Biography of Harry Mengden Scarth 1814-1890

Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society Volume 16 Pages 14-28. Colonel Bennett, the proprietor, had arranged for inspection a collection of interesting objects found in the Camp, including horseshoes, bones, Boman coins, querns, and a stone in the form of a hatchet.

The Rev. H. W. Winwood described the bones as those of bos longifrons, deer and swine.

Mr. Stevens stated that the quern was of an early and very interesting form.

Mr. James Paeker thought the stone hatchet very doubtful. One very like it from Cambridge had been recently examined by himself, and Dr. Rollestone, and they had come to the conclusion that it had never been manufactured.

A gentleman present observed that two stone hatchets, very similar, had lately been found near Congresbury.

Mr. Jones remarked, that he believed there was no classical authority to prove that the Romans ever used horseshoes. There certainly was no Latin word for horse shoe, and he did not know that any illustration of their use occurred in any ancient sculpture. The only instance he had himself seen, was a faint trace on one hoof of one of the horses in a higa, basso relievo, in the Museum at Avignon, but this he was sure was accidental. Columella, the great Roman authority on rural affairs, in his teatise on the choosing and rearing of horses, makes no reference to horseshoes. It was, therefore, he thought by no means certain that the horseshoes were of the same date with the Roman coins.

Having enjoyed the magnificent view, embracing a dis trict, it is said, with a radius of 30 miles, the company assembled on the camp under the presidency of Sir W Medlycott.

The Lord Bishop pointed out how that the ancient oc cupants had, in this camp, according to their usual custom, taken advantage of the natural formation of the ground in constructing this strong-hold.

The Rev. Prebendary Scarth [aged 55], at the request of the president, described the camp and its fortifications. He remarked that the subject was one which was full of in terest, but which it was very difficult to say anything certain about. He thought that all he could say, after examining this camp, and looking round the fortifications of the encampment, and comparing it with the other camps of a similar kind in this country, but more especially in South Wales, and all that line of country which was occupied by the Britons previous to the Roman conquest, when Caractacus so nobly defended his country—having himself examined those defences, he was inclined to think that everything showed this to have been an ancient British earthwork; and he thought the remains found within it tended to confirm that opinion. The chief features of this were the very strong ramparts with which it was surrounded, and more especially the entrances. The entrances were particularly curious from the way in which they were fortified, showing that they were of particular importance. He knew of no camp which showed the entrances so well defined as this, except that wonderful work. Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, which was one of the noblest and most wonderful works that existed in this country. He thought the earthwork they were now ex amining was only second to that. It did not appear to have had any Roman camp within in, as was sometimes found. There was a Roman camp within the British for tification at Clifton, for example. Again, the construction of the ramparts here, so far as he had been able to examine them, was very different from what they found at Clifton, where there was an inner core composed oflime and stone, a mass which could not be cut through.