36 NOTES ON LATIN INSCRIPTIONS 



•words ex argento, if regarded as complete, can express * the silver 

 bein°- extracted,' or that the lead was, as Prof. Phillips calls it, 

 ' exaro-entate.' The only grammatical explanation which seems at all 

 probable, is to regard EX as an abbreviation of the participle of some 

 compound verb, such as excoquo, and the construction as that of the 

 ablative absolute, scil. *ea;[cocto] argent[o]. 



After the best consideration that I have been able to give to this- 

 perijlexing phrase, 1 am disposed to prefer ex a7'ffent[ar\&] (scil. 

 vena or fodina), or the equivalent c;'^ew^[ifodina], but in the sense 

 that the marks EX • ARG • or ARGENT • indicated that those 

 blocks, on which they were inscribed, were the product of a mine 

 of argentiferous lead — that they were made from a vein which had 

 been found to yield silver, and consequently that those marks were 

 a sort of guarantee that the blocks which bore them contained that 

 precious metal in combination with the lead of which they were com- 

 posed. The grounds of this interpretation are, that as the Romans 

 were acquainted with a process for extracting silver from lead, the 

 blocks of lead would command a higher price, if they were known to 

 contain silver — and that British lead varies so much in this respect, 

 some veins, as in Derbyshire and elsewhere, containing but a trace, that 

 it was necessary to use such distinctive marks, in order to enhance the 

 market value. But we have yet to consider TR* and BR' As these 

 abbreviations are found only in one instance — scil. n. (3) — we shall 

 take up the inscription itself — 



TI • CL • TR • LVT • BR • EX • ARG • 



The following readings have been proposed : — T'2[berii] C/[audii] 

 rr[ibutum] Lul\\vcn\ Bri[t&nmco] ex ar[gento], by the Rev. T. 

 Crane ; !r/[berii] CZ[audiani] !ZV[iumviri] Liit[yi(\a.r'\\ 5;-[itannorum} 

 ex a;Y/[entaria, by Dr. Gifford;*and ^/[berii] C/[audiani] '/'/•[iumviri] 

 iM^[udari] iJr[igantum] ex ar^[entariis], by Sir Henry Ellis. f The 

 first question which presents itself here is, does this inscription refer 

 to the Emperor Claudius ? I must confess that I have strong doubts 

 on this point. The absence of any title whatsoever in this case, 



* And yet excoctum arijcntmn is used in the seiiso— refined silver. 



+ Tlic words of Sir Henry Ellis arc:—" Dr. GifTo.d tliousht this inscription stood for 

 Tiberii Clandiani Triumviri Lulwlari Britannorum ex arr/cntaria. We arc inclined our- 

 selves to read the last words Lutudari Brigantum ex arr/eutariis.'' From this stite- 

 nicnt I infer thit headoptol Di. Gi fiord's readings in the first three words, but in what 

 sense cither understood them I am unable to conjecture. 



