The sites of the ancient towns, thus cleared, and the spell which held their invaders at bay having been broken by the ecclesiastics, became exposed to a new class of depredators. Coins and objects of some value were no doubt discovered from time to time by accident, and were greatly exaggerated by common report, during ages when the existence of hidden treasure formed a prominent article in the popular belief. Many a Salopian, doubtless, longed for the hidden treasures of the city of Geomagog, and many an attempt no doubt was made to discover and obtain them. Treasure-hunting of this description was a great pursuit with our mediæval forefathers, and the same superstitious feelings were connected with it that were attached to all the remains of more ancient peoples. The treasure-hunter rarely ventured on his search without having first secured the aid of a magician for his protection as well as for his guidance, for the same evil spirits were believed still to haunt the ruins underground, and it was hoped that by the power of the conjuror they might not only be rendered harmless, but be made to give information as to the exact spot where the treasure lay. Numerous examples might be quoted of such mediæval treasure-hunting on the Welsh border, but it will be sufficient to give one which appears to belong to the very site on which we are now seeking treasures of another description. An old manuscript chronicle of the monks of Worcester, which is printed in Warton’s Anglia Sacra, and has preserved numerous notices of events which occurred on this border, informs us that in the year 1287, at a place by Wroxeter, (that is near the village), called “Bilebury,” the fiend was compelled by a certain enchanter to appear to a certain lad and show him where lay buried “urns, and a ship, and a house, with an immense quantity of gold.” We easily recognize in the objects described by the false Geomagog, though not the material, the numerous figures in bronze which are from time to time found on Roman sites; and the arms and ship may perhaps admit of as easy an explanation. The treasure-digger had to encounter sometimes a worse opponent even than the fiend himself! Treasure-trove belonged to the feudal lord, and it was a right which he was inclined to enforce with the utmost severity; and the unfortunate individual who was caught in the act of trespassing against it found his way immediately into a feudal dungeon, from which escape was not always easy or quick. The learned historian of this county, Mr. Eyton, has met with a record from which we learn that some individuals towards the close of the thirteenth century were thus caught “digging” for a treasure at Wroxeter, and that they were thrown into prison. On their examination or trial, however, it appeared that, though they had dug for a treasure, they had not found one, and on this plea they had the good fortune to be set at liberty. This process of treasure-hunting had an effect injurious