On the summit of a hill close to the river Lindis, which is now called the Witham, the ancient Britons established a city of considerable importance from the most remote period of the British history. They christened the city after the original name of the river. This, on the invasion of Britain, passed into the hands of the Romans. They made it one of their chief stations in this part of England and established a colony. Instead of calling the city something "cester," they appear to have Latinised the Celtic name, signifying "the hill port by the pool," and called it Lindum Colonia. Through process of time and differences of pronunciation, consequent on the various dialects spoken successively by the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, the title became abbreviated to Lin-coln. The date of the Roman occupation is given as being in the year 100 A.D. Their plan of the city consisted of the form of a parallelogram about 400 yards in length by the same number of yards in breadth, defended by massive, strong walls and intersected by two streets running at right angles. Presumably the extremities of these streets pointed to the four cardinal points. They terminated in gates, the sole one of which--an excellent example of Roman architecture in England--is the North Gate, or, as it is generally called, Newport. It is composed of a central arch, with two lesser ones, one on either side, and is on a lower level than that of the street. Through this gate passes the great Roman Road called Ermine Street, out into the country for a distance of about ten miles or so. To the south-west of this entrance is supposed to have been a mint. This seems to be borne out by the discovery of many Roman coins found in the vicinity. The Exchequer Gate is a very fine specimen of the thirteenth century. It bears a carved representation of the Crucifixion, which lends it considerable interest. At the top of High Street is Pottergate and Stonebow, over which is the Guildhall. The latter is an ancient embattled structure, rebuilt in the reign of Richard II.