestium  [Monniotith),  161 
Boadicea,  51 — o-i 
Bolanus,  Vettius,  56 
Boh-rium  {the  lattd' s  End),  61 
Bollivi,  510 
Boni  homines,  510 
Bonus  Eventus  worshipped,    233, 

337 
Borcovicus      [Hoascsteads),      158, 

316 
Bos  loiigifrons,  404 
liovium  [Bangor),  163 
Bovium  {EtveiDig),  162 
Bowls,  Anglo-Saxon,  499 
Box,  branches  ;ind  leaves  of,  l)u- 
ried   with    the    dead    by    tlie 
Romans,  387,  388 
Bracca),  65 


552 


IXDEX. 


]5i*aciaca,  nn  epithet  of  Mars,  310 
l^rannof^eniiini  [Leintwardine),  122 
l^raviiiiiim  (Lrii/tiotrrdiiic),  168 
liremenium  [Hiyh  Rochester),  123, 

155 
Bremetenraoum  [Brampton),  15S 
lirenietonacic  {Orcrhorou(jh),  1H4 
Bricks  or  tiles,  Rom  an,  183,  ISl 
])ridges.  Roman,  225 
IJiigantes  [North  of  England),  45, 

62,  126 
Erigantes  [Irish  tribe),  64 
]irioaiitia,  the  goddess,  351 
Brigis,  or  Brige  [BroagJiton),  1G7 
Brinavaj  [Black-ground],  166 
Biitain,  description  of,  by  C.esar, 
36  ;  by  Strabo  and  Diodorus,  37 
liritannia,  tlie  goddess,  333 
Britons,  their  condition  and  man- 
ners, 37,  65  ;    serving  as  aux- 
iliaries abroad,  139 
Brocavium  (fi  rough  an/),  155 
Bronze,    age,   2  ;    swords,   5 — 18, 
101  ;    coins,    14,    16 ;    spear- 
lieads,  15;  daggers,  15,   103; 
primary  origin  of,  16  ;  armoin-, 
18;  weapons,   19;    Celts,   20; 
instruments  made  of,  95  ;  Bo- 
man   manufactures   iu,    9,   19, 
22,  297 
Bronzes,  Roman,  408 
]5rovonaCiB  [Kirbg  Tliore),  155 
J^uckets,  Anglo-Saxon,  499 
]*ullieum,  sec  Burrium 
Jiargwara,  514,  517 
Burrium  [Usk),  122,  161,  139 
liastum,  o6t) 


Cacr,  526 

Caer-Legion  [Caerlon),  527 

Caer-Luel  [Carlisle)  526 

Caer-Marddyn  [Caer  mar  then),  527 

Caer-Seiont,  527 

Caer-AVent,  527 

Ciesar,  Julius,  invades  Britair,  28; 

his  second  invasion.  30 
Cfcsaromagus  [Chelmsford),  159 
(.'aims,  77 

T'alcaria  [Tadcaster),  152,  213 
ValccKS,  calceamentum,  398 


Caledonia  Svlva,  63 

Caledonii  [Scottish  tribe),  18,  59, 
63,  131 

Caliga,  396 

Caligula  marches  to  the  coast  of 
Gaul,  41 

Calleva  [Silchester),  122,  161 

(lambodununi  [Slack],  122,  164 

Cainboricum  [Cambridge],  160 

Caniulodununi  [Colcltester),  41, 
43,  45,  52,  122,  159 

Camunlodunum,  see  Cambodu- 
num. 

Candelabrum,  407 

Cangi,  45,  62 

Canonium  [Relredon],  159 

CiintiC  [Scottish  tribe),  63 

Canterbury,  its  municipal  condi- 
tion under  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
510 

Cantii  [tribe  inhabiting  Kent),  37, 
61 

Cantwara  byrig  [Canterbury),  457 

Capulus,  409 

Caput  stater  a;,  413 

Caracalla,  11,  133,  137 

Caractacus,  40,  45 

('aransius  assumes  the  empire, 
139;  his  coins,  140;  mur- 
dered, 142 

Carbantorigum  [Kirkcudbright), 
123 

Carnabii  [Scottish  tribe),  63 

Carnonacffi  [Scottish  tribe],  63 

Carngdd,  77 

Cartismandua,  47,  48,  57 

Cassi  [Hertfordshire],  34,  62 

Cassivellaunus,  31,  34 

Castra  Exploratorum  [Netherbg], 
156 

Cataracto,  or  Cataractonium  [Cut- 
ter ick],  122,  154 

Catini  [Scottish  tribe],  63 

Catus  Bccianus,  52 

Catyeuchlani  [Buckingham,  Bed- 
ford, and  Hertford),  62 

Cauci  [Irish  tribe),  64 

Cauponce,  caupones,  223 

Cansenna)  [Ancaster),  151 

Caves,  habitations  in,  115,  118 

Ceajius,  a  deity  worshipped  in 
lloman  Britain,  351 

Ceaster,  526 


I 


IXDEX. 


