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Show 224 BUlUAL OF TilE REMAINS CrrAP. IV. ThickneRs rormoul cl in inches. 1:3. In another part of same field, trench 91 inches deep, stopped by concrete .. .. .. 9~ 14.. In another part of same field, trench 9 inches deep, stopped by concrete . . 0 lfi. In another part of the same lield, trench 24- inches deep, when sand was reached .. IG 1G. In another part of same field, trench 30 inches deep, when stones were reached; at one end of the trench mould 13 inches, at the other encl14 incbe~ thick .. .. 13 Small field between " Old W orlcs" and "Shop Leasows," I believe nearly as high as the upper part of the latter field. Tbi ckn c~R or mould in inches. 17. Trench 26 inches deep • . 24 18. 10 iucbes deep, and then came upon a causeway 19. Trench 34 inches deep 20. 31 inches deep .. .. 10 .. 30 .. 31 Field on the western side of the space enclosed within the old walls. Thickness of mould In inches. 21. Trench 28 inches deep, when undistmbed sand was reached .. .. 1G 22. Trench 29 inches deep, when undisturbed sand was reached . . . . 15 23. Trench 14 inches deep, and then came upon a building •• 14 Dr. Johnson distinguished as mould tho earth which differed, more or less abruptly, in CII.AP. IV. OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS. 225 its dark colour and in its texture from the underlying sand or rubble. In the specimens sent to me, the mould resembled that which lies immediately beneath the turf in old pasture-land, excepting that it often contained small stones, too largo to have passed through the bodies of worms. But the trenches above· described were dug in fields, none of which were in pasture, and all had been long cultivated. Bearing in mind the remarks made in reference to Silchester on the effects of long-continued culture, combined with the action of worms in bringing up the finer particles to the surface, the mould, as so designated by Dr. Johnson, seems fairly well to deserve its name. Its thickness, where there was no causeway, floor or walls beueath, was greater than has been elsewhere observed, namely, in many places above 2 ft., and in one spot above 3 ft. The mould was thickest on and close to the nearly level summit of the field called ''Shop Leasows," and in a small adjoining field, which, as I believe, is of nearly the same height. One side of the former field slopes at an angle of rather above 2°, and I should have expected that Q |
