90 Bronze Ho/nan Sfamp in ])osscsswn of ]V. Story Maskc/i/ne, Esq. 



in the Roman cross-bow, and that the bone catch may have revolved 

 on one of the transverse bars. All these iron articles are much 

 corroded. 



Half of a pair of plain bronze tweezers 2fin. long — a plain piece 

 of thin bronze which has been used as a clamp for some rectangular 

 object, possibly the cross-bow stock — and a whetstone of hard white 

 stone about Sia. in length, complete the list of objects found. 



BEONZE EOMAN STAMP IN THE POSSESSION OF 

 N. STORY MASKELYNE, ESQ., F.R.S. 



The only record of the origin of this interesting object, figured 

 No. 7. on the accompanying plate, is that it was found many years 

 ago, " in a field at Broad Hinton." It is here figured full size — 

 1 7§-in. long and -j^in. wide. The inscription is given as it appears 

 in the impression made by the stamp — on the stamp itself the 

 lettering is of course reversed. The letters stand up in liigh relief 

 on the stamp, making a deep impression on the wax. Mr. Haver- 

 field, the weU-known authority on Roman inscriptions, to whom 

 an impression was sent, wi-ites : — " I cannot say anything definite 

 as to use or date. The Roman metal stamps were used to stamp 

 almost all impressible substances {e.g., bread in one instance at 

 Pompeii) ; the pottery stamps are, however, usually quite different. 

 The names Servius Sulpieius suggest for a date the end of the first 

 centmy A.D. {of. the Emperor Gralba), biit this does not go for 

 much. Abascantus — a Greek name — {i.e., a Oreek freedman 

 trading here) is common." The name Abascantus occurs on the 

 pig of lead discovered on Matlock Moor in 1894, and described in 

 The Antiquary, May, 1894. 



The stamp is of bronze, and has attached to the back a portion 

 of a ring, evidently meant to put the finger through when it was 

 in use. It was noticed in The Antiquary for October, 1894, p. 138, 

 but has not other-^vise been published or described. A wax im- 

 pression has been placed in the Society's Museum. 



E. H. GrODDARD. 



