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6. Have any coins, ancient coffins, weapons, or other antiquities
been discovered in making graves ?
QUESTIONS ON ORNITHOLOGY, ENTOMOLOGY, &c.
1. Has any rare bird appeared in your neighbourhood, whose
occurrence has not been recorded ? If so, at what date, (as near as possible) was it seen ? During what kind of weather, and from what quarter was the
wind blowing at the time? In what locality; and under what circumstances was it ob
served ? Was it captured ? If so, with what particulars of time and
size and colour ?
hatching and leaving the nest ? 3. Are the commoner birds in your neighbourhood designated
by any peculiar provincial names ? 4. Are there any superstitious notions prevalent amongst the
peasantry, with regard to the fortune or misfortune por
tended by the appearance of certain birds ? 5. Has any unusual occurrence of our migratory birds come
under your notice, either as making a very early appearance, or prolonging their stay to a very late day?
6. Have you remarked any peculiarity in the plumage, nidifi
cation, song, or general habits of any of our British birds
in a wild state ? 7. Can you record any remarkable instances of instinct as dis
played by the feathered race ? 8. Does any Heronry exist in your neighbourbood ? If so, how
long has it been there? Whence are the Herons supposed to have come in the first instance; what number of nests does it now contain ? On what kind of trees; and in
what locality is it placed ? 9. Does any single nest (or more) as a detachment from a neigh
bouring Heronry occur? If so, how long has it existed ? Is
it still occupied ; and of what Heronry is it an offshoot ? 10. Are there any records or traditions of an extinct Heronry in
your neighbourhood ? If so, in what locality ? Of what size? When did it flourish? How long since it was last colonized ? Whither did the Herons migrate? Was it wantonly de
stroyed ? or what were the circumstances of its decay ? . 11. Can you glean any particulars of the now extinct Bustard,
from old inhabitants of the Plain, shepherds, labourers, farmers, and others, who have been eye-witnesses of the
bird in a wild state ? N.B.—The most trivial information on this point (if well authenticated)
is very valuable, as in a few years, no one who has seen the bird wild in this county can exist.
Has any rare insect come under your notice ? If so, at what date; and at what hour of the day or night was it
seen? Was it in the air, on the ground, or on what species of tree,
shrub, or plant ? Was more than one specimen of the same species observed ? Was it seen in the 'larva' or caterpillar state? In the 'pupa'
or chrysalis ? Or the 'image' a perfect insect form ? Have you observed any peculiarity in the instinct, feeding, metamorphosis, reproduction, or habits of the insect world ? 13. Can you state anything of interest with reference to the
remaining branches of the animal kingdom; as fishes, reptiles, worms, zoophytes, molluscs, &c.; their nature, peculiarities, food, retreats, general or individual habits, &c. ?
1. Have any remains of shells or other organic bodies been found
in the Sarsen Stones ? 2. What remains of mammalia have been found in the superficial
drift of Wiltshire ? 3. What is the extent of the lower green sand in this county ? 4. Does it occur in the Vale of Wardour ? 5. Do beds similar to those at Seend (described in the Journal of
the Geological Society, vol. VI.) occur in any other parts of the county? If so, what are their physical characters, and what fossils have been found in them? N.B.-As these beds are at the present time attracting the attention of
some of the principal Geologists of this country, it will be very desirable if any information can be given on the subject, and as early as possible.
6. Have any meteoric stones or aërolites fallen in Wiltshire, and
what particulars are known respecting them ?
The temporary Museum, collected upon a short notice, and arranged under circumstances which prove the zeal and assiduity of the gentlemen to whose care this very important portion of the day's entertainment was consigned, attracted much attention, and was highly creditable to the readiness with which its contents were contributed for exhibition by various parties whose deep interest in the Archæological Society has been thus pledged ; exceeded only by the liberality of those who have patronized the undertaking from its commencement, by actually presenting many articles of value, and of special reference to the antiquities of Wiltshire.
The fossil productions of the county were represented by exquisite specimens from the rich cabinet of our respected townsman, Mr. Cunnington, to whose ability and untiring effort the Society owes a debt of deepest obligation, and who, like his worthy ancestor, rejoices in the success of services for which his modest worth will scarcely endure to receive its due meed of praise. The exhibition also of Roman and Saxon remains was unusually fine, and the several private collections of the neighbourhood—so far as their contents have come under our personal observation-were made to contribute whatever could add to the extent and interest of the Museum, with a liberal readiness most gratifying to the Committee, and encouraging the confident hope that the Archæological Society will not fail for want of support. Very numerous and interesting were the spoils of barrows, and other carefully hoarded memorials of early days, placed in juxta-position on this occasion. Roman pottery and coins in large number—Anglo-Saxon fibulæ, and instruments in great variety-conventual and ecclesiastical seals, (presented to the Society by the Reverend John Ward, Rector of Wath, Yorkshire)—ancient documents of considerable importance
-warlike weapons of early date-urns of beautiful form, and fragments of British pottery ;-in short, ample materials for a philosophic comparison of all that was with all that now is, were supplied to a contemplative mind in passing from case to case through this pleasing exhibition. Small in extent and hastily collected together, still it was of no common character either as regarded the value of the articles themselves, or the care with which they had been preserved. By their ascertained existence within a few miles of the proposed Museum, a pledge seemed to be afforded that, as years pass on, and their possessors drop off, Wiltshire may not be deprived of these memorials of her ancient inhabitants; but that the Archæological Society may afford a safe repository for many a trifle, little valued till its worth becomes apparent when filling an appropriate place in the cabinets of such an Institution as this.
A List af Articles Exhibited
TEMPORARY MUSEUM AT THE TOWN-HALL, DEVIZES,
October 12th, 1853.
Those marked with an Asterisk have been presented to the Society.
By G. POULETT SCROPE, Esq., Castle Combe.—Head in Terra Cotta. Roman Lamps in Terra Cotta, found within tombs opened at Cumæ, in 1821. Unguentaria or Lachrymatories in glass, from Cumæ. Portion of the Decorated Plaster of a room in a Roman Villa, from Cumæ, near Naples. Roman Circular Mirror. Obsidian, or Volcanic Glass of Peru, used for knives, arrow-heads, &c. Fossil Fish, from Monte Bolca, in Northern Italy. Schist, from the Pic-du-Midi, in the Pyrenees. Pebble, exemplifying the appearance and character of a fault in stratification, from the Pyrenees. Portion of the Aërolite which fell June 15th, 1821, at the village of Croz-du-Libonnez, Commune d'Antraigues, Dept. Ardeche, weighing 220lbs French. MS. Copy of the Castle Combe Cartulary, chiefly in the handwriting of William of Worcester, circa 1460. MS. Copy of Knight's Fees of the Barony of Castle Combe, in the name of Richard Scrope, Esq., with Seal of Edward Sixth.
By LIEUT.-COLONEL OLIVIER, Potterne.—*102 Specimens of Fossils, from the Upper Green Sand of Potterne, &c. *Impression of an ancient seal, found at Potterne. *Sword, ploughed up in Potterne field, in 1836. *Ancient Ring, found at Potterne, in 1800. *Small object of Bronze, from under the foundation of a house pulled down in Potterne street.