broken into fragments, was discovered, containing the ashes of 
a child. Below it, in what had been originally a wooden box, 
were the little creature’s ornaments, chains of bronze and beads, 
bracelets of various substances, and two silver earrings, uncouth 
somewhat in shape, but earrings still. It is a touching picture 
both to heart and mind. 
Still more interesting is the story of the two damaged glass 
bottles and the covered cups in the centre of the table. Some 
two or three years ago, under the New Station Hotel, we 
came upon the pair of large stone coffins which are now laid 
side by side on the south side of the Hospitium, just as they 
were originally found. In one of the two were laid the 
remains of a mother and a child. The body of the woman was 
so twisted as to leave room for the child, whose head was laid 
against the foot of the coffin. The coffin itself contained 
nothing except the bodies, as was almost always the case. But 
on the outside, at the head of the sarcophagus, were laid the 
vessels I am alluding to, which were filled originally, no doubt, 
with milk and farinaceous food for the use of the pair that 
were mouldering within. The two earthern saucers might 
seem to be parts of the same vessel, but they were not. They 
were separate when found, and each must have had originally 
a cover of its own. The Romans had a habit of visiting at 
certain times the graves of their friends, and of renewing on 
such occasions the offerings of food and other things. The 
coffins of children were of various materials. We have them 
in the Museum both of lead and stone. It was not the custom 
to commit to the funeral pile the remains of children who had 
not cut their first teeth. They were buried, as Pliny tells us, 
in places called suggrundaria by themselves. But this 
prohibition only extended to infants. Those of a more 
advanced age were treated in all respects as adults. The 
leaden coffin which is exhibited is a somewhat peculiar 
specimen of that kind of sepulture. Instead of being enclosed 
wholly in wood, a board seems to have been laid over the top, 
and fastened down to the overlapping edges. This is evident 
from the marks of the nails.’ 
