25 
Accordingly, Mr. Hunter communicated a paper to tlie Society of 
Antiquaries, which, appears in vol. 32 of the “ Archmologia.” In 
this paper he gives from the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian, a 
contemporary memorandum by Mr. John Hanson, of Elland, of the 
discovery of the altar, with a drawing and copy of the inscription, 
corresponding exactly with Camden. This piece of evidence, 
brought to light by the various learning of Mr. Hunter, completely 
establishes the fact of the discovery of the altar at Gretland, but 
cannot decide the question as to the site of Cambodunum. Allow¬ 
ing the Gretland altar and the Slack altar to pair off together, we 
have to compare the remaining evidence; and this, even before the 
late researches at Slack, was strongly in favour of that place. They 
have brought to light foundations of buildings, hypocausts, frag¬ 
ments of Samian and other pottery ; and the extent of ground which 
these remains occupy, and which appears to be only a part of the 
original station, is a proof of its importance, and of its being more 
than a temporary residence of the Homans. The most recent of 
these discoveries is particularly interesting to us—a ridge tile 
tomb, exactly corresponding with those in our museum. The 
rarity of this mode of interment may warrant the inference that 
the troops stationed at Slack were a detachment of those whose 
head-quarters were at Eburacum. Of the tombs in the Hospitium 
one has the impress of the Ninth Legion, the other of the Sixth; 
but as the latter remained so much longer in York, I am inclined 
to refer the newly-discovered tomb to them. Instead of a legion¬ 
ary stamp, however, it is marked coh. iiii bee. The opinion 
entertained by Camden and Horsley, that bee was an abbreviation 
of Bretonum or Bretannorum, is not supported by any example in 
which, in Latin, E in this word is substituted for I. It would have 
been contrary to Eoman policy to employ British troops in Britain. 
The Emperor of Austria does not garrison the Quadrilateral with 
Venetians. It was one of the grievances of which Galgacus com¬ 
plains, (Tacitus Agr. c. 31,) that the young men were taken “ alibi 
servituri.” There would not be the same objection to the supposi¬ 
tion that bee stood for Brittonum; for I believe Brittones was not 
equivalent, as has been commonly supposed, to Brittanni. The 
Brittones were probably a Gallic tribe, # and served, as appears by 
inscriptions in Horsley, in England and Scotland. But in these there 
* Martial (xi. 22) attributes to them the braccse, a Gallic garment. (Propert. 
iv. 10, 42). Britones and Britanni are mentioned in the same inscription. See 
Orelli Inscr. 804. 
