APPENDIX I
THE RIVER EMBANKMENT
Let us add to this account that of the discoveries made in the Parish of St. Michael Crooked Lane in connection with the approaches of the new London Bridge:—
“On cutting through the present embankment of the river, it appeared, as might be expected, to be of comparatively modern construction. The outward wall was upright, and of Kentish rag, in courses of about fourteen inches, and about one foot in the bed. It was backed by quantities of chalk and great lumps of madrepore; the latter supposed, from being of foreign produce, to have been brought hither by ships as ballast, and thrown against the wall as rubbish to fill up the vacant spaces.
Proceeding northwards, the ground was found to be a mass of marsh, extending from the river’s edge to about sixty feet beyond Thames Street, evidently from its having once formed part of the bed of the river. It shelved up towards Thames Street, and was dug into from ten to twenty-four feet deep at that part, to find a safe foundation for laying the south abutment of the land arch built across Thames Street; but the soil proved to be so loose that vast quantities of solid materials were obliged to be sunk for making a secure foundation. This was also the case in laying the foundations of the walls of all the brick arches which support the northern approach; though in no place was the soil found of so marshy a nature as here.
The site of the ancient ‘Oyster gate’ was identified by cart-loads of oyster shells being found on the spot. This place had been hid in the reign of Elizabeth, by building what Stowe calls the artificial forcier or engine for increasing the supply of Thames water to the metropolis, and which was succeeded by the later Waterworks. In digging at the greatest depth on this site, there was turned up part of a leathern sandal, singularly looped on the sides, which had been apparently lost in the mud; also some fragments of Roman pottery, and a few coins.
The principal discovery here, and beyond it northwards, however, was of two separate ancient lines of embankment, one being on the south side of Thames Street, and the other at some distance.
The first embankment, on the south side of Thames Street, was found about ten feet below the surface of the street, and was traced to the depth of more than twenty feet. It was formed of large solid trees of oak and chesnut, about two feet square, roughly hewn, having camp sheathings, and strong timber waltlings spiked to the piles, the whole of great strength and massiveness.” (St. Michael Crooked Lane, pp. 13-14.)
The original embankment lower down the river at Dagenham was “composed of large trunks of trees, similar to what were discovered on the above occasion in Thames Street, only that yew trees were used instead of oaks. On digging down about twenty-two feet, at a place called the Moor-logg (a marsh which must have aboriginally resembled Southwark), they met with a vein of divers sorts of rotten wood (yew timber only, which was found amongst it, being not decayed), which lay about three feet and a half or four feet underneath the surface of the marsh ground belonging to the levels, about ten feet in depth, and with very little mixture of earth that could be discerned amongst it. Underneath it there was about twelve or fifteen inches depth of blue clay, then gravel and sand. A great part of this Moor-logg seemed to be comprised of small brushwood; and many hazel-nuts had been taken up in digging, which the captain had in his hand, and looked to have been firm, but upon a very little pressure they broke to dust. Several of the yew trees found were fourteen or sixteen inches diameter, and perfectly sound excepting the sap. The willow or sallow trees were, many of them, found of two feet and upwards diameter, and retained a whitish colour, like touchwood. Above the vein mentioned they found, as in Thames Street, stags’ horns. The same sort of marsh ground was found at Woolwich and Deptford.” (St. Michael Crooked Lane, pp. 15-16, note.)
In 1826 an excavation in Tooley Street brought to light a curious embankment.
“The first few feet were made ground, merely rubbish; then came a thick, close, sedimentary deposit of alluvial clay and Thames-river mud, averaging about seven to ten feet thick, which evidently had its origin in the tidal and sedimentary matter from the adjacent river. Below this mud and clayey deposit was a close stratum of peat, tightly compressed, varying materially in thickness in different places along the street, but averaging from two to four and five feet in thickness. This peat was chiefly composed of vestiges of hazel trees, hazel-nuts in beautiful preservation, fragments of oak, beech, and other trees, and leaves and stems of various plants confusedly intermixed; the wood and hazel-nuts and the oak differing in no respect, in their character, from what might be grown at the present time in the same neighbourhood. This peat and wood had undergone no apparent chemical change. It was highly saturated with moisture, had rather an agreeable odour, and was of a light brown colour. Fragments of the hazel and oak wood, on being kept in a dry situation for two or three months, shrunk into about one-tenth of their original size by the evaporation of the combined water, but left the outside bark in its original shape, while the remaining inside, ligneous fibre of the hazel or oak became, on cutting it with a knife, nearly as black and as hard as ebony. Below this stratum of peat came the usual angular fragments, called by geologists diluvial gravel; consisting of fragments of flint, reposing on the great argillaceous deposit of the blue London clay.” (St. Michael Crooked Lane, pp. 16-17, note.)
