First Day's Proceedings. 



131 



the succession of forts from Old Sarum down the valley protecting" 

 the western lands to which they retired. A few years ago, in dig- 

 ging' a rabbit burrow, Lord Radnor's keeper came upon an old Saxon 

 chief, with his sword by his side, who had evidently fallen in the 

 moment of victory in the middle of the fortified pah he had taken 

 from the British — following up the successes of Cerdic, and driving 

 the Britons on the other side across the river at Britford, as it was 

 still called. That showed the use of preserving 1 names and the old 

 earthworks. His Lordship then proceeded to refer to some of the 

 places of interest which it was the intention of the archaeologists to 

 visit. Referring to the tumuli, he said those on the Wiltshire 

 downs had been sufficiently excavated, and he thought nothing 1 

 could justify the profanation of old burial-places when there was a 

 certainty of no new discovery being made. He did not see, however, 

 why a careful tunnelling should not be conducted under the so-called 

 altar-stone at Stonehenge, to see if any remains which might illus- 

 trate the age of Stonehenge could be found there or within the 

 sacred circle ; and, secondly, he advocated the replacing of those 

 stones which had fallen within man's memory, or a record of which 

 had been carefully preserved. The mechanical appliances of the 

 present day could easily replace them. The necessity of something 

 being done to preserve the ruin as handed down to us was becoming" 

 more and more pressing. One of the great stones was gradually 

 leaning more heavily on a stone of the inner circle, and it might 

 come down any day. Some means should be taken by artific : al 

 supports to prevent that catastrophe, and he could not for the life 

 of him see why, when that was done, they might not have those 

 stones replaced whose position was clearly known, and whose fall 

 had been carefully recorded. Having briefly glanced at the pro- 

 gramme, the Noble Earl said he earnestly wished them a happy and 

 successful meeting, and he should be fully satisfied if under his 

 presidency many of the " small fry " learnt their own usefulness and 

 resolved to put their shoulders to the wheel, and endeavoured to 

 collect and preserve all such monuments of the past as came in 

 their way, so as to bring them under the notice of the greater 

 savans. 



