Coventina's Fountain, by the Rev. J. C. Bruce, LL.D. 359 



the south of the well this summer, with the view of ascertaining 

 the facts of the case ; the excessive wetness of the season has 

 however prevented any deep cuttings being made. But the 

 surface has been examined, and the foundations of walls three 

 feet thick have been found surrounding the well and exactly 

 parallel with its walls. They give an enclosure, measured on 

 the inside, of 40 feet by 38 feet, and are no doubt the remains of 

 the temple which was sacred to the goddess of the fountain ; 

 as shown in Plate on the opposite page. The entrance to this 

 fane is by a doorway on its west side. To the west of this 

 structure again are traces of other foundations ; these have 

 probably formed parts of the residences of the priests. 



"We now come to the consideration of the contents of the re- 

 servoir. These consisted of a mass of coins, altars, sculptures, 

 pottery, glass, bones, rings, fibulae, dice, beads, sand, gravel, 

 stones, wood, deer's horns, iron implements, shoe-soles, and a 

 due proportion of mud. I may remark before proceeding 

 further that two theories have been propounded by way of ac- 

 counting for this vast accumulation of objects; according to 

 some, the articles have been thrown into the fountain from time 

 to time as an offering to the nymph who presided over it ; ac- 

 cording to others they have, in a time of panic been hid there by 

 way of security. Before discussing either view let us attend to 

 the facts of the case. 



Shortly after removing the earth and the stones which 

 blocked up the mouth of the well, and which, whether intended 

 to conceal the treasure below or not, had effectually served that 

 purpose, a mass of coins of the lower empire was met with. The 

 stones forming the covering of the well were lying in all positions 

 — tumbled one upon another — and many of the coins were lying 

 above them. The coins were in such quantity that they might 

 have been shovelled off those of the stones which were lying in 

 a horizontal position. The excavators think that the coins which 

 were lying on the stones (the small coins of the lower empire) 

 had been forced into their position by the strength of the spring. 

 There were probably five or six thousand coins in this upper por- 

 tion of the well. Many of them were highly corroded by the 

 oxydizing influences to which, for centuries, they had been ex- 

 posed. As the coins of the lower empire are much smaller than 

 those of the higher, they would naturally suffer more than the 



