ROMANO-BRITISH BERKSHIRE The second group lies in the high ground of central Berk- shire, where the bulk of the population must have been engaged in pastoral pursuits. Remains of Roman buildings have been found in the parishes of Lambourn, East Ilsley and Compton and there was a group of villas in the neighbourhood of Hampstead Norris. From the evidence which the remains of these villas afford the graziers here were persons of wealth. Other villa remains have been discovered at Wool- stone and Letcombe Regis and there are besides a few instances of miscellaneous finds. But the distinguishing feature of this district is its numerous camps. These, which were probably for the most part con- structed at a date before the Roman period, bear witness in the form of pottery, coins and other remains, to occupation during this time, whether as human dwellings or merely as cattle-shelters it is difficult to determine. It is probable that the supply of wool for the numerous dyeworks at Calleva in Silchester was drawn from the Berkshire Downs. The third group, which provided for the needs of travellers and the inhabitants of Silchester, is found in the neighbourhood of the two Roman highroads which entered the county at its north-western and south-western extremities and converged at Speen. Roman foundations have been uncovered near Membury fort, where the parish of Lambourn borders on Wiltshire, and finds of coins are recorded from one or two spots near Ermine Street on its course from Baydonto Newbury. Remains of more importance mark the line of the Antonine route from Pontes to Calleva. Excavations, at Oakfield Park, about 3! miles from Silchester, showed great quantities of coarse ware and calcined stone and seemed to mark the site of a Roman pottery. Many other finds of pottery have been made near the Roman highroad, and in some cases, as for example the specimens from Rapley's Farm, described by Mr. Handasyd in 1783, the quality of the ware was good. Foundations, however, and other indications of permanent occupation are not abundant here. THE ROADS Three of the routes of the ' Itinerarium Antonini ' pass through Berkshire. I. Route from Isca (Caerleon-on-Usk) by Durocornovium (Ciren- cester) to Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). Durocornovium to Spins (Speen), 15 miles; Spins to Calleva Atrebatum, 15 miles. The real distance, however, from Cirencester to Speen, is not 1 5 but 34 miles. The discrepancy may be explained by comparing the total distance given in the Itinerary, 108 miles, with the sum of the separate distances which amounts to only 90 miles. Apparently a station had dropped out, and it has been suggested 1 that this was on Wanborough Plain, 1 5 miles from Speen, where there are Roman remains. II. Route from Isca by Aquae Sulis (Bath) and Cunetio (Marl- borough) to Calleva. Cunetio to Spins 1 5 miles, Spins to Calleva 15 miles. 1 Codrington, Roman Roads in Britain, 328. 199
