Before we come to Halton-chesters, somewhat appears that is pretty remarkable. Hadrian’s Vallum running full upon a little hill, turns at once round about the skirt of it, leaving the hill on the north, and thereby, one would think, rendering the Vallum itself a weak defence at that part. The north agger goes close to the south side of this hill; so that they were also obliged to carry the Vallum round the hill in order to preserve the parallelism. If the north agger was the Old Military Way, and prior to the Vallum, there was nothing improper in carrying it on the south skirts of the hill; and then when the Vallum came afterwards to be built, (for a defence, or place of retreat) they were under a kind of necessity to form it after this manner. Since so able a man as Horsley can devise no better defence of his theory, it may well be abandoned altogether. It cannot be conceived that, under a rule so vigorous as Hadrian’s, the builders of the Barrier would be allowed to give the enemy a material advantage, in order to save themselves the trouble of reconstructing the Military Way for a short space. Down-hill bears marks of having been quarried at some distant period for its limestone. A little to the south of the Vallum are some circular lines, which an experienced observer tells me, are the remains of ‘sow-kilns.’ It would, perhaps, be rash to claim for them a primeval date, though in their appearance there is nothing inconsistent with the supposition. [Sidenote: HALTON RED-HOUSE.] Halton Red-house is next passed on the right hand. It is entirely built of stones taken from the neighbouring station; they have, however, been fresh dressed. In the farm-yard is a rectangular stone trough, which was found in the station, and which its owner describes as a ‘smiddy trow,’ and shews upon the edge the place which had been worn away by the attrition of the blacksmith’s irons. It might, indeed, serve very well for such a purpose, but troughs of this kind are of too frequent occurrence in the buildings along the line to allow us to suppose that this was their usual application. They are generally very rudely carved both outside and in, and not unfrequently are formed of an irregular unsquared block of stone. I think that they were used for domestic and culinary purposes. There is a fragment of one lying in the hypocaust at Chesters, the edge of which is worn down by the sharpening of knives upon it. We now approach the fifth station of the line, [Sidenote: Hunnum.]