AN ABSTRACT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY DURING THE YEAR ENDING MAY 30, 1881. November 15, 1880. Professor Hughes, F.S.A., President, in the chair. The following new Members were elected: Rev. W. Amos, M.A., Trinity College. H. E. Ryle, Esq., B.A., King's College. Professor Hughes exhibited some objects of Roman age, the property of the Dean of St Asaph, which were found in August, 1824 under a stone known as Bwrddygwylltiaid in Cwmllech near Blaencwmpennantmoelangell in Denbighshire. They consisted of an intaglio in sardonyx with the device of a lion passant, set in an ornamental gold ring with a torque-like cable border, and two gold ornaments, which in form resemble the ends of a torque, but which from their being hollow are considered by Mr King to be Roman, and to have been appendages to an article of dress or to some trappings of leathern or textile fabric. Two coins, which unfortunately had been separated from the rest of the find, were not forthcoming. But in an old letter from Mr W. Allen Jones, which was also exhibited, they were mentioned as Roman brass coins: (1) Of GAIUS VICTORINUS PIUS FELIX AUGUSTUS (268 a.d.). (2) Of GALLIENUS PIUS FELIX AUGUSTUS (260-268 A.D.). Professor Hughes pointed out that there was evidence in several places of the Romans having advanced far into the Eastern valleys of the Berwyns, as might be seen in the concrete and tiles of Ffrith near Wrexham, to be mentioned again in connexion with Offa's Dyke, and in what were probably Roman remains at Llanrhaiadrymmochnant. Professor Hughes exhibited a small token found in excavating for foundations at Trinity Hall, bearing on the obverse a stag passant and the name WILLIAM LI[M]BER; on the reverse L over WD and the legend IN CHES TERTON. Mr Walter K. Foster, F.S.A., read a paper on his recent excavations in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Barrington in this county. (See Communications, Vol. V. No. II.) Mr Griffith exhibited a number of objects found in the cemetery by the workmen before Mr Foster began his excavations, including a beautiful electrum pendant of twisted filigree work, a silver finger-ring of the snake pattern, &c. He pointed out that as by far the greater part of the fragments of Roman pottery had occurred in the pits and fosse, whilst in the graves themselves, amongst a considerable number of Saxon sherds, only a very few were found of Roman manufacture, there was little doubt that the pits and fosse were of Roman age; the angular shape of the fosse also favoured this supposition. For what purpose the pits had been made was only a matter of conjecture; the care with which they had been dug and drained forbad the supposition that they were intended for rubbish-holes, although they had evidently been used as such subsequently. Mr Conybeare, vicar of Barrington, laid before the Society additional specimens from the same locality, together with a large map of the parish, from which it appeared that all the objects came from one of three spots, lying respectively N.W., N.E., and S. E. of the present village. The first of these was the Anglo-Saxon cemetery explored by Mr Foster, and shewn by him to have been the site of an earlier Romano-British dwelling-place, which the last appeared to have been also, many ash-pits and kitchenmiddens having been found there. Besides these there were traces of a fight having taken place at the passage of the river, many arms and bones of men and horses (with the bit in one case still in the mouth) having been dug up there. Amongst the objects which he exhibited, he called special attention to this bit, and to some large knives of curious form, scientifically designed to give them greater power as weapons; also to a standard-rest, and to a circular brooch which he considered to be of Danish origin, bearing a raven engraved on the green glass centre. Mr C. W. King however pronounced this to be Roman and the bird to be an eagle. Professor Skeat offered the following remarks on the discoveries at Barrington: "We should be careful to see if any scratches are found on any of the objects, which can be interpreted as inscriptions. Sometimes runic inscriptions are found, which at first sight would seem not to be inscriptions at all, but mere parallel scratches. It is also important to look out for any specimens of the interlaced ribbon-pattern. If wood is found attached to a boss or to a spear, it would be interesting if it could occasionally be ascertained what kind of wood it is, that we may see whether the shields were of linden-wood, and the spears of ash, as they are usually said to be in poetry. The specimens of ale-vats are peculiarly interesting, as we find frequent allusions to them.” Mr W. B. Redfarn exhibited an Early English terra-cotta lamp, of a very unusual form, which had been recently dug up, together with a Roman bone pin, some medieval pottery, &c., at the back of Mr Pryor's house in Petty Cury. Mr Lewis remarked that the lamp was in shape not unlike some of those Kabyle lamps, with which the imitations in Vallauris ware have made us familiar. Mr T. H. Naylor sent for exhibition a piece of a medieval book-clasp of brass, which appears to have been richly gilt. It bears the engraved figure of the Virgin, having a lily above her head, distorted so as almost to form a cross. The clasp was found during the progress of excavations in the road leading to Chesterton Church. For want of time Mr King's Memoir on two early Christian gems was taken as read. (See Communications, Vol. V. No. I.) November 29, 1880. Professor Hughes, F.S.A., President, in the chair. The following new Members were elected: Rev. J. W. E. Conybeare, M.A., Barrington Vicarage. V. E. H. Corbett, Esq., Trinity College. Percy Gardner, Esq., M.A., Christ's College, Disney Professor of Archaeology. Rev. J. J. R. Leigh Knipe, M.A., St George's Rectory, Hatley. Rev. J. C. Lambert, M.A., Downing College. J. C. Priestley, Esq., Pembroke College. W. F. White Cooper, Esq., Pembroke College. Professor Hughes (after a short review of the literature of the subject) gave the result of some enquiries and excavations that he had