"The buildings that faced the street had been altered and rebuilt several times, the mixed soil being from 8 ft. to 10 ft. deep in places, making the work of excavation very slow and laborious. For instance, in 1914 there was evidence of at least four different periods of buildings on the same site. In the early period there were wood and wattle-and-daub houses. Over the remains of these in the first half of the second century three long buildings were erected with open fronts or porticoes similar to those found in 1912. About the middle of the second century these three buildings were incorporated in one large house with corridors, two courtyards, many rooms, some with mosaic floors, and others fitted with hypocausts. A bath-house, with cold baths and hot rooms, was situated at the south-west corner. At a later period this dwelling was considerably altered, several of the rooms being swept away, and the central part of the building turned into one large courtyard with corridors on three sides. Two new hypocausts were inserted and extra rooms and a long corridor or verandah built at the back. Water was supplied to the houses by a water main at the side of the road. By shutting sluice-gates it was possible to divert the water into side channels which ran through the houses, flushing their drains, and discharging at the back into the river. Eleven wells were found during the excavations, varying from 10 ft. to 12 ft. in depth and stone-lined.
"A number of crucibles and some unfinished bronze castings, etc., have been met with, showing that metalworking was carried on on the site. There was also evidence of other industrial processes, such as enamelling and working in bone. A very large number of small objects has been discovered during the excavations, such as cameos and engraved gems (some still set in finger rings), many brooches of different metals, enamelled ornaments, and a quantity of interesting articles in different metals, bone, glass, etc.
"The great quantity of pottery found may be judged by the fact that upwards of 900 potters' stamps on Samian ware have been recorded. The coins number between 1,200 and 1,300, among them being a few British varieties. No coins later than the end of the fourth century have been, as yet, met with, and the town does not appear to have been inhabited after that date. What was the cause of its destruction or desertion is, as yet, uncertain, but it is hoped that future excavations will solve the problem.
"Detailed accounts of the excavations are printed in the Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Nos. 1, 2, and 4."
The above has been extracted, by kind permission of the Council, from the proceedings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1915; and is taken from the Report of the Committee on "Excavations on Roman Sites in Britain," comprising the Special Return made by J. P. Bushe-Fox, F.S.A.
WORKS BY REV. J. O. BEVAN, M.A., F.G.S., F.S.A.
(Rector of Chillenden, Canterbury; Sometime Prizeman, Exhibitioner, and Foundation Scholar of Emmanuel College, Cambridge).
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