Returning to St. Michael’s, “the 2nd embankment was discovered about sixty feet beyond the north side of Thames Street, towards Crooked Lane, and was of a completely different character from the one just described. It was composed of strong elm piles, from eight to ten feet long, closely driven together in the ground, with a waling-piece, or brace, at the top.” (Ibid. pp. 16-18.)
APPENDIX II
THE RIVERSIDE DISCOVERIES
The following extracts from ArchÆologia, vol. iii., give fuller information on the results of excavation along the river-side.
“It is well known that, to arrive at the solid clay in Thames Street for the purpose of planting foundations, a considerable depth must be attained. It must be remembered that, apart from the accumulation of centuries since the Roman occupation, the levels of this neighbourhood were greatly altered at the time of the Great Fire. The slope of the various hills leading from Cannon Street to the river was entirely changed, and in Thames Street the roadway was in many places raised from 3 to 7 feet. In watching, therefore, the sinking of the shafts which were to receive the piers of the railway arches, it was possible to trace the successive mementoes of London’s history from the last century back to the Roman period. There were the traders’ tokens, bellarmines, and other late pottery, mediÆval spurs, daggers, objects in leather, and lastly occurred the coins, styli, pins in bone and bronze, personal ornaments, etc., associated with quantities of the bright red Samian pottery. From 20 to 25 feet appeared to be the average depth of the Roman level, and here, driven into the clay along the whole extent of the excavations, were numerous piles and transverse beams extending right across the street, and forming a complete network of timber. Many of these beams measured as much as 18 inches square, and all were of great strength and durability. They doubtless formed the old water-line and Thames embankment fronting the southern portion of Roman London. Such beams were observed on both sides of the street, and many had probably been supports for the Roman buildings which so plentifully existed in the neighbourhood of Bush Lane and Scots Yard. Towards Cannon Street were large masses of Roman masonry, such as have been described by Mr. Roach Smith in the twenty-ninth volume of the ArchÆologia. Much of this had to be removed, and it was interesting to observe how completely the old walls defied the appliances of modern engineering, the necessary dislodgment being only effected by the aid of gunpowder; in some cases, I believe, the veritable Roman walls now form foundations for the support of the railway arches. In some places could be detected the junction of the clay and gravel with the soft black earth and refuse, betokening the old course of the Wallbrook, which at Dowgate dock flowed into the Thames. From the great quantity of antiquities, it has been suggested that this particular spot may have been an ancient rubbish-shoot, such as the celebrated pit at the Royal Exchange. The beautiful preservation of the coins and metal objects favours the idea that the whole had been formerly covered by the Thames.”
“From the Steelyard there is a very elegant bronze in low relief, respecting which various conjectures have been made. Mr. Smith pronounces it a figure of Hope; and he refers to the coins of Claudius, with a similar figure, inscribed ‘SPES AVGVSTA.’ It seems to have been affixed to a coffer or to some object as a decoration. It is now in the possession of Mr. Cecil Brent, to whom we owe so much for the interest he has so successfully taken in the antiquities of Roman London.
Of coins may be selected large and middle brass of Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Domitian; but their reverses are all well known.
Pottery is well represented, large quantities of Samian having been found, including some fine examples, bearing incuse patterns, which are extremely uncommon. There are also some good specimens of Upchurch pottery; one of the black vessels appears to have had a handle, and is of an unusual type.
In glass there are pieces known as pillar moulding, which are very rare in London, though in some parts of England perfect vessels of this kind have at times been found, and are duly recorded in Mr. Roach Smith’sCollectanea Antiqua, as well as in his Roman London. Pins, needles, knives, and spoons have been found in large numbers both in bone and bronze. Among the spoons is a perfect example of the long-stemmed spoon, with a narrow bowl at one end and an oblong termination at the other. Such are figured by Mr. Roach Smith, who considers them to have been employed in extracting unguents, etc., from the small long-necked bottles familiarly known as lachrymatories. Two of similar form were, he says, discovered in a metal case with a box of colours, and a variety of implements and glass bottles, in the grave of a female painter near Fontenay; and, as the whole of the minor objects clearly appertained to the profession of the defunct, these spoons were doubtless used for extracting liquids from the bottles for mixing and preparing colours, in which process the oblong ends were probably of service. We have also some good Roman keys, a few fibulÆ, the beam of a pair of scales, and, among the minor relics, a little fish-hook; a plentiful supply too of Roman leather. Some of the sandals are beautifully preserved, and indicate the moisture of the soil in which they were embedded. Most of these (as is usual) are of small and medium size, having doubtless belonged to females and young people; but there are those that have evidently belonged to the other sex. The round-topped nails with which the soles are so densely studded are, with other appearances of strength, evidences that they once belonged to feet accustomed to a firm and heavy tread.”
