Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/329

Rh to have been Roman, though in the twelfth century it appears to have been cased over with the masonry of that period, as the tower of Dover was in the fifteenth century.

Independent of these, other fragments of Roman masonry are occasionally brought to light in the foundations of villas when such are discovered, and fragments of the plaster which covered the walls exhibit remains of painting either in fresco or distemper.

The regularity observable in the works of the Romans, deviated from only occasionally, when some particular circumstance required it, may be in a peculiar manner noticed in their mixed masonry of brick and stone, which it was their general plan to adopt even in districts abounding with stone; plain and simple stone masonry, without any admixture of brick, being apparently very rare exceptions to their general rule.

We have one of the many examples of this mixed kind of masonry in the multangular tower called the Pharos, situate within the precincts of the castle at Dover, for though in the fifteenth century the exterior walls of this tower were recased with flint masonry, many of the original windows blocked up, and the upper part probably added, the main body of the structure is still of undoubted Roman construction. Where-ever the outer casing is worn away, or has been removed by violence, the walls exhibit the usual mode of Roman building, with the material of the district; in this case with tufa or stalactite, brought perhaps from the opposite coast of France, and flint, with layers of large flat Roman bricks, some of them two feet long, each layer two courses deep, placed regularly and horizontally in the walls at equal intervals, or nearly so. No less than eight of these layers of brick-work are visible on the south-east side, other layers are apparently concealed by the external and subsequent casing of flint and stone, and where the casing of flint is perfect, coins of stone appear at the angles.

It is somewhat difficult to ascertain the exact character of this tower in its original state, from the changes which have subsequently taken place, the original windows having been blocked up and cased over, so that externally few vestiges of them are visible.

This tower is externally octagonal in form. Internally the space inclosed forms a square. The doorway, recently