or more commonly to the circular space on the top. This decoration varies, as the visitor will see, very greatly in elaboration, in subject-matter, and in artistic merit. In one side of the case are lamps illustrating mythological and legendary subjects; in the other, scenes from daily life and from the contests of the amphitheatre and circus. Among the moulds in Case B, there is one for the relief on a lamp with a subject of two gladiators, which shows the rapid and easy way in which the Roman clay lamps were produced.

But even the rough relief on a small hand-lamp may sometimes suggest points of interest to archæologists. Thus there is a lamp here, acquired from Cyprus in 1884, which represents the contest of Athena and Poseidon for the soil of Attica, and which is sometimes referred to in connection with a vexed question :

"The work is roughly moulded and slight, but the group has the interest which attaches to every fresh representation of the strife between Athene and Poseidon as suggesting possible interpretations of the action of the central group of the west pediment of the Parthenon. Athene steps quickly forward from the left with her shield raised on her right arm. Poseidon on the right appears to be slightly drawing back; his right hand raised and extended, as if deprecating the advance of Athene. The olive-tree occupies the middle of the field. The token of Poseidon is not represented. The moment represented appears to be that of the accomplished decision. Athene steps forward not so much as assaulting Poseidon, but rather as standing forth almost in the position of a Promachos to guard her second token, and at the same time the city she has won against all the world. It may be suggested that this is also a not impossible interpretation of the action of the central group of the pediment" (A. H. Smith in J.H.S. xiii. 93).

From the designs and inscriptions on other lamps we obtain a glimpse of social customs. A design frequently met with is that of two figures of Victory holding between them an inscribed disk. On one of the lamps here, the inscription on the disk is ANNV NOV FAUSTV FELIX-a wish for a Happy New Year. Several similar lamps have been found. It would appear that lamps were as much in favour among the Romans as New Year's gifts, as lamps and candlesticks are with us for wedding presents.

Like the statuettes, terra-cotta lamps had a religious and a sepulchral, as well as a domestic use. We know from Pausanias (ii. 22. 4) that lighted lamps were offered to Persephone, and let down into trenches or chasms consecrated to the infernal deities—an offering which had special reference

of course to the torch carried by Demeter when she went forth to search for her daughter. At Cnidus Sir Charles Newton found a large number of terra-cotta lamps crowded in one place a little distance below the surface, and it was conjectured that there must have been some statue or altar at which it had been a custom to have lamps burning at night. Again, we know that lighted lamps were placed in the tombs of the dead. Thus, on a marble slab in the British Museum there is a Latin inscription describing the property which had been left by the deceased to provide, among other things, that a lighted lamp with incense should be placed at his tomb three times a month. The use of lights is one of the many ritual observances which Christianity adopted from Paganism. The lighted lamp in Roman Catholic churches continues the tradition of the Erechtheum on the acropolis of Athens, in which a gold lamp was kept burning day and night. To this day, when a Greek Archbishop is buried in his own diocese, he is placed in the grave seated, with a lamp burning; and the candles dedicated in churches by the devout Catholics of to-day are the modern survival of the terra-cotta lamps here collected from the tombs and temples of the ancient world.

SAMIAN OR ARRETINE WARE

(Table-case D)

The

Lastly in the Room of Terra-cottas there is a collection of vases in fine red clay with subjects in relief; many of them are of great beauty and of gem-like execution. This ware is known as Samian or Arretine. Most of it has been found on the site of the Etruscan city of Arretium (the modern Arezzo), celebrated in Roman times for its small red vases which, Pliny says, were equal to those of the Greek island of Samos. style of art, as well as the makers' names inscribed at the bottom of the vases, show that it was of Roman manufacture of a date not earlier than the first or second century B.C. In laying the foundations of a new theatre at Arezzo some years ago, the workmen found a quantity of this Samian ware, together with moulds for casting the reliefs, and remains of vitrified earth-marking the site of a pottery. Several moulds are exhibited in this case, and we can thus learn the method of manufacture :

A mould was first prepared, of hard, well-burnt clay, covered inside with incuse designs; these sunk patterns were made either by handmodelling or, more usually, with the aid of stamps modelled in relief. Thus the inside of the bowl-mould corresponded to the outside of the future Samian bowl, which was first turned on the wheel quite plain, but of the right size to fit into the mould. Then, while it was still soft it was pressed into the mould, and afterwards both were put upon the wheel together. As the wheel revolved, the potter could at the same time press the clay into the sunk ornaments of the mould and finish neatly the inside of the vessel. In some cases he raised the walls of the bowl high above the mould by adding clay, and thus, with the same mould could produce a variety of forms, though the lower or decorated portion always remained the same. The vessel was then removed from the mould, and the reliefs touched up by hand (in the finer specimens) with bone or wooden modelling-tools. In addition to the moulded ware many vessels of the same class were made plain from the wheel. It was next covered with the materials (silica, soda, and oxide of iron) for the red enamel, and fired in the usual way.

