II. STATUES. A queen of the Amazons defending herself from a horseman in battle: Cupid, a man, breaking his bow: Clio, the muse, sitting: a Faunus: these are of most admirable workmanship. Five statues reckoned as ancient as any in the several parts of the world. Egypt, Isis with her husband Osiris in Theban iron stone. Thrace, Jupiter Ammon from the temple built by Sesostris, with a ram on his shoulders; it is a very venerable piece. Asia Minor, Diana of Ephesus; the head, hands and feet black, the rest of white marble. Phrygia, Cupid tied to a tree; a Phrygian cap on his head. Lydia, Hercules wrestling with Achelous. Paris with the Phrygian bonnet and shepherd’s coat of skins. Saturn with an infant in his arms. The Egyptian Bacchus, of a fine shape, carrying the young fat Greek Bacchus on his shoulder. A shepherd playing on the flute. A Greek Bacchus. Flora. Silenus drunk, with a club in his hand, fancying himself Hercules, supported by a younger; a piece of most incomparable art. A boy dancing and playing on music. Cupid holding the golden apple. A young Bacchus smiling. Marcus Aurelius on horseback, made at Athens, small. The river Meander, recumbent. A boy in an eager posture, catching at some live thing on the ground. A coloss Hercules, six Attic cubits high, with three apples in one hand. Cleopatra giving suck to Cæsarion her son, sitting. Julia Pia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, sitting. Livia, the wife of Augustus, sitting. Manlia Scantilla, sitting. Attys the Phrygian, engraved by Montfaucon without the head, which is here restored. Mark Antony, a crocodile at his feet. Apollo. Ceres. Pomona. Andromeda. Young Hercules with the serpents. Hercules, old, with his club. The dwarf of Augustus.
III. BASSO RELIEVO’S. The Story of Niobe, alto relievo, very ancient: there are twenty figures; the marble is 2400 weight; seems to have been a pannel in some temple of Apollo, or Diana. The story of Meleager, being the side of a sarcophagus, seventeen figures, mezzo relievo, 1500 weight, of an admirable taste. Curtius on horseback, leaping into the gaping cavern, of most excellent work. M. Aurelius and Faustina, adversa capita, fine work. Caracalla, a three-quarters relievo. The three Graces. One on horseback, cutting at a soldier defending himself under the horse. The ancient manner of eating, Jupiter served by Hebe: he is accumbent. A frize of a sea-triumph, small figures. Cleopatra with the asps in a covered vase, alto relievo. Part of a frize from a temple of Neptune, Naiades and Tritons. A basso from a temple of Bacchus, the thyrsus, &c. A basso relievo on porphyry of Roemitalces king of Thrace. A child stealing fruit from the altar through a mask.
IV. MISCELLANIES. A nuptial vase, representing the ceremonies of marriage. Ara Hammonis, a cube of white marble, on front the symbol of Jupiter Hammon on a circular piece of the old Theban marble. Two black porphyry pillars brought from Rome by the earl of Arundel. The column of Egyptian granite, weighing near 7000 weight, from the ruins of the temple of Venus genetrix, built by Julius Cæsar: this my lord has set up in the front of the house. A very ancient altar of Bacchus, adorned with basso relievo’s. An altar table of red Egyptian granite, large, and four or five inches thick. An antique pavement, four sorts of marble, of gradual light and shade. The antique picture from the temple of Juno: it is in thick stucco. The sarcophagus of Epaphroditus intire, finely carved with the history of Ceres. The front of Claudia’s sepulchre, sister of Probus the emperor: her head is joined with his. Eighty-five termini of antique marbles, busto’s on seventy-two of them.
Icening-street.
