888 Arcliceologia. 



freedom of trade and protection. The formation of such towns 

 belong chiefly to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and they were 

 called, in the French language of feudalism, franchevilles and neuve- 

 villes, and in England Neivports, or JVewtoums, or, more early, free- 

 towns. Newport and Newtown were both foundations of this 

 description — port, in Anglo-Saxon, meaning a town which enjoyed 

 certain free institutions. 



Among the antiquities from the Isle of Wight were a few of 

 the curious leaden seals, or stamps, of which we have spoken on a 

 former occasion, and which have been found in larger quantities, 

 and with more unmistakable Roman character, on the Roman site 

 at Burgh-under-Stanemore, or Brough, in Westmoreland. At the 

 last meeting of the Archseological Institute, a Polish antiquary, 

 Count Tyszkievicz, communicated an account of similar leaden 

 seals found at some distance from Warsaw, which were ascribed by 

 the antiquaries of Wilna to a Slavonic race formerly inhabiting that 

 district. There can be little doubt, however, that, as Mr. Albert 

 Way stated before the Institute, they belong to the Roman period, 

 and are, as he then suggested, curious monuments of Roman com- 

 merce. The Count with the difficult name believed them to have 

 been of a religious character. The discovery of these leaden stamps 

 in such numbers in the Isle of Wight may fairly be considered as 

 evidence that that island was, in Roman times, a place of some 

 commercial importance ; but there is a difficulty in this case arising 

 from the circumstance that, unlike the discoveries at Brougk-under- 

 Staneniore (the Roman Verier ce), the Roman leaden stamps found 

 in the Isle of Wight have become, accidentally, mixed with some- 

 what similar objects belonging to the Middle Ages, and even to 

 very recent times. This has led to some confusion, and it is to 

 be hoped that, in future, antiquaries and collectors will be very 

 careful in ascertaining minutely the exact circumstances of their 

 discovery. 



The Sunderland papers of the latter days of the month of 

 September speak of the discovery of a remaikable bone-cave at the 

 Ryhope Colliery, by the workmen engaged in quarrying in the 

 limestone rock. The rock was blasted, and in removing the loosened 

 fragments of rock they came upon a large quantity of bones, in- 

 cluding several human skulls, numerous skulls of other animals, 

 such as foxes, badgers, etc., and a great quantify of human and 

 other bones. The place where the bones were found was about 

 twenty feet below the surface, and about thirty feet within the 

 bank. The appearance indicated that there had been a cavity in 

 the rock which had at one time been filled with water ; but there 

 appears no means of accounting for the presence of the skulls and 

 bones, except that they were washed into the hollow of the rock 

 many centuries ago. Three of the human skulls, one of which was 

 remarkably perfect, having most of the teeth in, with several other 

 human bones, were taken care of by the resident engineer of the 

 colliery, but a large mass of other bones were allowed to be carried 

 away. T. W. 



