from this source a species of negative proof in favour of the conjecture I have hazarded respecting their age. I do not wish, however, to theorise on the subject, as no good end could be gained by doing so at present, since few dwellings of the peculiar type in question have as yet been examined with any degree of attention; still, without venturing to anticipate the results of future observations, thus much I believe may be safely predicated, in harmony with archaeological data and the statements of the earliest authors, who afford us a glimpse of the internal condition of our country, that the " Picts'-houses," though they may not have been reared by aboriginal workers in stone, had at all events served their day, and probably passed into disuse, ere the legions of Rome invaded the Caledonian tribes. NOTE REGARDING ANIMAL REMAINS FOUND IN THE "PICTS'-HOUSE." We are indebted to the constant kindness of Mr. Quekett for the following particulars. Amongst the bones submitted to him, in accordance with Mr. Rhind's wish, a few human remains were found,-the upper end of a tibia and portion of the parietal bones of the cranium, of an adult; also molar teeth of a young subject. Bones, teeth, &c., of horses appeared in great number; the cannon-bones chopped and broken up as if for extracting the marrow; and doubtless this animal had supplied a large share of the food to the occupants of the dwelling. The species appeared to have been small, larger however than the Shetland pony: there were remains of a horse of much greater size. Numerous horns and remains of large deer occurred (not the red deer), also of roe-buck, ox, sheep of small size, goats, pigs, tusks of boars, &c. The occurrence of many remains of dogs deserves notice; some indicating a large species, larger than a pointer, others being of smaller dogs. There were a few portions of bones of the whale, and a radius of the seal, probably the Phoca vitulina. The occurrence of horncones with other remains of the Bos longifrons, is a fact of interest showing the existence of that extinct species when these dwellings were inhabited. Mr. Quekett states that remains of this species, found in another" Picts'house," were recently submitted to him by Dr. Wilson. Lastly, the list comprises the jaw of the water-rat, and bones of a bird, probably of the size of the heron or swan. Mr. Quekett has found difficulty in the endeavour to identify the kind of wood, of which a fragment was found in the well; it is not (as shown by the microscope) of pine, oak, beech, or any of our common woods used in building. He believes it to be hazel. It is proposed to form a collection, in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, specially illustrative of the primeval races, the animals used for food, &c. Mr. Rhind has kindly presented a selection from the remains here noticed; and those antiquaries who excavate sites of early occupation should bear in mind the advantages accruing to the Archaeologist from such a collection, and they will be induced, as we hope, to contribute towards its formation. VOL. X. I I REMARKS ON ROMAN POTTERY, CHIEFLY DISCOVERED IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND ESSEX. PRESERVED IN THE MUSEUM AT AUDLEY END. BY THE HON. RICHARD C. NEVILLE, F.S.A. THE fine embossed and glazed red pottery, more familiarly known as "Samian ware, is of such universal occurrence on sites occupied by the Romans, throughout Great Britain, as also in France, Germany, and other parts of Europe, that it has become intimately associated in the minds of antiquaries with the vestigia of that people. Several years' experience, during my excavations in different parts of Cambridgeshire and Essex, have afforded me ample opportunity of observing the extensive distribution of this sort of ware under different circumstances. Some of these, with a resumé of the various other kinds of fictilia, which have come under my notice, may be found useful in facilitating comparison with remains of a similar character from other localities. The "Samian' ware, from the superiority of its manu facture, and the value set upon it by its ancient possessors, is fairly entitled to precedence; but my own experience tends to establish for it a more legitimate claim to priority, as being of higher antiquity. I have invariably found that wherever it appears in abundance, as in the vicinity of Ickleton and Chesterford, and on the borders of Cambridgeshire and Essex, the accompanying coins, fibulæ, and other relics, are of earlier date and better workmanship, and, to use an expression of my labourers, everything is "more regular Roman;" they term it, in consequence, significantly, "the best" ware. The above-mentioned localities, extensively occupied in the time of the Romans, teem with every description of their earthenware, but they are more especially rich in fragments of plain dishes and embossed bowls of this finer material. They are the only sites, indeed, which I have examined, with the exception, perhaps, of Bartlow and Hadstock, producing relics, nine-tenths of which are Roman ; but at the two latter places the broken portions of “Samian ware, though of good character, are far from abundant. On every other site which I have examined, at Ashdon, Arkesden, Debden, Heydon, Langley, Saffron Walden, and