NOTES ON MAJOR COAXES* DISCOVERY. 8$ 



the remains of it at Bradford Peverell. Near the church is the 

 gateway of the drive to Bradford Peverell House ; a few yards up 

 from that the aqueduct will be seen on both sides of the road. 

 On the left hand side it winds along the steep slope of the hill ; 

 on that side, behind the barn, it has been cut into by the road 

 surveyor to obtain chalk for the roads, and the bank of chalk 

 thrown out by the Roman excavators in making the aqueduct 

 has been cut through. The section proves that the excavations 

 were not made to obtain cultivation levels, for not only is the 

 slope too steep to moke this profitable, but, though the soil is 

 here very shallow, and every spit of it would have been invalu- 

 able for cultivation, it was not removed to be re-placed on the 

 top of the moved chalk, but the chalk from the aqueduct has 

 been thrown out on the top of it, and that so loosely that the 

 ringers, or even the hand, can in places be thrust in between 

 lumps. The section shows, underneath, the solid chalk rock 

 with the ancient soil on the top of it, over which is the loose 

 chalk thrown out of the aqueduct, and above that the soil which 

 in the course of ages has been formed upon the surface. 



It is significant that terraces similar to those of Major Coates' 

 aqueduct do not occur in any of the other lateral valleys of the 

 Frome. There are none above Frampton. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



Since the above paper was written the watercourse has been 

 carefully surveyed at critical points, and the survey has proved 

 generally favourable to Major Coates' theory. I hope the 

 surveyors, who have devoted much time and labour to the work, 

 may be induced to give the details of their work in these 

 pages. 



Excavations have also been made at points A, B, C (see map), 

 and the channel of the aqueduct exposed. It is cut in the solid 

 chalk 2ft. 6in. to zft. gin. in depth, and is six feet in width at the 

 bottom ; the sides are almost perpendicular. At Poundbury the 



