W O R K S F D E F E N C E . 15 



declivity for that distance, so steep as to be difficult of ascent, even with the aid 

 which the trees and bushes afford. The ditch has an average width of not far from 

 fifty feet ; and, in many places, is dug through the sandstone layer upon which the 

 soil of the terrace rests.* At the point A, the rock is quarried out, leaving a 

 mural front about twenty feet high. The inner declivity of the ditch appears to 

 have been terraced. It descends abruptly from the level for a few feet, then 

 declines gently for some distance, and again dips suddenly, as it approaches the 

 wall. The vertical section a h exhibits this feature. 



There are thirty-three gateways or openings in the wall, most of them very 

 narrow, not exceeding fifteen or twenty feet in width at the top : only eleven of 

 these have corresponding causeways across the ditch. They occur at irregular 

 intervals ; and some of them appear to have been rather designed to let off the 

 water which might otherwise accumulate in the ditch, than to serve as places of 

 egress or ingress. Indeed, most of them cannot be supposed to have been used 

 for the last named purposes, inasmuch as they occur upon the very steepest points 

 of the hill, and where approach is almost impossible. At the northern and southern 

 spurs or angles of the hill, the gateways are widest, and the parapet curves 

 slightly outwards. The ditch is interrupted at these points. 



There are three depressions or ponds within the enclosure ; the largest of these, 

 g, has a well-defined artificial embankment on its lower side, which has recently 

 been cut through, and the water principally drawn off. When full, the water must 

 have covered very nearly an acre. Bog-clumps are growing around its edges, and 

 it is free from trees. It does not seem to have any perennial sources of supply. 

 There are several other small circular depressions, a number of which occur 

 together at the bluff A ; there are also traces of other excavations, not clearly 

 defined, at various points on the hill. 



An inspection of the plan of the work, shows that it is naturally divided into 

 three parts ; that at A being, in many respects, the most remarkable. It is 

 connected with the main body of the work by a narrow ridge but one hundred feet 

 wide, and terminates at a bold, bluff ledge, the top of which is thirty feet above the 

 bottom of the trench, and twenty feet above the wall. This bluff is two hundred 

 feet wide. It is altogether the most prominent point of the hill, and commands a 

 wide extent of country. Here are strong traces of the action of fire on the rocks 

 and stones ; though whether remote or recent, it is not easy to determine. The 

 connection between the two principal divisions of the work is also narrow, being 

 barely two hundred and fifty feet in width. 



Such are the more striking features of this interesting work. Considered in a 

 military point of view, as a work of defence, it is well chosen, well guarded, and, 

 with an adequate force, impregnable to any mode of attack practised by a rude, 

 or semi-civilized people. As a natural stronghold, it has few equals ; and the 



*Tliis sandstone, it should be remarked, to prevent misapprehension, is the "Waverley sandstone," 

 underlj'ing the coal series, and ivhich is found capping most-of the liills in this region. It occurs in suc- 

 cessive lavers, of from a few inches to several feet in thickness. It is quite friaVile, and i|uarries readily. 



