the discovery rapidly spread, and when Dr.
Wilpert lately went again to the Catacombs,
taking with him a photographer, he found
the door of the Catacombs forced, and, enter-
ing the little chapel, found that the upper
part of the figure of the Saviour, as well as
the most beautiful of the gazelles, had been
loosened from the wall and taken away.
The thief has not been discovered ; but he
must have been well acquainted with the
Catacombs, for the chapel is deep in the
interior, very far from the entrance. It is
the only theft of the kind that has happened
in the Catacombs during the whole of the
last hundred years. Inscriptions, sculptures,
and even columns, have been stolen, but since
the end of the eighteenth century no fresco
was ever loosened from the wall and taken
away.

3p 4* "J?

An interesting loan collection of 130 Russian
silver and silver-gilt snuff-boxes has been



placed on exhibition in the Edinburgh
Museum of Science and Art. They are the
property of Mr. W. AUaway, St. Andrew
Square, and have been collected by him as
opportunity offered during the last twenty-
five years. The main interest of these
specimens is in the manner of their decora-
tion in niello, an art process which, while
characteristic of Russian art in modern
times, is really a survival of a method that
was practised with great success by the
Italian and German goldsmiths of the fifteenth
century, and that dates back even to Roman
times. The application of this method of
decoration is not confined to snuff-boxes,
and under its Russian name of tula, a name
taken from the town which is in a way the
Birmingham of Russia, niello work is much
employed on sword and knife handles,
powder-flasks, jewel-boxes, and other smaller
objects. In addition to the geometrical and
floriated forms finely wrought on many of
the Allaway snuff-boxes there are also a
number of architectural and figure designs,
among which appear, evidently a popular
subject, several renderings of the equestrian
statue of Peter the Great.

4p ^ 4?
Those who are interested in Indian antiquities,
says the Athemeum, will learn with satisfaction
some of the results of the recent visit of the
Viceroy to Bijapur. The mosque which served
as a dak-bungalow has been restored to its
original use. An exquisite little building
used as a post-oflfice has had its incongruous
fittings swept away and its mutilations re-
paired. It is proposed to take in hand the
tomb and mosque now occupied by the
Executive Engineer, and to repair and pre-
serve the brackets of the cornice of the
great domed Gol Gumbaz, or mausoleum
of Muhammad 'Adil Shah. Lord Curzon in
his official tours is doing everywhere his best
to incite the local officials and the natives to
preserve not only their monuments, but also
any objects of artistic interest. As an instance,
a collection of antique blue china and Persian
carpets that was lying neglected in a cellar of
the tomb of the daughter of Aurangzib at
Aurangabad has, at his suggestion, been
ordered by the Nizam to be properly stored
and shown in a building devoted to the
purpose, and a printed catalogue has been



NOTES OF THE MONTH.



199



prepared, so that the safety of the collection
is assured.

cjjj, ^ .J>

Excavations in the Roman Forum are being
steadily continued, and hardly a day passes
without the discovery of some new detail
throwing light on discoveries previously
made. The most active work is being done
in Santa Maria Antiqua, where, under the
level of the flooring of the church, a kind of
crypt has been brought to light. The crypt
is older than the church, and older even
than the portion of the Imperial Palace
which rises beside the church. The brick-
work of the palace shows it to have been
constructed in the second century a.d., while
the bricks of the crypt clearly date from the
first century. The crypt itself was filled
with tombs of curious construction, but its
original use seems to have been that of a
rectangular fountain or fish-pond. When
the church was inaugurated the basin was
probably built over, and tombs constructed
underneath. In the tombs a number of
objects were found, the most interesting
being a glass vase in perfect preservation,
which in course of time has acquired an
iridescent colour.

^ rj* fj.

Hundreds of laurels, bays, and pomegranates
are being planted in odd nooks and corners
of the Forum, Signor Boni's plant fund
having recently been increased by a gift of
;^8o from an American admirer of his efforts
to restore to the Forum something of the
picturesqueness it lost by being transformed
from a " cowfield " into its present interest-
ing but somewhat arid condition.

