Tuesday, August 14-th. 439 



out the land amongst his followers on condition that they threw 

 up these great mounds, or motte castles, to hold down the conquered 

 country. Of these mounds all those to which we can assign definite 

 dates are certainly Norman. They are not Saxon or Danish, or 

 Roman. Some were not larger than large barrows, but others, 

 like the huge castle mounds of Thetford, Windsor Castle, and 

 Norwich almost rivalled Silbury in size. The Norwich mound was 

 dated by documentary evidence at the middle of the 11th century. 

 He saw no reason why a Norman motte should not have been 

 thrown up on this spot, and the absence of a bailey proved nothing, 

 the place might never have been finished. Moreover, there were 

 other mottes which had no baileys. 1 



Sir Henry Howorth could not accept Dr. Hope's reasoning. It 

 was incredible that so gigantic a work could have been thrown up in 

 Norman times with no evidence remaining of the fact. It must 

 have been the work of the King himself or of some very powerful 

 lord. Its name, too, was composed of the Saxon " bury," and this 

 was a proof that it was older than Norman times. He could not 

 believe that it was Norman. On the other hand it was very difficult 

 to believe that it ever was a burial mound. He suggested the 

 possibility of its being an Anglo-Saxon " mote " mound (hundred 

 mote or shire mote), rather than a Norman "motte." 



From this point the company journeyed back to Devizes, arriving 

 at 6 o'clock, precisely in accordance with the programme. 



In the evening the Mayor of Devizes (Mr. Herbert Sainsbury) 

 and the Mayoress received the members of both Societies at the 

 Town Hall, and happily expressed the welcome which the County 

 of Wilts and the Town of Devizes extended to the visitors from 

 Wales. Mr. B. H. Cunnington, in his capacity of Ex-Mayor, 

 > cordially seconded the welcome which the Mayor had offered. 

 On the Mayor leaving the chair it was taken by Archdeacon 

 Thomas, Chairman of Committee of the Cambrian Association, who 

 formally asked Dr. Boyd Dawkins to take his place as the President- 

 elect of the Association. The President having thanked the Mayor 



1 A full report of Dr. Hope's remarks on this subject was printed in the 

 : Wiltshire Gazette, Sept. 11th, 1913. 



