THE KIMHERIDQE COAL IfOMET. 97 



" In theloose soil, near the same spot, a very curious discovery 

 was made, at no great distance from the vessels of shale. Two 

 pairs of bow-shaped fibulae of silver were found. They are of a 

 simple and rather imcommon type ; the four fibulffi exactly simi- 

 lar ; each pair is connected with a silver chain about six inches 

 long. These ornaments are undoubtedly Roman. In fact the 

 locality is replete with remains of that period, with scarcely any 

 admixture of relics of later date. Mr. Neville procures smaller 

 vessels of black Roman ware of the same form as these of shale, 

 (sieve-shaped,) but they are raised on a foot, and only serve to 

 illustrate the occurrence of a form which, at first sight, may 

 appear too ungraceful to have been really of Roman date. 



"The vessels of shale are remarkable as having been turned out 

 of blocks of such large dimensions, whereas, the vases found at 

 Warden, in Bedfordshire, ( see pi. xii,) were formed of several 

 pieces, rabeted together. In the centre, on the bottom of each 

 vessel, there is a raised flat boss, left by the turner, and sug- 

 gesting, at first view, a striking similarity to a piece of * Coal 

 Money.' The underside of the bottom of each of these vessels, 

 presents concentric rings, in pretty high relief, the intention of 

 which is uncertain: they may have answered no special purpose, 

 unless possibly to strengthen the bottom, without rendering it 

 unnecessarily heavy." 



For representations of the vase and fibulae, Mr. Way refers to 

 vol. xiv, of the Archaeological Journal. In the quarterly num- 

 ber of which for the autumn of 1856, is a notice of armiUae said 

 to be of Kimmeridge Coal, found in Ireland. 



Mr. Way also informs me that in the Museum at Boulogne, 

 amongst the Roman reliques found there in abundance is a co- 

 vered Box of about four and a half inches in diameter, which he 

 believes to be made of Kimmeridge Coal, from the exact identity 

 of material with those found by Mr. Neville, and from the 

 circumstance of that peculiar shale being unknown as occurring 

 elsewhere. And amongst a fine collection af amulets of jet, he 

 noticed two of shale. He observes, that nothing is more proba- 

 ble than that the Kimmeridge products should have found their 

 way over to the Roman Settlements in France. 



JOHN H. AUSTEN, 



