cester by the Welsh; whence the Saxons changed it to Wrangon ceaster*; and thence by corruption came its present name.' And, in page 12, that "Nennius, an ancient British writer, gives a catalogue of the cities of Britain, the sixth of which is Cair Guoranegon, which is almost universally allowed by antiquaries to be our city; and, indeed, it is so called in the ancient British language at the present day."

Upon the demolition of the old Saint Clement's Church in this city, Roman coins were found in the rubbish on digging up part of the ancient city wall which stood on the river side of that church; and one of Domitian was discovered in the excavations for the new houses at Lark Hill Crescent, near Perry Woodt; one of Valerian, an urbs Roma, and a silver one, I think of Septimus Severus, upon digging the foundations of Dr. James Nash's house, in the High Street; and one of Maximian in the excavations for the new Saint Michael's Church, in College Street.

Coins have also from time to time been found at Dunn's Gardens; at The White Ladies, and at various other parts in and about the City, as follows:

A coin of Tetricus, discovered in the year 1843, as excavations were being made at the Commandery, in Sidbury; one of Hadrian, dug up near the Cathedral; one of Trajan found, in the year 1844, upon digging foundations to rebuild the house No. 46, High Street; one of Carausius, discovered in 1844, upon excavations being made behind the houses which lie on the north side of College Street and on the south side of Lich Street; and, in the year 1847, coins of Hadrian and Nero were found, in making a cutting to lay gas pipes in the Corn Market.

In January 1838, Mrs. Thomas, of The White Ladies, presented a considerable number of Roman brass coins to the Museum of the Worcestershire Natural History Society, as having been found at that place and at Cruckbarrow Hill; among these there are several Greek ones, of brass. For the following

Chronicle, 922, 1041. See "Alfrick."

It is spelled Wigornaceaster in the Saxon Kemble's "Saxons in England," Vol. ii., p. 558. Also see + Vide "Ambrose Florence," page 130.

description of them I am indebted to the kindness of J. Y. Akerman, Esq., Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries*.

1. Titus. IVDEA (CAPTA). Judæa seated under a palm

tree.

2. Antoninus C.... COS. IIII. The 4th Consulship of the Emperor. Security seated.

3. Colonial Imperial of Gordian the Third, struck at Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, in the fourth year of that emperor's reign. The reverse has the representation of Mount Argæus placed on an altar.

4. Gallienus.

ing.

Re.: PROVIDENTIAE. Providence stand

5. The like. APOLLONI CONS AVG. A centaur bending a bow.

6. Roman Empress of about the time of Gallineus. Oblite

rated.

7. Claudius Gothicus. Re.:

.....

(S)TATORI.

8. Quintillus. Re.: CONCORDIA. A woman holding two

standards.

9. Tetricus the Elder.

10. Brass, of Probus.

Re.: SPES AVGG. Hope walking. Struck at Alexandria.

11. Diocletian. Re.: CONCORDIA MILITVM. In the exergue, ALE (for Alexandria). The Emperor and Jupiter, supporting between them a figure of Victory. 12. Constantinus. Re.: BEATA TRANQVILLITAS. An altar inscribed, VOTIS. XX. In the exergue, PT R. Struck at Treves.

13. Constantine the Great. Re.: SOLI INVICTO COMITI.

Apollo standing.

14. The like. Re. MARTI CONSERVATORI. Man standing with spear and shield.

*This batch also contained several British and foreign Mediæval and later coins, such as a Philip and Mary, Elizabeth, Charles I., Geneva Civitas 1678, Byzantine, Liard of Louis XIV. of France, and an East Indian; some of which may have been buried at The White Ladies with the bodies of fell at the battle of Worcester, in 1651. See the subsequent note.

persons who

15. Magnentius, with the Christian monogram.

16. Brass, of Magnentius. Re.: Victoria augg. et caess. 17. Small brass, of Julian the Apostate. Head of the Emperor. Re. A figure holding a standard.

18. Valentinian. Re.:

SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE.

Victory holding garland and palm branch.

19. Valens.

20. Greek? Head of Jupiter? Re.: Male figure holding a standard and the hasta.

21. Greek, of Catania. Head of Ceres. Re.: A tripod. 22. Greek? Re.: Male figure holding the hasta.

23. Greek. Helmed head. Re.:

name). A female figure.

