An Accurate Account of a Tessellated Pavement, Bath, and Other Roman Antiquities, Lately Discover'd Near East Bourne in Sussex. Being Part of a Letter of January 26. 1717. from the Learned Dr. John Tabor of Lewis, to Dr. John Thorpe, R. S. S. and by him Communicated to the Royal Society

A. The Pavement. B. The Bath. C. The Sink and the other Passage through the Wall at the East end of the Bath. D. The Roman Brick n° bounded the Pavement, laid flat and covered with Terraces. E. Foundations continued several ways. F. The standing place out of the Bath. G. The corner of a large space paved with Roman Brick, and covered with Ashes, Coals, &c. Philosoph. Transact. N° 351. II. An accurate Account of a tessellated Pavement, Bath, and other Roman Antiquities, lately discover'd near East Bourne in Sussex. Being part of a Letter of January 26. 1717. from the learned Dr. John Tabor of Lewis, to Dr. John Thorpe, R.S.S. and by him communicated to the Royal Society. A Description of the tesserated Pavement at East Bourne, near Pevensey, must have been more imperfect than what is now given, had it come to your hands much sooner. I thought an exact Account could not be taken, unless the Ground about it was open'd; and it being part in a Meadow, and part in plough'd Ground, and under a Fence which parts two Persons Lands; by reason also the one was sow'd; I could not procure the Digging in both Places at the same time. It was in March last when the Meadow was dug; and the last Week save one in November, before we had leave to open the Ground in the Corn Field. The Meadow in which the greatest part of the Pavement lyes, is near a Mile and half South East of Bourne; it contains about four Acres, and is of a triangular Form; the Southern Side is against the Sea; only a few Fishers Cottages, and a small publick House or two being between that and the Sea. On the Northern Side of the Meadow is a High-Way, which leads from Bourne to Pevensey: the West Side is by a Fence of Posts and Rails separated from a large Corn Field, in Common belonging to the Parish. About the middle of this Fence is the Pavement, distant from High-Water-Mark a Furlong; In former times it might have been somewhat more, because from this Point to the Westward, the Sea is always gaining from the Land. More than four Years since, viz. in the Summer 1712, when the Fence was repair'd; the Workman sinking a Hole to fix a Post in, was hinder'd by something Solid like a Rock; but casting out the Earth clean, found the Obstacle to be Artificial. Mr. Thomas Willard of Bourne, Owner of the Meadow, being inform'd of the Novelty, gave Order that it should be uncover'd; and sent also to Herstmonceux, for one Purceglowe an ingenious Engineer (who formerly had been employ'd in the Mines in the Northern Counties), who with his Instruments bored through the Pavement; and in many places of the Ground about it, which he found to be full of Foundations: but this his Discovery of those Foundations, was only a Confirmation of what the Inhabitants there have always observ'd, as well in Ploughing, as in the Growth of their Corn and Grass: for in the common Corn Field, West to the Meadow, to the distance of near half a Mile, they often raise bits of Foundations with their Ploughs; and in dry Summers, by the different Growth of the Corn, they can plainly perceive all that Tract of Ground to be full of Foundations. The Pavement was little more than a Foot below the common Surface of the Ground; what lay next it was a small Sea Gravel; the Position of it is very near due East and West (about two Foot of the West end of it reaching into the Corn Field); its length is seventeen Foot and four Inches; its breadth eleven Foot. At first it seem'd to have been bounded with a thin Brick set on Edge, about an Inch above the Tufa, so exactly strait and even, as if Shot with a Plane; and so well Cemented, as if one entire Brick. But when the outside of the Pavement was broke up, we found, that instead of Briks set on Edge, as was imagin'd, it was bounded with a Border of Bricks laid flat, and their ends next the Tesseræ turn'd up. The Thickness of these Bricks was an Inch and a Quarter; the Breadth not under Eleven, and not more than twelve Inches; the length full fifteen Inches; which, before they were turn'd up at their Ends, could not have been less than Seventeen. They were very firm, and not in the least Warp'd or Cast in Burning: when broke, their Substance was fine and well mixt, of as uniform and clean a Red Colour, as a piece of fine Bole: Except at the ends where turn'd up, they were all over cover'd with a Plaster (the same which Vitruvius calls the Nucleus, of which more afterwards), half an Inch