46 REPORTS OF MEETINGS FOR 1909 



of apartments arranged about a quadrangle. The various 

 chambers average 20 feet by 17 feet, and are divided by 

 walls at right angles to the exterior. The great West wall 

 rests on a broad foundation, over which is a course with a 

 bold moulding to the exterior. Above it the walling measures 

 2 feet 6 inches in thickness, each stone being the full width 

 of the wall, and laid in courses 12 to 15 inches high, dressed 

 on both faces in heavy " rustic masonry " within a chiselled 

 margin. A number of sculptured stones, implements of iron, 

 querns, and stone balls of various sizes were catalogued among 

 last year's findings. All the facts as yet disclosed point to 

 the intrusion of a military settlement upon a hitherto peaceful 

 and prosperous town, whereby it was converted into a large 

 dep6t to serve the requirements of men-at-arms stationed upon 

 the frontier.* Before the party took leave of this historical 

 site, the President acknowledged their indebtedness to Mr 

 Forster for his careful description of the excavations and 

 kindly conduct during their visit. Much of the upturned soil 

 throughout the area of exploration was brightened with the 

 flowers of PajJave?' Ehoaas. 



At 3-15 members were timed to assemble at the Parish 

 Church of Corbridge, where the vicar, Rev. Canon Lonsdale, 



and Mr H. H. E. Craster conducted them over 

 Corbridge the building, care being taken first to indicate 

 Church. its salient features as revealed from the outside. 



It was dedicated to St. Andrew, and as a 

 monastery is believed to have been founded by "Wilfred, bishop 

 of Hexham, about the beginning of the 8th century. It 

 suflered at the hands of the Danes in 923, when, as was 

 generally supposed, all traces of its Saxon origin were obliter- 

 ated ; but during a restoration in 1867, there was discovered 

 through the removal of plastei- from the walls of the tower at 

 its West end, a perfectly preserved half-circle arch, measuring 

 16 feet in height and 8 feet in width, whose side walls were 

 composed of large Roman stones resting on capitals of much 



* The above particulars have been obtained from An account of the 

 Excavations during 1907-8, conducted hy the Committee of the Corbridge 

 Excavation Fund. By W. H. Knowles, F.S.A., and R. H. Forster, F.S.A. 



