VOL. XIX. (3) 
EXCURSION— CIRENCHSTKR 
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The President remarked, further, that, standing above the Bull Ring 
a person in Henry the First’s time — say 11 30 - would have seen below him 
the surviving long barrow of the Stone Age ; and just beyond the present 
railway station the Norman Royal Castle (which became burnt in Stephen’s 
civil war. c. 1142) ; also much of the solid walls witli their mediaeval gates, 
and the Abbey buildings and enclosures beyond that. 
The grounds of “ The Querns,” the residence of the Hon. E. Pierrepont, 
were then entered in order to view the long barrow. This was partially 
opened before 1850 by Professor Buckman and Mr C. H. Newmarch, when a 
certain amount of debris of skeletons was found. On December 17th, 1913,' 
a Romano-British (uninscribed) stone coffin was found in the garden, these 
interments of diffei’ent ages indicating that the site was a favourite burial 
ground in ancient days. From the gardens the party walked through the 
Park to the Corinium Museum, where the PreHdent thanked Earl Bathurst 
for his friendly courtesy in permitting the use of his private walks. Outside 
the Museum, Mr Sewell had most kindly provided refreshments for Members, 
which were much appi'eciated, and then, in his capacity as Curator, he took 
his guests into the ^luscum, where he made the following remarks : — 
The Corinium Museum was erected by Henry George, fourth Earl 
Bathurst, for the reception of the two magnificent pavements that had been 
discovered in Dyer Street. These were most carefully traced on paper and 
coloured before removal, and then were moved by the firm of Minton. The 
result is that the pavements are very much as they were in situ. Tlie 
cases around the building contain a fine collection of articles in iron and 
bronze and pottery. Among the most noticeable are the examples of 
inscribed Sepulchral Stones and Altars, and particularly a stone 17 inches 
square discovered in 1892, having inscriptions on three sides. On one face 
of the pedestal is a dedication to L. Septimius, and on the other two inscribed 
sides are rough hexameters, in which Septimius is also recorded as having 
restored the statue of Jupiter and the column which bore i\ in honour of 
the old religion. 
Attention was also directed to the fragment of painted wall-plaster, on 
which the following squared words are scratched upon five lines through 
the surface colour : — 
ROTAS 
OPERA 
TENET 
AREPO 
SATOR 
interpreted as meaning ‘‘Arepo, the sower, guides the wheels at work.” 
There is a very fine example of a Roman Cinerary Urn of glass that was 
wrapped in lead and enclosed in a hollow stone found in King's Mead, 
Cirencester, about the year 1765. This passed into the Bateman Collection, 
and on its dispersion in 1893 was secured by Sir A. H. Church, at one time 
a Curator of this Museum, who generously presented it. 
1 See Trans. Brist. and Glouces. Arch. Soc., xxxviii., aig-ao. 
