76 



Mr. Brunei's great but unnecessaiy work; the dryness of the 

 tunnel, except where the shafts admitted the rain and spring 

 water, is remarkable. The boring was commenced at both ends, 

 and when the Avorkmen met in the middle, they were only about 

 one inch out of the straight line. The exact length of the Tunnel 

 is 3,195 yards, or If mile: greatest depth 300 feet below the 

 surface : gradient 1 in '100. W. The strata having an E. dip, a 

 succession of beds from the Inf. Oolite to the Forest Marble (the 

 top bed of the Great Oolite), were cut through. The Members 

 took one hour walking up ; ten minutes only shooting down in 

 " trollies." 



Another important walk of the season was to Weston, where 

 the Rev. Prebendary Bond received the Members in his garden, 

 and pointed out the coffin lid which had been found in the 

 churchyard, and was placed there for safety : the following in- 

 scription runs round a cross in the centre : — 



"GALFRIDI TUMULO EEQUIESCUNT OSSA SUBISTO, 



QUI FUIT ANTISTES H' DU FUIT IPSE SUPERSTES." 



Proceeding to the back of the Vicarage a well-defined bank 

 was traced leading nearly in a straight line to what is now called 

 Fosse Lane, and so joining the via Julia over Lansdown, beneath 

 " Prospect Stile." Whether or not this be the true line of the 

 Roman Road which is supposed to go through the village lower 

 down, is left to conjecture. Through the kindness of Mr, Bond, 

 excavations had been made in a field close to the monument, and 

 many traces of Roman occupation found, confirming conjectures 

 hitherto hazarded, from the uneven conformation of the ground, 

 that this was the site, of a Roman Villa. From the blackness of 

 the soil, and the numerous pieces of coarse sun-baked ware, the 

 teeth of sheep, ox and dog, and other indications of human occu- 

 pation, further and more systematic researches would be well 

 rewarded. A walk to Farley Castle and Limpley Stoke must not 

 be omitted from the list. At the former place the antiquities 