^ ^ ^

The members of the Cumberland and West-
morland Antiquarian Society arranged to
hold their first meeting of the present year at
Durham on June 20 and 21. The following
amongst other papers were read or submitted at
the meeting : " Some Notes on the Lowthers
who held Judicial Office in Ireland in the
Seventeenth Century," by Sir Eldmund
Bewley ; '* An Exploration of Sunkenkirk,
Swinside, Cumberland," by Mr, C. W.
Dymond, F.S.A. ; " Early Sculptured Stones
atEgremont, Haile, Ponsonby, andGosforth,"



by Dr. Parker; "Church Bells at Waber-
thwaite, Gosforth, and Irton," by Dr. Parker ;
" Report on Excavations at the Holy Well,
Gosforth," by Mr. W. G. Collingwood ; " On
a Gold Ring found at Maryport," by Dr.
James Little ; and " A Pre-Norman Shaft
recently found at Great Clifton Church," by
Mr. R. M. Lidbetter, Workington.

^ ^ ^

A very interesting paper on " Remnants of
the Yorkshire Dialect " was read by the Rev.
A. N. Cooper, Vicar of Filey, at a recent
meeting of the Yorkshire Dialect Society. He
said no one could claim to know English
thoroughly who was ignorant of the leading
dialects of the country. Dialect was not a
vulgarism, for when a farmer invited one in
a storm to enter his barn instead of standing
under it, as it would be found " bieldier "
there ; or when a villager said of his parson,
who fondly hoped his habit of smoking was
not known, " Ay, but we saw the reek " ; or
when a very fat woman was being buried her
bearers despairingly cried, " We canna hug
her ; we canna hug her " ; or when a mother
saw her boy coming home one wet day, and
said he was " plothered " with mud from head
to foot a word of ancient meaning, though
well-nigh forgot, was mentioned, and in most
cases was far more expressive than the corre-
sponding word in the King's English. Our
forefathers originated speech by a desire to
express sights in sound, and well they
succeeded in doing it. Dialect words which
were common when he first went to Filey,
twenty years ago, were now rare. In prepara-
tion for his paper he took a list of dialect
words to several persons, and found they did
not know the meaning of such words as
" hooined," "thole" or "thoil," " sam,"
"fain," "rig," " brat," "pawse" or "poise,"
and others ; while they only recognised as
old friends of the past "lat," "hing,"
" fligged," " wick," etc. Perhaps no better
proof of the decay of dialect could be given
than that supplied by the Vicar of Boynton,
who said to an old road-mender one wintry
morning, " It's slape to-day, John," and was
instantly corrected by him, " Yes, sir, it is
slippery." Well might the society gather up
the fragments of speech that remained before
all were lost.



300



THE BATTLEFIELD OF ETHANDUNE.




C6e TPattlcficlD of tl)annune.

By the Kev. Charles \V. Whistler, M.R C.S.
{Concluded from p . 175)



DINGTON, near Hungerford, is
almost unknown, but I believe has
its local advocates. It may be
dismissed as too far for the marches
from any gathering- place on the eastern fringe
of Selwood. Eaton Down, near Castle-
combe and Bath, is not a well-known site
either. It has been marked as the place of
the victory by a monument and inscription
erected by a well-known local antiquary who
owned the hill. Beyond the tradition, here
well marked, and commemorated by other
names also, of a defeat of the Danes by
Alfred, I do not know what other claims to
notice it has in special. The marches from
near Brixton would reach it, but it is too far
for the attacks from Athelney. Other objec-
tions there may be to it are equal to those
against the other Wilts positions.

Edington, near Westbury, is the site usually
given in the history text-books. It is that
mentioned by Camden, and enlarged on by his
later editor, Gibson, and his identification, and
perhaps the" well-known "White Horse," seem
mainly responsible for its adoption. Within
two miles of the hill itself is a fine camp of
the British type, Bratton Castle, which will
answer for the fortress of the siege. This
camp lies between Edington Hill and Brix-
ton, so that to seize the rear position a long
circuit must have been made by Alfred on
his second day's march. As the crow flies,
Edington and Bratton are about thirty-six
miles from Athelney, and nine from Brixton
Deveril.*

This latter distance seems too short for an
unopposed march or even gathering. Nor
does it seem evident why Alfred should not
have attacked on the day following the
meeting with his forces. Here the question
of the site of the first halt at Iglea comes in,
and the usual place chosen for this halt is at

See Correspondence. I have given distances
from Brixton as intermediate. The slight difference
of distance thence to the gathering-places possible
does not affect the arguments for or against the
several Ethandunes.



