ROMANO-BRITISH LEICESTERSHIRE 



The next most important group of remains discovered was at St. Martin's 

 Church. In 1 86 1, while excavations were being made for the new north 

 transept, close to the fence dividing the churchyard from Townhall Lane a 

 sleeper wall of rubble covered on the top with dressed stone was found, upon 

 which stood the bases of two massive Doric columns each about 2 ft. in 

 diameter. It has been suggested that these columns, which are now in the 

 Leicester Museum (Nos. 13, 14), formed part of a colonnade, which, judging 

 from their size and from the space intervening between them about i o ft. 

 would be of considerable length. The earth inside the wall contained 

 coins, numerous fragments of pottery, and the bones of birds and animals. 

 Mr. Fox conjectures that the columns 

 are of the time of Constantine, and were 

 possibly a portion of a temple. 28 



In 1773 about a foot of pavement 

 was discovered under the south aisle 

 of St. Martin's Church, and in 1784 

 ' several scuttlesful ' of bones, horns, and 

 jaw-bones of cattle were found under 

 the tower 5 ft. from the surface, and 

 nearly a foot in thickness, with an 

 appearance of a lateral continuation. 

 A few yards to the south of these, a foot 

 from the surface, a vast quantity of very 

 large pebbles, wedged or heaped to- 

 gether without mortar, were discovered. 

 Foundations well set in mortar have also 

 been seen by the sexton when opening 

 graves within the precincts of the 

 church. 89 



An arched cellar under an old house 

 in Townhall Lane was discovered in 

 1845 which was supposed to be Roman, 

 but it is more likely to have been later 

 work in which Roman material was 

 used. 30 In 1902, opposite St. Martin's 

 Church, 14 ft. below the surface, two 

 pieces of tesselated pavement were dis- 

 covered, which were unfortunately de- 

 stroyed. The larger was 3 ft. by 4 ft. 

 in size, the pattern being worked out in 

 white, red, and blue tesserae. It resembled a pavement found at the corner 

 of High Street and High Cross Street in igoi. 31 In the Leicester Museum 

 (No. AA.) is a portion of a small figure in a niche which came from this 

 street. Only the head and the arm and hand holding a spear are preserved. 



CHMHCCL. 



Seal* of fttr. 

 o 10 to 30 



PLAN SHOWING ROMAN WALLS UNDER THE NEW 

 TOWER OF ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, LEICESTER 



32 



16 Arch. Journ. i, 39O,xlvi, 59 ; Assoc. Arch. Sue. vi, 274 ; Journ. Brit. Arch. Assoc. xix, 1 13-14 ; ibid, 

 (new ser.), vii, 159. To demonstrate the similarity of the mouldings with those of the time of Constantine, 

 Mr. Fox shows a section of a base of a pier in the Basilica of Constantine at Rome, which is reproduced 

 on the accompanying plate. 



" Bickerstafte in Nichols, Hist. Leic. i, 8, 12. 



30 Arch. Journ. i, 390. " Mr. Freer, Assoc. Arch. Soc. xxvi, 462. s> Guide to Leic. Mus.; Fox, op. cit. 



189 