thick; so hard, entire, and even, that it seem'd as one Stone, quite round the Pavement. Next within the Bricks, there was a List or Border of white Tesseræ, thirteen Inches broad; within that, a List of brown Tesseræ (somewhat darker than a Whet-Stone, and somewhat lighter colour'd than the Touch-Stone) four Inches broad; then a List of the White, five Inches broad; next within that, another List of the Brown, four Inches broad: all the rest of the Pavement was set with white Tesseræ, without any Ornament or Figure; which though not Gay, lookt very Neat and Clean. When this was first view'd, none of the Curious doubted, but that the Work was Roman, many were of opinion, that it might have been the Floor of a Temple, or place of Worship. Pliny indeed (a) informs us, that these sort of Pavements or Lithostrota, began to be in use in Italy, in the time of Sylla; who caus'd one of them (a) Plin. Sec. Hist. Nat. Lib. XXXVI. Cap. XXV. to be made in the Temple of Fortune at Praeneste; perhaps the same which not long since was taken notice of by the Honourable Mr. Addison (b). I was rather inclin'd to suppose, it had been that Apartment belonging to the chief Officer where Justice was administer'd; and the more, because Pilat's final Sentence on our Saviour was pronounced from a Throne on the Lithostroton (c); which Appellation was given to these kinds of Pavements by Varro (d) not less than sixty Years before; and by Pliny (e) not less than forty Years after our Saviour's Suffering. That the Roman Generals caus'd such Pavements to be made at their Stations; we may have just reason to conclude, from that passage (f) in Suetonius cited for this purpose by Dr. (g) Plot. When the Ground about the Pavement was dug, all these Suppositions were quash'd; for on the North Side of the Pavement, we discover'd an entire Bath, fifteen Foot long, five Foot nine Inches broad, and two Foot nine Inches deep (which the Draught sent with this represents): Fig. 1. It was fill'd with Rubbish of Buildings, which seem'd to have been burnt; &c. hard Mortar adhering to pieces of Roman Brick, squar'd Stones, and headed Flint, mingled with Ashes and Coals of Wood. From the Northwest Corner of the Pavement, was the Passage into the Bath, three Foot three Inches wide; at which place, the Bricks that bounded the Pavement, were not turn'd up at their ends, but lay even with the Tesseræ. At the distance of fifteen Inches from the Tesseræ, there was a Fall of two Inches, to the Landing- (b) Remarks on several places in Italy, Pag. 377. (c) Evang. Iust. K. XIX. 13. (d) Ter. Var. de Re Rust. Lib. 3. (e) Plin. Hist. Nat. Lib. XXXVI. C. XXV. (f) Jul. Caes. Sect. 46. (g) Oxfordshire Plots Nat. History, Chap. X. place out of the Bath; the Landing place was also three Foot three Inches long, and two Foot two Inches broad: Thence by two Stairs, was the Descent into the Bath; the length of the Stairs, the same as of the Landing-place; the breadth of each Stair was eleven Inches; the height of each Step a little more than ten Inches: the lowest Stair was twenty Inches from the farther Side of the Bath. The whole Work was very compact, and exactly well made; not in the least injur'd by Time, nor the Violence it underwent when fill'd up; truly answering the Precepts of Vitruvius; which (b) advise, that for all Buildings, respect should be had to the Strength, Conveniency, and Beauty of the Work design'd; and that in order thereto, a careful and judicious Provision should be made of Materials, without Parsimony. Although the Author and Time of these Works cannot as yet be discover'd; yet 'tis evident the Artificer near enough follow'd the directions Vitruvius (i) gave for framing such like Structures. (b) M. Pollio Vitruv. de Architectur. Lib. II. Cap. III. Hæc autem ita fieri debent, ut habeatur ratio firmitatis, utilitatis, venustatis. Firmitatis erit habita ratio, cum fuerit fundamentorum ad solidam depref- sio, & ex quaque materia copiarum sine avaritia diligens elecțio. (i) M. Vitruv. Pol. Lib. VII. Cap. I. Primumque incipiám de Rude- ratione, quæ principia tenet Expolitionum, uti curiosius summaque pro- videntia solidationis ratio habeatur. Et si plano pede erit rudereandum, quaeratur solum si sit perpetuo solidum.—Si aut omnis aut ex parte con- gestius locus fuerit, fütuationibus cum magna cura solidetur.