The masonry of the whole building, but particularly of the gateways, is peculiarly fresh. The lines that have been lightly chiselled on some of the large rustic slabs of the gateways, in order to guide the workmen in correctly placing those above which project less than than the others, are still quite distinct. The stone is of a very durable nature, but it is difficult to conceive how such slender markings, particularly when in a horizontal position, could long resist the action of the weather. Were we to judge only from the appearance of the masonry, we might be led to suppose that the building had been enveloped in its own ruins not long after its erection—perhaps in that dreadful irruption of the Caledonians which brought Severus to this country—and that it was never afterwards repaired. In clearing out the interior of this building, no traces of party-walls, of a substantial character at least, were found. It stands upon a slope of about one foot in five, and, towards the hanging side of it, the ground has been rendered horizontal by ‘made earth.’ Some fragments of gray slate, pierced for roofing, were found among the rubbish; it is therefore not improbable that a shed was laid against the southern wall for the protection of the soldiers. At about the elevation which the raised floor would reach, the Wall is, in one place, eaten away by the action of fire. Here, probably, was the hearth round which the shivering soldiers of the south clustered, to forget, in the recital of their country’s tales, the fierce Caledonians who prowled around them, or the still fiercer tempests, which all their valour and all their engineering skill could not exclude from their dwellings. With the exception of such sheds, or mere temporary erections, the whole building seems to have been open above. Two large fragments of funereal slabs were found in the castellum; one of them has been roughly shaped into a circular form, and is reddened by fire; the letters which remain are distinct and well formed. Has it been the hearth? The inscription has been erased from the other. Another stone of still greater interest was found here, furnishing additional [Illustration: Part of Slab to Hadrian] evidence of the erection of the mile-castles by Hadrian. From the annexed cut, it will at once be perceived that it is a duplicate of the inscription, already described, in which the second legion endeavours to perpetuate its name, and those of its emperor, Hadrian, and Aulus Platorius Nepos, his legate. There cannot be a doubt that the castellum and the Wall were built at the same time, and by the same parties; if Hadrian therefore built the one, the other is erroneously ascribed to Severus.