“The numerous piles and transverse beams which extended across Thames Street were traced for a considerable distance along the river bank, and in an upward direction towards Cannon Street. So complete a network of timber did they form, and so massive and durable were the means employed for holding the entire fabric together, that it is evident it was intended to resist a heavy strain or pressure. The Wallbrook here flowed into the Thames, and the drainage of the old city being on a different scale to what it now is, it is probable that the soil of the locality would be damp and yielding, and that some protection for the foundations of the buildings reared along the water line would be necessary against the inroads of the river. Above this embankment buildings of great magnitude must have existed, if we may judge from the strength and solidity of these foundations. Mr. Thomas D. E. Gunston, who paid great attention to the excavations at the time, took copious notes, from which he has courteously permitted me to condense the more important particulars. Running nearly in a line with Bush Lane was an immense external wall, some 200 feet long, 10 feet high, and 12 feet in thickness, formed of ragstone, chalk, and a variety of materials bound together with mortar in the ordinary Roman fashion. At an angle were foundations 8 feet wide, of flint and rubble supporting smaller walls, some 3 feet wide, composed principally of bonding tiles 18 inches by 12. These were connected by a series of cross walls 2 feet 6 inches thick, and built of flat tiles 14 inches by 11, also set on rubble footings 4 feet in width. Still nearer Cannon Street were the remains of an apartment 50 feet by 40, floored with a coarse red concrete; this was connected with a second, which had access to a third but smaller room. A long series of smaller apartments were satisfactorily traced, with floors of coarse tesserÆ of red and yellow brick in cubes about an inch square. Some little distance in front of the centre apartment in this series was a square piece of paving comprised of oblong bricks on edge, known as ‘herring-bone pavement.’ Adjoining a thick rubble wall was a large portion of a mosaic pavement, comprised of half-inch cubes of black, white, red, and grey tesserÆ, worked into a simple pattern and surrounded by a double border of black and grey stones of a compact nature, and from 4 to 6 inches square, but varying in thickness. In close proximity to this human remains were found. There were evidences of strong timber drains, or waterways, one 5 feet beneath the foundations of the building, and having a steep incline to the river. This measured 4 feet across, and was 18 inches deep, the boards forming the sides being 4 inches and those at the bottom 6 inches in thickness. The other channels were of smaller dimensions.
Within several of the rooms wall paintings remained, the designs in various colours; some divided by lines and bands into panels, others ornamented by a trellis-pattern, or powdering of fancy-coloured spots: besides a quantity of roofing, hypocaust, and building tiles; fragments of pottery, glass, and articles of personal and domestic use. On many of the tiles were the letters PPBR, LON, such as have been observed before to be worthy of notice, as ‘recording the fact of their having been made by the first cohort of the Britons stationed at Londinium’; others were scored with geometrical figures, or small squares worked with a diamond pattern.”
In the Appendix to his edition of Stow, 1720, Strype devotes a short chapter to the antiquities found in London, which I have thought of sufficient importance to be transcribed in full.
“There are preserved, either in public Repositories, or in more private Custody, many Antique Curiosities: Found chiefly in digging Foundations for the Building of London after the great Fire, and occasionally at other Times.
In the Repository of the Royal Society in Gresham College, there is a large Glass Urn, that holds about a Gallon; and hath a few Shivers of Bones in it: It was taken up since the Fire in Spittlefields. The Glass is somewhat thick, bellying out, and contracting towards the Mouth with a Lip.
But the Collections made by Dr. John Woodward, Professor of Physic in Gresham College, is by much the most considerable of any. For, besides an ancient marble Bust of Jupiter, a Marble Head with a Phrygian Tiara, a Grecian Basso-Relievo, a Votive Shield, exhibiting the Sacking of Rome by the Gauls; the Embossment of which is allowed by the greatest Judges to be the finest and most exquisite that all Antiquity hath left us: Several Icunculi of the Deities, both Egyptian and Roman: A considerable Variety of Amulets, Periapta, Phalli, BullÆ, ScarabÆi: Gems with historical Sculpture, Heads, etc. graven upon them. Camei and Intaglias of Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman Work: Many Roman, Greek, Syrian, and other Medals: Roman Weights: A Roman Semi-Congius: Urns, Lachrymatories, and other Things, procured from Alexandria, Constantinople, Rome, etc. And besides, an ancient Roman Altar from the Picts Wall in Northumberland, with a considerable Inscription upon it: Several ancient Weapons of Brass, Thuribula, PaterÆ, Urns, etc., found in the remoter Parts of this Kingdom, Cumberland, the Isle of Man, Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Devonshire, etc. He hath a vast Variety of ancient Instruments, Utensils, Vasa, and the like, that have been discovered in several Places in and about this City: In particular, several Vessels of religious Use, and employed in the Sacrifices, as for Example, PrÆfericula, Simpula, PaterÆ, Thuribula, Labra, digged up; together with Horns, Teeth, and other Parts of the Beasts that were offered in Sacrifice; above twenty Sepulchral Urns of various Forms and Sizes: Likewise, Lanxes, AmphorÆ, Crateres, Scyphi, Gutti, Pocula, OllÆ nummariÆ clausÆ; Parts of the Plasmata fictilia, in which the embossed Vasa were molded; and Lamps of various Sorts. The precedent Vessels are of Pot or Earth; several of them extremely fine, well baked, some curiously glazed, and the Colours very beautiful.
