[47]. Mr. Bell, of Irthington, tells me that in some places the foundation flags of the north side point upwards, at an angle of about twenty degrees, caused apparently by the settling of the ponderous mass. In this circumstance, we have an interesting confirmation of the supposition that the Wall was surmounted with a parapet on its north side. The foundation would have settled equally if both sides had been burdened alike.
[48]. Part II. v. iii. p. 294.
[49]. In some parts of the line, the joints of the Wall are at present filled with earthy matter instead of mortar, and it is the opinion of some authorities, and amongst them, the eminent architect and intelligent antiquary, Mr. Dobson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, that in these places, clay has been originally substituted for mortar. Very loath to suppose that the original builders of the Wall would leave any portion of it in so unsatisfactory a state, I have been in the habit of accounting for the apparent absence of mortar in the following way:—The upper part of the structure having been overthrown by a ruthless enemy, and the lower parts covered with the fallen rubbish, the whole heap would speedily become coated with vegetation. Roman mortar, with all its tenacity, would not be able to resist the powers of vitality; and the constant demands of the ferns and the foxgloves would, in the course of time, abstract the whole of the lime. The roots of the plants, by whose agency the work of abstraction had proceeded, yielding in due time to the process of decay, would themselves, in the form of vegetable earth, supply the place of the lime which they had withdrawn.
[50]. The only source of information which I have upon the subject of this wall, is a translation of an extract from a pamphlet by Professor Buchner, of Regensburg, in the first volume of the ‘Archæologia Æliana.’ The precise relation which the Pfahl bears to the stone Wall does not very clearly appear from this paper; to all appearance, however, the analogy between the German and English barriers is very close.
[51]. Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 276.
[52]. Ibid. 284.
[53]. Iter Boreale, 67.
[54]. He who has the heart of a pilgrim ‘per lineam Valli,’ will not fail to accompany the author, while he attempts, at the very commencement of his local peregrination, to pay a tribute of respect to three departed worthies who made the Wall their especial study.
John Horsley was the first and mightiest of the three—is it too much to say that he was the father of the science of Archæology? Born in an unknown locality of this county, receiving his elementary education at Newcastle, his academical at Edinburgh, he spent the greater portion of his life as the pastor of a Presbyterian congregation in Morpeth. His tastes, and great familiarity with the classics, induced him to devote his leisure hours to the study of the antiquities of Northumberland. Had he conceived that the Britannia Romana would have cost him one-third of the time which its execution required, the world would never have seen it. Having embarked in the undertaking, he felt it his duty to make it as good as he could. How severe his toils, how great his pecuniary sacrifices, how ardent his aspirations after emancipation from his self-imposed task, in order that he might entirely devote himself to his sacred calling, who shall tell? The thought that his flock might eventually be no losers, that his family and his own fair fame might gain by the enterprise, buoyed him up in his course. On 2 Jan. 1731-2, he put the finishing stroke to his labours, the dedication of his work bearing that date. Now he might hope to reap the fruits of his toils—the enjoyment of rest, such as the wearied only know, the congratulations of friends, the approbation of the learned, the replenishment of his exhausted means. None of these fruits he enjoyed. He can scarcely have had the satisfaction of casting his eyes upon a completed copy of his work. The ink of his dedication was hardly dry when he was summoned to the unseen world. Respecting him who recorded the mighty doings of the Romans in Britain, the parish clerk of Morpeth made the following entry in the church-yard calendar:—Buried,
‘1731-2, Jan. 15, Mr. John Horsley.’