24. Greek?

.....

OPOY (magistrate's

25. Greek, struck at Alexandria. Head of an emperor. Re.: Female figure with turretted crown, standing, holding

the hasta.

26. Greek-Athens. Helmed head.

27. Greek, of Beotia.

Re. Minerva fighting.

Head of Jupiter. Re.: A trident.

28. Greek, of Thebes in Beotia. Head of Neptune. Re.:

Upon a drain being made at The White Ladies, in 1842, across the lawn in front of the house, several Roman and Greek

coins are said to have been found. The following Roman have been deciphered, viz.:

And the following Greek brass coins, viz. :—

A coin of the series called uncertain Roman. ObverseHead of Mercury, with the Petasus; four dots over the head denoting quadrans; supposed to have been struck in Campania, after its conquest by the Romans. Reverse-Roma, over prow of a vessel.

Coin of Arpi, in Apulia, anciently called Hippion. ReverseA horse, APIANOY.

Coin of Augustus, struck at Alexandria. Reverse-An Ibis LIH, 18th year.

Coin of Hiero II., Syracuse. Reverse-A trident, IEPQ.*

Mrs. Thomas kindly presented these last-mentioned Greek coins to me. For the description of them, I am indebted to Albert Way, Esq., and a friend of his.

Upon the last-mentioned discovery being made, I was sent for by the late Captain Thomas and Mrs. Thomas, and upon my arrival at The White Ladies, I saw the trench which had been cut through the lawn, and the coins lying on a table in the hall, where they had been placed by the Captain and his Lady, who informed me that they received them from the workmen as they were found in the cutting.

Upon my communicating these facts, in the following year, to several numismatists, and showing them the coins, they entertained considerable doubt as to the finding of such Greek coins in that locality, and suggested that the workmen might have practised some deception in the matter, I therefore, in December 1843, applied to Mrs. Thomas for any particulars she could give relative to the first-mentioned find of coins; and in reply she informed me that those coins which she gave to the Worcestershire Museum, were collected by her late father, Richard Ingram, Esq., who told her that some of them were from time to time dug up at The White Ladies, and that others of them were found in a field adjoining the south-west side of Cruckbarrow Hill, where he intended to have built a house; and that

In the earth above the coins, several human skeletons were found, probably the remains of persons killed at the Battle of Worcester, in 1651. + But his death, in 1811, prevented it.

upon felling some trees and levelling the ground for that purpose, several of the coins were discovered; but Mrs. Thomas could not tell whether any of the Greek coins in this first batch were found at Cruckbarrow Hill*, and I should think that they, like the others of that class in the second batch, probably were found at The White Ladies.

66

There is an account in the Archæologia" of 1846+ relative to Greek coins having been found on the site of a Roman villa at Acton Scott, near Church Stretton in Shropshire, and the villa from this circumstance is attributed to the time of Ostorius. This strongly corroborates the case in question, since The White Ladies; the supposed fort of Ostorius in Britannia Square, and the supposed Roman iron works at Cinder Point, on the bank of the Severn, are all in a line with each other. Under all the circumstances stated, it seems not improbable that The White Ladies is the site of the Roman governor's house, and that it was so occupied from the time of Ostorius downwards through many generations, the Roman coins found there appearing to indicate such a continuous occupation. There also is a road from Worcester, called Portfield's Road, which begins at the foot of Lowesmoort, and runs by Harbour Hills and Portfield's Farm towards Elbury Hill, &c. Its name shows that this was a Roman port, or military way||.

Having thus detailed all the facts that I could glean, relative to the case, it becomes necessary to enter a little into the question as to the truth of the finding of such interesting Greek coins at Worcester. The objection, as I understood it, was, that such coins had not been found so far inland in England. We will, therefore, argue first as to the truth of the finding; and secondly, as to the reasonableness of it, drawn from the fact of its having occurred in the line of the operations of Ostorius.

* See title "Bevere Island," as to a Greek silver coin supposed to have been found there. A coin of the Consulate was found at the Castle Hill as will be stated in its place.

+ Vol. xxxi., No. 2, pp. 339 to 345.

See hereinafter as to this name.

§ See as to this name in the accounts of Hagley, Hindlip, and Malvern. The word "port" also means an enclosed place, for sale and purchase,

a market. See Kemble's "Saxons in England," Vol. ii., p. 550.