A Description of a Roman Pavement Found Near Grantham in Lincolnshire, with the Oecenomy of the Roman Times in This Part of England, Communicated in a Letter to Dr. Rutty, R. S. Secr. By W. Stukeley, M. D. Col. Med. Lond. & R. S. Soc.

Part of a Roman Mosaic Pavement found in Den... Scale of Roman feet. Plate 1. Pavement found in Denton fields Feb. 1727. the Eclipses of the two outermost Satellites, in their greatest Latitudes; at which Times they go into, and come out of Jupiter's Shadow, in an oblique and longer, not a direct and shorter Path: An Instance of which may be seen in the Observations of the Eclipses of the Third Satellite in the Months of August and September, 1703. II. A Description of a Roman Pavement found near Grantham in Lincolnshire, with the Oecconomy of the Roman Times in this Part of England, communicated in a Letter to Dr. Rutty, R. S. Secr. by W. Stukeley, M. D. Col. Med. Lond. &c R. S. Soc. SIR, LAST Week I had an Occasion of examining a curious Piece of Roman Antiquity discovered near us, and resolv'd to send you the following Account of it, together with a Drawing I made of it. In Feb. 1727-8. Plowing in the open Fields of Denton, about 2 ½ Miles from Grantham, they happen'd upon a Roman Pavement in Mosaic Work, as commonly call'd. I had Notice of it from my Neighbour, the Rev. Mr. Saul, Minister of Harlaxton, the next Parish, and went to see it. It lies partly in the glebe Land, partly in Madam Welby's, who assisted us with Workmen to clear it. It has been a very large Room about 30 Foot both ways, as we found by digging in divers Places; but being so near the Surface, not above a Foot, or a Foot and half deep, and having been plow'd plow'd over Time out of Mind, the major Part of it is ruin'd and imperfect. Besides many Fragments of it, we had only the Pleasure of viewing one Piece entire, which was 30 Foot long and 6 broad; and this was extremely pretty, the Colours lively, the Pattern or Figure finely design'd, as you will see by the Drawing, which is exactly taken. (See the Fig.) There are only 3 Colours, white, red and blue; but of the middlemost or most beautiful Part of it, which is but 9 Foot long and 3 broad, the white and red is Double in Quantity to the blue. In the outermost Part or Verge of the Work, there is no Variety of Colour, but 'tis entirely blue; and that made of much larger Squares than the rest. On the East and West Sides this was 6 Foot broad, on the North but 3. The red is formed out of Roman Bricks, several Fragments of which we found about the Work; the white Colour is made of the common Lime-stone of our Country; the blue, of the Stone that comes from Benyngton towards Newark, 5 Miles from this Place: And these Colours wear well together, and produce a good Effect. We found in digging, several Parts of the Foundations of the Walls that terminated this Room, and seemingly Foundations of other Rooms adjacent, which Foundations were made of the common white Stone of the Country set on Edge Side by Side, with here and there a Bit of Roman Brick. The Building was plac'd parallel with the Quarters of the Heavens. They found in digging, some human Bones, and I took many Bones of a Hand, which probably belong'd to some unfortunate Person kill'd in the Ruins, or when the House was demolished. After this short Description of the Work, take this Account of the Oeconomy of the Roman Times, in this Part of the Country, and I need detain you no longer. Three Miles South of Grantham is Great Paunton, a Village set in a sweet Valley, where the Beginnings of the Witham River are collected from many Springs a little higher up. Hard by upon the Edge of the Hill runs the great Roman Road call'd Hermen-street: This Village I asserted in my Itinerary to be the Causennis in Antoninus's Itinerary, which Commentators have found Difficulty in settling. The Terms or 2 Towns between which it is placed in Iter V. with the Distance of the Miles, sufficiently establish the Situation, and they are well known and acknowledged; thus Durobrivae, Causennim m. p. xxx. Lindum m. p. xxvi. for Paunton is 30 Roman Miles from Durobri-vae, or the Passage of the Hermen-street over the Nene-river above Peterborough, and 26 from Lincoln. At Paunton, since I came to live at Grantham, I have heard of much Antiquity being found, especially Mosaic Pavements; and undoubtedly it was the Station upon the Hermen-street, between Brigcasterton 12 Roman Miles off, and Ancaister 7, which were likewise Roman Stations and wall'd about, but now their Names are lost. All about Paunton the Romans inhabited very frequent, as at Kirkstoke particularly, where great Quantities of Antiquities have been found; likewise at Strawston I have seen many Roman Coins dug up, in Possession of my Neighbour Captain Hacket, who owns the Town. He says likewise subterraneous Vaults have been found there, and near it is the Place where our Pavement was discovered. Between Paunton and Grantham a Road pastes the River at Salter's Ford, this Road is called Salter's Gate, and much frequented. I believe it has continued ever since, the Roman Times, being the Passage from Holland in Lincolnshire by Brigend Causey, (a Roman Work) to all the Towns upon the Fossway in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire: For along this Way they carried Salt, made by the Sea Side, to those Mediterranean Parts, both in Roman and Saxon Times. Our Pavement stands within a Bow-shot of this Road, upon very high Ground, and seems to have been a Summer-villa, or Pleasure-house, where on one Side they were entertained with the Sight of Travellers going on the Road; on the other they commanded a most noble Prospect Northwards, of a prodigious Extent. When we are upon the Spot, you may without Difficulty see the Reason why they fixed it in that very Point, and 'tis the most delightful Place that can be imagined for a Summer-retreat. 'Tis placed just at the Head of a Convalis, or lesser Valley falling down into the great Valley of Denton underneath, from which Denton has its Name, signifying the Town in the Valley. This Convalis is extremely beautiful, and running Northward, must needs be very pleasant and cool in the Summertime. Our Villa had this further Advantage in its Situation, that it commanded a View between the Opening or Gap that in this Place appears, between Barrowby and Wolsthorp Hills; which leads the Eye into the boundless Prospect of the Vale of Belvoir. You see from hence Newark, the Trent, Kelham Park and House, Southwell Minster, the Forest of Sherwood, &c. besides the neighbouring Castle of Belvoir, where in these Times was a Roman exploratory Camp, likewise the Roman Camp of Hunington; insomuch that we may well commend the Wisdom and good Taste of the Builder, who contrived so well for Security and Pleasure. Pleasure. For Air, the Country hereabouts has always and deservedly, been reckoned the Montpelier of England; for Water, Wood, Heath, and Prospect, it may be thought the Frescati. I am Your most obedient Servant and Brother, William Stukeley. III. Some Reflections on Mr. de Lisle's Comparison of the Magnitude of Paris with London and several other Cities, printed in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris for the Year 1725: Communicated in a Letter to Dr. Rutty, Secretary to the Royal Society, by Peter Davall, of the Middle Temple, Esq. Mr. de Lisle in the Account he gives of his Method of making an exact Plan of Paris, and comparing it with London, and other Cities, first shews, by what Means he proceeded in determining, and laying down the true Situation of the several Places in Paris: After which he explains his Manner of drawing a true Meridian Line through that City; whereby he