Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/413

Rh Mr. Thomas Inskip, of Shefford, Beds, communicated an account of Roman remains found a few years since in the vicinity of that town. It appears that for a long time this locality has been productive of vast quantities of interesting objects of art, of the Romano-British epoch, most of which, discovered previous to Mr. Inskip's researches, have been either lost or dispersed. "Roman vaults have been emptied of their contents, vases of the most elegant forms and the finest texture have been doomed to destruction for amusement, and set up as marks for ignorance and stupidity to pelt at. In another direction, I have known a most beautiful and highly ornamented urn with a portrait and an inscription on its sides stand peaceably on the shelf of its discoverer, till being seized with a lit of superstitious terror lest the possession of so heathenish an object might blight his corn or bring a murrain amongst his cattle, he ordered his wife to thrust it upon the dunghill, where it perished." Mr. Inskip's descriptive narrative proceeds as follows:—

"A similar fate inevitably awaited the relics found at Shefford, and in its immediate neighbourhood at Stanford-Bury, had not he who now records their escape been the humble instrument of their preservation. Indeed a number might have been destroyed previous to my becoming acquainted with their existence, the earliest intimation of which arose from a denarius having been carted with gravel from a neighbouring pit, and laid in the public road; it was afterwards picked up and brought to me for sale; this led me to inspect the scene of operation, and to watch and assist in future discoveries. The first objects of gratification were two large dishes of the reputed Samian ware, one of which is ten inches in diameter, radiated in the centre, and having the maker's name crossing it. The other was a beautiful specimen, with horizontal handles, and ornamented with the usual pattern round the edge. The larger dish of the two is doubtless the lanx, as its large size, and the prefix to the maker's name, sufficiently indicates—.

"Some time after, a Roman urn, surrounded by eleven Samian vases, was discovered, most of which were in a perfect state. A great quantity of broken glass also was found here, together with a whitish-coloured bottle of earthen manufacture.

"A fresh supply was subsequently found of terra cotta vases, somewhat larger than an ordinary sized tea-cup, with various names impressed across their centres; also a great quantity of greenish-coloured glass, but too much mutilated to admit of restoration. The bottom of one of these glass vases is round, eight inches in diameter, remarkably thick, and wrought in concentric circles; the neck and mouth are three and a half inches in width; the handle being of much thicker substance is preserved entire, and is exquisitely wrought into the device of a fish's tail.

"At the same time and place was found a brass dish or pan, which one of the labourers, suspecting to contain money, wrenched to pieces in his eagerness to secure it. This was greatly to be regretted, as the form of this vessel was of a high order of taste; but with much patience I have succeeded in restoring it to its primitive shape. On one side is a looped handle, the top of which, representing an open-jawed lion's head, is joined to the upper rim; on the opposite side protrudes a straight handle, terminating with the head of a ram; the bottom is turned in beautiful concentric circles, and has still adhering to its inside (however strange