374 THE ST. HILAEY INSCBIBED STONE. 



a road leading straight to Helston and right up its long and 

 steep street, and thence over high ground, down a like hill at 

 Penryn, an important seaport in very early times — ages before 

 Falmouth existed. Another secondary road passes from Hayle, 

 north of Camborne, right down hill and up again through the 

 old town of Eedruth, to fall in with the trunk line not far from 

 Seorrier, where it gives off the road which went down into Truro 

 by Chapel-hill, and sent branches to the Four Burrows road up 

 Kenwyn-hill to Zelah,up Mitchell-hill to the old town so-called, 

 and possibly in the opposite direction by Carnon to Penryn — 

 the southern line proceeding up St. Clement's hill to Gram- 

 pound, probably Voluba, which the tide once approached, 

 where the breasting of the long hiU is equally marked ; 

 straight to St. Austell, and again up hill out of it ; thence 

 over high ground to the head of the Fowey estuary at Lost- 

 withiel, the Uxela of Ptolemy, and right up the eastern hill 

 to the elevated station at Liskeard, to terminate, as far as Corn- 

 wall is concerned, in a roof -like descent at Saltash, and by the 

 branch through Callington, at the head of the tidal water of the 

 Tamer on the road to Tavistock. It would be tedious to enter 

 into detailed illustration of the same go-ahead plan of road- 

 making from the branch lines, as in the instances of Tregony, 

 Fowey, and Looe, or from the main north line given off near the 

 Blue Anchor to St. Columb, Wadebridge, Camelford, and 

 Stratton, which place was in direct communication with the 

 Poman roads through Devon, and the large camp at Clovelly 

 Dykes. 



Enough has been said, I think, to show that the opinion is at 

 least tenable that the old roads of Cornwall were essentially 

 Roman works. The deviations, which make their original 

 straightness and steepness less obvious now, have, with scarce 

 an exception, been effected within my own recollection ; but a 

 wholesome expansion of lung, m]aer antiquas vias, may serve 

 pleasantly to impress my argument.*' It seems to me, indeed, 

 although it may sound paradoxical, that the Poman roads in 

 Cornwall have been overlooked by over looking for them. 



* These old roads are often, and oftener were, agreeably marked by a large 

 space of uninclosed ground on each side of the roadway, allowing a gallop on the 

 turf. 



