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REPORT ON EXCAVATIONS IN S. MARY’S 
ABBEY DURING 1902. 
By W. H. BRIERLEY. 
The Excavations in the Choir of S. Mary’s Abbey Church 
have been pursued steadily during the first half of the year. A 
considerable part of the foundations of the south wall of the 
arcade of the choir has been exposed, and a small portion 
of the apse of the Norman nave has been uncovered. It is 
now clear that the old basilica ended in a large apse with 
six apsidal chapels—three on each side diminishing in 
size from the centre. This is a very unusual type in England, 
but is occasionally met with in France. The plan as revealed 
so far corresponds almost exactly with that of the Abbey 
Church of Saint Sever, in the south-west of France. 
Two coffin lids have been discovered in the course of the 
exploration. One is a simple and massive stone, roof-shaped 
at the top, the upper end missing. On the part left was the 
word THOMAS. The other stone, unfortunately broken and 
very imperfect, is of a much more elaborate character. It is a 
thick slab of limestone, the upper surface smooth, bearing 
incised upon it the figure of a bishop (or mitred abbot) in 
eucharistic vestments. On his head he wears a mitre, and 
carries a pastoral staff in the right hand and a book in the left. 
In the upper angles of the stone, above the shoulders, are two 
doctor’s caps. In the margins on the side of the stone a 
somewhat imperfect inscription is cut. The portion on the 
sinister side is fairly complete ; that on the dexter side is 
missing, with the exception of a few letters at the end. The 
