53 
appear that the occupants were not belonging to the 
Roman legions, but fugitives, probably the wives and 
families of a persecuted or conquered people, who had fled 
from the fury of an invading arm}' to these hills for refuge. 
The question hence arises, VTho were they, and to what 
period must we refer for their history ? My friend Mr. 
John Dixon, a zealous antiquary, who first called my 
attention to these caves, has so concisely traced the 
circumstances under which it is probable the various 
articles were deposited, that I cannot do better than 
quote his own words : — " From the great quantities of bones, 
" charcoal, fragments of pottery, &c, discovered, the Craven 
" caves would seem to have been occupied for a considerable 
" length of time bv a numerous family, who have left 
" unmistakeable proofs of their acquaintance with Roman 
" luxury and some of the civilized arts. To such a class, 
" these wet dreary places, hemmed in on nearly all sides by a 
" rough barren country, could not have formed very eoni- 
" fortable homes ; and that they were entered upon from 
" urgent necessity and not as matter of choice, seems indispu- 
" table. That they were occupied up to very near the close 
" of the Roman dominion in Britain, is at once evidenced by 
" the occurrence of many coins of Constantine and Constan- 
" tius. Let us inquire what was the state of Britain during 
" Constantine's reign. From what we are permitted to 
" gather from the scanty records of that period, the whole 
" country seems to have been smiling under the influence of 
" a profound peace. The Emperor died in 337, and the sun 
4< of tranquillity still shone down upon his more immediate 
" successors. The decline of Roman power had begun ; 
" Byzantium had sprung up ; but the end of Roman Britain 
M was yet somewhat distant. The Roman and Briton were as 
" one family. The old Sixth Legion which came over with 
" Hadrian about a century and a -half before, and who made 
