of such buildings as were inhabited by the elevated and wealthy, that considerable quantities of tessera [the small dies of which the pavement is composed] formed a part of the baggage of a regular army, and were laid down in the principal apartments of the prætorium. ut auth Se The tessera which compose the majority of such mosaic pavements as are discovered in Britain, are, in general, nearly cubes, of about half an inch square. But they are by no means invariably of that size. Some, which, are of mere brick, and were used for the coarse work of ordinary apartments, are considerably larger; while others are of very small dimensions, and were em ployed in filling up the minute parts of such pavements as were worked with laborious care and delicacy. They are of various colours; and, in many instances, appear to have been formed of stones dug from the neighbourhood of the building in which they were placed, with the addition only of small dies of brick, to produce a strong shade of red, and of a hard calcarious stone, of a bright white hue, bearing some resemblance to Palombino marble,dbamidai vt The tesseræ, or dies, were embedded in cement, and placed on prepared strata of different kinds, [as rubble-stones; or blended sand, clay, and loose pieces of brick ;] with brick-work for the foundation of the whole. The mosaic-work was disposed in a great variety of patterns, which sometimes consisted merely of ornamental involutions, as the vitruvian scroll, the labyrinth-fret, and the guilloche; but were more frequently descriptive of heathen deities, or other allegorical figures allusive to war, love, and the pleasures of the chace. The execution of the figures is usually very coarse; and an elegance of taste is chiefly displayed in such mosaic pavements as consist of fanciful ornaments, unconnected with attempts to represent the human, or any other natural, figure. Inscriptions have been frequently found on tessellated pavements in several other parts of Europe, but have been only rarely discovered in Britain. The first discovery of this nature was made by Mr. Lysons, Lysons, at Woodchester; and the same gentleman has been so fortunate as to reveal, for the gratification of the antiquary, a second inscription in mosaic-work, at Frampton, in Dorsetshire. It will be observed by the readers of the Beauties of England, that neither of these inscriptions contains any reference to the dates at which the respective ville were erected, or to the persons by whom they were occupied.gragonessid on T envillebam ROMAN COINS.-The coins of the Romaus rank among the most interesting vestiges of the ascendancy of that great nation, in Britain. These relics, indeed, constitute a distinguished memorial of the former sway and busy population of the Romans, in all places which were included within the bounds of their mighty empire; and are found in great abundance, by the operation of the plough, or spade, either scattered loosely through the soil, or reposited for security in urns and other receptacles. They are, also, frequently dug from a concealment amidst the foundations of buildings. eijos oldumiles bon The exuberance with which they are discovered in Britain, is manifested by very numerous pages of the "Beauties;" but it is evident that the topographer, whilst confining his enquiries to England and Wales, is chiefly concerned with such as bear an immediate relation to our native island; and these will be found to be only few in number. It may, however, be desirable to remind the reader of some circumstances generally connected with the coinage of Rome; as the collecting of medals forms one of the most elegant branches of antiquarian employment. In regard to the material of which they are fabricated, Roman coins are chiefly of three sorts; brass, or copper; silver; and gold.* The first material was that of earliest use, and long re mained Many coins are found of lead, iron, or copper, finely plated with gold or silver, and are evidently the performance of Roman forgers. That coins legitimately composed of lead were very anciently in circulation at Rome, is, however, unquestionable; but only few are discovered with imperial impressions, and those are supposed to have been mere trial-pieces. mained the sole metal of which the money of the Romans was Little discrimination is now made between the brass and copper coins of the Romans, although, when used as a circulating medium of traffic, the brass was considered to be double in value to the copper. This want of attention arises from that fine rust which is peculiar to these metals, when reposited in particular soils, and in which the best specimens of ancient brass and copper coins are beautifully encased. This rust is of various colours, and when really produced by time, is as hard as the metal itself, and acts as a natural varnish, which preserves the most delicate touches of the impression, more effectually than could have been done by any artificial means. 