806 REPORT— 1903. 



The regular form, good proportions, and flat surfaces of the upright stones at 

 Coldrum are very remarkable, and suggest artificial shaping and perhaps dressing. 

 These also point to a late period in the neolithic age, and present remarkable 

 similarities to the forms at Stonehenge. That these careful forms and surfaces 

 could be produced ■with stone tools has been shown in the case of Stonehenge by 

 Professor Gowland, ' Recent Excavations at Stonehenge.' ' 



The idea of enclosing the principal structure within a line of stones is also 

 common to Stonehenge and Coldrum; but -whereas Coldrum was obviously a 

 sepulchral monument, Stonehenge, though following to some extent the same 

 arrangement, was conceived on a more ambitious scale, and probably designed for 

 a very different purpose. 



The megalithic structures of Kent furnish a valuable series illustrative of the 

 constructive skill of neolithic man. At Kits Coty House the two main uprights 

 lean somewhat inwards and rest against the middle upright between them, thus 

 distributing the weight of the capstone so as to consolidate the whole structure, 

 the resistance of which to complete denudation proves also the excellence of its 

 foundations. At Coldrum the construction has developed further, for the uprights 

 still stand erect, even though no capstone remains. 



The author traces in these rectangular megalithic monuments the prototypes 

 of the series of Anglo-Saxon churches, sometimes called ' Scottish,' ' Celtic,' or 

 ' British,' of which good examples are seen at Boarhurst, Hants, and in Dover 

 Castle. 



5. Excavations at Caerwent, Monmouthshire, 1899-1903.^ 

 By T. AsHBY, jun., M.TL. 



The Romano-British city of Venta Silurum, the site of which is now occupied 

 by the village of Caerwent, Monmouthshire, five miles west of Chepstow and 

 eleven miles east of Newport, is only mentioned by this name in the Antonine 

 Itinerary and by the Geographer of Ravenna. In the former it appears as a 

 station upon the Roman road from London via Bath to South "Wales. In the 

 classical authors it is not spoken of, though the tribe of the Silures is mentioned 

 by Tacitus ; but an inscription recently discovered in the centre of the city shows 

 that it was the centre of the tribal organisation under which the Silures lived in 

 Roman times. The text is as follows : . . . leg{ato) leg{ionis) ii aug{ustce) 

 proconsulii) provinc{i(e) Narbonensis leg{ato) Aug{usti) pr{o) pr{cetore) provi(nci(e) 

 Lugudunen(sis) ex decreto ordinis respubHica) civit{atis) Silurum. 



The external walls of the city are still clearly traceable. They form a rectangle 

 of about 600 (E. to W.) by 400 (N. to S.)' yards, and on the south side are 

 preserved to a height of some 20 feet. Some remains of the east and west gates 

 still exist, while the north gate is preserved up to the spring of the arch, and 

 shows signs of modification. Within the wall and parallel to it a mound of hard 

 clay has been discovered in many places, which is believed to have been the 

 original fortification of the city ; whether its origin is military or civil is a point 

 as yet uncertain. 



Excavations are still in progress, and, if circumstances permit, may be carried 

 on for several years more, as the greater part of the site is unoccupied by buildings. 



The ancient city appears, at one period of its existence at any rate, to have 

 been divided into twenty insulse. The modern highway, which runs from east to 

 west through the centre of the site, follows the line of the ancient road ; and at 

 almost equal distances north and south of this ancient roads have been brought to 

 light. There seem to have been four roads running from north to south, of which 

 the easteriunost alone has not yet been discovered in any part of its course. It is 

 obvious, however, that our statements on this point must be subject to reserve, 

 inasmuch as much further excavation remains to be done. 



The buildings which have been brought to light consist chiefly of private 



' Archaohgia, vol. Iviii. pp. 37-118. 



" Full reports in Archwologia and summary in Man, 1904. 