OO.i 


Ceawlin,  king  of  the  West  Saxons, 

459 
Celtic    tribes,    their    origin    and 

movement,  23 
Celtis,  10 
Celts,  instruments  so  called,  8,  10, 

16,  20,  98 
Cemeteries,  lloman,  213 
Cenia  {the  Fal),  168 
Cenimagni  [tJie  people  of  Suffolk), 

39 
Cenotaph,  Anglo-Saxon,  367,  368, 

469 
Centnim  staterce,  413 
Centurial  stones,  418,  420 
Ccrdic,  king  of  the  West  Saxons, 

458 
Cerealis,  Petilius,  53,  57 
Ceres,  worship  of,  321 
Cerones  {Scottish  tribe),  63 
Chatelaine    of    the    Anglo-Saxon 

ladies,  489 
Christianity,  its   establishment  in 

lloman      Britain     questioned, 

353,  356  ;    among  the  AVelsh, 
_  527 
Cilurnum    {Chcsters),     137,    157, 

210,  328,  338,  418 
Circii/us,  413 
Circles  of  stones,  79,  83 
Cissan-ceastcr  {Chichester),  453 
Cities  of  Britain,   their  condition 

when  the    Homan  legions   left 

the  island.  451 
Cioitas,  426,  427,  428,  510 
Classicianus,  Julius,  56 
Claudius,  his    expedition    to  Bri- 
tain, 42 
Clausentum   {Bitten)),    167,    351, 

422,  431 
Cnut,   king,   deceives  the  citizens 

of  Tjondon,  518 
Coal,  Kimnieridge,   290,   mineral, 

used  as  fuel  by  the   Romans, 

292 
Cocci um    {Ribchester),    164,    210, 

336 
Cochlear,  410 
Cocidius,    a    god   worsliipped    in 

lloman  Britain,  350 
Cogidubnus,  or  Cogidunus,  51 
Coiiiiige,  Koman,  14,  15  ;   British, 

40 


Coins,  British,  109,  112;  Ronuin 
plated,  431;  for>>ed,  432; 
coins  relating  to  Britain,  435  ; 
modes  in  which  they  were 
hoarded  up,  436,  437  ;  pro- 
portional numbers  in  which 
lloman  coins  are  found,  438, 
439;  Anglo-Saxon,  501 

Colania  [Corstairs,  or  Lanark), 
123,  156 

Collegia,  427 

Colonia,  426 

Colonies,  Roman,  296 

Colani,  cola  niraria,  402 

Coinbretonium  {Utof/h),  IGO 

Combs,  Roman,  398;  Ang'o- 
Saxon,  492 

Comius,  a  British  prince,  40 

Commius,  the  Attrebatiau,  27,  29, 
30,  35 

Cominodus,  128 

Compasses,  Roman,  412 

Condate  {Kinderton),  163 

Condercum,  {Benwell),  210,  Z'^/), 
348 

Congavata,  158 

Connabium,  428 

Conovium  {Caer  Jiitii),  163 

Constans  visits  Britain,  143 

Constantino  the  Great,  143 

Constantino,  the  usuri)er,  his  his- 
tory, 449,  450 

Constantius,  marches  against  Ca- 
rausius  and  Allectns,  142 

Copper,  found  in  Britain,  22 

Corbridge  lanx,  326 

Corda  {Birrensworh),  123 

Coria,  123 

Coiinium  {Cirencester),  122,  161. 
168 

Corioudi  {Irish  tribe),  64 

Coritavi  {Northampton,  Leicester, 
lintUoid,  Derby,  Nottingham, 
Lincoln),  61 

Cornabii  ( IFariviek,  iroreesftr, 
Stafford,  Salop,  Cheshire),  62 

Corn-woalas,  525 

Corstopitun\       {Corchester,       Cor- 
bridge), 154,  325 

Costume  of  the  Romans,  391 

Cowey  Stakes,  36 

Cowries  found  in  Anglo-S.ixon 
graves,  4iy2 


5rA 


INDEX. 


Crassus,  Publius,  2-t 
Ci'eoiies  {Scoftiah  tribe),  63 
Crococolaiia  {Bro/ir/h),  152 
(Cromlechs,  72—77;  their  position, 

83—86;  age  of,  106,  107 
Crvptoporticus,   in  Roman  villas, 

'  240,  2-13 
Culinary  utensils,  Roman,  401,  403 
Caltn;  314,  409 
Cumbria,  kingdom  of,  526 
Cunetio  {Foil;/  Farm),  161) 
Cnnobeline,  40,  41 
Curator  viartim,  223 
Caria  {Cnrrii'),  123,  155 
Curia,  426,  509 
Ciiriales,  426,  509 
Cynric,  king  of  the  AVest  Saxons, 

459 
Cyrcn-ceastcr  [Cirencester),  459 


D. 


