A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE antiquaries demands our thoughtful attention, as the results of recent investi- gation may appear antagonistic to their conclusions. Camden thought Burrough Hill to be the Roman station Vernometum^ while Rollings inclined to the opinion that it was a British stronghold and the scene of the defeat of the Iceni by Ostorius, 'so closely does its admirable position appear to coincide in its precipitous escarpment on three sides, its vallum of piled stones, its one accessible face, and its single entrance.' Leland describes it as double diched and containeth within the dich to my estimation 9 acres, the soile of it beareth very good corn. First I took hit for a camp of menne of warre, but after I plaine perceived that hit had been worked about with stone, and to be sure pulled out some stones at the entering of hit, where hath been a great gate, and then found lyme betwixt the stone. Tailby, in a letter to Nichols, says : It is an encampment in a great measure formed by nature and shaped by art. The hill consists of a loose open-jointed rock of soft reddish stone, covered with a shallow soil. In the rock some fossil shells appear, some indented, some plain, but mostly of the cockle kind. The joints of the rock appear at first sight as if formed by art, as a wall is, for between the joints is a white substance which resembles lime. The figure of the entrench- ment is irregular, though nearly square, and at the base of the hill are numerous springs. This area is now under grass, which facilitates an examination, and it is surprising that its former arable period has not proved more destructive. The earthworks are in a good state, but show no indications of ever having been ' double ditched,' nor that the stronghold has been ' worked about with stone.' The stones employed in the works formed the core of the earthen vallum upon the natural rock ; and the lime which Leland thought to indicate a structure of masonry is the disintegration and drift of the limestone. Natural features governed the irregular circumvallation of this fortress. The principal entrance is at the south-east, between two inturned aggers, which penetrate the camp 120 ft., and rise i8ft. above the path at the angles of the vallum. At the base of this path a mound lies on the right hand and a curved bank inclosing a hollow on the left. Following the line of defence towards the north, at the section A B, the rampart rises 26 ft. from the interior, and has an escarpment of 34ft. to a berm 26ft. wide, and a further scarp of 27 ft. The vallum at C is broken away, but this is no part of the original scheme ; the single escarpment immediately to the north of it is 63 ft. Some 300 ft. from this point the fosse, with an outer bank, becomes more pronounced ; and at D a winding path severs the vallum, but its inimical use is prevented or hindered by an agger containing a sunken site for a guard. Turning towards the south this path descends between the vallum and a mound. At the base of the second scarp on the north is a wide but shallow mound upon a platform ; and due north the natural escarpment has been altered so far as to provide a berm ; while at a lower level is another position for a band of warriors. On the eastern side the vallum which for a space has been destroyed is again in evidence, rising 10 ft. from the interior it has a 26ft. scarp on to a berm with the precipitous hill-side beyond. An indication of a postern here gives access to the platform, and a little to the south-west the vallum is 42 ft. on the scarp. 248
