Prehistoric Archaeology of Cambridgeshire 241 



revealed in 1823, when a Roman causeway was displayed by 

 excavations on the eastern side of Bridge Street. The Anglo- 

 Saxon settlement discovered near Girton was not far distant 

 from the line of the Via Devana, and near the same locality 

 have been found Roman remains in the form of Samian ware, 

 glass vessels, and two stones with inscriptions, one of which 

 associates the Vth Legion with its erection. The Via Devana 

 leads on this side of Cambridge to Godmanchester, and so via 

 Leicester to Chester. 



To the south-east traces of the road are less distinct : the 

 road now called the Hills Road runs southwards arid surmounts 

 the Gogmagog Hills. About two miles outside Cambridge, 

 a road leads off to the south-east, and following this, a great 

 earthwork or dyke is found on the crest of the hill, broad 

 enough for use as a road and running for miles in the same 

 direction. This, the so-called "Worsted Street, was claimed by 

 the late Professor Babington as the continuation of the Via 

 Devana, but more recent researches by Professor Hughes point 

 to the Worsted Street as a defensive work, and thus another 

 line must be sought for the Via Devana, and is most probably 

 to be found in the actual line of the Hills Road which crosses 

 the Gogmagog hills further west, on its way to Linton. 



The Akerman Street. Another road of importance is 

 that which crossed the Via Devana almost at right angles at 

 Cambridge. The name is said to be derived from Akerman- 

 chester, an ancient name for the station of Bath: the road 

 leads from Brancaster on the Norfolk coast via Cirencester to 

 Bath, and thus afforded an important means of communication 

 between these strategic points. The point of intersection 

 with the Via Devana was somewhere on the raised plateau 

 above the Castle Hill, which reminds one that modern Cam- 

 bridge is principally situated on the opposite bank of the river 

 to that which was first inhabited, so that Castle End is the 

 most ancient part of the town. 



Traces of the Akerman Street may be sought for to the 

 north-east and south-west of Cambridge. To the north-east, 



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