. The Victoria history of the county of Devon;. Natural history. ANCIENT EARTHWORKS. .>'5 ••o ii /=»/a n fa tion ^^^% ^^Z- N. A curved line of rampart about 250 ft. in length has an escarpment of 20 ft. perpendicular measurement, at the most perfect part and averages 35 ft. in width at the base. The slope of this agger almost coincides with the angle of w^fc^ the hill as it rises from the valley. The ^tr;>" - fosse outside is filled nearly to the level; •^'~' »!•-"' and beyond it is a plateau about 40 ft. wide. A succession of aggers at the northern extremity indicates a strong
. The Victoria history of the county of Devon;. Natural history. ANCIENT EARTHWORKS. .>'5 ••o ii /=»/a n fa tion ^^^% ^^Z- N. A curved line of rampart about 250 ft. in length has an escarpment of 20 ft. perpendicular measurement, at the most perfect part and averages 35 ft. in width at the base. The slope of this agger almost coincides with the angle of w^fc^ the hill as it rises from the valley. The ^tr;>" - fosse outside is filled nearly to the level; •^'~' »!•-"' and beyond it is a plateau about 40 ft. wide. A succession of aggers at the northern extremity indicates a strongly de- fended entrance near this point. Mr. Hut- chinson suggests^ that an entrance was gained from a road which has now perished. He draws attention to traces of an ancient road from Sidbury to High Peak, passing by Beacon Hill, Bulverton Hill, and Peak Hill, and lost on the edge of the cliiF; but on the other side of the gap, at the foot of the cone of High Peak, it is again in evidence, following a westerly course to Otterton and Woodbury Hill Camp. The irresistible sapping of the waves has destroyed much of this camp, but when it was constructed the clifF probably extended to the now detached rocks at sea. This destruction has revealed certain details of the dwellers here, for in 1862, at the north end of the great agger, about 3 ft. down the face of the clifF, a deposit of charcoal was exposed to view; the charcoal was of oak and fir, and the deposit extended for about 50 ft. Sling stones and pounders were found ; fragments of pottery, coloured bufF, dull red, and brown, unglazed and decorated with incised lines ; and pieces of haematite, the dust of which, mixed with grease, is supposed to have provided the natives with war-paint for their bodies. The disintegration of the cliff carried various relics of those early times down to the beach, where many coins have been found at various times, among them a Constantine, a Claudius, and a Bactrian coin ; while in 184
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