ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.
ALTARS, Roman pavements, pigs of lead, coins, and other precious relics
of former times, have been discovered in various places in the city and
neighbourhood, some of them within a very recent period. Now that the
people are happily being taught to estimate local antiquities at their
proper worth, and a spirit of inquiry is being invoked respecting them,
it is to be hoped that any future discoveries that may be made will be
carefully preserved. There is no doubt that, through recklessness or
ignorance, many links in the chain of our local history have been
neglected and lost.
On a projecting rock in Handbridge, situate at the south end of the
bridge, is a sculptured figure of Minerva, with her symbol, the owl.
Time has very much obliterated and defaced this ancient sculpture, called
Edgar’s Cave, which is doubtless of Roman date. Close to the figure is a
great hole in the rock; and the field in which it is situated is known by
the name of Edgar’s field to the present day.
In the year 1653 an altar, supposed to have been dedicated to Jupiter,
was dug up in Foregate-street, and which is preserved among the
Arundelian marbles at Oxford. The back of it is plain: on the sides of
it there are neatly sculptured a Patera, a cup which was used in their
libations; and a Thuribulum, or censer for burning incense. The
inscription, when perfect, was—
I . O . M . TANARO
T . ELVPIVS . GALER
PRAESENS . GUNTA
PRI . LEG . XX . V . V
COMMODO . ET . LATERANO
COS
V . S . L . M.
which Leigh, in his ‘Natural History of Lancashire and Cheshire,’
explains thus—
JOVI OPTIMO MAXIMO TANARO
TITUS ELUPIUS GALERIUS
PRÆSENS GUBERNATOR
PRINCIBUS LEGIONIS VICESSIMÆ VICTRICIÆ VALERIÆ
COMMODO ET LATERANO CONSULIBUS,
VOTUM SOLVIT LUBENS MERITO.
In the year 1693, on the occasion of digging a place for a cellar in
Eastgate-street, an altar was found buried amongst a great quantity of
ashes, horns, and bones of several animals. On the back of the altar is
represented a curtain with a festoon, over which is a globe surrounded
with palm branches. On one side is a vase with two handles, from which
issue acanthus leaves, supporting a basket of fruit; on the other side is
a Genius with a Cornucopia in his left hand, and an altar on his right:
on the top of the altar is a well sculptured human face within the
Thuribulum.
This altar was found with the inscription downwards, and near it were two
medals, one of Vespasian, the other is assigned to Constantius Chlorus,
son-in-law of Maximian. The inscription, with restorations, runs thus:—
PRO . SAL . DOMIN
ORUM . NN . INVI
CTISSIMORVM
AVGG . GENIO . LOCI
FLAVIVS . LONGVS
TRIB . MIL . LEG . XX . VV
LONGINVS . FIL
EIVS . DOMO
SAMOSATA
V . S
Mr. Roach Smith says, “The persons who erected this altar were of
Samosata, a town of Syria, celebrated as the birth-place of Lucian.”
In 1779 an altar was found in Watergate-street, which is still preserved
in the grounds of Oulton Park, the seat of Sir Philip de Malpas Grey
Egerton, Bart, M.P.: at the sides are the rod of Esculapius, the
Cornucopiæ and rudder, a patera, urn, sacrificial knife, and other
instruments. The inscription, with a few restorations, is as follows:—
FORTVNAE . REDVCI
ESCVLAP . ET . SALVTI . EIVS
LIBERT . ET . FAMILIA
CAII . PONTII . T . F . CAL . MAMILIANI
RVFI . ANTISTIANI . FVNINSVLANI
VETTONIANI . LEG . AVG
D . D
[Picture: Stone Altars]
In the year 1821 a handsome altar was found by some labourers in a field
called “The Daniels,” in Great Boughton, near Chester, between the Tarvin
and Huntingdon roads: it is now preserved at Eaton Hall, the seat of the
Marquis of Westminster. It is of red sandstone; the mouldings are bold,
but it has no other ornaments upon it except the scrolls which support
the Thuribulum. The inscription is the same on both sides, and is as
follows:—
NYMPHIS
ET
FONTIBVS
LEG XX.
