EARLY MAN well seen is in Chevening Park, and from that place to the Surrey border, near Betsom's Farm, it is possible to trace its course with con- siderable precision. In Surrey it passes through Titsey Park, where its course is indicated by a slight depression in the ground. It runs through Surrey and beyond as far as Southampton. It will be obvious from the above that the Pilgrims' Way is no mere track-way leading from village to village, but an important trade- road extending from the sea-coast on the south to the sea-coast on the east of England. Moreover, it does not connect the Saxon villages of the district through which it passes. It clearly belongs to an earlier system of roadways than those connected with the Saxon civilization. It is also essentially distinct from the Roman roads of the county, which are of a military character, and have been constructed straight across the country from Canterbury to Rochester, Dartford to London, Lympne to Canterbury, Dover to Canterbury, Dover to Sandwich, etc. It is quite safe to assign the Pilgrims' Way to a pre-Roman period. Professor W. Boyd Dawkins ' points out that it belongs to the same system of roads which in other parts of Britain are clearly proved to belong to the prehistoric Iron Age. The fact that it passes through a settlement of this period at Bigberry Wood, near Canterbury, and also quite near the late Celtic urnfield at Aylesford, is certainly interesting as evidence that the Pilgrims' Way is as old as the Early Iron Age, but itis in no way opposed to the opinion formed by the present writer that the road is really very much older. As a matter of fact, the question of the antiquity of this ancient way is closely connected with one of the most interesting problems of the prehistoric archaeology of Britain. Much has been written, and many different opinions are held, as to the position of Ictis or Mictis, the points on the sea-coast of Britain, or on an island or islands close by Britain, where the tin was shipped for foreign parts. St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall, and the Isle of Wight ' have been suggested by some authorities as the probable ports from which tin was shipped; but there is a good deal to be said in favour of a port situated near a shorter sea passage, and both the Isle of Thanet and Dover answer these requirements. To both ports the Pilgrims' Way afforded a commodious and direct means of communication. As has already been mentioned, east of Canterbury it appears to have been continued to these two points on the sea-coast by two distinct routes. In the present state of this question, when the identification of Mictis and Ictis are still in doubt, it may be premature or unwise to theorise as to the possibility of Thanet or Dover having been the points where tin was shipped for export. Still, the fact that they mark the eastern terminations of this remarkable roadway is significant, and the suggestion appears to be worthy of consideration. The possibility of the Pilgrims' Way having been a still earlier thoroughfare is suggested, rather than indicated, perhaps by the manner ' Archesohgical Journal, lis. 217-18. • See an interesting paper on this point by Mr. Clement Reid, F.R.S., in Archieologia, lii. 281-8. 333
