THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB
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high up in the Northern regions, and altogether gave evidence of great familiarity
with the whole subject. He was born in Colchester, lived in that parish, and was
buried in a vault near where the visitors were standing. Mr. W. Cole mentioned
that Professor Sylvanus Thompson, D.Sc., delivered a lecture on Gilberd and his
discoveries, before the Club, at the meeting on March 26th, 1887 (see Essex
Naturalist, vol. i, p. 94), and that Prof. Thompson was preparing a memoir of
Gilberd which the Council hoped shortly to publish. The visitors then quitted
the church, and, crossing the street, entered the courtyard of Tymperley's, Gil-
berd's residence, where, on one occasion, Queen Elizabeth came to see him, and
stayed with him.
Proceeding up Sir Isaac's Walk and through St. Mary's churchyard into Bal-
kerne Lane, the visitors inspected, under the direction of Mr. Laver, various
portions of the ancient Roman wall, lingering with special interest at the old
arched gateway near the Water-tower, which Mr. Laver explained was the princi-
pal entrance into Colchester, and was very interesting as being one of the few
remaining Roman gateways in the kingdom.
On the kind invitation of Mr. George Joslin, a most interesting visit was paid to
his private Museum of Roman Antiquities, which, for completeness and value
as a local collection, is probably unsurpassed in this country. It is the result of
23 years' unremitting care and perseverance on the part of its owner, and it
includes a vast number of objects of Roman art and manufacture, all found in
Colchester, illustrating in a remarkable manner, the religious, social, and domestic
life of the colonists of Camulodunon during four centuries of Roman occupation.
The varied character and excellent preservation of many of the objects found,
shows the importance with which the ancients regarded the rights and ordinances
of sepulture ; exhumed principally from the sites of the ancient cemeteries which
surround the old walls of Colonia Camulodunum, they comprise no less than 126
sepulchral groups or burials, which have been arranged and classified in the order
in which they were discovered, and continue (says Mr. J. E. Price) "that interest-
ing series of interments collected nearly forty years ago by the late Mr. John
Taylor, who first drew more than ordinary attention to the Roman Antiquities of
Colchester."
Many objects may be regarded with special interest. The celebrated Memorial
to the Roman Centurion of the 20th Legion ("Marcus Favonius, son of Marcus
of the Polian tribe"), may be considered "as unique in Britain, no such monu-
ment being recorded as existing in any of our public or private collections. Also
the series of figurines, ox statuettes, in terra cotta, 35 in number, are of equal
interest and value."
Several of the groups, by their small bones, toys, feeding-bottles, gum-rings,
&c., enclosed in the urns, indicate the burials of children. Others contained
ladies' specula, beads, bracelets, broaches, finger-rings, &c. With others again
were found dice, counters, locks, keys, fibulae, strigils, tweezers, nail picks, &c.,
enclosed in cinerary urns, bottles, pans, &c., which are so varied that hardly
two are alike in shape or material. Some of the groups are composed of as many
as fifteen vessels.
Many of the Samian vessels have the names of the makers stamped upon them ;
of these there are more than 100 examples. Several also of the handles of the
amphorae and the mortaria are inscribed with the names of the potters, and other
words.
"The collection also contains many roof-tiles, flue-tiles, pavements, and a
great variety of glass vessels, used for cinerary purposes or for ornament. Many