Da^'gers,  early  bronze,  15,  16 
Damiiii  (a  Scottish  tribe),  63,  123 
Damnonii  {Devon   and   Cor/nvali), 

43,  63 
Daiiuni  [Boncaster),  152 
Darini  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Decianus,  Catns,  52 
J)ecuriones,  426 
J)efe)isor  civitatis,  427,  509 
Dt'ira,  kingdom  of,  456 
Delgovitia  {site  uncertain),  153 
iJenietcB  {Welsh  tribe),  62 
Derventio  {Old  Malton),  153 
Derventio  {Little  Chester),  165 
Deva  {Chester),  123,  163 
Devana  {Old  Aberdeoi),  123 
Diana,  worship  of,  320 
Dicalidones  {a  Scottish  tribe),  441 
Dichus  Gallus,  Avitus,  47 
Diploinata,  223 
JJiversoria,  diver  sores,  223 
Dobnni    {Gloucester   and  Oxford), 

42,  62 
Di)gs,  British,  38,  257,  558 
Dolicliene,  Jupiter,  316 
Dolmen,  72 

Dorocina  {Dorchester,  Oxf.),  166 
Dover,    its    municipal     privileges 

under  the  Anglo-Saxons,  51 L 
Drift,  geological  formation,  1 


Drinking-glasscs,      Anglo-Saxon, 

495 
Droit  de  gite,  511 
Druids,  their  political   faction   in 

Gaul,    27  ;    retire  to  Anglesea, 

49;  their  system  and  worship, 

66—69 
Druids'  circles,  79 
Druids'  beads,  288 
Dubnx)  {Dover),  146,  170,  184 
Duninm  {Dorchester),  121 
Durius  {the  Dart),  167 
Durnovaria  {Dorchester),  121,  167 
Durotriges  {Dorset),  61,  121 
Durobriv;e  (liochester),  14!),  360 
Durobrivte  {Castor),  151,  210 
DurocobriviB  {Dunstable),  148 
Durolevuin  {Davinffton),  146 
Durolipons  {Godmanchestcr),   150, 

160 
Durolitum,   or    Durositimi   {Ho/n- 

ford),  159 
Ourovernum     {Canterbury),     121, 

146,  457 
Duumviri,  426,  510 


E. 


East-Anglia,  kingdom  of,  founded, 
459;  the  East- Angles  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  463 

Eastlow  hill,  in  Suffolk,  a  remark- 
able barrow  opened  by  Pro- 
fessor Henslow,  377 

East-Saxons  converted  to  Ciiristi- 
anity,  463 

Eblani  {Irish  tribe),  64 

Eburacum  {York),  122,  133,  136 
152,  153,456 

Echcvins,  510 

Elauna,  the  goddess,  352 

EUebri  {Irish  tribe),  64 

Ensis,  19 

Eofor-wic  {Yorlc),  456 

Epiacuin  {Lanchester),  122,  151, 
21)3 

Epidii  {Scottish  tribe),  63 

Fpistomiiim,  404 

Kpona,  the  goddess,  338 

Eppillus,  a  liritisb  prince,  43 

Erdini  {Irish  tribe)  64 

Ermyn  Street,  523 


INDEX. 


bob 


Erpeditani  [Irish  trihe)  64 
Kteocetum  [IVall),  149,  164 
Eustache,  Count  of  Boulogne,  his 

quarrel   with  the   burghers   of 

Dover,  511 
Exeter,    its    position     under    the 

Anglo-Saxons,  ol3 
Exan-ceaster  [Exeter),  b27 


F. 


Eanum  Cocidis  [near  Bankshead)., 
350 

Ferrnm,  19,  21 

Fibuhe,  lioinan,  392 ;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  478,  484 

Fire-dogs,  lloman,  found  in 
Britain,  401 

Fire-places,  Boinan,  401 

I'liiit  im[)lenients,  1 

Flora,  coin  representing  the  god- 
dess, 14 

Focus,  314,  401 

Forfex,  408 

Forgeries  of  Eoman  coins,  432, 
434 

F'irks,  Roman,  410 

Fortune,  worship  of,  336,  337 

Forum  Dianas  [Dunstable),  148 

Frontinus,  Julius,  57 

Fahjur  divom,  389 


G. 


Gabrosenta)    [Burgh-upon- Sands), 

158 
Gadeni  [Cumberland  and    Scott  is/' 

hordes),  64,  351 
Gagates,  or  jet,  289,  290 
Galacum  [near  Kendal),  122,  164 
Galava  [Kesivick),  164 
Galgacus,  17,  60 
G algal,  77 

Gallus,  Avitus  Didius,  47 
Gangani  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Gariannonum  [BurgJt,  Castle),  448 
Genii,  worship  of  the,   329,  331, 

333 
Gerontius,  Count,  449 
Gessoriacum  [Boulogne),  28,    139, 

142 


Gildas,  his  legendary  history,  452 
— 455 

Gladius,  19 

Glanovanta,  159 

Glass,  Eoman,  282  ;  manufactured 
at  Brighton,  283  ;  difi'ereut 
articles  made  of  it,  284,  287  ; 
Anglo-Saxon  glass,  495  ;  Ger- 
man-Saxon glass,  497 

Glass  windows  in  lloman  houses, 
205 

Gleow-ceaster  [Gloucester),  459 

(ilevum  [Gloucester),  161 

Gobauniuin  [Abergavenny),  163, 
169 

Gold  found  in  Britain,  296 

Goldsmiths,  skill  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  486 

Goldsmith's  sign  at  Old  Maltoii, 
304 

Government,  Roman,  in  Britain, 
416 

Governors    of     Roman    Britain  — 
Froprcetors  : 
Aulas  riautius,  42,  424 
Ostorius  Scapula,  44 
Avitus  Didius  Gallus,  47 
Veranius,  49 

