ROMAN VILLA AT HARPHAM, EAST YORKS. 



177 



of a second coat of plaster and colouring having been placed 

 upon pre-existing plaster work. The original plaster is about 

 2\ inches in thickness in this specimen, and has been coloured 

 green, yellow, and white. Upon this a second coat of plaster 

 has been placed, about half-an-inch in thickness, the colouring 

 being brown, drab, and white. Other examples were found 

 which had been scored by a toothed instrument, for the 

 reception of the second coat of plaster. The plaster is largely 



:^^: 



made of the fine, white, rounded chalky gravel, which might 

 be obtained in the neighbourhood. Its disintegration in 

 many places had left quite a large deposit of this gravel, 

 which could easily be detected in the excavations from its 

 light salmon colour. 



Tesserae. — The various tesserae illustrate in a remarkable 

 manner the durable nature of Roman workmanship. They 

 are frequently broken right through the squares, instead 

 of being divided at the joints. They vary in size from an 



