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invaded Siluria it would have been a useless position to occupy, as Ostorius 

 crossed the Severn near its estuary, and so marched up the valley of the Wye into 

 the heart of Siluria, where Cai-actacus had to meet and engage him, though in 

 fact the British chieftain slowly retreated into North Wales, where the final con- 

 flict took place. But after the Romans had left Britain, there was a dreary period 

 of several centuries, when, as Camden had stated, the country between the Severn 

 and the Wye was a constant battle ground between the intrusive Saxons and the 

 Komano-Britons, then beginning to be called Welsh. The Saxons advanced from 

 Worcestershire, and this fortress lying in their way, must have been occupied and 

 defended by the Welsh, who doubtless enlarged, if they were not the first for- 

 mers of it. The conflict was almost incessant between the advancing Saxons and 

 the Welsh, and it was not until the early part of the 10th century— A. d. 924 to 939 

 —that Athelstan succeeded in conquering and occupying Herefordshire. A bat- 

 tle or ignominious flight must have taken place at that time, for in 1650 it is re- 

 corded that a cottager digging near the Wind's Point found a coronet or armlet 

 of gold adorned with precious stones, which must have been thrown down or lost 

 in flight by the Prince who wore it. The gold of the coronet was valued at £1,000, 

 and the precious stones in it were sold, so it is stated, for £1,500. Such coronets, 

 according to Caradoc of Llangarvon's History of Wales, were worn by the Welsh 

 Princes of the 8th and 9th centuries. The Saxon King Offa had advanced into 

 Herefordshire before Athelstan, and must have taken this fortress in his way ; 

 but he did not maintain his conquest, and the Welsh regained the ground that 

 they had lost. It was clear, therefore, that the occupation of the Herefordshire 

 Beacon as a fortress of defence was subsequent to Roman times, and such a stu- 

 pendous system of ramparts and trenches could scarcely have been formed for a 

 mere temporary purpose, but must have been garrisoned whenever any invading 

 force was apparent. 



Mr. ¥. G. H. Price, of London, next read a detailed account of all the 

 articles and relics that had been found in the excavations made last autumn at the 

 summit of the Beacon camp. Much broken pottery had been met with, both of 

 the early British and Romano-British date, a few flint instruments, hones for 

 sharpening purposes, and sling-stones, but not a single coin. A quantity of bones 

 had also been met with, which had been subjected to the examination of expert 

 anatomists, but the osseous remains were all those of domestic animals, unless some 

 relics of deer might be deemed an exception. Mr. Price referred to the broken 

 state of a part of the western defences, where some observers had thought the 

 camp had been stormed from that quarter, but the appearance he thought was 

 only caused by the natural effects of denudation. 



At the conclusion of Mr. Price's paper, which had been heard with much 

 interest, Mr. Lees moved a vote of thanks to that gentleman for the great pains 

 he had taken in the examination of the relics exhumed, and this was accorded by 

 acclamation, and Mr. J. H. Knight, President of the Woolhope Club, in bland 

 terms, expressed his thanks for the courteous and welcome hospitality the Here- 

 fordian visitors had experienced. 



