464 



NOTES ON THE EOMAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE 

 WESTBURY COLLECTION AT THE MUSEUM, DEVIZES. 



By Mks. M. E. Cunnington. 



The Westbury Collection in the Society's Museum at Devizes 

 consists of a large and interesting, series of objects found on the 

 site of a Romano-British settlement at "Westbury, and generously 

 placed in the Museum by the Westbury Iron Company. 



The discoveries were made from time to time during the years 

 1877 — 82 in the course of digging for iron ore close to the iron 

 works. 1 



Unfortunately nothing more than this is known of the conditions 

 under which the various objects were found. 2 It is only possible 

 to infer from the number and nature of the objects themselves 

 that the place must have been the site of a fairly well-to-do 

 settlement during the Roman period. It is therefore curious that, 

 with the exception of a single circular brick, such as were used to 

 build the pillars of hypocausts, no remains of buildings were pre- 

 served. It seems probable from this that the buildings of the 

 settlement were not of a very substantial character, and were 

 not built of any lasting material, such as brick or stone. 3 The 

 buildings of the Romano-British settlements in South Wilts and 

 in Dorsetshire examined by the late General Pitt-Rivers, it will 



1 The site is marked "British Settlement" on the 6-inch Ordnance Map, 

 Wiltshire, Sheet XLIV., N.E. 



2 The Wilts Arch. Mag. contains short and incidental references to the 

 discoveries in vol. xxi., pp. 3, 268, 272. 



Some of the objects in the collection were described and illustrated by 

 the Rev. E. H. Goddard in the Reliquary, July, 1909. 



3 The site is in the list of " British Settlements " given by Sir Richard 

 Colt Hoare. He speaks of " A large unenclosed common field known by 

 the name of Ham " and of " British and Roman antiquities " found there. 

 He also speaks of foundations of buildings and tesselated pavement found 

 on or near " Compton's Plot." " Ancient Wilts" South, p. 53. There is 

 some evidence that a Roman road ran through the neighbourhood. Wilts 

 Arch. Mag., vol. xxv., p. 35 — 36. 