As to their Forms, they are universally very elegant and handsome. And indeed the Doctor, the Possessor of them, well observeth, that the Remains of these Works of the Romans shew them to have been a People of an exact Genius, good Fancy, and curious Contrivance.
’Tis observable also in this Collection, that the Things are fair, well preserved, and intire; which, considering the great Number and Diversity of them; how brittle Pots and Glasses are, and how liable to be defaced, injured, and dashed in Pieces, is the more extraordinary.
He hath likewise in his cabinet of Antiquities a Glass Urn, with a Cover; also a Scyphus; divers AmpullÆ, PhialÆ, and Lachrymatories of Glass, that are very fair and perfect. Then, there are several Pieces of British Money, coined both before and after the Descent of the Romans upon this Island. As also Roman Numismata, coined here: (Besides Saxon, Danish, and Norman Coins, which, as well as others, are very fair, and happily preserved). Likewise, Styles of Ivory, Bone, and Steel: Several FibulÆ, Aciculi, BullÆ, Claves, Armillae, Annuli, Beads of various Sorts; AleÆ, TessarÆ, Pectines, Calcaria, Spicula, Jacula. Likewise Tiles, Pieces of Lithostrata, or tessellated Pavements of Earth, Glass, Paste, Enamel, and gilded.
So that Dr. Woodward’s MusÆum is a Treasury of all Sorts of Commodities and Utensils, sacred and profane, of ancient Heathen Rome: As Vessels for Sacrifice, and for other subordinate Uses in Sacris. Vessels also for Uses Domestic, Sepulchral, Military, Personal, for wearing and dressing: Also divers Pieces of Art relating to Building, or Sculpture, explanatory of some Parts of Roman History.
Besides these Remains of Roman skill and Workmanship, here are also reposited several Gothic Historical Carvings, in Copper, Ivory, and Wood; the Work of some of them very good: Impresses on Lead, and leaden Seals, that have been affixed anciently to Popes’ Bulls; with various other Things, all well chosen, of real Importance, and serviceable to some useful Design.
One great Intention of this learned Gentleman (as he hath assured me) in amassing together so great a number of these Things, and that with so great Diligence, Trouble and Expence, was in order to clear and give Light to those ancient Writers who mention and treat of them, viz. the Greeks and Romans; which he hath read and studied with great Exactness. Another of his Ends herein was, to illustrate the History and Antiquities of this great and noble City; out of the Ruins of which these Things were retrieved, upon the Occasion of that great digging, (greater indeed than ever happened from the Foundation of it before) and the removal of Rubbish that was made in all Parts, after the late great Fire. And, indeed, the Medals and Coins, the various Figures, Historical Embossments, and Inscriptions upon the Vases, contribute very much to that End. And farther, from the various Places in which the Urns were found reposited, (which, according to the Laws of the twelve Tables, were to be buried without the Walls) he is able to ascertain the ancient Bounds of this City, whilst Roman: From several Things discovered in laying the Foundation of St. Paul’s Church, to shew, not only that there was anciently a Temple there; but also, by some Instances to prove that it was dedicated to Diana, according to the ancient Tradition, notwithstanding that a very learned Antiquary as well as Divine, has lately offered to the contrary.
Indeed, the far greater Part of these Things is so very considerable, that it would afford much Satisfaction to inquisitive People, to see Icons graved of them; and that the Possessor could have spared so much Time from his Business, and his other Studies, as to have writ his own Observations and Reflections upon them, that I might have entered them (as I requested of him) in this Work.
