44 
W. RANSOM-BRITISH AND ROMAN 
with the wall of a Eoman building in situ , and at a depth of 
2ft. Gins., we came upon the concrete floor of a room. The praefur- 
nium, or furnace, was next disclosed, and then the flues leading 
to the hypocausts, used for heating the floors, these being sup¬ 
ported on pilse or columns of eight square bricks or tiles, about 
13ins. in height and 14ins. apart. On these were laid square flooring- 
tiles, which were then covered with a thick layer of concrete con¬ 
taining a large amount of broken brick or burnt clay. We cleared 
out three rooms of this description: No. 1, measuring 9ft. 3ins. by 
6ft. 6ins.; No. 2, 9ft. Sins, by 14ft.; and No. 3, 8ft. 9ins. by 8ft. 6ins. 
These, I am disposed to think, were used as baths, or possibly 
might have been the winter quarters of the family. If the former 
conjecture were correct, No. 1, being nearest the furnace, would 
probably be the sudatorium, or Turkish bath ; No. 2, the laconicum, 
or vapour bath; and No. 3, the tepidarium, or warm bath. A 
narrow passage led to the other part of the house, the first room 
(No. 5 on plan) having an elliptical alcove at the end. This might 
be the basilica or room used either for worship, or for conducting 
the business of the establishment. On either side of the- alcove, 
outside the building, was a stoned or paved floor, which may have 
been the remains of the porticus or covered walk, and immediately 
opposite to which would be the principal garden. The floor of 
this room was 14ins. thick, of fine concrete, and so hard that in 
ascertaining its thickness we had almost to drill through it, and on 
striking it with a hammer the implement rebounded with great 
force, the concrete being as hard as, or harder than, our strongest 
cement. The adjoining room (No. 6) was covered with a nearly 
perfect tessellated floor of an unusual but simple pattern, red, with 
parallel white lines, and gridironed in the centre. No. 7 was a 
rectangular room 19ft. 3ins. long by 14ft. 3ins. broad, and beyond 
this, parts of two others were distinctly defined, until the floors 
cropped out to the surface of the land, and we were unable to trace 
more, although I believe the villa extended some considerable 
distance beyond in a northerly direction. My opinion that we only 
laid bare a small part is confirmed by archaeologists who have had 
much experience in this direction. 
It was interesting to notice that considerable alterations had been 
carried out in the building since its original erection, as at the 
point A, where a new prsefurnium had been added, the entrance 
to which was floored with large roofing-tiles, perhaps from some 
outbuilding which had been taken down. In room No. 2 a division- 
wall had been built across, apparently to reduce its size. The 
inferiority of the later building-material was very marked, the 
mortar not being nearly so hard as that originally used, and without 
the admixture of powdered clay or brick, indicating a decadence in 
the art of building, which we are told commenced in Italy about 
the time of Augustus. 
The herring-bone walling in No. 3 chamber, with the radiating 
bricks visible in the west face of the divisional wall, is a good 
specimen of Eoman work. This system of walling prevails in most 
