Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 3.djvu/140

118 found there, but that 'twas broke, and nothing found in it but ashes and dust and one silver piece. From his account I took the said piece to be a Roman Denarius, and the Vessel to be an urn, and indeed there was a Branch of a Roman Way came along this way on the East side of Stowe Wood. The Foundations they find are of Stone, strangely rivetted into the roots of Trees sometimes.

"Woodbury belongs to one Mr. Morse, who hath built a new House there. He is a single man, a batchelor, about 74 years of age. He is reported to be worth three hundred thousand pounds. He hath estates in other places, and is still purchasing others."

The result of subsequent researches has confirmed the probability of Hearne's conjecture as to what the earthen pot and coin really might have been: but it is much to be regretted, that, with very few exceptions, all objects of a fragile nature found upon this spot of late years have been broken into pieces, and these again dispersed. The cause, whatever it was, and whether an accidental fire, (as is reported,) or not, which brought destruction upon the church and village, can hardly be supposed to have effected this; it must be owing to subsequent digging amongst, and removal of, the ruins. No cottages, it is true, have sprung up to supply the place of those which once stood here; but the "new House" which Hearne mentions to have been built by a Mr. Morse, remains, and has a very considerable extent of stone wall running round the kitchen garden and pleasure grounds attached to it, which adjoin the ruins, and the materials of these not improbably may have been borrowed from "the old Town." The trees have in a great degree disappeared, and in their removal would occasion the displacement of other stones beneath those "strangely rivetted into the roots;" while in later years re- course has been had to this spot as a general quarry for supplying materials for the roads and other purposes; so that it is no wonder if in turning over the stones, in order to select the largest and best, and in digging down for the same object, any weaker substance lying amongst them should have been injured or crushed.