ROMANO-BRITISH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



that we might expect on an ordinary Romano-British site without 

 indications of wealth or luxury. The coins range from Claudius to 

 Honorius and thus cover the whole Roman period, but so far as can be 

 judged from sadly imperfect lists, only a 

 very small proportion belongs to the first 

 century. 



The occupation of the site was not 

 limited to the walled enclosure. A road 

 of gravel and pebbles laid on limestone 

 rubble was traced in 1878-9 running 

 eastward from the walls, and about 350 

 yards away, on the other side of Chester 

 House, Mr. Baker found in 1878 what he 

 took to be debris of buildings, two wells, and two stone cesspools con- 

 nected by an underground drain with the buildings and with the river.' 

 Still further east, near the Midland Railway embankment, ironstone 

 diggers in 1873 broke into a cemetery of over 300 graves containing skele- 

 tons, three stone coffins and one leaden one; no evidence of date was 

 found in any of them. Among the graves was found also a packet of 

 eight bronze vessels, strainers, saucers, etc., packed one inside the other 

 and all into a bucket which was probably a copper pail edged and 



Fig. 13. Enamelled Fibula found 

 AT Irchester. 



Ic.-.l 



^ 



- ScaJe t - 



H D 



107* 



Fig. 14. Bronze Vessels found at Irchester in 1873. 



mounted with iron (fig. 14). Both graves and vessels have been taken 

 to be Roman, but it seems more likely that both, except the leaden 

 coffin, are early English.' 



Such, briefly sketched, are the Roman remains of Irchester. They 

 have usually been explained as the remains of a fort built about a.d. 48 



' Assoc. Arch. Reports, xv. 53. 



* Ibid. xiii. 88; Franks, Proceedings of the So^. of Antiquaries, vi. 476. The vessels are now at 

 Knuston. For the leaden coffin see C. Roach Smith, Collectanea Antiqua, vii. 192, and pi. xixA. 



183 



