ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES, &C. OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 2$ 



' (3.) Chalcedony cameo- A head of Calus Caesar. 



(4.) Several scarabs of the Grseco-Phocnician period, of which the most interesting 

 is a burnt carnelian intaglio, representing a Satyr carrying a kid on his shoulders, 



VI. A bronze mirror-case from_ Corinth, ornamented with a female head, probably of 

 Medusa, in high relief. This head is finely composed and in excellent condition. On the 

 patina of the cheek, appears the impression from some textile fabric, probably the o-arment 

 of the person with whom this mirror-case was interred. 



VII. A vase in white marble, richly ornamented ; round the body is a frieze in low- 

 relief, representing Satyrs engaged in a vintage. This vase, which is about 12 feet high, 

 is engraved in Piranesi, vol. xiii., Vasi e Candelabri, who states that it was found in the 

 villa of Hadrian, at Tivoli. Though a good deal restored, this vase is a fine specimen of 

 its class ; the antique portion of the frieze is finely composed, and executed in a very good 

 style. 



VIII. An inscription, in the Ionic dialect, relating to Lygdamis, tyrant of Halicar- 

 nassus, in the time of Herodotus. Independently of the historical interest of this inscrip- 

 tion, it is of great value as one of the very few palseographical specimens the date of which 

 can be referred to the middle of the 5th century B.C. It is further remarkable as an 

 evidence that the Ionic dialect prevailed at that early period in the Doric colony of Hali- 

 carnassus. It was discovered in 1855, and has been published by Newton, History of 

 Discoveries, I. pi. 1. 



IX. A recumbent figure, in white marble, representing the god Somnus as an infant 

 lying asleep and holding poppies in his hand. This figure was recently discovered at 

 Tarsus. Though not earlier than the 2nd century a.d., it is remarkable for the beauty 

 of the composition and the truthful manner in which sleep is represented. 



X. Excavations. 



In the early part of this year, Mr. Vice-Consul Biliotti discovered some tombs 

 near the ancient acropolis of lalyssus, in the island of Rhodes. Four of these tombs 

 have been examined by Mr. Biliotti on accoimt of the Trustees. The fictile vases and 

 other antiquities which he has discovered in these researches are of the same Grgeco- 

 Phoenician character as those previously discovered in the tombs of Lindus and Camirus. 

 It should be observed that these very ancient Rhodian cities are connected with the 

 Phoenicians in the mythic traditions of the island. Among the objects found by Mr. 

 Biliotti in these excavations were a circular embossed fibula, in pale gold or eiectrum, 

 about two inches in diameter, and an inscription on a marble stele, containing a decree of 

 the people of lalyssus relating to the temple and ritual of the goddess Alektrona. 



The excavations in the Great Theatre and near the Magnesian Gate, at Ephesus, have 

 been continued by Mr. Wood, and a large collection of inscriptions and other antiquities 

 has rewarded his researches. Among these may be especially noted, — 



(1.) A very long inscription, recording various gifts of treasure with which Vlblus 

 Salutarius endowed the celebrated temple of Diana at Ephesus. This inscription con- 

 tains ti'anscrlpts of a number of decrees, in one of which the Consuls of the year 104 a.d. 

 are mentioned ; in another document allusion is made to the Emperor Trajan as then 

 reigning. The date of the entire inscription Is probably not much later than a.d. 104. 

 It contains some curious jsartlculars relating to the endowments and ritual of the temple 

 of the Ephesian Diana, such as lists of votive statues in gold and silver, with the weight 

 of each offering ; the regulations under which such sacred objects were to be carried in 

 processions ; and the vises to which certain funds, the proceeds of these dedications, were 

 to be appropriated. The inscription has been written on a number of blocks, which formed 

 the facing of the Avail at one of the two side entrances to the Great Theatre. Of several 

 of these blocks only fragments remain, and so many lacuna; occur in the text, that its 

 original length cannot be ascertained ; but in its present mutilated condition this inscrip- 

 tion is of very great interest, and one of the longest which has been discovered in Asia 

 Minor. In the list of statues in the precious metals, dedicated by Salutarius, are several 

 figures of Diana with tAvo stags. These Avere, no doubt, such representations of the 

 Ephesian goddess as, at the time of St. Paul's preaching, Avere manufactured in such 

 abundance, at Ei^hesus, by Demetrius the silversmith and his brother craftsmen, and which 

 so frequently occur on the coins of Ephesus struck under the Roman Empire. 



(2.) A Latin inscription recording a dedication by Salutarius of several silver statues, 

 and enumerating various high offices Avhich he held in Sicily and other provinces. Some 

 of these offices are made known to us for the first time by this inscription. 



(3, 4, 5, 6, 7.) Five blocks of marble, containing decrees of the people of Ephesue, made 

 in the 4th century B.C. From the internal evidence of the Inscriptions, It appears that 

 these blocks Avere originally wall-stones of the cella of the celebrated temple of Diana, 

 which, on the destruction of that part of the edifice, must have been transported to the 

 Great Theatre, and there used as building materials. The inscription on No 3. is the 

 continuation of that on a block sent home by Mr. Wood in 1867, and contains six decrees 



211. E granting 