In Black Fryars, in clearing away the Rubbish, in order to building after the great Fire, they came to a thick Wall, very probably a Part of the Foundation Wall of the Old Fryery. In which Wall was placed somewhat like a Cupboard, shut. Which being opened, in it were found four dead Men’s Heads, reposited in fine Pewter Cases, made for them; round, only flat on one side; and a thick Cover of Pewter, having a Ring fastened on the Top, for the more convenient taking it off, or putting it on. Three of these Heads are now lost; likely enough conveighed beyond Sea, where they may serve for Relicks. That which remained is, or was lately, in the Possession of Mr. Prestbury; a Sopemaker in East Smithfield, who shewed it me Oct. 2, 1703. We took out the Head from the Case: It had been wrapt in black Silk, which was then grown rotten. The Skin was like a Piece of tanned Leather, or Bacon. The Hair of the Temples yellow, but upon the Head the Hair was red, short, and thick, and would not be pulled off. There was a Tonsure, or round bare place on the Crown of the Head, that bespake him to have been in Holy Orders: the Nose flat, as tho’ a piece of it had been cut off: The Mouth gaping: The Teeth in the Head found, ten in Number; the rest had been pulled out. The Feature still discoverable. There remained a great deal of Dust of a brownish Colour in the Case. On the Side of the Cover was scratched this Name in a bad Character, I. Cornelius. There was one Corpse found near it under Ground, without a Head. These seem to have been Fryars of this religious House, or some of their Benefactors, or their Saints or Martyrs. Whose Heads, perhaps, were taken out and shewn upon extraordinary Days and Occasions: And upon the Dissolution of the House (it may be) here concealed.
Near the Foundation of Charing Cross, at a great depth, were Stones found, which seemed to be a Sort of coarse Marble, of a blackish colour, and cut into several plain Sides, but irregular. From whence, saith Dr. Crew, they may be argued to be very ancient. These were given by Sir Joseph Williamson to the Museum in Gresham College.
In Mark Lane a strange Brick was found 40 Years before, or better, about 28 Foot deep in the Ground, by Mr. Stockley, while he was digging a Foundation and Cellars for an House which he built for Mr. Woolly. On this Brick was formed Sampson (as I had it from J. Bagford) with the Jaw Bone of an Ass in his right Hand, and his left Hand lifted up; with two Foxes before him, running together, with Firebrands at their Tails; scaring them into high standing Corn hard by. This, methinks, might have belonged to the House of some Jew dwelling thereabouts; signifying his malice to some neighbouring Christian Merchant that dealt in Corn. For ’tis remarkable, that near this Place where this Brick was found, was also digged up burnt Wheat, to the Quantity of many Quarters; very black, but yet sound: Probably it was some Granary consumed by Fire.
But take what the said Mr. Bagford hath since writ in his letter to Mr. Hearn of Oxford: That this brick was of a Roman Make, of a curious red Clay, and in Bass relief; and was a Key Brick to the Arch: And the burnt Wheat was conjectured to have lain buried ever since the burning of the City 800 Years before. And that it is preserved in the Museum belonging to the Royal Society in Fleet Street. And that Mr. Waller’s Conjecture of it was, that it had been made and set there by some Jew, settling here, in the Arch of his own Granary.
A Piece of Mosaic Work found deep under Ground in Holborn, near St. Andrew’s Church, inlaid with black, white, and Red Stones in squares and other regular Figures. In the abovesaid Museum.
In digging for the Foundations of St. Paul’s Cathedral at the West End since the Fire, was found variety of Roman sacrificing Vessels, whereof a great quantity of the Fragments were digged up. They were made of a curious red Earth; the Glazing of them still remains, which is curious. They are of divers Shapes and Sizes, as Occasion should require them to be made Use of in their Sacrifices. And in many, the Potter’s Name was stamped at the Bottom. Some of these Mr. Bagford, a Citizen of London, studious of Antiquities and especially of such as relate to the said city, took up with his own Hands. Farther, on the South Side of the said West End was found a Potter’s Kiln, the Shape of which was circular. In this the abovesaid sacrificing Vessels probably were made. It was near to the Temple where Diana was worshipped, for the more Convenience of the People that came thither to sacrifice; that they might be furnished with all Sorts of Vessels they had Occasion for, at the Time when they made their Sacrifices. And likewise thereabouts were found several Moulds of Earth, some exhibiting Figures of Men, of Lions, of Leaves of Trees, and other Things. These were used to make Impression of those Things upon the Vessels. These Moulds are also among the forementioned curious Collections of Dr. Woodward. The representation of the aforesaid Pottery, drawn with a Pen, is in the Possession of Sir Hans Sloan, Bart, M.D., of the Royal Society, with a Description of it added.
Also, at the South Side of St. Paul’s Church, at the Beginning to build it after the Fire, were found several Scalps of Oxen, and a large Quantity of Boars Tusks, with divers earthen Vessels, especially PaterÆ of different Shapes.
In Canning Street, nigh Bush Lane, was found pretty deep in the Earth, a large Pavement of Roman Mosaic Work. Dr. Hook gave a Piece of it to the Repository in Gresham College.