Cains  Suetonius  Paulliaus,  49 
Petronius  Turpilianus,  56 
Trebellius  Maximus,  56 
Vettius  Bolanus,  56 
Petilius  Cerealis,  57 
Julius  Frontinus,  57 
Julius  Agricola,  57 — 60 
Sallustius  LucuUus,  124 
Julius  Severus,  126 
Prisons  Lieinius,  126,  424 
J.ollius  Urbicus,  126,  424 
Platorius  Nepos,  424 
Aufidius  Yictorinus,  127 
C.  Valerius  Pansa,  424 
Ul'pius  Marcellus,  127 
Perennis,  127 

I'ublius  Helvins  Pertinax,  128 
Decimus  Clodius  Albinus,  \2'6 
Yirius  Lupus,  131,  336,  424 
Chiudius  Xenophon,  425 
Marius  Yalerianus,  137,  425 
MiBcelius  Fuscus,  425 
Guicus  Lucilianus,  425 
C'laudius  Panlinus,  425 
Nonnius  Philippus,  137,  425 


o56 


INDEX. 


Governors  {continued) — 
Vicarii : 
Martin,  144 
Alvpius,  440 
Civilis,  441,  442 
Chrysanthus,  447 
Gratian,  a  British  usurper,  448 
Gregory,    Pope,     undertakes     the 
coiiversiou     of     the      Anglo- 
Saxons,  461 


H. 

Ilahitancum     {Risingham),      154, 

337,  420 
Hadrian  in  Britain,  124 
Hadrian's  wall,  125, 156,  157,  210 
Hair-pins,    Roman,   393 ;    Anglo- 
Saxon,  485 
11  am,  505 
Hammia,    a    goddess    worshipped 

in  Roman  Britain,  352 
Hariinella,  a  goddess,  352 
Hengest  and  Horsa  arrive  in  Kent, 

455 — 457 
Herculentus,  the  god,  352 
Hercules,  worship  of,  325 
Heriri  Mons  [Snowdon),  150 
Hibernia   {Ireland),    invaded     by 
the    Romans,  61  :    description 
of,  by  Ptolemy,  64 
Himilco,  the  Carthaginian,  25 
]Ioly        Promontory       {Carnsore 

Point),  64 
Honorius,    the  emperor,  gives  li- 
berty to  thecitiesof  Britain,  451 
Horestii  {Scottish  tribe),  63 
Household   gods   of  the  Romans, 

407 
Houses,  Roman,  187—199 
Hrofes-ceaster,(72wc//<?.s7<;r),457, 511 
Hunnum    {Halton-clieNters),     157, 

213,  389,  419 
Huscarles,  513,  518 
Hypocausts  in  Roman  houses,  196, 
199 


I. 


Iconi  {Snffolk,  Norfolk,  Cambridge^ 
and  liantingdon),  44,  61 


Iciani  {IcIcUngham),  160,  508 

Ictis  {the  Isle  of  Wight),  2o 

Ida,  king  of  Northumbria,  459 

J  erne,  25 

Iknield  Street,  523 

Imanueiitius,  king  of  the  Trine- 
bantes,  31 

\\\  Medio,  153 

Inscriptions,  on  Roman  coins,  14  ; 
in  Roman  villas,  245,  254 ; 
on  drinking  vessels,  286  ;  on  a 
Roman  pig  of  copper,  291 ;  on 
pigs  of  lead,  294,  295 ,  on 
silver,  296 ;  on  medicine 
stamps,  299,  303 ;  on  signs, 
304  ;  on  roundels  at  Colches- 
ter, 312;  on  altars,  314—352; 
sepulchral  inscriptions,  378 — 
387  ;  centurial  stones,  418, 
419;  early  inscriptions  to  the 
emperors,  420—423;  to  muni- 
cipal officers,  427  ;  sepulchral 
inscriptions  found  in  Cornwall 
and  Wales,  528,  529 

Iron,  swords,  7,  19;  early  use  of, 
17,  22  ;  procured  in  Britain, 
37  ;  manufacture  under  the 
Romans,  291—294 

Isannavaria  {Burnt  Walls),  149 

Isca  Dumnoniorum  {Exeter),  121, 
167 

Isca  Silurnm  {Cuerleon),  48,  122, 
162,  169 

Isclialis  {Ilchester),  121,  168 

Isimee  {Ancaster),  151 

Isurium  {Aldborough),  122,  154, 
213,  225,  404 

Itiuinaries,  Roman,  145,  182,  166, 
527,  528 

I  tuna  {Solwag  Firth),  158 

Iveiiii  {Irish  tribe),  64 


J. 


.fewellery,  Anglo-Saxon,  485,  4SC 
Juuantes,  61 
Julianus,  Didius,  128 
•lupiter,  worship  of,  315—318 
Jutes,  455,  506 

K. 

Kent,  kingdom  of,  founded,  4  36 


INDEX. 


55] 


Kevs,  Roman,  339  ;  Anglo-Saxon, 
'490,  491 

Kimmeridg-e  coal,  ornaments  made 
of,  288 

Kisi-vaen,  72 

Knives,  Koman,  409 ;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  474,  489 


].. 


