The Ruins of the Roman City of Uriconium, at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury — John Shaqi
The Ruins of the Roman City of Uriconium, at Wroxeter, near ShrewsburyWright, Thomas
History
The Ruins of the Roman City of Uriconium, at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury
Wright, Thomas
Romans -- England -- Wroxeter; Wroxeter (England) -- Antiquities, Roman
the field to the right, or south, along the inside of the hedge, the
visitor will come to a portion of uncovered wall, _h h_, running north
and south, upwards of eighty feet, in which there are two entrance
gateways, _i_, _p_. The first of these is about twelve feet wide, and
was approached by a sort of inclined plane, formed of three large squared
masses of stone, each about four feet square by eleven inches in
thickness. The other entrance which was only five feet wide, was
approached by two steps, each similarly formed of one mass of stone; of
which the lower step is worn very much at its south-west corner, in a
manner to lead us to believe that the great majority of the people who
passed through this entrance came up the street from the south. The
upper step, or stone, is so much worn by the feet of those who passed
over it, that it broke into three pieces under the workmen’s picks. On
one side of it there is a deep hollow, representing nearly the form of a
small human foot, which seems to have been scooped into the stone for
some purpose with which we are not acquainted. These two entrances lead
into one square court, the floor of which, proved by the steps and
inclined plane to have been on a higher level than the street without,
was paved with small bricks laid in herring-bone work, like the great
inclosure to the north of the Old Wall. It is found to have been much
damaged and mended in ancient times, which seems to countenance the
supposition that the wide entrance and the inclined plane by which it was
approached were intended for horses and perhaps for carts or for heavy
barrows. Among the objects found in excavating here was a portion of a
horse-shoe. On each side of this court a row of chambers is found, _m m
m_, four on the north side and four on the south, from ten to twelve feet
square. The westernmost of these chambers, on the north side of the
court, has been cleared out, and was found to be ten feet deep, with a
low transverse wall at the bottom, the object of which is at present
quite inexplicable. A quantity of charcoal was found in this room, as
though it had been a store-room for that article. One of the other
rooms, on each side of the court, seemed to have been a receptacle for
bones, horns, &c.; and as some of these had evidently been sawn and cut,
and others partly turned on a lathe, they suggested the idea of having
belonged to manufacturers of the various objects made of this material
which are found so commonly in the course of the excavations. They may,
therefore, have been the magazines of manufacturers and tradesmen, a
notion which is somewhat confirmed by the circumstance of several weights
of different sizes having been found in this part of the excavations; or
they may have been mere depots for the stores and refuse of a large
mansion or other establishment. These rooms are, perhaps, all deep like
the one already cleared out, but it is remarkable that, as high as the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account