Page:VCH Rutland 1.djvu/128

 A HISTORY OF RUTLAND county near Great Casterton, and where it leaves the borders near Market Overton. Both these places have quadrilateral earthworks/ which are usually described as Roman ' camps ' or ' entrenchments,' but from the non-military character of the district it is possible that they were not much more than cattle- shelters, probably near to the sites of settlements or villages. Traces of habita- tion exist both at Great Casterton and Market Overton.* It is conceivable that there was some sort of fortification at Casterton, as a protection at the passage of the River Welland. But, as Professor Haverfield has pointed out,' ' none of the remains discovered in the Midlands indicate roads permanently fortified by blockhouses, or forests permanently occupied by unconquered natives. On the contrary, they seem to show a normal and peaceful life, differing only from the civilization of the rest of Britain in the scantiness of population and the lack of prominent and distinctive features.' In this county there are very few traces of the villas which usually point to the existence of Roman landowners who organized the cultivation of the surrounding districts, but tessellated floors have been found at Ketton in the south, and the earthwork at Langham in the west may also possibly indicate the existence of some building on that site.^° Attention may also be drawn to the remains of a pottery kiln recently found at Market Overton, though it is not likely to have supplied more than the ordinary local needs. Only three hoards of coins have been found in Rutland, one of 300 coins at Market Overton, covering the period from Claudius to Gratian (a.d. 54—383)." Another of 150 gold coins at Liddington has been recorded, but it is impossible even to be certain that they were Roman, so vague is the account given ; and one hoard of 600 silver coins at Uppingham, the dates of which' have not been preserved. While this meagre evidence of remains in the county points to an unusually scanty and poverty-stricken population, the exceedingly small area of the district must not be forgotten. Considered with the rest of the province to which it belongs, there is nothing to show that it was in any way exceptional. Roads The only well-authenticated road of early date in the county is the Ermine or Erming Street,* which crosses the north-east corner. This section of the road appears to form part of the fifth Antonine Itinerary (London to Carlisle via Colchester, Lincoln, and York), that between the stations of Durobrivae (Castor in Northants) and Causennae (Ancaster in Lincolnshire), the distance of the whole stage being given as 30 miles (m p m xxx). Of this, about twelve miles lie within or on the borders of Rutland. Between London and York the only part of the route which lies along Ermine Street is from Durolipons (Godmanchester) to Lincoln. The general course of this road is due north, through Braughing, Royston, Huntingdon, and Castor, to Stamford. Here it crosses the Welland, and in ' See Topographical Index under Casterton and Market Overton. ' Arch. Journ. xxvi, 93 ; Jrttij. xxxviii, 277. ' F.C.H. If 'arte, i, 229. '" See Topographical Index under Ketton and Langham. " It seems doubtful whether this can be regarded as a AoarJ in the strict sense. ' Originally perhaps Erning or Earning Street. It is first mentioned in a charter of a.d. 957 : ' Earninga Street ' at Conington, Hunts. (^Car/. Sax. iii, 203 ; F.C.H. Nortkants, i, 204, n. l). 86