V V
It has been supposed that the reason why this altar was erected on that
particular spot, was because of the pure water which springs on that side
of the town: the old Abbot’s well is in that quarter, whence water was
formerly conveyed by pipes to some of the monasteries in Chester.
In 1729, in digging a cellar in Watergate-street, a stone was found with
an inscription, of which the following fragment only remains:—
NVMINI . AVG
ALMAE . CET
NVS . ACTOR
EX . VOTO . FACI
In the Chapter-house of Chester Cathedral, there is a red sandstone, 24
inches by 8 inches, found on the site of the Deanery, bearing this
inscription:—
COH . I . E. OCRATI
MAXIMINI . M . P
Mr. Roach Smith, an eminent authority in such matters, says that this
inscription is to be ascribed to the century of Ocratius Maximus, of the
first Cohort of the 20th Legion: it has evidently been a facing stone,
probably in the city wall; it resembles in character the centurial
commemorations on the stones in the great northern wall, and, like them,
apparently refers to the completion of a certain quantity of building.
In the year 1738, in digging the foundation of a house in the
market-place, a fragment of a slate stone was found, on which was cut in
bas-relief, the figure of a Retiarius armed with his trident and net, and
a considerable part of the shield of the Secutor. The Secutores and the
Retiarii were gladiators, distinguished by their armour and manner of
fighting. They bore in their left hand a trident, and in the right a
net, with which the combatant attempted to entangle his adversary, by
throwing it over his head, and suddenly drawing it together, and then
with his trident he usually slew him.
Horsley describes a small statue of stone found near the Dee, supposed to
be either Atys or Mithras. It had a Phrygian bonnet, a mantle on the
shoulders, a short vest on the body, and a declining torch in the hands.
On pulling down the old Eastgate in 1768, some portions of the original
Roman structure were discovered, consisting of four arches, two in a
line, and fifteen feet distant from each other; between the two arches
fronting the east was a statue of the god Mars, holding in his right hand
a spear handle, and his left resting on a shield. This was cut in one
large stone, of about a half ton weight. There was also found a piece of
rude sculpture about two feet in height, representing a Roman soldier.
In the year 1800 a Roman Ring, with an onyx stone in the centre, was
found by some workmen when digging in a garden in Upper Northgate-street,
and is now in the possession of R. J. Hastings, Esq., of Chester.
In 1803 part of a mosaic pavement, about five feet square, was discovered
about six feet below the surface of the earth, on digging a cellar in
what was then known by the name of the Nun’s Garden, near the Castle.
In 1813 in sinking the foundation of a cellar at Netherleigh House, a
short distance from Chester, a considerable number of large vases of red
clay were discovered; they were regularly arranged in vaults, each vault
containing four or six vases. Some of these were filled with calcined
bones and small lumps of white clay. One of the vases was secured in a
perfect state, but the others in most part were destroyed, through the
carelessness of the workmen. A demi-figure, habited in a sacerdotal
costume, was found at the same time.
In 1814 a tesselated pavement was discovered near the gateway of the
Castle, in making the alterations there, part of which was destroyed, and
the remainder covered up again.
In April, 1850, whilst excavating for a drain on the premises belonging
to Mr. Wynne, carpenter, on the east side of Bridge-street, adjoining the
Feathers-lane, a portion of a tile flooring, of mediæval construction,
was discovered, in a remarkably good state of preservation. This floor
was made the subject of a lecture by Mr. Harrison, architect, which is
embodied in the reports published by the Chester Archæological Society.
Large square Roman tiles of red clay are frequently found in removing old
buildings, and breaking up the pavements, in Chester. Many of these are
stamped with the inscription of the 20th Legion, LEG. XX. VV., and others
are marked, LEG. VV. Œ.
