308 Blach Dyke and British Camps. By James Tait. 



Black Dyke, though, bearing such, a name, was not a mere Dyke 

 and nothing more ; it was also a road,*" and was in fact always 

 spoken of by people in its vicinity as an old Eoman Eoad. It 

 had been formed by digging a deep trench on both sides of the 

 proposed line of way, and then throwing the earth thus excavated 

 into the inside of the trenches, thus forming a way high and dry. 

 Its width along its course seems to have been rather more than 

 twelve feet, and its height seems to have varied, sometimes 

 rising four feet above the level of the adjacent ground. 



The first trace of the Black Dyke in its northern part was on the 

 northern extremity of Boon Moor, in the Parish of Legerwood, 

 where some years ago, before this moor was brought under cul- 

 tivation, the course of the Black Dyke could be easily discerned 

 running southwards, and passing on the eastern side of two camps 

 fortified by earthen ramparts. These have been levelled, and the 

 earth of which they were composed, scattered over the adjoining 

 ground. Pursuing its way southward, seldom however keeping 

 a straight line, but bending to the right or left as the ground 

 required, it passed Corsbie, and then proceeded up the ridge or 

 spur that runs out from Legerwood Black Hill. This hiU which 

 is on the west side of the Black Dyke, is of considerable elevation, 

 and its highest portion had been used by the Ancient Britons as a 

 place of strength : The hill being steep on all sides but one, the 

 Britons had contented themselves with raising a single earthen 

 rampart round their camp. Nothing can be said about the size 

 of this rampart as it has been quite levelled in the course of culti- 

 vation. Within the last two years several spindle whorls have 

 been picked up inside the lines of this camp. Legerwood Black 

 Hill is the northera face of the great plateau, covering over 3,000 

 acres of ground which lies between Earlstoun and Legerwood. 

 Within the limits of this plateau were several camps, one of 

 which situated a mile north from Huntshaw appears to have been 

 of Roman construction. The Earlaw or ploughed hill seems to 

 have beea the name of this great table land, since a valley at its 

 base bears the name of the '' Earlaw Haugh, " and it is quite a 

 possibility that the town of Earlstoun has taken its name from 

 this Earlaw. The local pronunciation of the names of this haugh 

 and the parish of Earlstoun favours this etymology, 



* In this respect the Black Dyke resembled the Wansdyke, the great 

 earthwork that separated Mercia from Wessex and is believed to have 

 been used as a Koad, 



