Thursday's Excursion. 247 



carried off by a sudden raid. He suggested that, in some cases, at 

 least, the outer bank may have been used as a road, whilst the inner 

 embankment was probably crowned by a wooden stockade. 



Having spent some time here the party proceeded to Shepherd's 

 Shore, where they found lunch ready for them in the barn. Whilst 

 under shelter here some considerable showers of rain fell, but happily 

 with the end of the lunch the rain ended too, and the afternoon, 

 though somewhat overcast, was fine — a much better condition of 

 things than sunshine and heat, considering the amount of walking 

 to be got through. After lunch the breaks took the Members up 

 to the point on the dyke — about one mile from Shepherd's Shore 

 towards Tan Hill — where the men were at work on the new cutting. 

 The original level of the soil had been reached about half-way 

 through the rampart, and whilst the visitors were present several 

 pieces of pottery were found in the original dark surface soil — the 

 rampart which had been thrown up above this being formed of loose 

 chalk rubble. This particular spot was chosen for a cutting on 

 account of the small rectangular earthwork projecting from the 

 dyke at this place, which General Pitt- Rivers thought might mark 

 the site of a settlement of earlier age than the dyke itself. He 

 declined to express any definite opinion as yet as to the age of the 

 pottery found in this cutting, hoping for further evidence before 

 the work was finished. 



Proceeding some distance further, to the foot of Tan Hill, in the 

 breaks, the party then alighted, walked up the steep slopes along 

 the dyke, admiring by the way the wealth of down flowers, just 

 then at their best, with which the southern side of the rampart was 

 carpeted ; pausing for a while to enjoy the grand view commanded 

 by the summit of the hill, and then walking on down the other side 

 to Cannings Cross Farm, where the carriages met them again after 

 making a long detour. Thence they drove at once to All Cannings, 

 where the Rector, the Rev. E. May, very kindly offered tea, an 

 invitation which the want of time obliged the archaeologists to 

 decline. As it was they were somewhat hurried in their inspection 

 of the Church, where Mr. Ponting read a paper calling attention 

 to the points of interest, especially the rich external ornamentation 