made along the line of Wat's and Offa's Dykes, with a view to comparing them with the somewhat similar earth-works in East Anglia known as Devil's Ditch, Balsham Dyke, and Fleam Dyke. First he observed that the Western dykes did not run along the most easily defended positions or those most exposed to attack, but in a nearly straight line, often obliquely down the slope of one side of the valley and obliquely up the other, in a manner that rendered it extremely improbable that they were meant for defence, as in one part they were commanded from the West and in the other from the East. Again, the fosse was often omitted, where the material for constructing the dyke could be obtained as easily by cutting away the hill top up to the vallum. Thinking that the fosse might have been filled up, he had excavated in several places above Brymbo Hall with the kind assistance lent him by Mr Osborne Morgan, but he had been unable to find that any fosse had ever existed along that part of the dyke. On the low ground there was frequently a fosse on the West side and the steeper slope of the vallum was, as far as he had observed, always on that side. The only objects that he learnt had been found in the earth of the vallum were a Roman altar and some Roman coins and pottery. The explanation then offered of their occurrence in the dyke was that they had been thrown up in Saxon times with the earth from a ruined Roman residence which lay in the line of the dyke. But these remains were now scattered and most of them lost, and the record as to their mode of occurrence imperfect. He thought the evidence relating to the age and purpose of the dykes on the borders of Wales as well as of those in East Anglia was very scanty and unsatisfactory, and called for more careful search and observation whenever opportunities were afforded. Professor C. C. Babington expressed his agreement with Professor Hughes in most of what he had said. He thought that the ditches were not meant for a defended line, but rather as a means of delaying the retreat of marauding parties from a hostile tribe. The steep slopes and depth would much delay them in driving off a spoil of cattle. The highest side and the bank would be towards the tribe most desirous of stopping these raids, and therefore they were the makers of the ditch. The ditches in Cambridgeshire did this for the people of East Anglia against the Mercians. The ditch at Pampisford is different, as it has a bank on each side it may be pre- Roman, the others post-Roman. Mr Swann Hurrell remarked upon the existence of Offa's Bridge near Foxton and Offa's Brook, which is still the boundary between Foxton and Harston parishes. Mr Lewis called attention to the fact that a street in Bedford, which in the last century bore the appropriate name of Offal Lane, is now known as Offa's Lane; local pride has ever had a tendency to corruption of this kind, which should teach us to beware of too hasty identification. The Rev. Dr Hooppell exhibited several articles of great interest found on a fenny piece of land in the parish of Littleport in this county. One was a curved knife of flint, about six inches long, exceedingly perfect, wanting only the handle. It was stated that these knives are of rare occurrence in England, only one, found in Britain, being in the British Museum, and a few in the hands of private collectors. They are found somewhat more frequently in Denmark. Another object was a stone mace, or club, for use in warfare. It is a thick disc of hard stone, of circular form, with a sharp edge all round, and a hole drilled through the centre, for the insertion of a stout oaken, or other hard wood, staff. It must evidently have been a most formidable weapon. Such weapons are manufactured and used at the present day by the savages of New Guinea. Specimens have been found in Denmark, but none in all respects like the one exhibited are known to have been found hitherto in England. Another object shown was a bronze celt of fine workmanship and early type. An object found at the same place, and which may have been used as a sling stone, turned out (as was remarked by Mr A. C. Haddon) to be the worn internal cast of a chamber of a Neocomian ammonite. Another object shown was a medieval jug, pierced at the bottom with four holes, the use of which was the subject of much speculation. Dr Hooppell suggested that the holes were made at a date subsequent to the original manufacture of the jug, and that they were intended to adapt it to use as a water sprinkler. Along with these articles was shown a stone-grinder from the Roman station of Vinovium, which was a British town before it was captured and occupied by the Romans, near Bishop Auckland in the county of Durham. This implement is a large pebble about four inches long and three inches thick, hollowed into a deep channel in which the original possessors ground pointed implements of stone, horn, or bone. The flutings caused by repeated use were very visible on the sides and at the bottom of the channel. Mr Pigot exhibited three sepulchral urns, on which he commented as follows: "These three urns, together with a smaller one, which I have left at home, were found about three years ago on the eastern side of the old West River, in the parish of Wicken, opposite to Dimock's Cote in the parish of Stretham. A parishioner of mine brought one into my village, which he was recommended to show me, and through him I was led to visit the coprolite diggings, where it and others were discovered. Many such urns were found, but most of them were broken, when the earth was thrown down in search of coprolites. They were found, I believe, at various levels, and most of them contained calcined bones. These the workmen insisted on turning out of the urns, in the hope of finding something more valuable. In one of the urns a smaller vessel was placed in the mouth and an iron ring in it. In another a somewhat larger one was found. At the same spot were found the two glass bottles, one very perfect; the other, though broken, capable of being recognised, as all the parts are in existence. The latter is of a rather larger size than usual. |