beneath the Roman walls, it was found that the latter, which were ten feet thick, had rested upon a foundation consisting of piles planked over with slabs of extraordinary substance. Notwithstanding the length of time they had lain in the earth, these timbers exhibited no symptoms of decay, and even the leaves of some brushwood which had been thrown in were found equally well preserved. The external facing stones at the bottom of the walls have everywhere been removed for building purposes. For ages Pevensey Castle served as a quarry for the neighbouring country; and it is only within the last eighteen or twenty years that this almost sacrilegious abuse has been discontinued. Massive but unsightly buttresses of brickwork have been applied for the purpose of remedying the danger which had accrued from this spoliation, and it is to be hoped that henceforward these venerable walls, associated as they are with so much that is grand and interesting in our history, will remain uninjured, at least by human agency. Nature in general deals kindly and tenderly with the works of man, but, alas! how few architectural remains can be said to have been
"Religione patrum multos servata per annos."
Certainly at Pevensey, the ravages of time have been slight compared with those wrought by the hands of man.
The great entrance, or Decuman gate, with its strong weather-worn flanking towers (B and C) is the first object that strikes the eye of the visitor on his approach to the ruins from the west. These towers expand outwardly, and have a south-westerly aspect; the view from within them, embracing the masonry of the entrance itself as a foreground, the venerable church and picturesque village of Westham embowered in trees a little in advance, and the bold background formed by Beachy Head, constitutes a picture which for its varied elements of beauty can hardly be surpassed. Our business, however, is not to dwell upon the picturesque, but to "mark well the bulwarks, and to tell the towers" of this wonderful structure. Leaving the gateway, therefore, and pursuing the external circuit of the walls iii a northerly direction we pass three other towers of similar character. Beyond the third tower the walls take a north-easterly direction and are here undefended for a considerable distance by any
