EXCAVATIONS AT MAUMBURY RINGS. 223 



depth 5ft.; a small piece apparently of jasper*; several iron nails, 

 found below a depth of 4ft. ; and a considerable quantity of 

 Roman and Romano-British potter}-, including red Samian ware, 

 some of which was found on the floor or close to it ; also several 

 pieces of red tile, from 3ft. to the bottom. 



Perhaps the most interesting object found in this excavation 

 was a bronze seal-box, the hinge remaining, the lid missing, 

 found at a depth of 5'sft. (figured on p. 229, No. 77). The 

 receptacle, or box, for the wax is circular, with a little slot, or 

 notch, for the passage of a string on each side ; the bottom of 

 the box is perforated with three round holes for attachment. 

 Until recently these objects were supposed to be vinaigrettes, but 

 their precise use is illustrated in the British Museum, f Similar 

 boxes were found at Hod Hill, and one is known from Portland. 



III. GROUP OF STONES, CUTTING XII. 

 (See Illustration on p. 225 and position in Plate /.) 



This mutilated heap of slabs of Purbeck limestone was similar 

 to the group of stones discovered on the P^. side of the entrance 

 in 1908. Their centres were 9'sft. apart. That found this year 

 was about 5'5ft. from the W. wall, whereas the other was gft. 

 from the E. wall, the intervening space being occupied by a 

 trench, in which were post-holes, and another trench parallel to 

 it. 



*Mr. A. J. Jukes-Browne, oT.G.S., has seen this fragment and writes that "it 

 is probably a bit of the juxptdcoitx chert which occurs in the Selbornian Sands of 

 the Haldon Hills the so-called 'Upper Greensaiid.' I know of no other red 

 jasper either in Dorset, Devon, or Somerset ; but the opaque red chert which is 

 found on the N. side of Great Haldoii is very like it. Your pebble may have 

 travelled into Dorset during early Eocene times down a river valley, for Eocene 

 gravels containing Devonshire rocks do occur near Dorchester." 



Dr. H. Colley March. F.S.A., writes: "Red jasper occurs in the gravels of 

 Blackdown, Dorset. I possess several cuboidal pieces of this kind of jasper, more 

 than l^in. across the surfaces, that I found there." 



t " Guide to Greek and Roman Life," Brit. Mus., 1908, pp. 167-8. 



