Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 8.djvu/409

 ^iJiocetbings at t|^£ itlcctlngs of tf)c l^icbaEologital rustitutf. June 6, 1851. The Eon. Richard Neville, Vice-President, in the Chair. Mr. Birch made some observations in reference to certain intcrcstinir relics of Roman times, of very rare occurrence, namely, moulds and stamps of terra cotta, used in tlie fabrication of fictile wares, those especially usually designated as " Samian." Tic produced three examples from the collections of Mr. B. Hertz, one of them being a portion of a stamp fur impressing the mould for ware of that kind, bearing the potter's mark, — OFFI . LinERi . . . : it is a small naked figure, found at Mayence. Also part of a mould for a Samian dish, described as found at Rlieinzabcrn, in Alsatia. On another (see cut) appears a circular buckler, inscribed. Mr. IJirch remarked that a few specimens of this descrij)tion may be seen in the Musce Ccramique at Sevres ; they are figured by M. Brongniart in his Traitc, pi. xxx. They comprise a stamp marked — avstki. of. with other fragments found at Lezoux, in Auvergne ; one for impressing the figure of a boar, found at Rheinzaltern ; and a fragment discovered at Arezzo. Some curious portions of moulds for " Samian," found at St. Nicholas, near Nancy, may be seen figured in the " Antiquites Gauloiscs et Romaines," by Grivaud de la Vincelle, pi. xvii. No relic of this nature has hitherto been noticed, as discovered in England The President of Trinity College communicated the following account of recent discoveries of Roman remains in Oxfordshire, near the residence of Lady Croke ; and, by her kind permission, he laid before the meeting fragments of Roman wares there disinterred, comprising a remarkable variety of fictile fabrication, from the finest " Samian " to the coarsest productions of the Romano-British potteries. The particulars of the late examinations were thus stated : — " At Ilorton, Oxfordshire, on the borders of Buckinghamshire, is a largo tract of wood-land, between one hundred and two hundred acres in extent, now known by the name of Studley New Wood, and forn)erly by that <.f Horton Wood. In July, 1839, the late Sir Alexander Croke, the proprietor, in causing a trench to be made, in order to drain a particular part of it, found a quantity of stones, and, on digging deeper, a pitched pathway was found, and some fragments of pottery were turned up. The result, on making further search, was that many pieces of Roman ware, and some embossed ' Samian,' of great beauty, were discovered. The excavation was not then continued ; and, in consequence of the growth of the under- wood, it had never been renewed until March last, when, by the kind permission of Lady Croke, further search having been made, a great quantity of pottery of various patterns, some glass, portions of pudding- stone for querns, and other relics, all of Roman date, have been brought to light, indicating either the site of a Roman villa, or that the spot had boon in some other manner occupied by the Romans. The precise site may be