—Tunc insuper stataminetuz ne minore saxo quam quod possit manum implore; stataminibus inductis rudere tur. Rudus si novum erit, ad tres partes una calcis misceatur, si redivivum fuerit, quinque ad duum mixiones habeant responsum. Deinde Rudus inducatur, & vestibüs ligneis Decuriis inductis crebriter pinsatione solidetur; & id non minus post pinsum absoluto rum crassitudine sit doctrantis. Infuper ex Testa Nucleus inducatur, mixtionem habens ad tres partes unam Calcis; uti ne minore sit crassitudine pavimentum digitorum senum. Supra Nucleum, ad Regulam & Libellam exacta Pavimenta struantur, sive Sectilibus, seu Tesseris. Cum ea extructa fuerint, & fastigia extractiones habuerint, ita fricentur, uti, si Sectilia sint, nulli gradus in scutulis, aut trigonis, aut quadratis, seu favis First, First, as to the Pavement, it was secur'd on every Side, and the Edges of it rested on a very firm and neat built Wall, made of Roman Brick, squar'd Stone and headed Flint; between five and six Foot deep below the Surface of the Pavement, and full twenty three Inches thick; which we may suppose to have been two Foot by the Roman Measure. The Bricks were not in regular courses, as they are to be seen in those Roman Buildings, which are in view above Ground; but without order dispers'd about in the Wall. The Top of the Wall indeed was but fifteen Inches thick; and that was cover'd with the Bricks first mention'd, which bounded the Pavement: but about fourteen Inches below the Top, there was a Set-off (as our Masons term it) in the inside of the Wall, eight Inches broad. We did not dig up the Foundation of the Pavement to the Bottom, but opened it at one Corner only, that we might discover how it was Fram'd: for when it was bor'd through, they observ'd, next under the Tesserae, a Bed of very strong Mortar, more than a Foot thick; under the Mortar a Bed of Clay two Foot thick; and under the Clay a firm Foundation of Brick. We observ'd the Clay (which the Ground thereabouts do not afford) to be very fine and red, and also close; no doubt but carefully Ramm'd. The Surface of the Clay was nearly pitch'd with small Flint and Stones, Pointed at their lower ends, and Headed at their upper ends. This Pitching or Paving is by Vitruvius call'd Statuminum; and the Stones 'tis done with, he extent. Sed coagmentorum compositio planam habeat inter se directionem. Si Tesserae structum erit, ut ca omnes angulos habeant aequales, nullibique à fricatura extantes. Cum enim anguli non fuerint omnes æqualiter plani, non erit exacta ut oportet fricatura. calls calls Statumina. He directs them to be set, when the Underwork is made Sound and Firm, by well Ramming. Because the first Chapter in his Seventh Book, treats only of the Method of making these kinds of Pavements, which in his time, and as may be observ'd from his words, were had in no small esteem by the Grandees of Rome; I have transcribed what may shew the accurate Methods which that great People had in Framing them. But to return, this pitch'd Work was exactly even with the Set-off in the inside of the Wall; on it was laid a Bed of coarse Mortar of about nine Inches thick; the Skirts of this Mortar (which by Vitruvius is call'd the Rudus) rested on the Set-off above-mention'd; it was compos'd of Lime, a sharp course Sand, small Pebbles, and bits of Brick. Upon this Rudus was a finer Composition, made, as near as I could guess, with Lime, a fine sharp Sand, some kind of Ashes, and (which was the greater part) stampt Brick and Pot-sherds, in grains not larger than Cabbage-Seed, and the Flower or fine Powder separated from it. This Bed was about half a Foot thick; and is what Vitruvius calls the Nucleus. Whether we may call it Terrace, I must leave it to those who are better skill'd than myself, in giving proper Appellations to the several parts of Masonry. Both this Nucleus and the Rudus under it, very near equall'd the Portland-Stone in hardness and compactness. Upon this Nucleus or Terrace were the Tesseræ set: they were set an end; but so exact was the Workman in setting them, that he us'd two sorts of Cement to fix them withal; their lower ends stood in a Cement of Lyme only, well work'd; their upper halves were cemented with a fine gray Mortar, consisting of fine Sand (and as it seem'd) Ashes and Lyme. This gray Cement every where fill'd the Intervals at their Heads; and was much harder than the Tesseræ themselves. 