80 PAPERS, ETC. 



near their settlement, at Stroud's Hill ; or engaged with 

 their Driiids in Idolatrous worship of the heavenly bodies ; 

 iiext in fi'uitless contention with their Celtic and Belgic 

 invaders ; then roused to warlike, courageous, yet vain 

 resistance, on their invasion by the better disciplined Roman 

 armies. And vvho can teil the desperate struggles which 

 have taken place for the occupation of this commanding 

 Position, which the Romans well knew the value of gain- 

 ing ; and retained it, most probably, dimng their stay in 

 Britain, about 450 years ; availing themselves of the 

 already formed entrenchments, according to their regulär 

 plan of castrametation, which appears to have extended 

 only to the quadrangular part of the hlll, on the north-west ; 

 where the men working at the stone-quarries frequently 

 bring to light some long hidden relic, which has lain im- 

 bedded in the nibble or chasms of the rock, of which I 

 shall have to speak presently. 



Geologically considered, the formation of Hamdon Hill 

 is worth notice, consisting, not as generally supposed, of 

 an immense rock of building stone, so well kuown, and 

 erroneously stated in some late accounts as nearly inex- 

 haustible : for the greater mass of the hill is sand, which 

 largely extends to the eastward, in which boulder stones of 

 a considerable size are imbedded in layers ; and on this 

 sand the masses of compact stone rest, varying in dejith 

 from about twenty to fifty feet, below which none has been 

 found. So at no very distant period this valuable stone, 

 from its extensive use, will become more scarce. I say 

 valuable, notwithstauding the high and much respected 

 authority of Professor Buckland has denounced it as a 

 perishable material, and discountenanced its use for per- 

 manent building. This is a subject on which I would, 

 under present circurastances, speak with delicacy ; only 



