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name, however, it was of some extent, and possessed temples, 
for altars and votive inscriptions have been found there, some 
of which are now safely deposited in the museum of our 
Philosophical Society. One of the most interesting of these 
monuments is an altar dedicated to the goddess Brigantia. 
The same name occurs on an altar at Birrens, a Roman station 
in Scotland ; and another, found at Chester, is dedicated to 
a decs viymphce Brig. It is not, however, necessary to 
suppose that this refers to a goddess of the Brigantes, 
for these altars were more commonly dedicated by settlers — 
soldiers usually — from some other part of the Roman em- 
pire, to the nymphs, or goddesses who were the protectors 
of the place of their birth, and who, as they imagined, still 
watched over them in their distant settlements. There are 
three places which might thus have given the name, Brig- 
antium, in Switzerland, now called Bregentz ; Brigantium, in 
France, now Briancon ; and Brigantia, in Portugal, now 
Braganza. Of these I should be inclined to prefer the first. 
The only other place in this district which has left us Roman 
inscriptions is Olicana, and at Ilkley, its modern representa- 
tive, has been found an altar, dedicated to the Groddess 
Yerbeia (Verbeice sacrum), which is of especial interest if 
the supposition of some antiquaries be correct, that Yerbeia 
was the Goddess of the Wharf. 
The activity and importance of this district under the 
Romans no doubt arose from two causes — first, it lay in the 
direct line of communication between one of the most im- 
portant districts of Roman Britain, that which formed 
afterwards the kingdom of Northumbria, and the South-west, 
as well as between Lancashire and the Eastern parts of the 
island ; and, secondly, its mineral riches were soon discovered 
by the Romans, and turned to advantage. That they obtained 
iron here extensively there can be no doubt. I am told that 
extensive beds of the scorise from which the metal had been 