Leigh, near Westbury, within four miles of
the enemy. This is Gibson's identification
after the dismissal of Clay Hill, near Long-
leat, as too evident a post. Leigh is in the
valley, and would seem likely to fulfil the
requirements of the description of the place
we have. But it seems impossible that the
great Saxon force could have remained un-
discovered at so short a distance for two
days, and if this Edington is the site, it would
be necessary to seek some fresh place for
Iglea. Any other objections to this site are
the same as apply to the next.

Heddington, near Calne, has also a large
fort close at hand, marked on some maps as
Oliver's Castle, both this and Bratton belong-
ing to the great chain of hill-forts stretching
north-west from Salisbury. This would answer
for the fortress, and has the same relative posi-
tion with regard to Brixton as Bratton, being
between that point and Heddington Hill.
Here again a circuit has to be made by the
Saxons on the march. The distance of Hed-
dington and Oliver's Castle from Athelney is
about forty - six miles, and from Brixton
eighteen. For the first halt Iley Meads, or
Highley Common, near Melksham, is the
point usually given for Iglea, and again the
name is near enough. For this site Chippen-
ham itself is sometimes given as the fortress
of the siege. This would make the first
day's march sixteen miles to Iley Meads,
which is reasonable, whence a march on the
following morning of some six miles would
bring Alfred on the enemy at Heddington.
This is far more likely than the short marches
on Leigh and Edington. The gathering,
were there no reasons to hinder it, might
well be unobserved, and the halt late at
night would be possible. On these grounds
alone one may say that Heddington and
Oliver's Castle are far more likely to be the
sites of the victory than Edington and
Bratton. It would seem that only the
identification of the latter by Camden has
placed Heddington in the second place in
the affections of the text-books. But to both
these places there are primary objections
which seem insuperable. The distance of
the nearer site, six-and-thirty miles from
Athelney, is prohibitive of the frequent
attacks on the Danes which are insisted on
by the chroniclers.



THE BATTLEFIELD OF ETHANDUNE.



20I



It is usually said in answer that these
attacks from the fen were on raiders only.
But if the whole country were so overspread by
these, the unnoticed gathering near Brixton,
and the following march and surprise would
have been impossible. Every Dane would
have been on the watch for the appearance
of the enemy, and the well-known mobility
of the mounted Danes must not be for-
gotten. It would have been hard for Alfred's
footmen to reach them. Nor do these sites
give any reason why Alfred remained in
Athelney, while the enemy who had driven
him into hiding were at the least reckoning
thirty-six miles across fen and forest from
him. Besides this, he had Odda's force at
his back, and we have no 'record that the
Danes had demolished the great fortress of
Taunton close to him. There is no reason
for the building of the Athelney fort there-
fore to be deduced from these sites.

Nor will they explain why the Danes
massed there. Alfred's attacks from the fen
with his few followers could not have driven
them so far away, and with the commonest
military foresight, Guthrum must have tried
to hinder any gathering at the fort, which is
conspicuous from every hill or the border of
the fen. And it must be noted that the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is precise that these
attacks were made on ^' the army."

AUer and Wedmore are in the fens, close
at hand to Athelney. If the Danes sur-
rendered at Bratton or Oliver's Castle, it is
not evident, to say the least, why these places,
forty miles or so to the westward, should have
been chosen for the final settlement. It
has been suggested that AUer Church and
Alfred's own house at Wedmore were the
only sanctuary and hall left unharmed by the
Danes, owing to the attacks from the fens.
This is quite probable, but a church is no
more necessary for a baptism than a hall for
signing a treaty, both of which would be far
more impressive if carried out in the close
neighbourhood of the host which was affected
by them. Nor does it seem likely that Alfred
would have left the walls of the fortress,
or Guthrum put himself so entirely in his
enemy's hands before the treaty had been
fully ratified.

In the case of these Wilts sites, the points
as to the retreat and the possible details of

VOL. XXXVII.



the attack must be entirely speculative.
There is one point which has been taken in
their favour, though it is very doubtful, which
remains to be mentioned.

Ethelwerd, but no other, says that Alfred
fought against "the army, which was in
Chippenham, at a place called Ethandune."

This is taken as a statement that the
Danes were yet in the Chippenham district,
and has apparently been enough to confine
the search for the site of Ethandune to
the two places just discussed. But it only
amounts to an identification of the host of
newcomers who had fallen on Chippenham
in the winter, and had moved thence to
Ethandune at some time not stated. He
has a similar identification under 876 a.d. :
" The army which had been at Cambridge
made a junction with the western army . . .
near the town which is called Wareham."
Under 878 he says that the " foul mob " took
up their winter quarters at Chippenham.
Ethandune was fought at Whitsuntide.