Lachrymatories,  284 
Laconicum,  236 
Lactodorum  [Towcester),  15 1 
Lamps,  Roman,  406,  407 
Lamps  placed   in  Roman  graves, 

363 
Lancida,  413 
Lares,  407 

Lavatrai  {Bowes),  loo,  336,  42o 
J^ead,  manutacturt'S  in,  in   Roman 

Britain,    294;     leaden    coffins 

found  in  Roman  cemeteries,  368 
Legions,  Romifli,  in  Britain,  123, 

448 
Legiolinm  [Castleford),  152 
Lemanis  Tortus  [Lyiunc],  146,  170 
Leucarum  [Llt/cliwr),  162 
Libra,  413 
Liehavens,  74 
liicinius  I'riscus,  126 
Ligula,  410,  411 
Lightning,     people      killed      by, 

buried  on  the  s'3ot,  389 
Lindum  (Lincoln),  122,  151 
Lindum  [Ardoch),  123,  155 
Locks,  Roman,  399,  400 
Logi  [Scottish  tribe),  63 
Londinium  {Loudon),  53,  121,  147, 

148 ;     the    residence    of     the 

propra)tor,  185 
London,     its     municipal    history 

under  the  Anglo-Saxons,  514— 

517 
Low,  70,  79,  467 
Tjucerna,  406 

Lucius,  king,  a   fabulous  person- 
age, 354,  355 
Lucopibiii  {IFhifhern),  122 
Lucnllus,  Sallustius,  124 
Luentinnm  {Llanio),  122,  169 
Luguhallium,   Luguvallium  [Car- 

llsk),  155,  158 


Lundenwic  {London),  515 
Lupicinus,  144 
liUpus,  Virius,  131 
Lutudarum  {Chesterfield),  166 


M. 


MuGcUffi  [a  northern  tribe),  131 
Madus  {Medway),  146 
Magiovintuin   {Fenny    Stratford), 

151 
Magna  {Kenchester),  163,  299 
Magna  {Carvoran),  158,  321,  349 
Magnatae  {Lrish  tribe),  64 
Magnentius,  144 
Mais,  a  town  near  Hadrian's  wall, 

257 
Maiicipes,  223 

Mancunium  {Manchester),  164 
Mandubratius,  ciiief  of  the  Trino- 

bantes,  31,  33 
Manduessedum  {Ma)iceter),  149 
Mansiones,  223 
Maponus,    a   god   worshipped    in 

Roman  Britain,  352 
Marcellus,  Ulpius,  127 
Marcus,  a  British  usurper,  448 
Margidunum  {Bridgeford),  152 
Maridunum    {Caermartheu),    122, 

162 
Mars,  worship  of,  318 
Martin,  governor  of  Hritain,  144 
Masonry,    Roman,    characteristics 

of,  179—191 
Matres  deae,  worship  of  the,  338 ; 
traces  of,  in  the  middle  ages, 
338 — 315;  Roman  altars  in 
Britain  dedicated  to,  345 — 347 
Matunus,    a    god   worshipped    in 

Roman  Britain,  352 
Maurusius,  Victorinus,  138 
Maximus,  Magnus,  his  revolt  and 
usurpation,    445 ;     his    death, 
447 ;     fables    connected    w.th 
him,  447 
Medicine    stamps,    Roman,     299, 

304 
Mediolanum  {Chesterton),  164 
Mediolanum  {on  the   Tanud),  122, 

150 
Menapia  {St.  David's),  162 
Menapii  {Lrish  tribe),  G4 


5.j8 


IXDEX. 


MiUihir,  74,  82 

jNIorcia,  kingdom  ot,  460,  4G3 

Mercury,  worship  of,  322 

Mertie  [Scottish  tribe),  63 

Middle  Angles  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, 463 

Mile-stones,  Roman,  224 ;  length 
ot  the  lioraan  mile,  225 

jNIilitary  force  in  Britain  under  the 
Romans,  418 

MiUiariuin,  223,  421 

jNlinerva,  Avorship  of,  320 

3Iiuimi,  115,  501 — 503 

jMint,  Roman,  in  Britain,  430 

Mirrors,  Roman,  398 

Missio,  428 

jMistletoe,  a  sacred  plant  among 
the  Druids,  69 

]\Iithras,  Avurship  of,  326—329 

Mugontis,  a  god  worshipped  in 
Jiritain,  350 

Mona  {Ajtglesea)  49,  62 

jNIoney,  see  Coins. 

Mons  Heriri  [Si/owdon),  150 

Morbium  [Temple-boroug]i),  166 

Moridunum  {Honiton  ?),  167 

Mortar,  Roman,  189 

Mortaria,  Roman,  280,  403 

Miicfoues,  17 

Jfunicipia,  425,  426,  510 

jMunuces-ceaster  [Newcastle),  456 

Jliitationes,  223 

N. 

Xuils  in  the  Roman  sandals,  397 

Nasica,  Csesius,  48 

Needles,  Roman,  408 

Xidum  [Neath),  162,  527 

Xiger,  Pescennius,  128 

Northumbrians  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, 463 

Notitia  Imperii,  416 

Novantes  («  Scottish  tribe),  63 

Noviomagus  [Holwood  hill),  121 
147 

Nucleus,  221 

Numeii,  nuinina,  311,  335 

Nymphs,  worship  of  the,  330 

.       .    0. 

