and, to close the catalogue, some small pieces of rather coarse red pottery, rough-cast (if I may be allowed the term) with atoms of spar, with which the mountain abounds. I have seen a small vase, curiously shaped, of black pottery, in the possession of the Rev. Mr. Morris, of Ashwell, Herts, which was dug up in a burial-place in that neighbourhood, and is rough-cast on the outside somewhat similarly, but with small white stones.

The excavations were carried on for about eight days, and I think the discoveries they led to may serve to throw some light upon the history of this ancient stronghold. In the present state of the history of POTTERY, whether Roman or British, we cannot, from such evidence alone, arrive at any very conclusive presumptions respecting dates; yet, on the other hand, in tracking out the abodes of those who have lived before us, pottery is, generally, one of our surest guides. In COINS we have a negative proof of periods of time, though not of the race who either constructed or occupied the encampments where they may be found; for, being easy of carriage, ever an object of plunder, as well as a medium of exchange, they were as likely, after a time, to be found among the Britons as among the Romans. When, however, they are found conjointly with pottery which we can predicate to be Roman or British, our conclusions as to the character of the pottery may be with reason_a guide to us in deciding the property of the coins. In WEAPONS We have another kind of evidence, pointing out certain æras in the history of the world, as well as national character. Stone first, bronze succeeding, and iron next, are thought to have supplied nations with instruments and weapons both for domestic and warlike purposes. How necessary then is it narrowly to watch facts which, though appearing in themselves insignificant, become, by their connexion with other links, most important in the chain of evidence.

From the discovery, then, of the stone knife, and flint arrow-heads, I think we may infer that this was, as Pennant1 1 Pennant's Tour, 8vo., vol. ii., p. 61, et seq.

says, one of the posts originally formed by the Ordovices for the defence of their territory, when, as yet, they were untamed by the conquering, but civilizing, sword of Rome, though already, perhaps, rumour from the south had stirred them into activity to resist its approaching shock; and, doubtless, its size, as well as its position, with its plentiful supply of water from within, must have rendered it a very important, and, to ordinary foes, an almost impregnable, post. Not so, however, to the welldisciplined arms of Rome; for our discoveries of Roman pottery clearly show that they, at some period or other, possessed themselves of it. Perhaps, too, we may infer, from the position in which, as I have already stated, some of the white pottery was found, that part of the present ramparts were made by them-though, to my eyes, I confess they appeared uniformly constructed; and, although it may be difficult, perhaps impossible, to fix the precise period when they first occupied it, and the duration of their occupancy, I think our discoveries, taken in conjunction with others made there some years ago, and with what history tells us, may furnish some clue to it.

Some thirty years ago an extensive conflagration of the heath in this encampment led to the discovery of an immense number of Roman coins, which were found lying on the surface of the inner rampart, on the northeast; and others, as a former number of this Journal tells us, have since been found, some few of which have been preserved. One appears to be a fine gold coin of Nero another a silver one of Antoninus Pius; the rest are of the reigns of the two Constantines and Constans. Now, the discovery of these coins, taken in conjunction with our recent discoveries of Roman pottery and glass in the same camp, raises a strong probability that they were brought there by the Romans; and, it being obvious that coins would not precede, although they might long survive, the emperor "whose image and superscrip1 Vide Archæologia Cambrensis, vol. ii., p. 108. 2 Ibid., pp. 109, 110.

tion" they bear, I therefore venture to conclude that this camp was possibly occupied as early as the reign of the emperor Nero, and again in that of Antoninus Pius-a conclusion in some degree countenanced by its curious coincidence with history, which tells us that, in the reign of the former emperor, about A.D. 62, Suetonius Paulinus carried the Roman arms into Anglesey; and that, in the reign of Antoninus Pius, about A.D. 144, the Brigantes, who had invaded Genounia, (by Camden considered to be Guinethia, or North Wales,) were driven back by Lollius Urbicus. I also infer, from the discovery of coins of Constans, that this post was occupied, (whether continuously, or at intervals, I will not venture to say,) as late at least as A.D. 350.

Such, then, is the probable history of this encampment, as derived from archæological research. We may, I think, safely conclude that this encampment was of Cambro-British origin, existing at the time of the Roman invasion, and subsequently occupied by the Romans, either continuously for a considerable period, or during different expeditions; and, if so, we have possibly, in Moel Fenlli, another claimant to the site of Varis; but I do not know at present how the existing distances between Chester and Caerhun affect this claim. Richard of Cirencester states it to be thirty miles from Chester to Varis, and from thence to Conovium twenty; Antoninus thirty-two and nineteen respectively. And, while on this point, I should be glad to know whether the name of the northern pass, Bwlch Pen Barras, can have any etymological affinity to Varis. It is clear that, at an early period, it was an important

1 Tac. Ann. Lib. xiv. cap. 29 and 30.

2 Pausan. Arcad.

3 The site of VARIS is no longer uncertain, having been ascertained by Mr. Aneurin Owen to exist at Pont Rhyfydd, between Bodfari and the Clwyd, where the Roman walls of the station are to be clearly discovered at the present day. In the same way the site of MEDIOLANUM is now fixed at Mathrafal, near Meifod; and thus all the Roman stations in North Wales, mentioned in the Itineraries, are now known.-EDD. ARCH. CAMB.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE STONE OF ST. CADFAN, AT TOWYN,

AND ON SOME OTHER INSCRIBED AND CARVED STONES IN WALES.

THE genuineness of the remains of the ancient literature of every country, as well as the veracity of its historical traditions, are intimately dependant upon the existence of unquestioned documents, either written or carved. It follows, as a necessary principle, that the higher the antiquity of such documents, and the nearer their age to the period to which they refer, the greater will be their value, being so much the less likely to have undergone any alteration, either wilful or unintentional, whereby either their language, or the facts they are intended to perpetuate, may have been varied.

Such documents are either written or carved. Referring to the Christian period, we may take as examples of the former the manuscripts of the Scriptures, or those of the works of early historians, such as Eusebius or Bede, and we at once perceive that a manuscript of the Gospels of the fourth century, (such as the one recently obtained by the British Museum,) or one of the "Ecclesiastica Historia Gentis Anglorum" of the eighth, are documents which it is impossible not to venerate, as affording incontrovertible proofs that at such early periods the relations contained in such manuscripts were considered as truths. With such a document as the last named, for instance, before him, no one would attempt to deny the fact of the existence of Christianity in England to a great extent at the time when Bede wrote. But, unfortunately for Wales, there is not a single genuine Welsh manuscript in existence, so far as I know, either historical, religious, or poetical, earlier than the twelfth or thirteenth century. Hence the ease with which doubts are thrown upon the productions of the earlier Welsh writers, (who are only known by copies made by comparatively recent scribes,) and hence it is that, except from the relations of con