Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/557

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NOTICES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS. 409 so far as we are aware, discovered in any other part of the British Islands, should have been brought to light on the shores of Cornwall, a country with which in early times the Irish had much intercourse, and where the spread of Christianity appears to have been mainly due to the efforts of missionaries from Ireland. The porcelain seal in question, similar in every respect to those found in that country, and represented in Mr. Getty's work, is in the possession of Mr. Thomas Kent, of Padstow, to whom we are indebted for impressions, and a cast of this unique Cornish relic. It was found, a few years since in the neighbourhood of that place. (See page 403, supra.) The discoveries, to which Mr. Getty's curious researches have been addressed, have, we believe, been accounted by some archaeologists as worthy of no more credence than the supposed introduction of Chinese monies into Ireland at a remote period, to which the late Col. Vallancey attached so much importance. In a former volume of the Journal, the trivial character of the discoveries of " cash " in that country has been fully explained. The recent labours of Irish antiquaries, and especially the suc- cessful interpretation of one great enigma — the true nature and age of the " Ogham," afford reasonable encouragement to hope that the mysteries of Irish archaeology may soon be dispelled, and that the real merits of the singular little relics of porcelain, first described in detail by Mr. Getty, may at length be satisfactorily elucidated. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE REMAINS OF ROMAN ART, IN CIRENCESTER, the Site of the Antient CORINIUM. By Professor Buckman, F.L.S., F.G.S., and C. H. Newmarch, Esq. Loudon, George Bell ; Baily and Jones, Cirencester. 1850. The investigation of the evidences of Roman occupation in various parts of the kingdom has been prosecuted during the past year with unwonted assiduity. Some antiquaries, whose attention has been arrested by the interest of Ecclesiological researches, those also who devote an especial regard to the attractions of Medieval Art, or to subjects more strictly of a national character, have probably held such inquiries in slight esteem. It has frequently been remarked that Romano-British remains can at best serve only to illustrate the works and customs of the Romans, by a class of examples vastly inferior to those preserved in countries nearer to the seat of empire, and already described in numerous publications. No new facts, it may be thought, remain to be gleaned on comparatively obscure sites of the remote colonies of Rome, to demonstrate more fully the character of her arts or manufactures, the nature of her social usages, or public institutions. But, whilst the scattered vestiges of the Romans in this island present, for the most part, a mere repetition of objects already known and illus- trated in other countries, there is an essential interest in that remarkable chapter of our history relating to the influence of Roman settlements in Britain, which gives value even to minute details, and it has aroused in an increasing measure the attention of English archaeologists. Since no suffi- cient National collection exists, in which the advance, not merely of arts, but of civilisation, may be studied through the progressive series of ancient monuments, it is of high importance that discoveries should be faithfully recorded, that local collections should be established, and that a classification