From the gate of Sorbiodunum the Icening-street goes from north-east to south-west, by the name of Port lane, over the river Avon at Stretford; then ascends the hill, and passes the united Nadre and Willy near Bemerton, where the stony ford is still very perfect: then it goes across my lord Pembroke’s horse-race course and hare-warren, making a visto to M. Aurelius his equestrian figure in the park. If the spirits and genii of the ancient Romans travel this way, no doubt they will be surprised to find themselves so near the Capitol. Then it traverses the brook at Fenny-Stretford, and so along the great downs toward Cranburn chace: here it delights one to turn and survey its direction towards Sorbiodunum, a sweet prospect; whether we regard what share of it is due to nature, or what to art; and of the latter sort, what is owing to the road, or what to the old city. As it enters the chace there is a most remarkable diverticulum, and which notoriously demonstrates it was begun from the south: for here, as it came from thence across the woods, where its ridge is very perfect, made of stone, it butts full upon the end of a vast valley, very deep and of steep descent; where it was absolutely impracticable to carry the road on in a strait line: the Roman surveyor therefore wisely gave way to nature, turned the road side-ways along the end of the valley, then with an equal angle carried it forward upon the upper side of that valley in full direction to Old Sarum. That great and wise people, though ignorant of submission, knew nature might be drawn aside, but not directly opposed, especially in works that are to be lasting: hence my intent was, to pursue this noble road as far as it would carry me; and the pleasure one perceives in such a concomicant is not to be imagined by any one but those that experience it: to observe their methods in the conduct of such works, their artifices and struggles between industry and the difficulties and diversities of ground, of rivers, &c. and the continual presentment of somewhat worthy of remark by the way, renders it short, and vastly entertaining; nor is the mind ever at a loss for learned amusement. When it has passed through the woods of Cranburn chace, and approaches Woodyates, you see a great dike and vallum (Venndike) upon the edges of the hills to the left by Pentridge, to which I suppose it gave name: this crosses the Roman road, and then passes on the other side, upon the division between the hundred. The large vallum here is southward, and it runs upon the northern brink of the hills; whence I conjecture it a division or fence thrown up by the Belgæ before Cæsar’s time. I call this the second boundary of the Belgæ; two others are already mentioned. I pleased myself with the hopes of observing the Roman road running over it, as doubtless it did originally: but just at that instant both enter a lane, where every thing is disfigured with the wearing away and reparations that have been made ever since. Its high ridge is then inclosed within a pasture just at Woodyates, then becomes the common road for half a mile, but immediately passes forward upon a down, the road going off to the right. I continued the Roman road for two or three mile, where it is rarely visited: it is very beautiful, smooth on both sides, broad at top, the holes remaining whence it was taken, with a ditch on each hand: it is made of gravel, flint, or such stuff as happened in the way, most convenient and lasting. There are vast numbers of Celtic barrows upon these downs, just of such manner and shapes as those of Salisbury plain: at the first and more considerable group I came to, there was a most convincing evidence of the Roman road being made since the barrows: two instances of this nature I gave in the last letter. One form of these barrows, for distinction sake, I call Druids (for what reasons I shall not stand here to dispute:) they are thus. A circle of about 100 foot diameter, more or less, is inclosed with a ditch of a moderate breadth and depth: on the outside of this ditch is a proportionate vallum; in the centre of this inclosure is a small tump, where the remains of the person are buried, sometimes two, sometimes three. Now so it fell out, that the line of direction of the Roman road necessarily carried it over part of one of these tumuli, and some of the materials of the road are dug out of it: this has two little tumps in its centre.
It was now my business to look out for the station in Antoninus called Vindogladia, mentioned in the last journey to be twelve mile from Sorbiodunum. By this time I was come to a proper distance: accordingly I found, at the end of this heath, the road which is all along called Iclingdike, descended a valley where a brook crosses it, from two villages called Gliffet. At All-Saints, or Lower Gliffet, there was a small ale-house, and the only one hereabouts (the Rose:)Vindogladia. my old landlady, after some discourse preparatory, informed me that at Boroston, a mile lower upon the river, had been an old city; and that strangers had come out of their way on purpose to see it; that ruins and foundations were there; that it had seven parish-churches, which were beaten down in the war time; that many old coins had been ploughed up when she was a girl, which the children commonly played withal; but the case at present was plainly the same with that of old Troy, described in the ballad upon her wall, where she showed me these passionate verses,
Waste lie those walls that were so good,
And corn now grows where Troy towers stood.
This account, so natural, satisfied me that Vindogladia must here be fixed, and Wimbornminster be robbed of that honour, where the tide of antiquarians have hitherto carried it, for no other reason but name sake; the distances and road being repugnant. I suppose the name signifies the white river, or vale; vint, white; gladh, a river; whence our glade, or valley where a river runs. This place being not capable of affording me a proper mansion, I left the more particular scrutiny of it for another opportunity.
Hence I pursued the road on the opposite chalk-hill, where they have dug it away to burn for lime, but much degenerate from Roman mortar in strength: it was not long before I absolutely lost it in great woods beyond Long Crechil; but by information I learnt that it passes the Stour at Crayford bridge below Blandford, where I was obliged to take up my nightly quarters. I was glad to gain the downy country again westward of it, and still full of barrows of all sorts by clusters or groups. I frequently observed on the sides of hills long divisions, very strait, crossing one another with all kinds of angles: they look like the balks or meres of ploughed lands, and are really made of flint over-grown with turf: they are too small for ploughed lands, unless of the most ancient Britons, who dealt little that way; but just such like have I seen in what I always imagine British camps. Above the town of Blandford is an odd intrenchment on a hill, a squarish work, with others like the foundation of small towers: a barrow near it.