We know from ancient writers that this "Samian "" ware of Arezzo was much employed for ordinary domestic purposes, being used for dry meats as well as liquids. The better specimens are of great beauty, both in colour and in the delicacy of the reliefs; it is the most artistic sort of pottery that the Romans produced. We have seen that Pliny compared it to the red ware of Samos. It seems to have superseded in Italy the use of those vases of black ware with designs in relief, which we saw in the Fourth Vase Room (p. 414). Among the examples probably produced at Arezzo itself is a fine vase (from the Slade collection) with figures symbolical of the seasons, found at Capua. Among the bowlmoulds we may notice one with a design of a Bacchic procession the potter's name is "Parides, slave of P. Cornelius"; and another with a scene of Alexander's lion-hunt :

:

"By way of setting an example, Alexander exposed himself to greater fatigues and hardships than ever in his campaigns and hunting expeditions, so that old Lakon, who was with him when he slew a great lion, said, 'Alexander, you fought well with the lion for his kingdom.' This hunting-scene was afterwards represented by Kraterus at Delphi. He had figures made in bronze of Alexander and the hounds fighting with the lion, and of himself running to help him" (Plutarch's Life of Alexander, § 40).

"Samian "ware of Arezzo was sent, Pliny tells us, to various parts of the world; the discovery of a Samian bowl-mould at

York makes it appear probable that the ware was made even in distant Britain. A collection of Samian ware found in this country is shown in the Anglo-Roman Room (Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., xix. 617; Dennis's Etruria, ii. 383).

Among other objects in this case we may notice a curious vase in the form of a laced boot, made in the style of a mountaineering or shooting boot of to-day; the nails are arranged to form the letters "Alpha" and "Omega." A large terracotta lamp, with decorative reliefs, in the form of a ship is also noticeable. It is inscribed on the front "Fair Voyage," and on the back, "Accept me, the Helioserapis (name of the ship). This curious lamp was found in the sea at Pozzuoli, in the Bay of Naples; it was perhaps a present intended for use on board a friend's yacht.

On the top of the case is a vase in the form of a female figure seated on the prow of a trireme, and a large vase in the shape of a wine-skin (askos) decorated in florid profusion with statuettes-Victories, heads of Medusa, and horses. In a very different style is the group from Capua of two girls-a beautiful specimen of fourth-century work. The girls are kneeling and playing the game of knuckle-bones. The group is very graceful and, contrary to what is customary in terra-cottas, the back has been carefully modelled by hand. This graceful piece, which is now one of the ornaments of our Museum Gallery, must once have belonged to some Greek connoisseur of taste.

Leaving the Room of Terra-cottas, we find ourselves in the Central Saloon. In the central part of it, portions of the Anglo-Roman collection are exhibited. These are described in the next chapter. Other portions of the Collection are exhibited in the Roman Gallery, which the visitor can regain by descending the central staircase.

CHAPTER XXVIII

ROMAN BRITAIN

1. Pavements and other antiquities in the Roman Gallery. II. Various antiquities in the Central Saloon.

"I hold myself obliged to preserve as well as I can the memory of such things as I see, which, added to what future times will discover, will revive the Roman Glory among us, and may serve to incite noble minds to endeavour at that merit and publicspiritedness which shine through all their actions. This tribute, at least, we owe them, and they deserve it at our hands-to preserve their remains" (Dr. STUKELEY, 1687-1765).

"The Romans stamped the seal of history on the wonderful island, little dreaming that a time would come when, after the fusion of Celts, Latins and Germans, a commercial power would be developed more important than Carthage, and an empire greater in extent and population than that of Rome" (Gregorovius).

THE antiquities described in this chapter illustrate the Roman occupation of Britain which commenced with the conquest under the Emperor Claudius in 43 A.D., and ended in 410 A.D., when the Roman officials and legions were withdrawn. These Anglo-Roman remains do not differ in general character from Roman remains found elsewhere. Roman civilisation was as uniform as were Roman institutions. In our National Museum the Roman remains found in Britain are, however, very properly brought together in a separate collection as illustrating a distinct chapter in the national history

There are two opposite errors with regard to that history which a careful study of a collection of Anglo-Roman antiquities is calculated to correct. One is a tendency to under-rate the civilisation in Britain existing before the Roman invasion. The other is a tendency to forget the extent of "the Roman glory." Pre-Roman Britain, though racked by incessant wars,