308 Archceologia, 



the sea has for centuries been gradually gaming upon it, until now 

 nearly all that remains above water consists of a sand-bank at 

 some distance from the shore. In his pamphlet, which is a 

 reprint from the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire 

 and Cheshire, Mr. Ecroyd Smith has given interesting sections of the 

 present coast, showing the different strata of deposit, which repre- 

 sent different periods, Roman, Saxon, and Mediaeval, with an indica- 

 tion of the class of objects found in each. Perhaps one of the most 

 interesting discoveries recorded here by Mr. Smith, is that of a 

 number of leaden pans, undoubtedly of the Roman period, found at 

 a depth of ten feet near the bank of the river Weaver, at Northwich 

 in Cheshire, and first announced to the public by Dr. Kendrick, of 

 Warrington. They were no doubt used by the Romans for boiling the 

 water to extract salt ; in fact, Roman brine-pans. Northwich, like 

 most of the places with names in which this syllable wich enters, 

 such as Nantwich and Droitwich, are nearly always sites occupied 

 by the Romans for salt-making, and Dr. Kendrick suggests that this 

 may have been the Roman Salince, which others have placed at 

 Droitwich; but there may have been several places to which the 

 Romans gave this same name. These brine-pans furnish an inte- 

 resting illustration of the maimer in which the Romans in this island 

 manufactured their salt. It is a curious fact that in early mediaeval 

 charters connected with Droitwich, the brine-pans are termed plum- 

 beria, indicating that they were made of lead, and a certain number 

 of them are stated to have constituted a bullerium, or boiling. All 

 these discoveries are of very great importance to the physical and 

 moral history of the district, and too much praise cannot be given 

 to Mr. Ecroyd Smith for the zealous care with which he has 

 collected and recorded the facts. 



We are glad to be able to announce that the town of Liverpool 

 has decided on rendering an honourable act of justice to the name 

 of one of its most eminent and distinguished townsmen, to whom, 

 among many other benefits, it owes the gift of a noble museum of 

 antiquities (which has just been removed into the building newly 

 destined for its reception), by erecting a statue to Joseph Mayer. 

 It is to be executed by Signor Eontana, who is now, we believe, at 

 Liverpool, engaged upon it, and to be placed in St. George's Hall. 



A remarkably interesting discovery of Roman sepulchral 

 remains has recently been made in a field bet-ween Silsby and 

 Barrow-on-Soar, in the county of Leicester, about three miles west- 

 ward of the fosse-way running from llatcc (Leicester) to Lindum 

 (Lincoln), and six miles north of the former town. The 

 accidental excavations to which we ow r e this discovery appear to 

 have extended over part of a regular Roman cemetery, whicfc con- 

 tained above a dozen separate interments, and furnished a certain 

 number of objects, which have been presented to the Leicester 

 Town Museum. We have before us a beautiful photograph and a 

 lithograph of the greater part of these objects, and a plan of the site of 

 the excavations, with the places marked on which each object was 

 found. Among the latter were no less tlian five large wide-mouth 

 glass vessels, which contained burnt human bones, each taken from 

 a separate interment. Four of them were rectangular, or four- 



