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statement of the recent examination of Silbury Hill and the 

 Eoman road contiguous to it, by Members of the Wilts Ai-chseo- 

 logical Society, I send you the following account of what was 

 done, only premising that I fear I can add but little to the 

 account which has already apj^eared in the AthencBum of Nov. 2nd, 

 9th, and 16th:— 



I am informed that the Wilts Society are at present having 

 plans and drawings made, and that a detailed account of the 

 excavations will appear in a forthcoming number of the Journal of 

 that Society. 



Although I am a Member of that very useful and intelligent 

 body of Antiquaries and Naturalists, and residing in a neighbouring 

 county, I am not often able to join in their proceedings, which I 

 much regret ; but on the late occasion I am indebted to the 

 kindness of Mr. Wilkinson and of Mr. Cunnington for enabling 

 me to take part in a very interesting examination. 



Having, by previous arrangement, joined Mr. Wilkinson at 

 Calne, he drove me from thence to Silbury Hill, on the afternoon 

 of October 22nd, and being well acquainted with the country and 

 having himself traced the Roman road, he carefully pointed out 

 what he believed to be the direct line of it before we met the 

 other investigators at the Mound. 



On reaching the hill we found that excavations were in progress 

 on the eastern side, where two trenches had been dug, one a little 

 north of the other, in the direction in which it was expected 

 that the Roman road could be traced. As Mr. Fergusson has 

 already stated in his letter to the Athenceum (Nov. 2), " The 

 intention was to dig down until the old turf was found, and 

 following that to join the two trenches, and to see if any trace of 

 the Roman road existed between them." But, as he further states, 

 " Before the trenches had gone far into the hill, it was discovered 

 that the chalk had been excavated to the depth of 10 or 12 feet 

 below what must have been the original surface of the ground, so 

 far as could be inferred from the lay of the surrounding country, 

 and no turf or soil of any kind remained on the present surface of 

 the solid chalk." He infers from this that the hill was probably 



