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twelve acres. The material of the walls is flint, with sea-sand 

 mortar of great strength. Tlie joints of the masonrj^ arc pointed 

 with mortar, having for one of its ingredients pounded tile, which 

 imparts to it that red tint so characteristic of Roman work. From 

 some excavations carried f)n in the year 1710, for the purpose of 

 supplying the town of Pevensej^ wth water from the moat 

 of the interior (or mediaeval) castle, by a channel beneath 

 the Roman walls, it was found that the latter, Avhich 

 were ten feet thick, had rested upon a foundation consisting 

 of piles planked o^er with slabs of an extraordinary sub- 

 stance. Notwithstanding the length of time they had laid in 

 the earth, the timbers exhibited no symptom of decay. The 

 external facing-5>tones at the bottom of the walls have everjrnrhcre 

 been removed for building purposes. For ages Pevensey Castle 

 served as a quarry for t\v neighbouring country ; and it is 

 only within the last eighteen or twenty years that this almost 

 sacrilegious abuse has been discontinued. Nature in general deals 

 kindly and tenderly with the works of man, but, alas ! how few 

 architectural remains can be said to have been Eeligione patrum 

 muUon senvifa per annoa ! Certainly at Pevensey the ravages of 

 time have been slight compared M'ith those wrought by the hands 

 of man. 



The great entrance, or Deciiman Gate, with its strong 

 weather-worn flanking towers, is the first object that strikes 

 the eye of the Aisitor on his approach to the ruins from the 

 west. Leaving this gateway, and pursuing tlie external circuit 

 of the walls in a northerly direction, we pass three other 

 towers of similar character. Beyond the third tower, the 

 walls take a north-easterl}" direction, having no towers. A 

 little distance beyond tliis the wall has fallen outwards, and 

 lies in massive fragments, now oA^ergrowu -with trees. Another 

 one hundred and fifty feet brings us to one of the most perfectly 

 preserved towers of the series. This originally measured thirty- 

 two feet in height, but an addition made to it in the Norman 

 period raised it to the altitude of fifty-feet. This Norman 



