By Professor Church. 



191 



ness has been called in question by one or two gentlemen whose 

 thorough acquaintance with such subjects I have reason to doubt. 

 The object is an inscription in Roman capitals, forming a set of 

 squared words, to which a much later origin than the fourth century 

 had been assigned before the present discovery was made. The best 

 archasological authorities^ who have seen the Cirencester example, do 

 not doubt its genuineness, while the. circumstances of the find place 

 its authenticity beyond suspicion : I beg to place these on record now. 

 During the levelling of a garden in the New Road, Cirencester, 

 many coins and Roman tiles were daily disinterred. Captain Abbott 

 watched the operations narrowly; and one day had his attention 

 called to a fragment of wall plaster found, in his presence, by the 

 ignorant workman employed there who saw letters upon it. Captain 

 Abbott washed it and showed it to me, and subsequently deposited 

 it in the museum. It must be recollected that it was not sold by 

 the labourer, and that no one had any interest in producing a forgery,, 

 nor I may add the very special knowledge required to do so. The 

 letters absolutely agree in form with those of the graffiti or wall- 

 seratchings of Rome and Pompeii, and run thus — 



ROTAS 



OPERA 



TENET 



A R E P O 



S A T O R 



Objects in Glass. 

 The only perfect vessels of glass- in the Museum have been lately 

 found. One long unguentarium was disinterred in the Cattle 

 Market in 1867; and two small phials in the Market Place and 

 Gloucester Street respectively, in 1871, and 1872. 



Objects in Bone. 

 Of objects made from animal materials we have obtained portions 

 of two antlers of the red deer in the gravel pits of the Barton, which 

 also yielded us a fine bone comb — the only specimen of this article in 

 the Museum. The same excavation (conducted in 1872) also led to 

 discovery of a fine bone pin, accompanied by a few Roman coins. 



