urn, and part of a jaw-bone, were found under one corner of the pavement; and also foundations of Kentish rag-stone, and Roman bricks, in opening the ground on the opposite side of the street."

In 1805, another Tessellated Pavement was found in Lothbury, within the area now inclosed by the walls of the Bank, near the south-east angle. It was discovered on digging the foundations for some of the new buildings in that edifice, and was taken up entire, and presented by the Bank Directors to the British Museum. Of this also, a coloured engraving was published by Mr. Fisher, but it was extremely inferior in its design to the Leadenhall-Street Pavement. It has been thus described :

"The depth at which it lay was about eleven feet; its situation about twenty feet westward from the westernmost gate of the Bank opening into Lothbury, and about the same distance south of the carriage-way. It consisted of the ornamented square centre, measuring four feet each way, of the floor of an apartment eleven feet square. Within a circle in the centre, is a figure apparently designed to represent four expanded leaves, perhaps acanthus, in black, red, and dark and light grey tessellæ, on a white field; round this a line of black; in the angles four leaves of black, red, and grey; and a square bandeau border, similar to that mentioned in the former pavement, environed the whole: beyond this were tiles of an inch square, extending to the sides of the room. On examining the fragments of the marginal pavement which had been taken up with it, evident marks of fire were observed on the face of them; and

to one piece adhered some ashes of burnt wood, and a small piece not quite burnt."

Few particulars are known of the other Pavements discovered at the beginning of this century; but their respective situations were in Broad Street, behind the Old Navy Pay Office; in Northumberland Alley, Fenchurch Street; and in Long Lane, Smithfield.

Of the Pavements formerly discovered, that near Bishopsgate, without the City walls, inspected by Dr. Woodward in 1707, has been already noticed (vide p. 16, note); another was found" deep under ground, in Holborn, near St. Andrew's Church," and a third pretty deep in the earth," near Bush Lane, Cannou Street.*

66

BRITISH AND ROMAN CEMETERIES IN AND near

LONDON.

Numerous remains of the Sepulchral usages of our British and Roman ancestors, but chiefly of the latter, have been discovered within the City and its immediate vicinity. It would seem, indeed, that a considerable space of ground in the eastern quarter, beyond the walls, had been set apart by the Romans as one grand cemetery; it being an express provision of the "Laws of the Twelve Tables," that no person should be buried within their Cities. And it would conduce to the general good, by improving the

Strype's Stow, Vol. II. Appendix 1. p. 23.

healthfulness of the capital, if our own legislature were to enact a statute for a like purpose.

The earliest of these discoveries that we are acquainted with, was made in Spittle Fields, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and it is thus fully noticed by Stow :

"On the east side of this Church-yard, [St. Mary Spittle] lyeth a large field, of old time called Lolesworth, now Spittlefield, which about ye yeere 1576, was broken up for clay to make brick in the digging thereof many earthen pots called Vrne, were found full of ashes, and burnt bones of men, to wit, of the Romanes that inhabited here. For it was the custome of the Romanes, to burne their dead, to put their ashes in an vrne, and then burie the same with certain ceremonies, in some field appointed for that purpose neere vnto their City.

“Euery of these pots had in them (with the ashes of the dead) one piece of copper money, with the inscription of the Emperour then raigning; some of them were of Claudius, some of Vespasian, some of Nero, of Anthonius Pius, of Traianus, and others. Besides those vrnes, many other pots were found in the same place, made of a white earth, with long necks, & handles, like to our stone jugs: these were emptie, but seemed to be buried full of some liquid matter, long since consumed and soaked through. For there were found diuers vials, and other fashioned glasses, some most cunningly wrought, such as I haue not seene the like, and some of Christall, all which had water in them, nothing differing in clearnes, taste, or sauour from common spring water, whatsoeuer it was at the first. Some of these glasses had oyle in them very thicke, and earthy in sauour. Some were supposed to haue balme in them,

but had lost the vertue: many of these pots and glasses were broken in cutting of the clay, so that few were taken vp whole.

"There were also found diuers dishes and cups, of a fine red coloured earth, which shewed outwardly such a shining smoothnesse, as if they had beene of Curral. Those had (in the bottomes) Romane letters printed; there were also lampes of white earth and red, artificially wrought with diuers Antiquities about them, some three or foure Images, made of white earth, about a span long each of them: one I remember was of Pallas, the rest I haue forgotten. I myself haue reserued (amongst diuers of those antiquities there) one vrne, with the ashes and bones, and one pot of white earth very small, not exceeding the quantity of a quarter of a wine pint, made in shape of a hare, squatted vpon her legs, and betweene her eares is the mouth of the pot.

"There hath also beene found (in the same field) diuers coffins of stone, containing the bones of men; these I suppose to be the burials of some speciall persons, in time of the Brytans, or Saxons, after that the Romanes had left to gouerne here. Moreouer, there were also found the sculs and bones of men, without coffins, or rather whose coffins (being of great timber) were consumed. Diuers great nayles of iron were there found, such as are vsed in the wheeles of shod carts, being each of them as bigge as a mans finger, and a quarter of a yard long, the heads two inches ouer. Those nayles were more wondred at then the rest of the things there found, and many opinions of men were there vttered of them, namely, that the men there buried, were murthered by driuing those nayles into their heads; a thing unlikely for a smaller nayle would more aptly serue to

so bad a purpose, and a more secret place would lightly be imployed for such buriall."*

Some other discoveries made in the same field, during the time of James the First, are mentioned by the learned Dr. Meric Casaubon, in his Latin tract on Credulity. He says that he went thither when a boy, and saw one of the graves newly opened, in which a large skull and some coins were found. The former had been broken in digging, and the pieces scattered, and partly taken away; but "being observed to be beyond the ordinary size, the King was acquainted with it, who appointed that the pieces should be retrieved as many as might be, and

"Survey of London," edit. 1618; pp. 323, 325. Respecting the nails, Stow adds, " But to set downe what I haue obserued concerning this matter, I there beheld the bones of a man lying (as I noted) the head north, the feet south, and round about him (as thwart his head, along both his sides, and thwart his feete) such nayles were found. Wherefore I coniectured them to be the nayles of his coffin, which had beene a trough, cut out of some great tree, and the same couered with a planke of a great thickenesse, fastened with such nayles, and therefore I caused some of the nayles to be reached vp to me; and found vnder the broad heades of them, the old wood, skant turned into earth, but still retaining both the graine and proper colour. Of these nayles (with the wood vnder the head thereof) I reserued one, as also the nether iaw-bone of the man, the teeth being great, sound, & fixed, which (amongst many other monuments there found I haue yet to shew; but the nayle lying dry, is by scaling greatly wasted."