Octopltarum  Promontorium,  163 


Oculists'   stamps,   Roman,    200 — 

303 
Officials,  Roman,  in   Britain,  417, 

418 
Olenacum  [Old  Carlisle),  159 
Olicami  [IlJdey),  122,  164 
Olla,  403 
Ordovices  [North    Wales),  45,  57, 

62 
Orestii,  see  Horestii. 
Orrea  [Bertha),  123,  155 
Ostorius  Scapula,  44 
Otadeni       [JNorthiimberland      and 

South  of  Scotland),  62 
Othona  [Ythanceaster),  448 
Oysters,  British,  120 
Oyster-shells    found    on     Roman 

sites,  404 


Parisii  [Yorkshire),  61 

Patera,  314 

PauUmus,  Cains  Suetonius,  49,  56 

Paulus  Catena,  144 

Pavements,  tesselated,  230,  246 — ■ 

254 
Tavimentum,  221 
Fecten,  398 
Penates,  407 

Pcnuocrucium  [on  the  Poilc),  149 
Perennis,  127 
Periods,    divisitm    of  pre-historic 

times  into,  2,  5 
Pertinax,  128 

Petriana  [Cambeck  Fort),  158,  210 
Petronius  rnrpilianus,  ii(j 
Petuaria,  122,  153,  316 
Peulvan,  74,  82 
Philippus,  Nonnius,  137 
Picts  and  Scots,  139,  44  i,  454 
Planets,  deities  of  the,  322 
Plautius,  Aulus,  42,  44 
Plebs,  427 

I'olybius,  anecdote  by,  17 
Polycletus,  56 

Pons  ^lii  [Neivcastle),  loo,  157 
Pontes  [Staines),  161 
Population  of  Roman  Britain,  its 

character,  306 
Portus  Leraanis(Z^;»?it'),  146,  170, 

404 


INDEX. 


5o<i 


I'drtus  iMa^^nus  [Portchefiter),  1G9 

I'ortus  Sistuntionini  [Fnxklcton], 
164 

Totters'  marks,  275,  o41 — oiO 

Tottery,  British,  93 ;  lloinan, 
made  in  the  Upcluirch  marshes, 
260  ;  at  Duvobriv;u,  263  ;  pot- 
ters' kilns,  264;  Samian  ware, 
269—276  ;  other  varieties  of 
Roman  potteries,  277  ;  Ang'lo- 
Saxon,  493,  494;  Germnn- 
Saxon,  494,  498;  Frankish, 
498 

Prcefecti,  510 

Frcefericiduiit,  314 

Frcepositus  regis,  521 

Tne  tori  urn  {Flamhoroitcjh  Head  /), 
153 

Trasutagus,  51 

Prliicipales,  426,  510 

Prohi  homines,  510 

]^rocolitia  [CarrauhxrgJt),  158 

]*ropnBtors  of  liritain,  see  Go- 
vernors. 

Trovince,  Roman,  its  constitution 
and  divisions,  416 

Tteroton  Castrum  {BurgheacV),  123 

I'tolerav's  account  of  Britain,  61 

Pa)icta  stater ce,  413 

VnticHli,  389 

Pijra,  358 


Q. 


Uuorns,  for  grinding  corn,  404 


R. 

Ritix;  {Leicester),  122,  151 
Ravenna,   anonymous    geographer 

of,    145 ;    his    list   of    Roman 

towns  in  Britain,  257,  537 
Peeves,  510,  515,  521 
Regni  {Sussex  and  Surrei/),  61 
Regnntn  {Chichester),  51,  210 
Regulbium  {Reculver),  146,  410 
Retigonium  [Stranraer),  122 
Ricagm  .  .  .,  a  goddess  w(n-shipped 

in  Roman  Britain,  352 
Ricliard  of  Cirencester,  145,  533  ; 

his  Itinerary,  527 


Rigodunum  [Coccium],  122 

Kings,  Roman,  393 

Roads,  Roman,  construction  of, 
221—223;  adopted  by  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  522 — 524 

Robogdii  [Irish  trihe),  64 

Rochester,  its  municipal  privilog(\s 
under  the  Anglo-Saxons,  511 

Rocking-stones,  84 

Pogus,  358 

i^oofs  of  Roman  houses,  206 

Roundels,  inscribed,  found  at  Col- 
chester, 311 

Rubbish  pits  attached  to  Roman 
towns,  215 

Rudge  cup,  257 

Pudus,  ruder atio,  221 

Rutuniura  {Poivton),  150,  163 

Rutupia3  {Pichborough),  120,  121, 
146 

Ryknield  Street,  523 


S. 


Salinaj  [Broitwich),  164 
Salime  of  Ttolemy,  122,  165 
Salt- ways,  the  roads  so  called,  524 
Samian  ware,  269 — 275 
Sandals,  Roman,  396,  397 
Sarabus  sinus,  Neptune  so  callrd, 

352 
Sarcophagi  of  stone  at  York,  3()3 
Saxonicuni  littus,  451 
Saxons,  invasion  of  the,  452,  455 — 

459 
Scabini,  510 
Scales,  Roman,  413 
Scapula,  Ostorius,  44 
Sceat,  sceattas,  503 
Scissors,    Roman,    408 ;     Anglo- 

Sax(m,  490 
Scopus  stater cc,  413 
Scots,  139 
Scowles,  292 

Sculptures  on  stone,  12,  13 
Searo-byrig  [Old  Sariim),  459 
Seaxas,  474 
S'curis,  314 

Segedunum  [IFallsotd),  157 
Segelocum  [Littleborough),  152 
Segontiaci  [Hampshire  and  Pertcs), 

34 


5oO 


IXDEX. 