These tiles were manufactured by the soldiers of the Legion, who were
accomplished masons, being trained to use the pickaxe, spade, and trowel,
as well as military arms. In times of peace they were employed in
building houses and public edifices, constructing roads, and tilling the
fields. To them “we are indebted for nearly all the inscriptions
discovered in this country, which abound in the districts where they were
regularly quartered, or employed on public works, and are comparatively
scarce in other localities.”
A great number of coins have been found at various times within the walls
of Chester, of Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Fl. Val. Constantius, and
other Roman emperors, some in brass and others in silver. A very fine
gold coin of Faustina the elder, wife of Antonius Pius, was found a few
years ago, near the Castle; and in 1826 a very beautiful gold coin was
dug up in a field at the east end of Captain Wrench’s house, which is in
the possession of Captain Wrench. On the obverse is the head of Nero,
with his title, NERO CESAR AVGVSTVS, and on the reverse is a figure in a
sitting posture, and the legend SALVS.
Whilst excavating a drain in Grosvenor-street, in 1828, several coins
were found, some of which were in very good preservation, especially one
of Trajan and another of Geta. A lamp made of lead, and an ivory stylus,
were also dug up at the same time. In the same year was found, near the
new church of St. Bridget, a small altar, without any inscription to
assist the antiquarian in ascertaining anything respecting its
dedication. Within the space of a few inches from the altar was found a
brass medal, on which the figure of the god Neptune is clearly
delineated, with his trident, and a ship with her sails. The legend on
it is NEPTVNVS; on the reverse is Hercules with his club, and a female
figure by his side, and around is the inscription HERCVLES ET PALLAS.
A short time ago a small votive altar was found by W. Ayrton, Esq., at
Boughton, near to the spot where the altar, previously described as
dedicated to the Nymphs, was discovered.
The inscription has been interpreted thus:—
GENO. AVERNI. IVL. QVINTILIANVS.
Julius Quintilianus to the Genius of Avernus.
Examples of dedication to genii are very numerous; the belief that they
presided over the welfare of cities, families, and individuals, was part
of the religious system of the Romans. It was generally believed that
every individual had two genii, the one good, the other bad. With
reference to the particular inscription to the genius Avernus, Mr. Roach
Smith says, “that he finds no other mention: but the locality in which
the altar was found confirms the literal interpretation that the genius
of the well known lake in Carpania is here to be understood as addressed
by Julius Quintilianus. The waters of the lake were much used by the
Romans in magical rites, as the classical reader will be reminded by the
line in Virgil’s description of the incantation scene, preparatory to
Dido’s death:—
“‘Sparserat et latices simulatos fontis Averni.’”
A short time ago there was found in Common Hall-street, imbedded in a
thick wall several feet under ground, a singular block or pig of lead.
Unfortunately the inscription has only been partially preserved, inasmuch
as it presents a different reading from others which have been
discovered, and which Camden mentions as being very general in Cheshire;
but those which he records as having come under his notice had inscribed
on them:—
IMP . DOMIT . AVG . GER . DE . CEANG.
These pigs of lead appear to have been paid as tribute by the Britons to
their Roman masters, “the harsh exaction of which was one of the causes
of the insurrection.”
A great quantity of the Red Samian, and other kinds of pottery, have been
discovered within the walls of Chester, which are supposed to have been
of foreign origin. The names of the potters were:—
HIVNV.—SEV. . . .—BELINOIM.—ALBINVS.—BITVRIX.—ATILLVS.—VABIVS . F.—I
| OFFIC.—CRESI . M.—PVONI . M.—E S CV S I . M.
The following recent discoveries we extract from the First Report of the
Chester Architectural, Archæological, and Historic Society, incorporated
in a most able and interesting paper by C. Roach Smith, Esq.
_Weaver-street_.—In excavating for sewers was found, at the depth of
seven feet, a raised foot-path, edged with curb-stones, and a regular
paved road, of marble stones set in sand; four feet above this, a layer
of charcoal; at ten or eleven feet deep, a quantity of Roman tile.
