ON SILCBESTER EXCAVATION. 425 



Silchester Excavation. — Report of the Committee, consisthu/ of Mr. 

 Arthur J. Evans (Chairman), Mr. J. L. Myres (Secrefarii), 

 and Mr. E. W. Brabrook, ajjjjointed to co-oi^erate with the iSil- 

 chester Excavation Fund Committee in their Excavations. 



The Committee have to report that the excavations at Silchester in 1900 

 were begun eai'ly in May, and continued, with the usual break during 

 the harvest, until December 4. 



The excavations were confined to the large area, containing in all 

 8 acres, situated between Insula XIJ (excavated in 1894) and Insula 

 XXII (excavated in 1899), and extending up to the ziorth gate and town 

 wall. The area in question contains four insttlce, which have been 

 numbered XXIII to XXVI. 



Insula XXIII formed the northernmost of a series of unusually 

 large squares occupying the central portion of the town. A fair-sized 

 house at the south-west corner was uncovered by the late Rev. J. G. 

 Joyce in 1865 ; the recent excavations have revealed an additional series 

 of chambers on the north-east. Another house of large size with several 

 mosaic pavements was also uncovered on the east side of the insula, and 

 in the mouth of its courtyard was a small square building which may 

 have been devoted to sacred purposes. This had been built up round a 

 small and earlier structure of the same character. The other traces of 

 buildings in this insula, despite its size, were singularly scanty, but the 

 rubbish pits and wells were unusually productive in objects of interest. 

 In pottery these yielded upwards of a hundred whole vessels of all kinds 

 and sizes, and from one of the v/ells was recovered another great hoard 

 of iron tools, mostly a smith's, similar to that found in 1890 in Insula I, 

 but considerably larger numerically. 



Insula XXIV forms a long and narrow triangular strip, bounded on 

 the north by the town wall and its bank. Such strips have hitherto 

 proved more or less empty of buildings, but in this case it contained two 

 houses, one of which was of large size and of exceptional interest from 

 the peculiarity of its plan and the number of mosaic floors in it. 



Insula XXV, a small triangular area next the north ga.te, contained 

 only two small structures, apparently connected -with dyeworks. 



Insula XXVI, though of some size, had in it at least two houses : 

 a small one on the west, and another in the south-east quarter which 

 was partially uncovered by Mr. Joyce in 1866. Its complete plan has 

 now been revealed. There are also traces of a ruined house near the 

 south-west angle. Besides the houses. Insula XXVI contained traces 

 of at least three other structures. One of them was represented by a 

 solid circular platform with a cement floor 27 feet in diameter, enclosed 

 apparently by woodwork or half-timbering. The pit and wells in this 

 insula were few in number, and yielded few objects of interest. 



Taken as a whole, the results of the season's work were fully up to 

 the average, both in the character of the buildings uncovered and the 

 vai'iety and number of objects found in and about them. The quantity 

 of pottery and the hoard of smith's tools are also quite exceptional. 

 The objects in bronze, bone, &c. also include many interesting things. 



The coins found were as numerous as usual, but not very important. 



A detailed account of all the discoveries was laid before the Society of 

 Antiquaries on May 23, 1901, and will be published in ' Archseologia.' 