'The silver imperial coins are so numerous and complete, that they Such are the classes into which they are arbitrarily divided; the large, being about the size of our crown, and the middle that of our half-crown; while the small comprehends all brass coins not larger than our shilling. But it will be noticed that the brass coinage of Rome gradually declines in size from the time of Severus. **** 0000 094d, a jeni gje 312 tunisiadient ga they are not held in extraordinary esteem by the fastidious medallist. Coins in this metal, are frequently dug up with large spots of green, blue, or red rust; all of which are injurious to the value of the specimen. They, likewise, from lying in a soil. subject to particular vapours, acquire a yellow tarnish, which has. deceptively inclined many persons to suppose that they had been gilt. The Roman silver was generally alloyed, for the purpose of hardening it. The imperial coins of gold are deemed so truly precious, that the purity of the metal is one of the least considerations in estimating their value. We here see the arts of medallic invention and execution carried to an admirable height; and the metal is highly favourable to the perpetuation of such exquisite workmanship, as it is superior to all rust, except the iron-mould acquired from lying in a soil impregnated with iron. The impress on all these classes of coins is interesting equally to the historian, the antiquary, and the general lover of science. Before I bestow on this subject a few brief notices, the reader may be reminded, in the lively and elegant words of Addison, "that, formerly, there was no difference between money and medals. An old Roman had his purse full of the same pieces that we now preserve in cabinets. As soon as an emperor had done any thing remarkable, it was immediately stamped on a coin, aud became current through his whole dominions. It was a pretty contrivance to spread abroad the virtues of an Emperor, and make his actions circulate. A fresh coin was a kind of a gazette, that published the latest news of the empire."** Until the time of Julius Cæsar, the portrait of a living personage had never been stamped upon a Roman coin; but, from that period downwards, the medals of the empire present a gratifying succession of portraits, often of exquisite workmanship, dand Dialogues on Medals, Bishop Hurd's edit. p. 439.—Medallions are ordinarily supposed to act as an exception to this remark, but Mr. Pinkerton doubts whether many medallions might not have been circulated as money Vide Essay on Medals, and evincing, in the strength of their character, a probable closeness of resemblance. On the coins of the upper empire,* the face is exhibited in profile, a style of representation well adapted to the dimensions of a medal; but, in those of the lower Emperors, this custom was frequently abandoned; and here, to use the satirical words of Addison," you find abundance of broad Gothic faces, like so many full moons, on the side of a coin.” While the obverse is enriched with the portrait of a Roman Emperor, [then, in reality, the monarch presiding over all Europe] the reverse presents a device, finely emblematic, or commemorative of some event of importance to the Roman nation, and thence to the civilized world at large. We here find represented, and often with great beauty, deities, and personifications allusive to peculiar virtues presumed to be displayed by the Emperors, or by the people subject to their rule. Any extension of the empire, or victory conducive to that event, was promptly stamped upon a coin, to gratify the patriotic pride of the Roman citizens, and to blazon to posterity, the achievements of their armies. Nor were military actions alone deemed worthy of notice upon the coinage; any great work of an honourable peace obtained a place on these lasting medallic tablets; and the reverse The reader may be reminded that the era termed the Upper Empire, is considered to have commenced under Julius Cæsar, and to have ended about the year of Christian reckoning, 260. The lower empire embraces a period of near 1200 years, and terminates at the capture of Constantinople. All the imperial medals, till the time of the Palæologi, are deemed antique. + Mr. Addison, [Dialogues on Medals, &c.] expatiates, at some extent, on the judgment the ancients, in causing the record of great events, chewn l for the information of posterity, to be stamped on brass and copper, as the less valuable metals in common esteem, rather than on gold and silver, which are so tempting to the destructive hand of avarice. Although similar devices were impressed on the more precious substances, it is indeed sufficiently evi dent that not any opportunity was neglected of perpetuating actions of renown, by commemorating them on coins likely to be valuable with future ages for the device and legend, rather than for the intrinsic value of the metal. |