By the Rev. C. Soames. 87* 



uninscribed copper coin, with a bird on one side and on the other an 

 unknown figure or ornament; it is the only known specimen of its 

 kind, and has not yet been figured in print. There were three silver 

 uninscribed coins found about the same time, one of which may be 

 seen in the Museum. Not far, however, from Cunetium, at the top 

 of the Salisbury Hill, some twenty-three years ago, there occurred 

 a famous find of British coins, of which I believe no record has ever 

 yet been made by the Wiltshire Archaeological Society. 



Some men digging clay for a brick-field, then worked on the 

 Sarum Road, came upon a pot which contained a considerable num- 

 ber of coins, almost all British ; it is said one Roman coin of Tiberius 

 was amongst them, which has been taken as giving a clue to their 

 date. Two of them came into my possession, but it was years 

 before I knew what they were. Most of them fell into the hands 

 of the boys of Marlborough College, and unfortunately there was 

 no Museum, as there is now, at the College, to which boys would 

 consider it a point of honour to bring any new-found coin, and no 

 indefatigable Mr. Preston ready to secure every rare treasure that is 

 turned up ; so they were most of them dispersed, falling into the 

 hands of people who knew nothing of their value. In fact it was 

 not till the following year that Mr. John Evans, the accomplished 

 antiquarian and President of the Numismatical Society, discovered 

 on a gold coin, found at Farley Heath, in Surrey, the name of the 

 British prince which was inscribed on several of the Savernake 

 Forest coins. The type was known in print in Stukeley's time, but 

 Mr. Evans was the first to read it correctly as Epatiecus — the name 

 only occurs on his coins, and from them it has been discovered that 

 he was a son of Tasciovanus, a king who ruled over a considerable 

 portion of South England, a brother of Cuuobeline, the Cymbeline 

 of Shakespeare. He appears to have lived about 15 B.C., and to 

 have had his head quarters at Verulanium. The coins of Epatiecus 

 are very small silver, and have only been found in West Surrey and 

 East Wilts. Two of those found at Savernake Forest are now in 

 the British Museum, and two in Mr. Evans' collection : they have 

 the head and name of Epatiecus on one side, and on the other an 

 eagle with outspread wings holding a snake in its talons. With 



