Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/60

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44
ROMAN VILLA,

the surface, on sounding the ground with an iron bar. The following are the measurements of the various chambers: No. 2, 6ft. 9in., by 1 3ft.; No. 3, 24ft. 6in., by 13ft.; No. 4, 24ft. 6in., by 13ft.; No. 5, 6ft. 9in., by 15ft. 6in.; No. 6, 2ft. 6in., by 16ft. 6in. The long passage, No. 7, measures about 7ft. in width; No. 8, 15ft., by 38ft. The adjoining chamber, which measures 18ft. 6in., by 12ft., appears to have been a hypocaust, the fireplace being on the eastern side, as marked on the plan. No. 10, 18ft. 6in., by 19ft.; No. 11, 19ft. 6in., by 29ft. 6in., with a narrow space or passage running from it eastward, measuring in width 8ft. 6in.; No. 12, 9ft. by 26ft. 6in.; No. 13, 15ft. by 28ft. 3in. All the rooms in this part of the building, with the exception of the hypocaust, and adjoining chamber. No. 10, were not cleared out; the foundation walls were merely traced by removing the soil from them. The space No. 18 measures 153ft. by 77ft. 6in. It was in the south-western angle of this portion of the building that the discovery of the coins was made; the earthen vessel which contained them was found in a pit, marked on the plan, which had been filled up with small stones. Between the chambers 16 and 17, and the exterior wall, there appears to have been a passage, or open space, 9ft. wide; the boundary wall on the southern side, measures 5ft., and that on the western side, only 4ft. in thickness.

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For the preservation of the remains which were brought to light in the recent excavations, as detailed in the present account, a building has been erected in the garden of Watercombe House, constructed with the Roman materials found in the Church piece, such as stone, brick, tile, &c. Two bases which were found in the chamber, marked 3 in the plan, measuring 22 inches square, and 14 inches deep, with a mortise 6 inches square, and 4 inches deep, have been placed at the two front angles, as quoins. The building is covered with the hexagonal tiles, exactly as they were found, and in the form and manner in which the Romans, as it is conjectured, used them to form a covering for their buildings. These tiles measure 14 in. by 91/2.

Lewis, in his Topographical Dictionary, mentions that at Lilly House, near the town of Bisley, a vaulted chamber was discovered, with several apartments, having