In Goodman’s Fields, without Aldgate, was a Roman burying Place. For, since the Buildings there, about 1678, have been found there (in digging for Foundations) vast Quantities of Urns, and other Roman Utensils, as Knives, Combs, etc., which are likewise in the Possession of Dr. Woodward. Some of these Urns had Ashes of Bones of the Dean in them, and Brass and Silver Money: And an unusual Urn of Copper, curiously enamelled in Colours, Red, Blue, and Yellow.
In Kent Street, all along the Gardens on the right Hand side of the Road going out of Town, have been digged up several Roman Vessels, as Urns, AmpullÆ, and other things; and among the rest, an Head of Janus, cut in Stone, that is still preserved, being placed over the Door at the entry of one of those Gardiners Houses. Money was offered for this Janus Head, but it would not be taken; being kept superstitiously, as tho’ it were found by Revelation in a Dream; a Woman, about the Time it was found, dreaming she was brought to Bed of a child with two Faces.
At Peckham was a very large Urn of Glass digged up in the Highway, which is now in Gresham College. For these last Accounts I am beholden to my Friend, the abovesaid Mr. Bagford, late deceased in the Charter House, having been a Brother there.
In April, in the Year 1707, divers Roman Antiquities were found in digging by the Wall near Bishopsgate Within. Mr. Joseph Miller, an Apothecary, living very near the Place, while the Labourers were digging for Foundations and Cellars, for some new Houses to be built in Camomile Street, did first discover several of these Antiquities; which he communicated to Dr. John Woodward of Gresham College aforesaid: Who, according to his wonted Exactness, gave this Narration of them in a Letter to Sir Christopher Wren, which he courteously let me peruse. ‘About four Foot under Ground was discovered a Pavement, consisting of Diced Bricks, the most red, but some black, and others yellow; each somewhat above an Inch in Thickness. The Extent of the Pavement in Length was uncertain, it running from Bishopsgate for sixty Foot, quite under the Foundation of some Houses not yet pulled down. Its Bredth was about ten Foot, terminating on that Side, at the Distance of three Foot and an Half from the Wall.
‘Sinking downwards under the Pavement, only Rubbish occurred for about two Foot, and then the Workmen came to a Stratum of Clay in its natural State. In which, at the Depth of three Foot more were found several Urns. Some of them were become so tender and rotten, that they easily crumbled and fell to Pieces. As for those that had the Fortune better to escape the Injuries of Time, and the Strokes of the Workmen, they were of different Forms; but all of very handsome Make and Contrivance, as, indeed, most of the Roman Vessels we find ever are. Which is but one of the many Instances that are at this Day extant of the Art of that People, of the great Exactness of their Genius, and Happiness of their Fancy. These Urns were of various Magnitudes; the largest capable of holding three full Gallons, the least somewhat above a Quart. All these had in them Ashes and Cinders of burnt Bones.
‘Along with the Urns were found various other earthen Vessels; as, a Simpulus, a Patera of a very fine red Earth, and a bluish Glass Viol of that Sort that is commonly called a Lachrymatory. On this there appeared something like Gilding, very fine.’
There were likewise found several Beads, one or two Copper Rings, a Fibula of the same Metal, but much impaired and decayed; as also a Coin of Antoninus Pius, exhibiting on one Side the Head of that Emperor, with a radiated Crown on, and this Inscription, ANTONINUS AUG....
At about the same Depth with the Things beforementioned, but nearer to the City Wall, and without the Verge of the Pavement, was digged up an human skull, with several bones that had not been burnt, as those in the Urns had. But for a larger and more satisfactory Account of these Antiquities, I refer the Reader to the said learned Doctor’s Letter, now printed at large by Mr. Hearne, with Leland’s Itinerary, in Octavo.
An Elephant’s Body was found in a Field near to Sir John Oldcastle’s, not far from Battle Bridge, by Mr. John Coniers, an Apothecary, and a great Searcher after Antiquities, as he was digging there.
Some years ago, on the South Side of Ludgate, was taken up out of the Rubbish a Roman Inscription, taken Notice of by learned Men.
Coming in at Ludgate, in the Residentiary’s Yard of St. Paul’s, was discovered some Years ago an Aqueduct, close adjoining to the Wall of the City. And such another was found after the Fire by Mr. Span in Holiday Yard in Creed Lane, in digging the Foundation for a new Building. And this was carried round a Bath, that was built in a Roman Form, with Nieches at an equal Distance for Seats.
