350 



nearly as possible with the surface of the adjacent fields, the whole 

 formation of the road having been raised above that level. The 

 ditches on each side are little, if at all, below the level of the 

 soil, the hedge-rows having been thrown up, so that they also rise 

 above the adjoining land. These hedge-rows are necessarily shown 

 in the section, but they may be dismissed entirely from our minds 

 in considering this beautiful example of Eoman work. The road 

 was doubtless constructed originally through a country only 

 partially cleared, and many centuries may probably have elapsed 

 before the lands were enclosed, and fences became necessary for the 

 purposes of cultivation. Section 2, therefore, in which the hedge- 

 rows have been omitted, may be taken to show the road as it left 

 the hands of the Eoman engineers. 



Taking the section in ascending order, I would observe that 

 although we have in the bed of soil reached the true representa- 

 tive of the Pavimentum described by Vitruvius, there is nothing 

 in its appearance to show that it was fine earth pounded and 

 beaten in, in the manner described. 



Upon its surface we find a layer of rubble stones exactly cor- 

 responding with the Statumen of Vitruvius, and in this instance 

 no lime appears to have been used. This course, which is 5 inches 

 thick in the centre, thins off on each side, and each bed in ascend- 

 ing order becomes more convex in form. 



Next in order is a bed of concrete of a very distinctive character 

 about 1 foot 3 inches in thickness, agreeing with the layer which 

 Vitruvius terms Eudus. It is for the most part exactly what he 

 describes it, " a mass of broken stones mixed with lime," the 

 greater part of the material being of a yellow colour, and evidently 

 derived from the Lias or Oolite formations of the locality. Near 

 the middle of the bed, however, there is a thin layer of red marl 

 and pebbles, entirely different from the other material, although 

 amalgamated with it. Nothing exactly like it occurs near the 

 spot, and I imagine it must have been derived from the Dolomitic 

 Conglomerate in the neighbourhood of Stratton-on-rthe-Fosse, which 



