ROMANO-BRITISH NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



potters' marks.' Several of the fragments of ' Samian ' ware showed traces of 

 having been repaired with rivets by the original owners, and one bore a repre- 

 sentation of Pegasus, another an eagle with thunderbolts. Of the potters' 

 marks only three are recorded by Watkin : flo (probably Florentinus, a Ger- 

 man potter of the 2nd century) ; nde (probably Indercillus, a Lezoux potter 

 of the same date) ; and the rim of a mortarium with the letters gvdv, 

 [Lu]gudu[ni factum], i.e. 'made at Lyons.'"" 



On one occasion Mrs. Miles found two perforated prisms of red corne- 

 lian ; coloured wall plaster, broken flanged tiles, Roman mortar, a knife 

 handle, and oyster shells are also mentioned, as well as coins of Vespasian 

 (a.d. 70-9), Carausius (a.d. 287-93), and Julian (a.d. 352-62). Stukeley's 

 story of buildings here was corroborated to some extent by an old inhabitant 

 who had seen a considerable portion of a wall, and it was a common practice 

 with the residents to dig up the stones of Roman dwellings for building pur- 

 poses. The soil appears to have been full of the debris left by many years of 

 human occupation, and it is probable that systematic excavations would have 

 revealed important remains. 



Near the southern side of the camp area a bridle path leaves the Fosse 

 Way at right angles in a north-westerly direction, and after crossing the lane 

 leading into the village, its course can be traced in the same direction through 

 private grounds as far as the edge of the steep bluff overlooking the Trent. 

 It is known as Newton Street or Bridgeford Street, and is marked with the 

 latter name on the Ordnance Survey map (25-in. xxxix, 15). The writers 

 who placed Ad Pontem here"^ naturally saw in this the Roman road leading 

 to the supposed bridge. On the north side of the present road to the ferry 

 are numerous traces of earthworks, including a prominent mound, which 

 appear to be the remains of a mediaeval stronghold of the ' Castle mount and 

 bailey' type."^ 



(3) WILLOUGHBY ON THE WOLDS (vERNEMETUm) 



US 



In this parish, at the southern extremity of Nottinghamshire, just 

 where the Fosse Way leaves that county for Leicester,"* lies the site of 

 Vernemetum (Verometum) (see plan, fig. 4). Most antiquaries have agreed 

 in fixing here one of the sites' of the sixth and eighth routes of the Antonine 

 Itinerary, and the judgement of Horsley, who first pronounced it to be 

 Vernemetum, is now generally accepted."^ 



"° Arch. Journ. xxxv, 290. Three potters' names occur in Britain with this formula : Albinus, Urbanus, 

 and Ripanus (see Corp. Inscr. Lot. vii, 1334). 



"' See p. 6. 



'" They are not mentioned in V.C.H. Notts. \, in the article on Earthworks, but seem to belong to 

 Class E. 



"' So the best MSS. of the Itinerary. The word is good Celtic and means ' great sanctuary.' 



"* O.S. 25-in. li, 9. 



"' Brit. Rom. 437. He refers to Stukeley's account given below, and gives a more correct account of the 

 distances from the adjacent stations than Gale and other writers have done. Gale and Salmon placed Margi- 

 dunum here and Vernemetum in Leics. but their surmises are hopelessly at variance with the recorded 

 distances. Anton. Iter. Brit. 96; New Sum. of Engl. 289; see above, p. 5 ; Burton, Descr. of Leic. 58, 

 appears to follow Camden in placing Vernemetum at Burrough in Leics. ; he explains the name as Gaulish for 

 ' fanum ingens,' 'a great temple ' (cf. Horsley, 438) quite correctly. 



2 17 3 



