THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY & NATURALIST. 



pivot has also been unearthed. The insula which is 

 being dealt with is in proximity to the museum. A 

 house has been excavated at the north-west corner, 

 the museum, in fact, standing on a corner of it. Traces 

 have been found of another large house at the north- 

 east corner. Between the two houses there is a con- 

 siderable area of open ground. The explorers are 

 led to conjecture that in each square there may have 

 been a certain number of houses with much open 

 ground, consisting of courtyards and gardens. From 

 its size and from the remains it is considered that the 

 house excavated was that of one of the wealthier 

 inhabitants of the city. During the excavations, and 

 principally at the instila, a large number of objects of 

 antiquity have been unearthed. These have all been 

 carefully labelled and classified, and occupy shelves 

 in the temporary office. The exploration is being 

 carried out with the sanction and approval of the 

 Duke of Wellington, who owns the site of the city, 

 and with the co-operation of the Duke's agent, Mr. 

 Walter Mousley, and the tenant, Mr. Cooper. His 

 Grace has also promised to give the site of the 

 museum and to contribute towards its erection, while 

 he would assist in the cost of roofing any remains 

 considered of sufficient importance to- keep open. The 

 work is being done from a fund to which the Society 

 of Antiquaries has liberally contributed, and to which 

 donations are still being received. The treasurer of 

 the society (Dr. Edward Freshfield) has set a good 

 example by offering to excavate a complete insula at 

 his own expense. The Times, September i, 1890. 



The Antiquary for September, in some notes on 

 these excavations, states that Messrs. Fox and Hope 

 have also established a number of new facts with 

 regard to the basilica, which had escaped previous 

 explorers. 



The Newbury District Field Club visited Silchester 

 on Tuesday last, and in its report of the excursion, 

 The Newbury Weekly News states that Mr. Walter 

 Money, of Newbury, observed that it had often been 

 to him a puzzle as to what had become of the im- 

 mense quantity of stone which must have been left 

 there when the city was burnt by the Saxons ; and 

 he had come to the conclusion that the site was used 

 for many subsequent centuries as a stone quarry, 

 more particularly in the building of the many Norman 

 churches in the neighbourhood. There was a tra- 

 dition that Reading Abbey was largely built of 

 material from Silchester, and he (Mr. Money) had 

 found Roman bonding bricks in the walls of the 

 churches at Padworth, Sulhamstead, Brimpton and 

 other places in the Kennet valley. In this remark 

 the Rev. J. M. Guilding (of Reading) acquiesced, ob- 

 serving that there were evidences in the stonework 

 of those churches of Roman masonry. 



WEATHER REPORT FOR THE WEEK. 

 From the meteorological register made at the Ordnance 

 Survey Office, Southampton, under the direction of Col. Sir 



Chas. Wilson, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R.S.. R.E. Lat. 50* 

 54' 59" N.; long, i* 24' o" W. ; height above sea, 84 feet. 

 Observers Sergt. T. Chambers, R.E., and Mr. J. T. Cook. 



* Black bulb in vacuo. 



THE HAMPSHIRE INDEPENDENT, September 13, 1890. 



WEATHER REPORT FOR THE WEEK. 



From the meteorological register made at the Ordnance 

 Survey Office, Southampton, under the direction of Col. Sir 

 Chas. Wilson, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.RS., R.E. Lat. 50" 

 54' 50" N. ; long, i" 24' o" W. ; height above sea, 84 feet. 

 Observers Sergt. T. Chambers, R.E., and Mr. J.T. Cook. 



*Black bulb in vacuo. 