The points in favour of the Wilts sites are
therefore :

1. Name and situation in the Chippenham
district.

2. Existence of fortresses in each case.

3. Fair possibilities of the marches from
Brixton in one case.

4. Camden's identification, and the state-
ments of the text-books.

Against these sites we have :

1. Distance from Athelney prohibitive of
frequent attacks on the Danes, unless raiders
can be allowed to have operated so far from
their camp, and to have been described as
" the army."

2. The existence of such raiders or other
force between the two places prohibitive
of an unnoticed gathering at Brixton and
marches thence.

3. Want of explanation of the continued
stay in Athelney, and building of the fort
there.

4. Unlikelihood as place of Danish con-
centration consequent on and against that
occupation.

5. Distance from AUer and Wedmore.

6. Extreme difficulty of making other de-
tails of the campaign tally with these sites.

The notice of Chippenham can hardly be
taken as more than decisive that this town was

2 c



302



THE BATTLEFIELD OF ETHANDUNE.



not the unnamed fortress of the siege, as has
been occasionally suggested. To insist on the
district introduces the curious element of
uncertainty which arises from the existence
of these two almost equally likely fields for
the battle. This in itself is far more in
favour of their being consecutive fields of two
of the nine Wessex battles of 871, the Danes
being driven from one camp to the other.
It will be noticed that both Ethandune hills
are in the same relative position on the
Mercian side of the actual strongholds near
them, as if they mark either the meeting-
place of the two armies, or else the place of
the pursuit and slaughter of the fugitives after
the storming of the earthworks, the latter
being the more likely. The field of Eaton
Down, to which the objections above apply
yet more strongly, would mark another stage
in the flight and pursuit of the Danes after
their expulsion from Bratton and Oliver's
Castles.

Only one site remains, but that is prac-
tically where it would be looked for by one
who came fresh to the subject in the Athel-
ney district.

Edington on Poldens, near Bridgwater, is
given as the site by Rapin and by Bishop
Clifford only, so far as I can gather. The
place lies out of the known tracks, and it is
doubtful if Camden would ever have heard
of it, while his identification has certainly
been enough to fix attention on the Wilts
sites without further search. What guide
Rapin had to the place beyond the map, I
cannot say,* but Bishop Clifford knew the
country as well as he did the chroniclers.

Edington Hill is about the highest point
of the range of the Polden Hills, which runs
from south-west to north-east from Glaston-
bury to the mouth of the Parrett, and be-
tween the wide fenlands of this river and the
Brue. Modern drainage has considerably
altered the features of this flat country, but

* Rapin's mention of this site would seem to
show that it was in his time a known and recognised
position, since forgotten for the Wiltshire sites.
CoUinsoii's Somerset gives the derivation of Edington
as from *' Edwinston," after some early owner, but
does not give any authority for the statement. If,
however, it is not a mere conjecture, it somewhat
coincides with the spelling in the rhymed chronicle of
Gaimar, " Edenesdone," which represents the Nor-
man corruption of the name.



in the winter floods it is possible to realize
its nature in the days of Alfred more clearly,
when the Poldens were practically a penin-
sula in the midst of marshes impassable but
by natives who held the secret of the paths.
Edington Hill is about 300 feet high, but its
position renders it imposing, and from it the
fens are commanded far and wide. The fort
by Athelney is most conspicuous from it to
the south-westward. .An ancient Roman
road runs from end to end of the range,
crossing Edington Hill at its highest, con-
necting Glastonbury and Street with the sea
between the Parrett and Brue mouths, where
the old Roman station of Uxella probably
stood.

On Edington Hill itself some traces of
ancient earthworks skirt the road and are
duplicated lower on the face of the steep
slope toward the Athelney fenland. Here
the range is very narrow, the road taking
practically the whole of the width of the
crest.

Edington Hill is about six miles across the
fen from Athelney, and thirty or less from
Brixton Deveril.

