Page:Roman Manchester (1900) by Charles Roeder.djvu/104

 account for the heterogenous and promiscuous occurrence of these shells, all found mixed up in the same nest.

The brownish-black Roman mortar which I obtained in trench No. 3, when dissolved in water, went into a soft pulp, due to the large admixture of pure vegetable mould. On examining it with the lens, I found in it small bones and a few fragments of land shells. It not only shows that the builders mixed their lime with mould or humus dug out from the close proximity, but it gives also an interesting glimpse into the natural history of the locality at the time the station was erected.

(1) A fragment of green glass, ¼ inch thick, ornamented with projecting pillar ("pillar moulding"). I have another piece of this class, of blue colour, ⅛ inch thick. See also description in The Antiquities of Richborough, Reculver, and Lymne, by C. Roach Smith, 1850, p. 76 (and the drawing). It has been found previously in London