'Twas 'Twas before intimated, that the *Tesserae* were but of two Colours, White, and of a dark Brown; they were harder than a glaz'd and well burnt Tobacco-Pipe, and of a Grit somewhat finer; the Brown seem'd to be of the same Substance with the White, but colour'd by Art, (as Pliny informs us \(k\)) the workers in Clay of old had a Method to do): they seem'd to have been form'd in a Mould, and afterwards Burnt. Hence I am inclin'd to take the meaning of *Vitruvius*; where he makes so plain a distinction between the *Tesserae* and the *Scultitia*; that, the one was according to the import of the name, form'd by Instruments out of Stone, Brick, and Tyle; the other shaped in a Mould and Burnt. They were not of an equal Size, none exceeding an Inch in length; the shortest were \(\frac{1}{2}\) of an Inch: most of them were equally made their whole length; but of some the lower ends terminated almost as sharp as a Wedge, on purpose, as may be suppos'd, to be driven where any Interstices were left: At their Heads likewise they were not all equal and alike, some exactly Square, some oblong Square, some Semi-lunar, but none Triangular: the Diameter of those that were Square was about \(\frac{1}{2}\) of an Inch; the longest Side of those that were oblong at the Head little exceeded half an Inch. It may be observ'd, that the preparations for fixing this Pavement here, go beyond those which *Vitruvius* prescribes (in the firm Wall near six Foot below the Surface, in the Bed of Clay within it two Foot thick, and in the Foundation of Brick under the Clay). But when we consider the Scituation of the Ground here is low, not many Feet higher than the Sea might be elevated at Spring Tides; and that it might as well be annoy'd by Land-Springs after great Rains, as by Water owzing through the Earth from the \((k)\) Plin. Secun. Hist. Mund. Lib. XXXVII. Cap. XII. Sea so near; from which the Work in time might receive damage; we must allow the abovementioned Additions to be the result of a very judicious Foresight. The Bath also was form'd and secur'd by a very compact Wall, of the same breadth and depth with that on which the Pavement rested: the Wall, which sustain'd the North Side of the Pavement, made the South Side of the Bath. On the South Side of the Bath, from the East end, to the ends of the Stairs, there was a solid Seat; twelve Foot nine Inches long, very near ten Inches broad, and fourteen Inches high. The Bottom or Floor of the Bath, was made after the same manner as the Pavement was made, excepting the Tesseræ, and the thick Bed of Clay: for under all, there was Brick; then a Bed of the Rudus or coarse Mortar somewhat more than a Foot thick; above that the Nucleus or Terrace only, half a Foot thick. The Sides of the Bath, the Seat, and the Stairs, were plaster'd over with this Terrace about half an Inch thick; all which were throughout so Hard, Compact, and Smooth, that when first open'd, the whole seem'd as if it had been hew'd out of one entire Rock, and polish'd. At the middle of the East end, at the Bottom, there was a Sink-hole, a little more than three Inches long, and above two Inches deep: about four Inches above it, there was another passage through the Wall of the same size; the first we may suppose to let out the Water which had been us'd; the other to let in fresh. The Stairs and Seat were chiefly made of Roman Brick, between fifteen and seventeen inches long, between eleven and twelve broad, and near one and a half thick. At the North Side of the Bath the Ground was not open'd; but at the East end of the Bath and Pavement, at the South Side of the Pavement, and at the West end of both, there seem'd to have been several Vaults or Cellars: for there were very firm 23 Inch Walls continued every way (to the farther ends of which we did not trace), whose foundations were as low as that which supported the Pavement: so that to the depth of six Foot the Ground was fill'd with such Rubbish as was taken out of the Bath. The Bricks in this Rubbish, which were all broke, had several degrees of thickness, from three inches to a little more than one Inch: some had one of their sides wav'd as in Fig. 2; some fretwise as in Fig. 3, others had Roles on them well imitated: we found also two sorts of channel'd Bricks; the one like a Trough, the Channel three Inch's broad, and as many deep, the Brick itself an Inch and a half thick: The other sort, had a Cylindrical Channel; so that when two were clap together, they form'd a hollow Cylinder of three Inches Diameter. These channell'd Bricks being all broken, their Length when whole is uncertain, as is the Use they serv'd to; whether for Passages to convey Water; or whether they were placed in the Walls to distribute Heat throughout the Building, as was usual in the ancient Structures at Rome. 