See eee Te, oe 
aa C.C.N.H.S. 
It was a very different period of history to that which is 
specially illustrated at Sudeley that made the interest of the place 
next visited by our Society on its second field day. We have only 
to deal with the part of the day devoted to archaeology and so need 
not describe the beauties of the country we passed through going 
and coming on the fine July day when we visited Chedworth. The 
Gloucestershire Archaeological Section had just completed their 
inspection of the Roman Villa when we arrived, but the Rev. 
W. Bazeley, who is a double Cheltonian both as boy and master, 
kindly took us round and explained the plan of this Villa of the 4th 
century, A.D. The bathing apparatus of the Romans is plainly 
indicated by the remains, some parts of the Hypocausture being in 
very good preservation. Possibly the most interesting part of the 
buildings is the Christian baptistery, for this is the explanation 
given to the Hexagonal tank in one corner of the Villa by those 
who are able best to decide about it. The Museum built in the 
centre of the grounds contain many interesting relics that have been 
dug up in the Villa, though it is hardly as full as the neighbouring 
Museum at Cirencester (Corinium). 
On Friday, October 3rd, Professor Hughes gave a lecture to 
the Society on the subject of cranoges or lake dwellings. He satisfact- 
orily proved to his audience the age of these dwellings, an age which 
makes the brain reel, and then exhibited portions of the wood and 
even some of the fruit of the period! He read a quotation from 
Herodotus about the lake dwellings in Romania and then showed 
that the historian is in this case quite correct on his statements. 
In conclusion we would say that though this Section has 
worked fairly. well in the first year of its existence, more ought now 
to be done. Whatever difficulties or disadvantages may beset the 
other sections, it cannot be denied that Gloucestershire is particu- 
larly well suited for the study of Archaeology. It is not every town 
that can boast in its immediate vicinity Roman Villas as at Birdlip 
and Chedworth, camps such as crown the summit of the Cotswolds, 
historic mansions like Postlip, Dixton, and Southam-de-la-Bere, and 
a country studded with such fine churches as Bishop’s Cleeve, Stoke 
Orchard and Badgworth, to say nothing of Gloucester, Tewkesbury 
and Deerhurst. Yet all these places are within an easy walk from 
Cheltenham, and the Society ought to take shame to itself if it does 
not manage a visit to all of them during the coming year. 
