230 ROMAN VILLAS DISCOVERED IN DORSET. 



have introduced the Arch into Britain, and we see no reason 

 to doubt, 2Mce Mr. Brocklebank (D.F.C., Vol. 29), that the 

 bridge at Preston is Roman ; and if Roman, it would come 

 within the scope of our paper, as Preston is one of the sites 

 which has furnished a tesselated pavement, so that it may be 

 regarded as an adjunct to a Roman villa. 



Then, a people who could produce surgical and other 

 instruments such as Avere found in the ruins of Pompeii, and 

 are now to be seen in the Naples Museum, had much to teach 

 the Briton in the manufacture of tools. Already the Briton 

 was advanced beyond the age when he had nothing but his 

 flint implements with which to fashion his dug-outs, and make 

 his spear and arrow heads. He was beginning to learn the 

 use of metal, but a great impetus would be given by the 

 advent of the foreigner. He had learned the art of Metallurgy 

 even in pre-Roman times, as we know from the crucibles that 

 have been found in Glastonbury. He had learned to forge 

 his spear-heads and axes and implements of agriculture ; but 

 from Rome it seems certain that he learnt coinage. 



In Caesar's time his money consisted of cumbersome bars 

 of iron of a definite weight, and slightly varying in shape ; 

 specimens of these may be seen to-day m the British Museum. 

 And here, on the adjacent wall, is hung a case containing 

 casts of British coins preserved in the Museum. But first 

 there is a cast of a gold " Philip II. of Macedon." The object 

 of placing these in juxta-position is to show the genesis of 

 British coinage. In the Guide to the Antiquities of the Early 

 Iron Age a plate is given of these early British coins, and one 

 sees how the first coinage was almost a burlesque on the 

 Philip II., from wliicli it appears to have been copied. To 

 quote from the Guide, " The obverse has the locks of hair and 

 the laurel wreath much exaggerated, and drapery added at 

 the neck, while the reverse has a fret pattern in the exergue 

 instead of the name of Philip, and only one horse is shown, 

 the driver being placed above in the position usually occupied 

 by a Victory on coins of Syracuse." The horse, however, after 

 a time develops eight legs, and the Charioteer is resolved into 



