By B. Stcdlyhrass. 421 



same period on Asliley Wood Down. What is their raison d' 4tre ? 

 Two industries other than agriculture may have attracted popu- 

 lation to this spot. The Withy Beds site is of a heavy yellow clay 

 extending to a depth of -ift., where it changes to blue clay. 

 In the neighbouring village of Ridge there has been a pottery as 

 far back as the traditions of the present generation reach. Here 

 the same bed of yellow clay is employed for brick making, the 

 blue clay for pots, tiles, and the harder sort of bricks. Sand and 

 the old form of fuel — wood — are in abundance close by ; water is 

 running half the year now, probably all the year then, at the 

 1 )ottom of the field. With all the necessary materials at hand, is 

 it not probable that the potter's art flourished here ? With this 

 idea in view a sharp look out was kept for any evidence in its 

 favour ; but it must be admitted that it is small. Only one kind 

 of pottery bears any resemblance to that produced at present, and 

 tliat, the coarse pink ware, is scanty. At the same time we know 

 so little of ancient methods of manufacture that it is possible, some 

 of the other pottery, different as it may look, originates from the 

 same clay. But no discovery was made of ill-formed or ill-burnt 

 pots, the refuse of a pottery ; yet only two or three pots were found 

 sufficiently complete to give an idea of the form, and in the case of 

 small broken pieces, such as the vast majority were, it appears 

 impossible to determine whether they had worn out in service, or 

 been rejected by the potter in their youth. A small number of pieces 

 resembling brick clinkers were discovered, but it is difficult to see 

 how these should have originated if the primitive methods of 

 manufacture without ovens were in use, and of kilns there was no 

 trace. Charcoal was certainly abundant over large portions of the 

 ground, but this is only what might be expected in any village 

 where wood is the only fuel. On the whole we can only say 

 that a pottery business may have been carried on here ; we cannot 

 say that it was. 



In regard to the other industry it must be remarked that Ridge 

 lies in the tract of stone country that runs across Wiltshire from 

 east to west. At the neighbouring village of Chilmark the quarries 

 are reputed to have been worked since Roman times. On Lady 



