Excursion on Friday, August 20f/i. 



159 



CuNNTNQTON said he was strongly of opinion, and bad been for many 

 years, that the valley below was dammed across, and probably 

 sufficient water was retained to keep up the supply of fish. Cer- 

 tainly there was more than a morass there, and it must have been 

 a sheet of water of some size. When the railway was being* con- 

 structed, and the foundations of the bridge were being* dug* out, the 

 ground at the depth of three or four feet was just of the nature of 

 the soil that would be found at the bottom of a lake or pond ; and 

 contained, what to his mind was conclusive, namely, fresh-water 

 shells, such as were now found in great abundance in Drew's pond. 

 His impression was that this sheet of water might have been as 

 large as Drew's Pond. There might have been a windmill on the 

 castle mound at the time the place was occupied as a castle. It 

 was certain that during the past century two windmills stood there 

 which were used for grinding snufT. 



Mr. Beock said an old plan of the borough showed, some way 

 down the valley following the lines of the ancient water-course, a 

 small quadrangular enclosure, surrounded by water, which would 

 answer extremely well to the site of a mill, and if they supposed 

 that above this there was an embankment, as Mr. Cunnington 

 suggested, they would get motive power sufficient for the mill, and 

 enhance the beauty of the castle generally. He was glad that Mr. 

 Burgess and himself were both agreed as to the building which 

 many people had supposed to be the keep : they agreed pretty nearly 

 as to the site. As to the shape of it they differed : he could not 

 think it was square, but round or octagonal or some other form, but 

 not square. It was misleading to lay down a hard and fast line 

 that all Norman keeps were quadrangular, for such was by no means 

 the case. 



The Rev. A. C. Smith then brought forward the subject of the 

 stone circle south of Silbury, which had been deferred for discussion 

 to this evening, and he invited the opinion of Members of the 

 Association as to the probable object and intention of that circle. 

 Since he had had the honour of conducting the Members to it on 

 "Wednesday, he had been informed by Mr. Cunnington that Stukeley 

 mentioned " an oblong work of stones " as having stood on that spot, 



