Roman York: Its Life from Its Antiquities page 2

In regard to the houses, one can see. in the Yorkshire Museum, picturesque little terra-cotta chimney pots, many perfect specimens of roofing tiles and the quaintly designed antifixae which ornamented the overhang of the eaves. Besides these there are bricks, mosaic pavements, lead pipes and a heating furnace. The nursery is represented by earthenware feeding bottles, and the dining table by every variety of native and imported Belgic and Gaulish ware. A remarkable collection of the glass in use shows a rich variety of scent bottles, carafes, large vessels with handles, as well as bowls, cups and fragments belonging to a variety of small objects of coloured glass.

Articles for use in the toilet are numerous, from pins of bone, wood and jet, to combs, mirrors and trinket boxes. Ornaments include such a variety of bangles, bracelets, buckles, pendants, chains, rings and fan cases that one can see clearly that the Romano-British women and children found plenty to attract them in the shops. Other sides of life are illustrated by inkpots, measures, and knives.

Finally, there are the sepulchral monuments, both military and civil. One of them represents a standard-bearer of the Ninth Legion, another a blacksmith. There are also family groups, in which, in one instance, a man appears beside his wife, who is shown lying upon her bed with two children seated in front, in another the sculptor presents a similar family all standing. Perhaps the most remarkable of all the relics of the Roman age of York is the marvellously preserved hair of a woman of perhaps the third century. This hair was found in a stone sarcophagus still complete, still black and glossy, and still held in position with its jet pins.