The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-13
4 ROMAN VILLA REVEALED.
Interesting Archaeological Find Near
London.

London.
From the London Times
As IS already known. some discoveries 81
great interest to archacologists have been
made near the parish church of south
Darenth fra Kent. Local tradition has
long pointed to spot on Mr.. john Bur
tonsaNs farm ass the site on Roman re-
mains. and it must have been from tradi-
ticn alone that old ordnance surveyors
were enabled to mark this place ON their
maps. Tor within the memory of living
men and their fathwrs there has never
been So much as mound In that part
OF thee field 10 indicate what might hc
found beneath Fourteen years age. man
dreamt three nights i'm succession that
he had found "a hidden treasure there.
but that dream was probably no more than
an Unconscious reminisceuce Of some
thing he had heard in his boyhood. At
any rate, nothing came OF it except that
the man. more than middle-aged now. SIS
seeing his dream out" al last as one OF
the workers VA search of whatever the
Roman owner may have left behind him
when he quilted that villa some fifteen
hundred years ago. Apart from tradi-
ton there was always intrinsic probable
lily of Roman relics existing within "A
short distance of where they have been
found. u lies i'm tho vale Of "SilVcry
parenth, stained with Roman blood" a
mile from birmingham Road station.
two miles ana a half from DartfOrd and
therefore less than two miles in "A direct
line from the great Roman military road
known as vs. atling street. by which legions
poured on their way from pubis and Bu-
lupus toward the north. Much nearer
10 the place now being explored, in fact
not 2N yards from II. L. a via devla,"
which. from its uarrowness. has been
named the pack road" This, however.
bears ali the familiar traces OF Roman
work, and doubtless served as a link he
tween minor settlements. That Roman
buildings must have existed not far of
was also clear. from the fact that tiles
of that period are built into tho walls Of
Darenth church. Notwithstanding all
these promising signs. the dreamer of
dreams does not seem to have found
anybody with faith enough in his visions
10 set about digging for a hidden treas
ure, nor have archaeologists turned their
attention that way until now.
II was left for MIR. Edward Arnott
Cloves, whose country house Is near.
and his neighbOr. Mr. j. b. Marchant
to make the interesting discovery. after
consultation with Mr.. Burtonshaw, who
readily gave them all the assistance
which knowledge of the ground ana the
rights of q tenant placed in his power.
He could take them TO spot whore
stones, hints and fragments of burnt
clay were often turned up by the plough.
but il was rather hollow than otherwise.
like "A shallow saucer. with not a line
TO show that masonry might be- hidden
below the soil. Mr.. Cloves. however
came to the conclusion at once that the
broken bricks We're fragments Of Roc
man tiles similar 10 those embedded
among masonry in the Norman church
and Mr. Marchant, setting to work little
low. Il D.
more than "a foot beneath the surface.
Then permission to dig further was
sought from the ecclesiastical commits
sioners, who are Mr.. Burtonshaw's land
lords. by the advaice of Sir Nollaston
Franks Mr. George Payne, the most per-
sistent of kentsh archaeologtsts and
certainly the greatest local authority on
Roman antiquities. was asked to take
control Of the excavations. NO better
choice could possibly have been made
as the results already prove. AR.
Cloves. Mr.. Alarchant and Mrs. T. Il.
Hoare provided the necessary funds, ana
the unemployed workmen Of Dareuth
were put to work on the excavations IA
little more than a week ago. Since then
Mr.. Payne has gone on from ono inter
astpg discovery to another. First It
was the pavement of n portico, then the
tessellated floor Of the Atrlum. then the
household baths, IN a wonderfully good
state Of preservation. ana so on step by
stpep until half the foundations Of an inn
posing Roman village have been I'M
carthcd. In the course Of removing some
hundreds Of cubic yards Of soil and fnty
debris-the ruins, perhaps, of upper
walls-many things of interest were
brought to light At one point, when
certain depth had been reached, frag-
ments OF Upchurch pottery. blackeued by
process of firing I'm smother lcllns, turned
up with every spadeful OF earth. Then the
earthenware vessels more delicate in
form. Of harder texture. and richer in the
redness of color. These may have come
from the potteries of Rutupis, near Sand
witch. In another place were the heads Of
boar spears, an ak, and other implements
Near the floor of q slopiug bath, where
eve tn IS SAN perfect We're discovered
several coins Of the time of the usurper
Tetricus about A. u. 200, a few small
bracelets rings, buckle, and other
items Of personal adOrnment, including
ivory pins. A small unguent bottle only
slightly damaged was in this part Of the
building. and among refuse consisting Of
animal bones, oyster shells innumerable,
a red deers antlers, ana ancient nails,
were the fra gments Of am opalescent glass
vase, not quite, perhaps, 50 beautiful as
the "%imbus NitrcuS" Of Martial, but
very fragile. and like n film i'm thickness.
OF these minor discoveries, however, the
broken sheets Of window glass having
on one surface tine iridescence charac-
teristics OF all Roman glass and on the
other traces Of staining Ia brilliant color.
4 few days ago Mr.. Payne came across.
and bv careful work laid hare, the lower
tiles Of "A hvpocaust. with fues IN tine walls
for heating rooms above, ana IT. is proba-
ble mat every day now VIII add TO the
number Of important discoveries. The
foundations already exposed 10 view show
the exact form Of one court and four
rooms adjoining 10, the principal bath
rooms. an outer wall about sixty feet
long and a yard and half in thickness.
one Of the semicircular walls peculiar %
Roman villas 10 England, and traces
that seem 10 indicate the presence OF
other remains far beyond the limits OF
excavations already made.
Teacher (explalning that the earth IS
round)-Tomm,, what country on the
globe Is China underneath?