Wenden, in Essex, Abington, Fleam Dyke, Hildersham, Linton, and Wilbraham, in Cambridgeshire, specimens of both plain and ornamental pottery of this sort have been occasionally turned up; but where the surrounding remains were rudest, as in Romano-British tumuli and sites of comparatively later occupation, these were of much rarer occurrence. A curious but most satisfactory evidence of the value set upon this pottery by the Romans, is furnished by the discovery of portions of broken vessels which had been formerly mended with rivets of lead; these have occurred in two instances, to my knowledge, at Chesterford, and almost induce one to imagine that this ware could not have been plentiful, even in the early time of its fabrication. Had it been abundantly supplied, the Romans would never have bestowed so much pains in repairing the fractures. The fact proves, at least, that they did value it, and the universality of its dispersion in after ages shows that it was equally appreciated by their successors. But this does not establish that there was a continued manufacture, at least available to this country. 1 See the Memoir on Roman remains at Ickleton and Chesterford, discovered by the Hon. R. C. Neville, Archæol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 14. Whatever may have been the cause, whether communication with the more civilised districts ceased entirely, or, as is most probable, the departure of the Roman legions from this island cut off communication with the sources whence the supplies of this ware were derived, it certainly seems to have become more scarce, as far as I have had an opportunity of judging. It is clear that had there been a constant supply at hand, a material, so highly prized, would be found more thickly interpersed with the innumerable débris of coarse pottery with which ancient stations are strewed. Upon spots which have been uninterruptedly tenanted by successive races since the first Roman settlement, a vast amount of all kinds of fictilia must naturally have accumulated, and it is not surprising if the "Samian" ware in such places, though comparatively plentiful, bears the same proportion to the ruder pottery, that the latter does to the former, at Chesterford and other sites occupied more particularly by the Romans. The paste of the "Samian" is for the most part finer and harder than that of any common pottery; the superiority of manufacture, therefore, will alone be sufficient to account for its durability and its continuance through the RomanoBritish period, even as late as the cemeteries of the AngloSaxons. Portions of this material occurred in tumuli, opened by myself in 1847, near Triplow, and at Abington, Cambridgeshire, in 1848, which were decidedly of the former class; as well as in the burying-grounds at Little Wilbraham, in 1851, and Linton, in the same county, in the spring of the present year. In the barrows near Triplow, traces of "Samian" were found in the shape of several small circular tesseræ, cut out of a flat dish of the finest plain ware; in the other places, fragments of thick embossed bowls were discovered, especially among the Saxon graves. That it should have appeared in the latter at all, and yet in such limited quantity, furnishes one of the strongest arguments against the existence of any manufactory of this pottery within reach, in later times, since the sepulchres of the Saxon period, so lavishly supplied with ornaments of a superior description, abound also in rude fictilia, which present a striking contrast to the richness of the deposits they accompany. Though rude, they were, doubtless, of the best wares then procurable. The "Samian" ware discovered upon the Chesterford station very nearly resembles that obtained from other Roman sites, in the close grain, the forms, and the general features of the embossed ornament. This uniformity seems to be universally the case in Great Britain, as well as on the continent, and may be considered as an additional evidence of its wholesale importation into this country. As compared with the finest specimens from London, those which I have discovered, are, perhaps, less thick, and the relief of the figures not so high. In the plain ware I have observed no difference, the forms in the examples of this description are confined to basins, and flat dishes with and without turned-over edges, while those that are embossed appear always in the form of circular bowls. Both varieties have almost invariably the name of the potter stamped upon the bottoms of the former, and the sides of the latter, between the rim and the pattern. This peculiarity is noticed at Aldborough, in the Reliquiæ Isurianæ." The designs upon their surface comprehend an immense variety of subjects. They are usually 66 Samian Bowl, in the Hon. Richard Neville's Museum, found at Hadstock. surmounted with the festoon and tassel, or scroll border, below which, hunting scenes, gods, and goddesses, cupids, or genii, combats of men with each other and with beasts, animals, birds, dolphins, fruit, and flowers are delineated with wonderful spirit and precision. These are frequently subdivided into compartments, or contained in beaded medallions. Of subjects, the chase is certainly the favourite, but I must not omit to add to those I have enumerated, a very |