Seijontium  {Cacr  Seinnt),  150,  163 

Sclgovie  {<i  Scotcis/i  trc/tc),  63 

iSL'pulchre,  uiodes  of,  iiinon^'  t.lie  Ro- 
mans, 357 — 360 ;  articles  buried 
with  the  dead,  363  ;  rites  of, 
among-  the  Aiiy;lo-Saxons,  456 

Sera  pensilis,  40 1 

Seiapis,  worship  of,  329 

Sestuiitii  ( fFe-sijnorelu/id  and  C'ujn- 
berliind),  iSl 

Setlocenia,  a  <;-oddess  worshipped 
in  Roman  Ijritaiii,  352 

Severiis,  tlie  emperor,  129  ;  pro- 
ceeds to  Britain,  133  ;  estab- 
lishes liis  court  at  Eburacum, 
133  ;  his  canip;ii<i,ns  against  the 
Caledonians,  134;  dies  at  York, 
136 

Severus,  Julius,  126 

Severus,  Junius,  128 

Shields,  Anglo-Saxon,  475 

Sifjna,  322 

Silures  [border  of  Wales),  45,  47, 
57,  62,  65 

Silvanus,  worship  of,  257,  324 

Silver,  found  in  Britain,  295 

Sitomagus  {Dunwich),  160 

Slaves,  traffic  in,  among  the  Saxons, 
461  ;  sold  in  London,  515 

Slaves,  immolated  at  the  burial  of 
their  chiefs  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  469 

Sorbiodunum  {Old  Sarum),  167 

South-Saxons,  kingdom  of  the, 
founded,  458 

Snails  found  on  Roman  sites,  404 ; 
snail  shells  found  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  barrows,  492 

Spears,  Anglo-Saxon,  21,  474 

Speculum,  398 

Spinas  {Spee/i),  IGl,  168 

Spoons,  lioman,  410 

Spurs,  Roman  and  Saxon,  415 

Standard,  lioman,  found  near 
Stonev-Siratford,  415 

Stater.(,  412,  413 

Statores,  223 

Statnmen,  221,  223 

Steel  for  sharpening  knives,  Ro- 
man, 410 

Steelyards,  Roman,  413 

tiiepeudiarice  civitafos,  426 

Stone,  early  use  of,  4,  5  ;    sculp- 


tures, 12,  13  ;  implements,  95 
—98 

Stonehenge,  79,  83,  85,  108 

Strathcluyd,  kingdom  of,  526 

Street,  523 

Strigils,  413 

Sturius  [the  Stonr),  160 

Stylus,  411 

Suetonius  Paiillinus,  Caius,  49,  56 

SuUoniacae  {Urockky  Hill),  148 

Summum  djrsum,  sainnia  orasta, 
222 

Superstitions  connected  with  nn- 
cient  monuments,  85,  86,  105 

Swegen,  king,  liis  death,  520 

Swords,  bronze,  5,  20  ;  iron,  7, 19; 
characteristics  of  Roman,  7  — 
14;  on  coins,  14;  used  by  the 
Gauls,  Romans  and  Britons, 
17 ;  British  or  Roman,  101, 
102  ;  Anglo-Saxon,  21,  470— 
474 

Syria  dea,  worship  of  the,  322 


Taberiifc.  dirersoricc  223 
Tabula,  411 

TabuUe  honestcc  missionis,  429 
Taixali  {Scottish  tribe),  63 
Tamara  {on   the  Tamar),  121,  168 
Tames  is  {Sinodun  Hill  ?),  166 
Tamia  {Braemar  Castle),  123 
Tasciovanus,  40 
Tcgida,  363 

Terra-cottas,  Roman,  281 
Tertiance  decc,  338 
Testudo,  30 
Tetricus,  138 
Theatres,  Roman,  212 
Theodosia  {Dumbarton),  156 
Theodosius  takes  the  command  in 

Britain,  441 
Thetford,  the    townsmen    of,    kill 

their  abbot,  513 
Tibia  {the  Taaf),  162 
Tiles,  Roman,  183 
Tin,  procured  from  Biitain,  24,  25 
Tine  .  .  .  ,  a  British  prince,  40 
Tintinnabulum,  405 
Tisa  {the  Tees),  154 
Titus,  the  emperor,  42 


A 


INDEX. 


