Inscribed Roman Stonks df DuMFRiEssiunE. 115 



*• culiuuii," though without a receptacle for the block. Sir Joini 

 Clerk informs us that, believing a statue of the god Mercury was 

 lying somewhere near the place where he first saw the stone, he 

 caused a search to be made for it, when the body and limbs of a 

 figure of great size were discovered. It appeared to have been 

 broken in pieces, and afterwards repaired by joining the fragments 

 together. Fi-om this he mistakenly inferred that the statue 

 had been shattered in pious indignation by Christians in the reign 

 of Constantine the G-reat, and set up again in that of Julian, the 

 Apostate. There is not a shadow of ground for such a sup- 

 position. The " statue," whatever it was, has not been heard of 

 for a long time. 



5. " From Middleby " (tiir J. Clerk) ; in the Penicuik col- 

 lection till 1857; presented hi that year by Sir George Clerk, 

 Bart., to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland ; now in the 

 National Museum, Edinburgh. 



A small legionary tablet, 41 in. high and 9 in. broad. A 



piece has been broken off from the stone both at the 



LEUio ^Qp ^jjfj g^^ ^Yie bottom. A plain wreath or a torque sur- 



F 1, rounds the number of the legion. Early ni the last 



century Birrens was spoken of as the " Fort of 



Middleby." 



Expanding the letters of the inscription, we have: — Legio VI., 

 V{icfrix), p{ia), f{ide/is), /{ecif), i.e., "The Sixth Legion, (called) 

 the Victorious, loyal and faithful, set this up." 



It is uncertain what purpose these small tablets and certain 

 stones of like dimensions, known among British archaeologists as 

 " centurial," could have served. When found within a station 

 they are supposed by some to have marked the place assigned as 

 quarters to a particular detachment or century. 



G. (Fig. 2.) "Found at the station at Burrens " (Pennant); 

 seen by Pennant at Iloddam Castle in 1772 ; remains there (189G). 



A small altar of neat design, 2 ft. 3| in. high, 1 ft. broad at 

 the base, and 1 ft. 2 in. at the top. It is ornamented at the base 

 and the capital with mouldings of some width, and on the top of 

 the latter are volutes with a bason-shaped projection between them. 

 Its surface is much decayed by exposure. The letters are only 

 fairly legible. 



