round the place, but discovered no further portions of building; we could trace, however, by the hardness of the soil and different colour of the grass, a former road passing near our excavation. The whole surface around abounds with broken pottery, and I have one small piece of very good Samian ware, with the mark . . . FPRIMI, the first letters being broken off. Human bones, with those of various animals, were also found. We hoped at first that we had met with the atrium of a house, perhaps the villa of the commander of the garrison of the adjoining camp, as at Isurium, and speculated if it were a tomb, as its dimensions, its vicinity to the old Roman road, running in the direction of Garianonum, and the human bones with those of animals, perhaps slain in sacrifice, seemed to suggest, but no decisive evidence occurred to support the conjecture. The walls are built of flint, laid with mortar composed of lime, sand, and pounded brick. The flints of the upper course all round, both inside and outside, are faced and squared, and below this course, on the inside, a slight projection of plaster appeared, shewing the level of the floor. The lower part of the wall was built more rudely, the flints not being dressed at all. Near the south-west angle a small coin was found with charred wood. From the circumstance of the flints being faced on the inner side of the building, it is conjectured that the walls were not stuccoed, but considerable remains of stucco were found with the bones close to the spot. Many small square pieces of thick tile, resembling tesseræ, were found, as if the area had been covered by a pavement of that description. By Mrs. Dashwood's kindness, excavations have been continued up to the Roman road; again, pottery, vast quantities of large tiles and bones have been found, but only one or two small coins of the Lower Empire, and a silver ring of rude workmanship, deprived of the stone with which it had been set. The severity of the winter has prevented my endeavouring to follow up my researches."
The potter's mark noticed in this communication, occurs on several specimens of " Samian,"' found in or near London, but we are not aware that it had been found at other places of Roman occupation in England. Mr. Kempe, indeed, gives the mark PRIMITIVI, from pottery found at Reculver. OF PRIMI is found on a fragment in Mr. Corner's collection, from Southwark; OF PRIM, appears on ware found at St. Michael's, Crooked Lane, 1831, and other specimens discovered in London bear the stamps OF PRM—OF PRIMVL—PRIMVLI—PRIMANI—PRIM M[1].
Mr. Jabez Allies, Local Secretary at Worcester, has communicated the recent discovery of an urn, supposed to be of the Roman, or Romano-British period, at Droitwich, formed of coarse gritty clay, and of a dark colour; it is scored with lines arranged lozenge-wise, and measures about six in. in height, by fourteen in circumference, at the widest part. It was found at a depth of three or four feet, at Mr. Ellins' salt-works, in St. Peter's parish, and is now in the possession of the Rev. W. Lea. In the adjacent soil
- ↑ Archæol. xxiv. 201; xxv. 620; xxvii. 152. See also the curious observations by Mr. Corner and Mr. E. Price, with their lists of marks. Gent. Mag. xxi. 372; xxii. 38.