Anno 1716, in digging for the Foundation of a new Church, to be erected where the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth in Lombard Street stood, at the Depth of about 15 foot, and so lower to 22 foot were found Roman Vessels, both for sacred and domestic Uses, of all Sorts, and in great Abundance, but all broken: And with all were taken up Tusks and Bones of Boars and Goats. As also many Medals, and Pieces of Metals; some tesselated Works, a Piece of an Aqueduct; and at the very bottom a Well filled up with Mire and Dirt; which being taken away, there arose a fine Spring of Water. Dr. Harwood, of the Commons, hath been very exact in taking Notice from Time to Time of these Antiquities; and hath sorted and preserved a great many of the most curious and remarkable of them; and supposeth, by probable Conjecture, that here was not only a Pottery, but also, that on this Place, or near it, stood the Temple of Concord; which our Roman Historians speak of to have been in this City, when called Trinobantum. These Sheards were in such vast Quantities, that many Cart Loads were carried away with the Rubbish, and the Roads about St. George’s Fields in Southwark mended with them.
Anno 1718, in the Month of May, the Workmen pulling down a Wall at Bridewel Hospital, found a Gold Ring an Inch and Quarter broad, enamelled: Having the Resemblance of Christ on the Cross engraved on it, with a mourning Heart, and a Pillar with a Cock on the Top. The Inscription was in Arabic; and some Antiquaries who saw it, reckoned it to be 1500 Years since it was made. This is related in the Weekly Journal, No. 1047.
This is what I could, by diligent Enquiry of my Friends, collect, concerning Antiquities found in London.” (Strype, Stow’s Survey, Vol. II. Appendix IX. pp. 21-24.)
APPENDIX IV
THE CLAPTON SARCOPHAGUS
Extract from a paper read before the Society of Antiquaries in 1867 (see L. and M. ArchÆological Society, vol. iii.).
“The site is levelled ground, recently meadow-land and market-gardens, situate at rear of the London Orphan Asylum, Clapton, on the brow of the hill, passing down to the marshes and river Lea, within a few feet of an old path just demolished which ran from Homerton to Lea Bridge, vi Booksby’s Walk, in the direction from south to north, and another way, for many years past but a private road to a farm, running west to east, viz. from Clapton Square, vi Clapton Alley or Passage, to the Lea river. These paths intersect each other near the spot; they are very ancient, and, in all probability, old Roman ways. The coffin was found on the natural gravel, 2 feet 6 inches from the surface, lying due east and west, the foot to the east; it is of white coarse-grained marble, and is cut from a solid block. It is about 6 feet 3 inches long, 1 foot 3 inches wide, and 1 foot 6 inches deep; the thickness being about 2½ inches. The inner surface is smooth, with a rise of half an inch at one end, to serve as a rest for the head. No vestige of a lid or covering has been found, but at each end are evidences of clamp fastenings. It is plain on all sides but the front, which is ornamented with a fluted pattern, the channels being filled to a third of their height with a bead, and is an excellent illustration of cabled fluting. The medallion in the centre is deeply cut, about 12 inches in diameter, and encircles a well-executed bust, possibly a portrait of the deceased. This is much damaged, with the exception of the hair and the folds of the toga about the shoulders. These are as sharp and clear as if just cut. The right hand is supported by the thumb (apparently hooked within the folds across the breast), the fore and middle fingers being stretched to their full length, and in an upward direction. The third and fourth fingers are doubled in. Beneath the medallion is an inscription in Roman letters, but, unfortunately, it has not yet been deciphered. This side of the coffin is finished off by two Corinthian pilasters, as shown in the illustration. I am informed that, on clearing away the superincumbent dÉbris, the coffin was found to contain a skeleton, in the position of ordinary Christian burial, with black mould about it. The skull soon fell to pieces, and the bones were much decayed; those remaining comprised portions of the head of a femur (right), middle third of left femur, portions of left tibia and fibula, and two pieces of ribs. I should judge the deceased to have been a small-boned man, about 6 feet high, and rather knock-kneed; and take him to have been a civilian of rank, possibly a jurist, but not a military man. Not far from the sarcophagus a small brass coin of Gallienus was discovered.”
“The only sarcophagus that has been found in London which bears any resemblance to that under consideration is the one from Haydon Square, Minories, and that only in the fact of its being ornamented on its front and side; the lid too, which is sharply ridged, is decorated with a foliated pattern. It is formed of ragstone, and more roughly made than that from Clapton. In the centre is a bust in bas-relief, and on either side a striated pattern, such as may be frequently observed on examples from abroad. At York, sarcophagi have been discovered with inscriptions upon them on plain labels; others have had objects in relief. At Avisford in Sussex, a fine example was exhumed containing glass, pottery, etc., which has been described in the Journal of the Sussex ArchÆological Society and other antiquarian publications.
In Gaul and Italy, marble sarcophagi are, of course, the rule; the material was at hand, and easy of access; consequently the ruins of the Roman towns produce countless instances of ornamented marble tombs.”
