Antiquities discovered in East Lothian. 311 
painted on the vases; but near the supposed workshop 
above alluded to, consequently in the Roman camp near 
Niederbiber, one leayue from Neuwied, there was found 
the head of a small stone statue, which M. Hoffman thinks 
belonged to a Genius which he had formerly discovered. 
Upon digging tolerably deep, a very solid foundation was 
discovered of bricks and lime. M, Hoffman thiaks that 
this was a bath, and the walls show that it was a large one. 
It is some distance from the Decuman yate of the camp. 
There are also outside the camp, further off and nearer Gaul, 
the ruins of a very large building where the head of a 
Statue was found of good workmanship: it is a mixture 
of lime, pounded bricks, and coarse sand. The mass has 
been fused, and is of course very solid. It would seem 
therefore that the Romans were acquainted with the art of 
making the same use of lime that we do of gypsum. 
To conclude: they were also acquainted with this last sub- 
stance, and according to Pliny and Columella made fruits 
and figures of it. In the place in question there was no 
gypsum ; at least there are no appearances of it in any of 
the works near Niederbiber. 
East Lothian, October 12, 1813. . 
Last week, on trenching with the plough a field possessed 
by William Hunter, Esq. at the Knows, and belonging to 
the Earl of Haddington, a number of stone coffins were 
uncovered. These are ranged in rows from south to north, 
with the heads to the west; and, as far as examined, co- 
ver an extent of ground measuring in length fifty-four 
yards, and in breadth twenty-six. They are computed to 
exceed 500 in number. Each coffin lies about two or three 
inches from the side of the other, with the heads in exact 
lines, and about two or three feet from each row, They are 
formed of flat stones neatly joined together on the sides, 
and in the exact form of our present coffins, and covered 
on the top with flag stones; some of them laid with stones 
in the bottom, others not. It appears the stones have been 
brought from the adjoining sea-shore. What were unco- 
vered were found full of sea-sand, which being carefully re- 
moved, a human skeleton was discovered lying entire from 
head to foot. The bones, excepting the sculls, on being 
taken out, crumbied to dust ; but the teeth were in com- 
plete preservation, not one wanting, and appeared to have 
belonged to persons dying in the prime of life. The coffins 
appear to have been formed exactly to the length of the dif- 
U4 ferent 