'Tis farther observable, when the Ground was open'd the second time; that off from the South-West corner of the Pavement, which the Letter G shews; five Foot lower than the Surface of the Pavement, there was discover'd a large Space (to the end of which we did not search), paved with Brick, eleven Inches broad, almost one and a half thick, and fifteen long; substantially was it pav'd; for it had two Courses of this Brick. There was half a Foot of Mortar under the lower Course; and about an Inch of Mortar between the two Courses; these Bricks also were perfectly well made; but on the under Side of each, were two Knobs, about the size of half a Walnut; fix'd on them as may be guess'd, to keep them steady, till the Mortar they were set in might dry. This pav'd Place was searcht 6 or 8 Foot every way; it was all cover'd with a Coat about two Inches thick, of Ashes and large Coals of Wood: on that lay confusedly large pieces of the Rudus or coarse Mortar abovemention'd, and lumps of the Tuffa in all respects like those on the Pavement, and cemented as They were. There were moreover mingled with the Ashes many large Iron Nails, bigger, but not quite so long, as those we call double Tenns; some Hooks for Doors to swing on; several small pieces of earthen Ware; some like bits of Urns; some of a fine yellow Clay; some red, thin, neatly wrought and adorn'd with Flowers; and lastly part of a Human Skull, and pieces of Bones near it; which Bones were not inclos'd in any Vessel, but lay loose; they were discolour'd like those I have seen in Urns; so that the Body they belong'd to, might perish by the same Flames, that these Buildings were destroy'd by. There was no Inscription found either on Stone or Brick; no Statue, or other Figure, save those on the Bricks mention'd; neither were there any Coins met with there. But something more than a Furlong North-West of these Works, near three Years since, there was a Malt House, and near two Years since a Dwelling-House erected; in digging the Foundations for the first, there was a Coin of Posthumus; and in the Ground dug for the last, a piece of Constantine's found; both which I send with this, that the Inscriptions and Reverses may be incerted if necessary. From the nearness of the Bath, it may reasonably be concluded that the Pavement was neither a part of a Temple, nor for a place of Justice: the continuation of the Foundations every way to be traced from it, and what was last discover'd, are rather an argument it was an Apartment of a magnificent Palace. R r r r 2. Pliny Pliny supposed that these Lithostrota (1) or tessellated Pavements had their original in Greece; but perhaps the Grecians borrow'd their Patterns from Asia: for from the Book of Esther (m) we learn, there was a most Royal Banquet at Suza, on a Lithostroton (so the Septuagint has it) of costly Stones, four Hundred Years before the time of Sylla, who brought them first into Italy. Josephus affirms (n), that the Grecian Laws, Learning and Arts were fetch'd from Asia: and indeed when we reflect on the Antiquity of the Levitick Law; the Pyramids of Egypt; the Temple of Solomon; the Walls and Palaces of Babylon; and the sumptuous remains of Palmyra and Persepolis; we have no reason to esteem the Grecians Authors, but as good imitators of those early Examples of Learning and Arts they had to follow. When Quintus Cicero was here with Cæsar, the second time he invaded Britain; his Brother the incomparable Tully, had the oversight of some Buildings he had appointed to be made in the Villa Manliana at Arcano: and in a Letter sent into Britain, Tully informs Quintus, that he was well pleas'd with the Seat, and the more, because the Pavimented Piazza was Magnificent: that the Pavement seem'd (o) to be exactly well made: that he had directed some Chambers to be alter'd because he did not approve of them: that in the Bathing Apartment, he had remov'd the Sweating Room into another corner of the Apodyterium. And afterwards in the same Letter makes mention of such another Work which was in hand for him in the City also. Again, about the time Quintus return'd out of Britain, and was fixt with the Legion he presided over, in Winter Quarters (1) Plin. Sec. Hist. Lib. XXXVI. Cap. XXV. (m) Esth. Chap. I v. 6. (n) Joseph against Appion. Book II. (o) Tull. Cic. ad Quint. Frat. Lib. III. Ep. I. among the Nervii (of which Caesar in his Commentaries makes mention); Tully (p) takes notice of a Pavement that was making for himself also: Expolitiones utriusque nostrum, sunt in manibus; sed sua paece ad teetum jam perdacta res est rustica Arcani & Lateritii. 