_Common Hall-street_.—Up the centre, a row of foundations formed of
concrete (broken marble stones in hard mortar), about nine feet apart,
all in a line, and about ten feet deep, presenting the appearance of
having supported columns. A large square block of stone, four feet two
inches square, and sixteen inches deep, without lewis holes, on a bed of
concrete. A portion of a column of very debased classical form, about
two feet in diameter; at the top is a hole, four inches and a half
square, and the same deep, and a similar hole at the bottom; the square
part seems never to have been smoothly dressed; the workmen said it was
fast to the grouted concrete, at the depth of ten feet; mouldings, broken
tiles, and pottery, coins of Pius, Tetricus, &c.; a quantity of animals’
bones, a stag’s skull, with the horns sawn off, and a wild boar’s tusk.
In the adjoining street, a moulded block of cornice, eight inches thick,
on the under side of which is a rude inscription; imbedded in a thick
wall, at the same place, a pig of lead; a capital of a pillar. The tiles
are of various forms, some overlapping one another, some with a kind of
pattern or letters, others with marks of animals’ feet. One perfect,
twenty-one inches by thirteen, of singular form. Also, what appears to
have been a portion of a gable end.
In December, 1850, whilst fresh drains were being made, an old Roman vase
was found in a yard belonging to Mr. Parkinson, plumber, in
Northgate-street, between the Abbey-square and the Abbey Green. The
labourer who was employed in the drain in that neighbourhood unhappily
shattered this vase in pieces. The fragments, however, were collected
together with great care, and re-united by Mr. Parkinson, in whose
possession it now remains. There were found with it some portions of
annular brass money, much corroded.
Near to the Feathers Hotel, in Bridge-street, in a cellar now occupied as
an earthenware shop, are the remains of the Roman hypocaust and sweating
bath, the use of which appears to have been very general amongst the
Romans, and regarded by them as one of their chief luxuries. From the
details which have been handed down to us by ancient historians,
respecting these curious erections, we learn that they were not only
constructed so as to secure the comfort and convenience of the bathers to
the fullest extent, but were often built in the most magnificent style of
architecture. The one in Bridge-street, which circumstances have happily
spared, is in a tolerably perfect state. It is fifteen feet long, and
eight wide, and six feet seven inches deep. There is an adjoining
chamber, or _præfurnium_, of the same dimensions. The Hypocaust is
supported by twenty-eight square pillars, two feet eight inches high, and
one foot square at the top and bottom. Over these pillars are placed
bricks, eighteen inches square, and three inches thick, which support
others two feet square, perforated with small holes, about six inches
asunder, for the purpose of conveying the heat upwards. Immediately
above this uppermost layer of bricks is a terrace floor, composed of
several layers of lime, pounded bricks, &c., in different proportions and
degrees of fineness. The room above is the Sudatorium, or Sweating Room,
which received the hot air from the Hypocaust below. Around the walls
were benches, rising one above another, on which the bathers sat, until
they burst out into a free perspiration; after which they were scraped
with a bronze instrument called a _Strigil_—thin and flexible, like a
hoop—by which all impurities were removed from the skin; they were then
_shampooed_, rubbed down with towels (_Lintea_), and their bodies
anointed with oil, by an attendant called _Aliptes_, after which they
returned to the _Tepidarium_, where they attired themselves, and cooled
gradually before returning to the open air.
In 1779, another Hypocaust, and the remains of several adjoining rooms of
a Roman house, were discovered in digging the foundations of houses near
the Watergate. The pillars of this Hypocaust, the altar dedicated to
_Fortuna Redux_, _Esculapius et Salus_, and a few other antiquities, were
found at the same time, and were removed to Oulton Park.
But small portions of the original Roman wall of Chester now exist,
although undoubted vestiges of that ancient work are easily discernible.
The present wall, no doubt, stands on the original foundation. The Roman
pavement has been often discovered at the depth of a few feet below the
modern road, in the principal streets, which, in all probability, run in
the same direction as those of the Roman City. During the last few
years, many remarkable antiquities have been discovered in making
excavations for new buildings; and among such remains, a fine Roman
altar, bearing a Greek inscription, has excited great interest and
speculation.
[Picture: City Walls]