It would appear that most of the coins found here in recent times have, by sale, been dispersed through the country, and it is greatly to be feared are mainly lost to Brough and to its history. It is consequently all the more necessary to record the writer's observations, deduced from what could be seen, and information gathered from collectors, old and young.

Synopsis of Brough Relics.

COINS. The earliest are of silver, of the Roman Consular families-Antonia, Cassia and others with large and middle brass of the Cæsars, from Claudius to Domitian and the immediate successors of the latter. Small brass of the later empire are numerous, in very poor condition, showing long service, with minimi, or the small pieces presumed to have been made in imitation of these by the abandoned RomanBritish population about the fifth century.

ORNAMENTS.-Brooches of the harp shape in bronze, common; a few are penannular; one (pl. I, fig. 7) of a scarce rectangular Etruscan design; a few mediæval fermails or ring-brooches. One object, representing a Roman standard, (fig. 10) has evidently been fixed in some larger article, and it seems other examples of similar shape have occurred. Studs are numerous, many being enamelled in scarlet, green or light blue; a fine round one (fig. 8) has evidently occupied the place of a brooch, perhaps on the shoulder this rare ornament is one inch and a half in diameter and beautifully engraved with a double border of the Vitruvian scroll pattern, an intermediate one of trefoil leaves having been chased with silver, two fragments only of which remain. Beads of brass, glass and amber, all plain.

AMULETS.-Chiefly of bronze, including many varieties of the heart shape (fig. 9 has been looped) and a large proportion of phallæ; one of pewter, lately found, bears an imperial or other bust, and is further described under the head of seals.

TH 6 PARKER ST. LIVERPOOL

DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTS &c.-Pins and needles; nails; handles of basins; ligula and other spoons, all in bronze; keys, in bronze and iron; pottery, various, including some Samian and a little mediæval.

WEAPONS.-Spear and lance heads, various.

HORSE TRAPPINGS.-Rings, hooks, hasps, buckles, tags and ornaments of straps (some mediæval) including the head of a stag in brass and originally gilt.

PEWTER SEALS.-These articles have already been referred to, but not by name; they constitute as yet the remarkable product of Verteræ, seeing that with the sole exception of some half a dozen (two of which belong to a later Roman period), no similar objects are known to have been found at any other Roman station in this country, and so far as the writer is aware such even remain unrecorded on the Continent. When first noticed they were of frequent occurrence, and being undervalued were destroyed. Those preserved are chiefly in the collection of Miss Hill, who probably owns several hundred. Their shape is round, oval or rectangular, the faces impressed apparently from personal seals or stamps with letters &c., with a small proportion from gems. Most of them bear trace of attachment by a thread or string. One gentleman alone has as yet written upon these remarkable objects, and his valuable comments are added with the proviso that pewter rather than lead is their correct designation, inasmuch as they contain a fair proportion of tin.* The writer was assured by the old vandal-blacksmith who, with one of his sons, first collected these pieces, melting them down by half a pound at a time, that the produce was ever in the greatest request for soldering purposes by all the tinkers of the country side! The accompanying pl. II depicts twelve hitherto unpu

* A professional assayer demands two ounces of the metal to operate upona greater sacrifice of such rarities than can be afforded. In default of the desiderated analysis, however, it may be stated that, in addition to tin, zinc and a small proportion of sesquioxide of iron have been detected.

blished types or varieties of the Brough seals from the writer's small collection (all drawn, like the ornaments, of the actual size), eight of which bear an inscription upon either side-and three upon one side only, the reverse being plain. The remaining four appear to have been struck from intagliate gems and merit a little additional description. No. 9 upon one side displays several letters in an oblong facet, the reverse bearing a thunderbolt below a trophy of arms, with a star upon either hand. No. 10 would seem at first sight to approach very nearly to an example in the British Museum, shortly to be mentioned, in which a bust appears between two capital letters; but on a closer examination of the Brough seal a supposed C in front of the face disappears, whilst the presumed R or B behind the neck becomes resolved into the head of a caduceus, suggesting the bust to have been intended for that of Mercury, which is most probable, the apparent beard being merely an incrustation upon the metal. This impression has evidently been originally made with a loop for suspension and been worn as an amulet; the reverse is quite plain. The subject of No. 11, a contest between a satyr and a goat, is of frequent recurrence upon Roman gems, its animated character constituting it a favourite; the form is circular like that of No. 12, which bears a small imperial bust, but this is difficult to appropriate, from the indistinctness of the features.

Mr. Roach Smith, who has engraved upwards of thirty varieties of these seals in his Collectanea Antiqua,* remarks"The leaden seals etched are a new contribution to our English "archæological materials. Similar examples of the Roman "period have not, I believe, been published as discovered in "this country. Three of these and a duplicate were picked "up at Felix-stowe, in Suffolk; the others were found at "Brough, in Westmoreland. These seals were fastened to

Vol. iii, p. 197, pl. XXXII. The various references to the plates are necessarily omitted.