to have been somewhat analogous to those of our own day.

Remains of Roman villas have been brought to light in most parts of the country. Some of these are of remarkable extent, and must, when inhabited, have been homes of taste and of luxurious elegance. The largest and finest yet uncovered in England is at Woodchester. It consists of two courts, one 150 and the other 90 feet square, surrounded by a gallery, or cryptoporticus. The principal apartment is fifty feet square, the floor being a splendid tessellated pavement, probably based on a hypocaust, with a fountain in the centre. Another of almost similar extent at Bignor has its courts, and cryptoporticus, and baths on a more magnificent scale still. I had, many years ago, the good fortune to discover a Roman villa in Oxfordshire (of which I gave an account in the "Journal of the British Archæological Association" for 1851); it presented many interesting features.

Tessellated pavements occur in most of the larger villas and houses, and are of more or less elaborate character in design and execution. Many of these have been found in London, Leicester, Cirencester, Caerleon, Caerwent, Lincoln, Canterbury, Gloucester, Wroxeter, Kenchester, York, Stonesfield, Winterton, Littlecote, Bignor, Frampton, Dorchester, Cotterstock, Aldborough, and many other places. They bear exquisite geometrical designs, guilloche and other borders, mythological groups and figures

fishes and sea monsters, the seasons, chariot races, hunting scenes, genii and cupids, gladiatorial combats, etc., etc., and occasionally inscriptions. Fig. 105 gives a careful representation of one of these

Fig. 105. Tesselated Pavement, Leicester.

pavements; it is from Leicester, and represents Diana and Acteon. It will be sufficient to show the style of workmanship. Hypocausts were formed of low, thick, hollow pillars composed of tiles or

stones, with openings at the sides to admit the passage of hot air, or of flues and funnels, formed of ridge tiles, for conveying the heated air. Baths were a very usual accompaniment of the Roman dwelling, and remains are of frequent occurrence.

The temple, basilica, or court-house, and public baths, appear in towns to have been usually placed close together. The temples were dedicated to various deities-Minerva, Neptune, Serapis, etc., etc. At Bath the remains of the temple dedicated to Minerva were sufficiently extensive to enable its façade to be restored; and other somewhat extensive remains have been discovered at Ribchester, Keston, Caerleon, and other places. Usually, however, the only records of the existence of such temples are inscribed stones—as DEO SANCTO SERAPI TEMPLVM A SOLO FECIT, which occurs at York;

MATRIBVS OMNIVM GENTIVM TEMPLVM OLIM VETVS

TATE CONLABSVм, at Castlehead; TEMPLVM VETVSTATE CONLAPSVM RESTITVERVNT, at Chesters; and so on. The same remark applies to the basilica and public baths, regarding which such inscriptions as BALNEVM CVM BASILICA A SOLO INSTRVXIT, at Lanchester; BALINEVM VI IGNIS EXVSTVM RESTITVIT CVRANTE VAL. FRONTONE PREF. EQ. ALAE

VETTO[NVM], at Bowes; and so on, occur.

Roman altars are of very frequent occurrence. Their general form was an elongated square block of stone-like a portion of a square pillar-with an inscription on its front side. The front, as I have

said, contained the inscription, and the back was usually plain and rough, for attaching to, or placing against, a wall. On the other sides ornaments of various kinds were carved in relief. These usually consisted of the instruments of sacrifice-the præfericulum, or pitcher, which contained the wine for the offering; the patera, a dish with a handle, used for throwing a portion of the wine upon the altar; the securis, or axe, with which the animal was slain; and the culter, or knife, used in cutting it up -with a figure of the whole or a part of the victim, usually the head of an ox. Sometimes other figures were introduced, emblematical of the deity to whom the altar was dedicated, or relating, perhaps, in some cases, to the dedicator. The upper part was the most elaborately ornamented, and in the middle of the upper surface a basin-shaped cavity was sunk in the stone, called the focus (or hearth), which received the portion of the victim that was offered up in sacrifice and burnt in the fire kindled in the focus. The inscription set forth, first, the deity to whom the altar was dedicated; next, the name and condition of the dedicator; and often concluded with stating the cause of dedication. This was usually a vow.

Fig. 107 represents an altar found at Bath. Fig. 106 is from Housesteads, on the Roman Wall, and bears an inscription which may be translated"To Jupiter, the greatest and best, and the deities. of Augustus, the First Cohort of Tungrians (a