“Fig. 1, Plate 6, is in the museum of Mr. Gunston, and was discovered in the vicinity of Old Ford, near Bow, associated with pottery. Another of the same character was found not long since in the same locality on some property belonging to Mr. Joseph Wilkinson. He has very kindly sent me all the particulars concerning it. He describes it as being excavated from some ground held by him for building purposes near the Saxon Road and Coborn Road, Bow, some 60 yards south of the Roman highway. The coffin lay upon the gravel beneath some 30 inches of superincumbent soil. Its length is about 6 feet 6 inches, width 2 feet 1, 2 inches less at the foot. The lid is slightly ridged. In it were contained the bones of a full-sized man in a good state of preservation. There was a fracture across the lid through which a quantity of gravel had fallen, covering as it were the skeleton, which appeared to have been buried, as the custom was, in lime. Its situation was east and west, and the arms of the skeleton were drawn down at the side, differing in this respect from that found some years since in the same locality, and described by Mr. B. H. Cowper in our Journal. In the latter case the arms of the skeleton were crossed upon the breast, and the form of the coffin similar to that in Fig. 1. At a distance of some 2 feet south of the coffin a large collection of pottery was discovered.”
“In May last I received a letter from my friend Mr. H. W. King, Hon. Sec. Essex ArchÆological Society, announcing that two more sarcophagi of a similar character had been found in the same locality, in the course of excavations for buildings on a site some 200 yards south of the former discoveries.”
APPENDIX V
“With one of these Norman burghers the life of St. Thomas brings us in contact, and, scanty as are the details of the story, they agree in a very striking way with the indications afforded us by the charter of the king. The story of the early years of Thomas Becket has very naturally been passed over with little attention by his modern biographers in their haste to fight the battle of his after-career. But long before he became St. Thomas, Archbishop Thomas, or Thomas of Canterbury, he was known as Thomas of London, son (to use his own boast) of ‘a citizen, living without blame among his fellow-citizens.’ So completely was the family adopted into the City, that the monks of Canterbury could beg loans from the burgesses on the plea that the great martyr was a Londoner born; and on the City seal of the fourteenth century, London addressed him as at once her patron and her son: ‘Me, quae te peperi, ne cesses, Thoma, tueri.’ The name of his father, Gilbert Becket, is one of the few that remain to us of the Portreeves, the predecessors of the Mayors, under Stephen; he held a large property in houses within the walls; and a proof of his civic importance was long preserved in the annual visit of each newly-elected chief magistrate to his tomb in the little chapel which he had founded in the churchyard of Paul’s. Yet Gilbert was one of the Norman strangers who followed in the wake of the Conqueror. He was by birth a burgher of Rouen, as his wife was of a burgher family of Caen; he claimed kinship with the Norman Theobald, and received the Norman Baron de l’Aigle as a guest.
But the story of the Beckets does more than illustrate the outer position of the Norman colony: it gives us a glimpse, the more precious because it is unique, of its inner life. Students of hagiology learn to be cautious about the stories of precocious holiness, the apocryphal gospels of the infancy, which meet them at the outset of most saints’ lives; but it is remarkable that in the life of St. Thomas there is no pretension of the kind. In the stead of juvenile miracles we are presented with the vivid little picture of a London home, which sets the Norman colony fairly before us. We see the very aspect of the house (the Mercers’ Chapel, in Cheapside, still preserves its site for us), the tiny bedroom, the larger hall opening directly on the bustle of the narrow Cheap. We gain a hint from the costly coverlet of purple, sumptuously wrought, which Mother Rohese flings over her child’s cradle, of the new luxury and taste which the Conquest had introduced into the home of the trader as into the castle of the noble. A glance at the guests and relatives of the family shows how the new colony served as medium between the city and the Court: the young Baron Richer of Aquila is often there, hunting and hawking with the boy, as he grows up; Archdeacon Baldwin and Clerk Eustace look in from Canterbury, to chat over young Thomas and his chances of promotion in the curia of Archbishop Theobald; there is a kinsman, too, of Gilbert’s, a citizen of his own stamp, Osbern Huitdeniers, ‘of great name and repute, not only among his fellow-burghers, but also with those of the Court.’ Without the home, the Norman influence makes itself felt in a new refinement of manners and breeding; the young citizen grows up free and genial enough, but with a Norman horror of coarseness in his geniality. London shares in the great impulse which the Conquest has given to education; the children of her citizens are sent to the new Priory of Merton; the burghers flock to the boys’ exercises at the schools attached to the three principal churches of the town. The chief care of Rohese was for her son’s education; in his case it is finished at Paris, before the young Londoner passes to the merchant’s desk.” (Historical Studies, J. R. Green.)
