By Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Cunnington. 7 '6 



The T-shaped Fire Place in Ditch No. 6. 



A T-shaped hypocaust was discovered on the side of ditch No. 

 G (PI. XIV.). The builders of this fire place had taken advantage 

 of the side of the partially filled-in ditch to begin operations, thus 

 saving themselves the additional labour of excavating a stoke hole 

 or " praefurnium." The cross part of the fire hole was neatly 

 lined witli a walling of blocks of hard chalk and rough flints, set 

 in thick mortar. The two lower courses of the wall were built of 

 blocks of chalk only, and the upper chiefly of flints, placed with 

 then - flat surfaces outward, and so skilfully laid that the surface 

 of the wall was fairly smooth and level. Behind this single 

 course of laid stones the wall was backed up with rough flints. 

 The whole of the fire place, and the approach to it from the ditch, 

 was filled up with blocks of chalk and flints, similar to those used 

 in the wall ; these had apparently formed part of a chimney, or 

 superstructure of some kind, that had collapsed after the disuse of 

 the fire place. 



The floor of the fire place was of undisturbed chalk, slightly 

 discoloured by fire, and was covered by a layer of wood ashes an 

 inch or more in thickness. These ashes spread out beyond the 

 floor of the fire place over the surface of the ditch, forming a con- 

 tinuous layer over floor and ditch all on the same level, thus show- 

 ing that the fire place was in use after the ditch had become partly 

 silted up. Outside the fire place the space in the ditch had 

 evidently been used as a praefurnium, and a heap of ashes and 

 rubbish was found there. In this accumulation in addition to a 

 quantity of broken pottery there were a number of oyster shells 

 and a few cockle and mussel shells ; bones of animals ; few frag- 

 ments of glass; about forty iron nails, some large, and several hob- 

 nails such as were used in boots ; iron cleats, and other fragments 

 of iron ; a piece of lead ; a large pebble that had been used, for 

 hammering or pounding ; five pottery discs (pot covers?), and a 

 disc of counter of bone inscribed on one side with a four-armed 

 cross (PI. I., Fig. ]4); and pieces of tile and brick. Among the 

 big stones in the fire place itself, there were in addition to some 



