Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/276

194 ID-fc PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OP From Orwell, Cambridgeshire. — A verj' fine incised cross. By Mr. Rohde Hawkins. — A covered cup of elegant workmanslilp, stated to have been found, with a paten and two enamels, in a stone coffin at Hill Court, near Thornbury, Gloucestershire. There are some ancient buildings, connected with the church at that place, described as cloisters ; over these was a chamber, the wall of which adjoining to the church falling into decay was taken down, and in the centre of it was discovei'ed a large stone coffin, containing a skeleton, which quickly mouldered to dust, and the ancient relics above mentioned. St. Augustine's Abbey, at Bristol, had possessions in the parish of Hill, and the building now known as Hill Court is tradi- tionally regarded as having been a monastic establishment. The cup had been described as a chalice, but its form and decorations appeared to indicate a secular intention. Sir James Ramsay, Bart, presented to the Institute a facsimile of gilt metal, representing a beautiful gold armilla, recently discovered in the Moor of Rannock, Perthshire, and now in the possession of Lady Menzies. It is of the class of tore-ornaments, and bears much resemblance to the gold armlets found at Largo (Archaeol. Journal, vol. vi., p. 53) ; but the metal has more solidity, and the spiral ribbon has fewer involutions, and is somewhat wider, measuring at the broadest part rather more than half an inch. The spiral diminishes in width towards the extremities, and they terminate in blunted hooks, as in the specimens above mentioned, forming the fastening. This ornament is too large for the wrist, and may have been worn over the dress, or upon the upper joint of the arm. Mr. Way took occasion to call attention to the prejudice which must attend the maintenance of the existing law of treasure-trove. The society would learn with regret, that in consequence of the liberal permission of Mrs. Durham, of Largo House, that the precious relics, discovered many years since, near her residence in Fifeshire, should be brought to London, through the kindness of Mr. Dundas of Arniston, for exhibition at the meetings of the Institute, a claim had been made by the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, requiring that the treasure should be ceded to the crown. A discussion ensued, in wdiich several members present signified their con- viction that objects of the greatest value, in prosecuting the research into National Antiquities, must constantly be condemned to the crucible by the finders, or never brought forward for the purposes of Science, if this feudal right were enforced. A more liberal system iiad been adopted in the states of Denmark, with the most advantageous results ; and the peasants con- stantly brought precious objects which they had discovered, and by which the Royal Museum of Antiquities had been recently much enriched, the finder being in all cases assured of receiving a fair price for the treasure which had fallen in his way. The feeling of th.e meeting was strongly expressed in favour of a Requi- sition, addressed with the utmost respect and consideration, that the law of treasure-trove might in some manner be so modified, as to obviate the serious obstacle which it now presents to the extension of Archaeological investigations. By Sir Jonx Boileau, Bart. — A beautiful little specimen of Greek fictile manufacture, a miniature vase or nngucntary, with two handles, like an amphora, the lower part being precisely in the form and of the natural size of an almond, stated to have been one of the symbols of the Island of ^igina, where this relic was found in a tomb, by E. J. Dawkins, Esq.,