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found in the world, gives in his volume on Britain, a map in 

 which he dots this very line of road, as one which must have 

 existed. Had Dr. Hubner lived in Gloucestershire instead of 

 Berlin, the whole system of Roman roads in our county would 

 long ago have been clearly laid down ; at all events his STirmise 

 is verified in the case of the Via Julia, which runs from Over 

 Bridge along part of what is now the turnpike road to Newnham. 

 At Westbury, it turns to the right and proceeds to Little Dean, 

 whence it follows the beautiful valleys formed by the double 

 line of hills of Old Red Sandstone, in the direction of Lydney. 

 There are other Roman roads in the Forest of Dean; some 

 possibly made for the more easy conveyance of timber and iron 

 ore ; but this main line, running as it does outside the limestone 

 district, and, therefore, outside the line of the iron mines, must 

 be regarded as a purely military one. And what is the Via 

 Julia now ? a rough cart-road, full of hollows and deep ruts, 

 and great displaced blocks of stone ; in some places not a stone 

 is left, in others, for several yards, not a stone is wanting. 

 Where it remains perfect it consists of roughly-squared blocks of 

 conglomerate or of mill-stone grit, of ten inches to a foot cube 

 each, with a well-set line of marginal stones, about fifteen 

 inches long by five inches wide and ten inches deep. These 

 bordering stones, which are of hard Forest rock, are again 

 supported by a buttress-line of large blocks outside, and set a 

 few inches below the level, serving probably also as a gutter to 

 prevent washing away of the substratum. 



The average width of the road- way, is eight Roman feet ; 

 that is, rather less than eight English feet. The strength of 

 the work is such, that after the lapse of all these centuries, but 

 for the use tha^t has been made of it as a quarry for roads, 

 fences, and buildings, it would have been in good order stUl. 

 Is it too much to ask that means should be taken to preserve, 

 if but one httle piece of, this venerable causeway ? A piece 

 railed off ten yards long would suffice ; and before very long, if 

 we don't secure this, it will be too late. 



I should not be doing justice if I omitted to state, that it is 

 to the industry and research of our colleague Johbt Bellows, 



