character; and the feet of the occupant of a third, had rested upon an encaustic tile decorated with a griffin in very good style. The walls of these two had been levelled up, with tiles exactly resembling our plain roofing tiles, with the two holes for the pegs, set in mortar as though to receive a lid or covering, but none such could be traced. Indeed, the whole of the uncovered coffins were filled with soil, if not concrete; and yet the bones were perfectly undisturbed, the ribs retained their rotundity, the feet bones their vertical position, and the hands and other portions their exact places and relations; leaning almost irresistibly, to the conclusion that the soil was compacted around the corpse, before decomposition had ensued.
Immediately under and between the coffins were the remains of many skeletons, and though no other evidence of coffins remained, the frequent occurrence of a black substance, might be considered to prove, that the sepulture took place in wood.
The whole of the skeletons that were not disturbed, lay on their backs, with their feet to the east, their arms and hands not crossed or joined, but lying straight by their sides; the bones were sound and firm, except those without coffins, which soon crumbled into dust.
Excepting the small portions of sculpture already enumerated, nothing whatever was found to assist in determining the dates, or in otherwise identifying the interments: and therefore without indulging in vain speculations, I content myself with recording the above facts, simply adding, that we are mainly indebted to the persevering diligence and untiring watchfulness of Mr. Shurlock, for the discovery of these interesting remains, and the preservation of the details here enumerated.