'Tis hinted by Varro that a Lithostrotum was one of the Members of a compleat Villa (q): Varro was eighty Years old when his Books de Rustica were composed: Tully was something more than fifty when the above cited Epistles were wrote; Caesar when a General, made the Tesserae (r) and Sectilia for Pavements, to be part of his Baggage; and Vitruvius, Contemporary with these three, calls the Lithostrota, Principia Expolitionum (s); which make it evident these Floors were held in esteem, by as great Men as the World has afforded, even in their riper Years. From all this, we may observe, that sometime before, and in the first Age of the Empire, the humour of these kinds of Floorings much prevail'd among the Romans: wherefore 'tis no wonder they are found in so many places of this Island. But, as unprofitable Inventions and Customs in time grow Stale, and are laid aside, so fared it with that of Pavements: For in the time of Pliny they began to be out of use on the Ground; but then he tells us, they were made above Stairs (t), or in his own Words in Chambers. Whether the Lithostrota in Chambers were usual in Vitruvius's days, we have no Warrant to suppose, from any hint in his Writings; notwithstanding he gives Rules for making them, plano pede, on the Ground; and sub (u) dio, (which (p) Ibid. Ep. I.I. (q) Ter. Varro de Rustic. Lib. III. (r) Suet. Tranq. Jul Cæs. Cap. 46. (s) M. Varron. Pol. Lib VII Cap. I. (t) Plin. Hist. Lib. XXXVI. Cap. XXV. Pulsa deinde ex humo Pavimenta in camerae transiere è vitro: novitium & hoc inventum. (u) M. Vitruv. Lib. VII. Cap. I. Sub dio vero maxime idonea faciunda sunt pavimenta. from the Method by him prescrib'd must be) aloft: because for sustaining those sub dio, he orders the work underneath to be well secur'd, with two lays of Plank that should cross (w) each other, and be nail'd down; then the Statuminatio or Pitching, the Mortar, Terrace and Tesseræ, as before on the Ground. But because by sub dio Vitruvius could not design Chambers; and although Pliny informs us the Græcians us'd (x) to cover or Flat-roof their Houses with these Pavements; yet since neither Vitruvius nor Pliny mention any such Mode prevailing in their times at Rome; it remains, that we may imagine Sub dio, or the Subdalia of Vitruvius, to mean Pavements mounted on Pillars or Arches, which might afford delightful Terraces out of the upper Rooms, and shady Piazzas underneath: and in this Sense perhaps may be understood the Porticus Pavimentata of Tully above-mention'd. By the many Apartments, the Foundations about these Works point out, there seems to have been nothing wherein the Buildings that once stood there, might come short of the magnificent Structures, wherewith the Romans delighted to gratify their Luxury. The uses each were design'd for, is not to be determin'd: whether there was a Piazza cover'd with a Lithostraton, cannot be affirm'd. But be that as it will; 'tis next to Demonstration, there was some upper Floor sustain'd by Wood, and pav'd with the Tesseræ, after the same manner as Vitruvius directs; and, on the Brick Pavement (last discover'd), the Coat of Ashes and Wood Coals with Nails, cover'd with large pieces of the Rudus, and great lumps of the Tesseræ well cemented. (w) Ibid. itaque si necessitas coegerit, ut minime vitiosa sint sic erit faciundum: cum coaxatum fuerit, super altera coaxatio transversa ster-ratur, clavisque fixa, &c.—Statuminume facta rudus inducatur, &c. (x) Plin. Hist. Lib. XXXV. Cap. XXV. Subdalia Græci invenere talibus domus contegentes. together, and the Nucleus adhering to them; shew there was an upper Pavement broke by its fall, when Fire had consum'd its support. I have been thus prolix, in giving you the most exact account I could of this piece of Antiquity; because we cannot have a less Sense of the admirable Rules and Methods, the Roman People made use of, in framing their Buildings, and ordering other Conveniences for Enjoyment and Magnificence; than of the incomparable Management they had in their Military Preparations and Discipline; which are so to the Life represented by (y) Josephus, and so punctually described by (z) Vegetius. As to the Roman Architecture, it may not be amiss here to note; that when they design'd a Building, they could not immediately begin it: their Preparations required time: By their well shap'd durable Bricks, and by their Stone-like Mortar, we may plainly perceive, they built not with such hasty Materials as are now us'd. Vitruvius (a) and Pliny both direct, that Brick should be form'd in the Spring, and be two Years drying. And where Pliny speaks of their Mortar, he says, 'twas ordain'd by the old Laws (b) of Rome, that no Undertaker should Build a House with Mortar which had not been made three Years before. We find indeed, their Walls seem to bid fair for Eternity; whereas ours, from Parcimony and ill Management, are scarce able to endure one Age. The rest of this learned Discourse, by which 'tis made more than probable that here once stood the Roman City Andredæ, destroyed by the Saxons about the Year 500; though very curious, yet being chiefly Historical, seems not so properly the Subject of these Transactions. (y) Josephus's Wars of the Jews. Book II Chap. III. (z) Veget. de Re Militari. (a) M. Vitruv. Pol. Lib. II. Cap. III. Plin Hist. Lib. XXXV. Cap. XIV. (b) Plin. Hist. Lib. XXXVI. Cap. XXIII.