tutiont Weapons and Thumt ring pound in the bed of the hames at

Kingston.

16

for the Weapons

London. Published by John Murray, Feb 1832

12 Inches

to face p 2

• Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila,

'Grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulcris.'

ONE of the workmen employed in getting out the earth from the coffer-dams that were sunk for the purpose of laying the foundation for the new bridge over the river Thames, at Kingston, brought me three Roman swords which were found deposited at some depth in the ground on the Middlesex side of the river; since when I have further obtained two spear-heads, one of exquisite workmanship and shape, and both quite perfect;a Roman sword, beautifully fluted near the edges, and nearly as fresh as when it came out of the hands of the maker ;and what appears to have been the iron top of a Ro man banner, on which the eagle perhaps was placed. These weapons, &c., and some other relics, which are not in my possession, were found near the same spot, and are pronounced, by competent judges, to be more perfect specimens than any that are to be seen in the Roman, Neapolitan, or Florentine collections. A Roman thumb-ring-at least what was supposed to be one (for it might fit the digitus annularis of a stout old Roman)-was found at the same time

and this also is a perfect and most beautiful spe

cimen.

The discovery of these articles may remove a doubt which has existed in the minds of antiquaries, whether Cæsar, on quitting his encampment on Wimbledon Common, crossed the river Thames at Weybridge, at the place now generally supposed, and where the remains of a defensive work called the Cowey Stakes may still be seen, or whether, as some have conjectured, he crossed the river at Kingston, at the place where the weapons in question have been found. I will now state my reasons for giving the preference to the latter situation, as the spot where the Romans attempted to force the Thames. In the first place, from the number of Roman warlike implements found in the bed of the river, many of them in a broken state, it is clear that a great conflict took place in passing this line of defence; in the next place, this was probably the only known fordable part of the river, and was the nearest approach for the Roman army, in their march from the neighbourhood of Sandwich, and tallying with Cæsar's historical account, who was so remarkable for his accuracy in military admeasurement. And, although there is not any doubt but that the Cowey Stakes formed a defensive work of those times, yet it could never have been chosen as a place of passage for the Roman army, when it was well known as a deep, rapid, and by no means ford

able part of the river, except-as I am informed by the surveyor of the Thames Navigation-during the extreme drought of a long summer. I have also ascertained, from the same gentleman, that no weapons of any description have been found near the Cowey Stakes, though some of the stakes themselves are still remaining, shod with brass at the ends, for the purpose of driving them into the earth.

In addition to these remarks, I should mention, that, in digging for brick earth in some fields on the Surrey side of the river, and within a short distance of the Kingston Ford, a number of skeletons have been found, which occupy a considerable portion of the fields. It is evident they must have been placed there after some tremendous engagement, and that they are not the remains of civil sepulture. In the first place, they were all males; in the next place, where the jaws were at all perfect, the teeth were those of young subjects. There were not any vestiges of monumental remains, neither boundary nor inscription, as might have been expected, to mark a regular cemetery; and there were found some pieces or fragments of broken earthenware, very characteristic of Roman material as well as workmanship, dispersed here and there amongst the several layers of bodies. Several ornaments, such as jet pins and other articles, were also found, which have been pronounced by competent judges to be Roman.

On the Middlesex side of the river, and at about

T

half a mile from the ford, a British barrow is in existence, but which I have been unable to procure leave to open; and the remains of an old encampment may be traced near it. It appears probable that the bodies of those British, who were killed in defending the ford, were deposited in this barrow, and that the Romans occupied the encampment soon after the fight.

Horsley, in his Britannia Romana (and he was shrewd and indefatigable in his researches), gives the preference to Kingston Ford, as the place of Cæsar's passage. Cæsar himself describes the situation as being about eighty miles from the sea, which Kingston is; and it is the first ford from the sea which is not influenced by the tide. My argument is also strengthened by the fact, that, before and during a great part of the Saxon era, this place was called Moreford,' or the Great Ford. No mention is made of any other battle having been fought between the Romans and British in the defence of the passage of a river; and the weapons and other articles, which have been found in the bed of the river at Kingston, are Roman. I have at least the authority of William Hamilton, Esq. for saying SO,- —a gentleman, whose fondness for the fine arts, and profound knowledge of everything that is rare and beautiful in the works of the ancients, have enabled him to enrich his country with so many splendid specimens of antiquity.