Chap. IV. OF ANCIENT BUILDINGf^. 199 



inches of black mould ; and in a hole dug on 

 the outer side of this wall, where the ground 

 had never before been disturbed, black mould, 

 full of stones, 26 inches in thickness, was 

 found, resting on the undisturbed sub-soil of 

 yellow clay. At a depth of 22 inches from 

 the surface a pig's jaw and a fragment of a 

 tile were found. When the excavations were 

 first made, some large trees grew over the 

 ruins ; and the stump of one has been left 

 directly over a party-wall near the bath room, 

 for the sake of showing the thickness of the 

 superincumbent soil, which was here 38 

 inches. In one small room, which, after 

 being cleared out, had not been roofed over, 

 my sons observed the hole of a worm passing 

 through the rotten concrete, and a living 

 worm was found within the concrete. In 

 another open room worm-castings were seen 

 on the floor, over which some earth had by 

 this means been deposited, and here grass 

 now grew. 



Evading^ Isle of Wight, — A fine Roman 

 villa was discovered here in 1880 ; and by 

 the end of October no less than 18 chambers 

 had been more or less cleared. A coin dated 