In the neighbourhood, and each at about
four miles distant westward at the foot of the
hills on the Athelney side, are the remains
of an earthwork at Puriton, apparently
Roman, once more extensive than now, and
the town of Bridgwater itself. The latter
had its large Roman camp before the Nor-
mans set their keep on its elevation, and it
seeing to have been a Saxon fortress from
early times. At the Norman Conquest its
only name was " Burgh," apparently, Walter
de Briewer held it under William, whence
the present name, spelt in the early Norman
charters indifferently as " Burgh-Walters " and
" Brugge - Walters." The modern dialect
pronunciation is invariably " Burge-water,"
with the accent on the a as in Walter. The
name in Saxon times would therefore be
no more than "the fortress." Between the
ancient town earthworks and the Poldens
runs the Parrett, but the town itself was on
both sides of the river, the position of old
defences being known. The Roman works
at Puriton are on the Polden side of the
river, and close to it, and were connected
with the road along the hill-top by a branch.

Aller is four miles from Athelney across



THE BATTLEFIELD OF ETHANDUNE.



203



the fen, and Wedmore is on the other side of
the Poldens, about ten miles from Bridg-
water, on the Brue. The present pronuncia-
tion of Aller exactly preserves the spelling
" Aulre " of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, and
the Saxon font of the church yet exists, and is
in use. Ancient foundations, claimed to be
those of Alfred's palace, remain at Wedmore.
The marches from the eastern fringe of
Selwood to this Edington are quite possible,
and the site of the first halt at Iglea on the



The modern spelling somewhat masks the
likeness of the name to Iglea, but the local
pronunciation, Egerley, with the hard g, is
at least as near to the ancient forms as
Iley or Leigh, if not actually nearer. The
features of the place tally well with' the
description, and it is likely enough to have
been chosen for the halt, as screened by the
hills, while the Roman road leads from Street,
close at hand, direct to Edington.

In the case of this Edington therefore, hill



3'^'



*~ - ~~ ' - Weilm.te



%, Ani^ _







Hfni, HWhu,^



Sktttk ytfuk' 'f' ^tkmlyKt^ \Pi'*t*i*t 3elt*rt:



way to Ethandune remains to be sought.
Personally, as I have said, I do not attach
much importance to the exact identification
of this meadow-site, for in any case it is
secondary, though if a likely place exists
within striking distance of the battlefield,
it is an additional confirmation. Bishop
Clifford places the halt at Edgarley, a hamlet
close to, and to the west of, Glastonbury,
some twenty miles from Brixton, and eight
from Edington, on the line of direct march
from one point to the other. There is no
question of a circuit in this case therefore,
and the distances are reasonable.



position, presence of fortress, and distances,
are all that are required. It remains to be
seen if other conditions are better fulfilled
by it than by the Wilts sites, which un-
doubtedly require considerable straining of
the plain statements of the chroniclers before
the campaign is intelligible, if it can ever be
so, in their case.

At the beginning of the spring the Danes
must have swarmed in the Glastonbury dis-
trict to have compelled the continued hiding
in Athelney. They had, according to William
of Malmesbury, burned Glastonbury itself, in
fact. The attacks on them from the fen were

2C 2



304



THE BATTLEFIELD OF ETHANDUNE.



therefore easily carried out continually, and
the more so that retreat into the fen was
possible to Alfred's men from any point of
the fringing hills.

After the defeat of Hubba, the existence of
a Saxon force to the westward, and of these
foes in the fen, must have compelled Guthrum
to concentrate in order to reduce this last
remaining district of VVessex in which any
apparent power of resistance remained. The
rising fort at Athelney told him of the exact
position of Alfred, but until he learnt the
way across the fens he could not attack it in
force. He could not know that the men
who were annoying him thence were but a
few Thanes and the herdsmen of the King's
own lands in the district, all of whom would
know the paths well.

From the eastward there are practically
even now only two roads into Athelney.
One runs from almost the foot of Edington
Hill, by the fen islands, Chedzoy, Middlezoy,
and Othery, to the Borough Fort, and the
other along the western side of the Parrett
from Bridgwater, across from the Poldens by
the Roman road which crosses Edington
Hill. Through Bridgwater also was the only
road from the Severn coast by which Odda
and his force were likely to come eastward.
To block both sortie from Athelney and the
possible march of the western force, a posi-
tion on the Poldens, and possibly the holding
also of the "burgh," would be advisable and
natural. From the Poldens Guthrum would
have easy access to the rest of Wessex by the
Roman road, and with all the district east of
the fenland subjugated, there would not seem