420 Oliver's Cam/p, Devizes. 



It will be seen that the ends of the rampart slightly flank one 

 another, and that the roadway, as defined by the termination of 

 the ditch on either side, enters the camp obliquely. The space 

 between the two ends of the ditch is 26ft. wide. No trace could 

 be detected here or elsewhere, of a paved or made roadway. The 

 two ends of the rampart in the course of centuries had slipped 

 inwards and had overlapped the roadway, as indicated on the plan 

 by a dotted line. When the debris thus accumulated had been 

 removed, the original outline of the ramparts could be fairly well 

 traced, and four remarkable holes or pits were discovered, two on 

 either side, at the base of the ramparts. The outer left-hand pit 

 (No. 2 on plan) was oval with a diameter of 3ft. one way and 4ft. 

 the other; the remaining three were circular with a diameter of 

 3ft. and an average depth of 3ft. Measured from their centres 

 the inner and outer pits on either side of the entrance were 7|ft. 

 apart, the width of the entrance, from centre to centre of the pits, 

 being 13ft. They had been excavated out of the solid chalk with 

 well and evenly cut sid6s. They had become entirely filled with 

 loose chalk from the decay of the ramparts, and as this loose 

 material readily came away from the smooth compact sides of the 

 undisturbed chalk there was no difficulty in ascertaining their 

 original size and shape. From their position, in relation both to 

 each other and to the rampart, it seems clear that these pits must 

 have had some purpose in connection with the gateway or barri- 

 cades of the entrance. It has been objected that the pits are too 

 large for mere gatepost holes, but, if they were designed to support 

 untrimmed tree trunks, their size is not excessive. A few frag- 

 ments of wood were actually found in pit No. 1 ; that no trace of 

 wood could be detected in either of the other three is of little 

 importance, as wood is sometimes known to disappear in chalk 

 without leaving any visible trace behind. 



The two small holes marked as " post holes " may or may not 

 have had some purpose in connection with the barricades. A hole 

 similar in size and shape was found under the rampart at Section 

 "D." A sherd of thick red pottery resembling that found in the 

 lower portion of the eastern ditch, and of the " camp " type, was 