561 


Togodumnus,  a  British  prince,  40, 
43 

Tombs,  Roman,  made  of  tiles,  360 

Torques,  torquis,  394  ;  torquin  bra- 
chialis,  395 

Town,  Roman,  description  ot  a, 
171;  its  walls,  172;  gates, 
174  ;  houses,  187  ;  streets,  207  ; 
public  buildings,  210  ;  suburbs, 
212;  drainage,  213 

Towns,  municipal,  under  the  Ro- 
mans, 425  ;  preserved  under 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  508  ;  exam- 
ples, Canterbury,  510;  Roches- 
ter and  Dover,  511  ;  Thetford, 
"Worcester,  Exeter,  513  ;  Lon- 
don, 514 — 519;  charters  grant- 
ed to  towns,  520 

Trebellius  Maximus,  56 

Trebonius,  Caius,  32 

Triliths,^  74 

Trimontium  {Eildon),  123,  155 

Trinobantes  [the  people  of  Essex), 
31,  61 

Tripontium  [Dove  Bridge),  149, 
151 

TrtM,  or  trulla,  403 

Triitina,  413 

Tuesis  [Gromdale),  123 

Tumblers  (origin  of  the  word),  495 

Tumulus,  71 

Tun,  505 

Tunnocelum  [Drumburgh),  158 

Turpilianus,  Petronius,  56 

Tweezers,  Roman,  399 ;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  490 


U. 

Urbicus,  Lollius,  126,  127 

Uriconium  [Wroxeter),  122,  149, 
163,  212,  301 

Urns,  sepulchral,  Roman,  359 ; 
Anglo-Saxon,  493 

Usdioe  [Irish  tribe),  64 

Ustrinum,  358 

Uxaconium  [Red-hilL  or  Oaken- 
gates),  149 

Uxela  {Bridgewater),  121 

Uxelum  {Raeburnfoot,  or  Castle- 
cver),  123,  156 


Vacomagi  {Scottish,  tribe),  63 
Vagniacae  {8outhjieet),  147 
Valentinus,  his   intrigues   against 

Theodosius,  444 
Valerianus,  Marius,  137 
Vanduara  [Paisley),  123,  156 
Varse  [Bodfari),  163 
Vectis  [Wight),  44,  167 
Vecturiones  [Scottish  tribe),  441 
Velibori  [Irish  tribe),  60 
Vellocatus,  57 
Veniconii  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Venonae,  151 

Venricones  [Scottish  tribe),  63 
Venta  Belgarum (  Winchester),  121, 

167 
Venta     Tcenorum    [Caistor),    122, 

160 
Venta  Silurum  [Caerwent),  169 
Venusius,  chief  of  the    Biigantes, 

48,  57 
Veranius,  49 
Verbeia,  a  goddess  worshipped  in 

Roman  Britain,  352 
Veredarii,  223 

Verio,  a  British  prince,  40,  42 
Verlucio  [Highfield),  1  69 
Verometuin    [near    Willoughby), 

152 
Verterse  [Brough),  155 
Verulamium  [near  St.  Alhan' s),  36, 

41,  53,  122,  148,  212 
Vespasian,  the  emperor,  42 
Veteres,  Vetires,  or  Vetiris,  a  god 
worshipped,  in  Roman  Britain, 
349 
Vettiiis  Bolanus,  57 
Vice  vicinalcs,  privxtce,  agrarice, 

device,  22 
Vicarii  of  Britain,  see  Governors. 
Victoria      [Dealgin    Ross),      123, 

155 
Victorinus,  Aufidius,  127 
Victorinus,  Maurusius,  138 
Victory,  Avorship  of,  336 
Villa,' dlQ 
Villa  Faustini,  160 
Villas,   Roman,  227 — 255  ;    occu- 
pied by  the  Anglo- Saxons,  508 
Villages,  JSritish  and   Roman,  113 
—115,  255 

2M 


562 


INDEX. 


Vinclol;ala  {Eutchester),  157 
Vindogladia  {Gussages),  1G7 
Viiidoluna  (Chester/ioitii),  158 
Vindomis  [Whitechiirch),  167 
Vindomora  [Ehchester),  154 
Vinovium  or  Vinnovium  {Binclies- 

ter),  122,  154 
Viradesthi,  a  g-oddess  worshipped 

in  Roman  Britain,  353 
Viroconium,  see  Uriconiuni. 
Virosidum   {Maryport  and  Ellen- 

horoiigli)^  159 
Yodioe  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Voliba  {o)i  the  Foivey),  121 
Volsellw,  399 
Voluha  [the  Fowcij),  168 
Voluntii  [Lancashire),  62 
Voluntii  [Irish  tribe),  64 
Vortigern,    king   of    the    Britons, 

455,  456 


Walls,  Roman,  character  of,  172 — 
177  ;  Hadrian's,  see  Hadrian. 

Water-cock,  Roman,  404 

Watling-  Street,  523 

Weapons,  Roman,  414 

Week,  gods  of  the  days  of  the, 
322,  323 

Welsh,  origin  and  meaning  of  the 
word,  457  ;  the  Welsli  settle- 
ment in  England,  525 — 527  ; 
Christianity  introduced  among 
them,  527 

Wessex,  kingdom  of,  founded,  459 

West-Saxons,  kingdom  of  the, 
founded,  458 ;  converted  to 
Christianity,  463 

Wintan-ceaster  [Jfl'nchester),  459 

Woodchester,  Roman  villa  there 
described,  229—240 


THE  END. 


f'KlNTED    BY    BALLANTVNE,    HANSOX    AND    CO. 
EUINBUKGH  AND  LONUO.N'. 


Wright,  Ti 
Saxon» 


-  The  Celt,  the  Roman,  and  the 


PONTIFICAL-    '^S^'^^7,^^ 
OF    M£QiA::VAL   STUDIES 

59  QUEEN'S  PARK 
TORONTO  5.    CANADA 


2  5824'