Therefore no
doubt a considerable quantity of fine earth has been washed down
from the upper parts of the field, and has largely aided in the
burial of these remains.
Silchester, Hampshire.--The ruins of this small Roman town have
been better preserved than any other remains of the kind in
England. A broken wall, in most parts from 15 to 18 feet in height
and about 1.5 mile in compass, now surrounds a space of about 100
acres of cultivated land, on which a farm-house and a church stand.
{56} Formerly, when the weather was dry, the lines of the buried
walls could be traced by the appearance of the crops; and recently
very extensive excavations have been undertaken by the Duke of
Wellington, under the superintendence of the late Rev. J. G. Joyce,
by which means many large buildings have been discovered. Mr.
Joyce made careful coloured sections, and measured the thickness of
each bed of rubbish, whilst the excavations were in progress; and
he has had the kindness to send me copies of several of them. When
my sons Francis and Horace visited these ruins, he accompanied
them, and added his notes to theirs.
Mr. Joyce estimates that the town was inhabited by the Romans for
about three centuries; and no doubt much matter must have
accumulated within the walls during this long period.
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