ROMAN OCCUPATION OF WAkfcHAM. 155 



Whilst examining his collection with him on December 2, 1898, 

 Mr. Drew pointed out some fragments of Roman pottery which 

 he himself had picked up in the cemetery and when walking 

 around the ramparts. He also drew my attention to some 

 Roman beads found on the site of All Saints' Church, in North 

 Street, in May, 1896. And to a Roman bead of exquisite blue 

 glass found deep in the clay at Norden. There is also in that 

 collection a fine specimen of Saxon pottery found deep in the 

 cemetery. This large fragment, which is highly ornamented, 

 and bears a perfect handle, was shown with the other relics at 

 the reading of this paper. * 



A necessary article in the Roman kitchen was the quern, or 

 handmill, for grinding corn; frequently met with on Roman 

 sites. A complete specimen of two stones has been found in 

 Wareham. The top stone was discovered at a depth of nine feet 

 in the cemetery in 1889 ; the lower stone was found built into 

 the wall of a house which was demolished several years later. 



During some excavations in August, 1890, in the cemetery, at 

 a depth of 6 feet, an old dry well, with a large flat stone covering 

 the top, was discovered. It was in the soil adjoining this 

 well that so many of the Roman relics were fouud. Not only 

 Roman, but coins and other relics of the British, Saxon, and 

 Norman periods have been discovered in the same locality. 



During the visit of the Dorset Field Club to Wareham in 

 June, 1891, some fragments of Roman pottery were picked up 

 by the members in their walk around the ramparts. How, it 

 may be asked, is this to be accounted for ? Because when 

 excavations are made, the fragments of pottery are sometimes 

 carried away with the loads of earth and scattered broadcast. 

 \Vhilst some excavations were being made by the base of the 

 bastion at the north entrance to Wareham, by the bridge, in 1895, 

 at a depth of three feet, a large bed of oyster shells was un- 

 earthed a considerable quantity, tightly pressed together, and 



* NOTE. With Mr. Drew's collection there is a fine boar's tusk, discovered at 

 some depth in the cemetery. 



