Sketch Of Furness And Cartmel - Comprising The Hundred Of Lonsdale North Of The Sands (1843) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PART. II. GENERAL SKETCH OF ANTIQUITIES. Furness and its neighbourhood abound in relics of the olden time,?in traces of ages long since passed away. The Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans, with the inhabitants of later times, have each added, as it were, their distinguishing characteristics. The almost universal Druidical temples are not wanting to carry us back to ages remote, and almost unknown. The stone hammers, and other weapons of the Celts, are often found; and, supposing that the manufacture of metals was introduced amongst the Britons by the Phoenicians, these rude apologies for iron instruments cany us to a period more than three centuries before the Christian era. We have been informed, that, upon removing what appeared to be the foundation of an old building near High-haum, about twenty Celts or stone hammers were found, in various states of preparation, some only in form, and others finely polished. Sepulchres have at different times been discovered on the moors of Gawthwaite and Woodland, and in the limestone rocks of Baycliff, Scales- haggs, and Elliscales, near Dalton. The Romans have left their camp, road, and coins; and very probably some of the numerous beacons, which are studded over the whole of the country, may be traced to them. Their number was, no doubt, very much augmented in after- times, when a more extensive population required an increased supply of watch towers, that the flaming beacon's light might rouse to arms against the invader. The Roman road crossed Low Furness, from the bay of Morecambe, near Conishead Priory, to the Duddon sands: it has been traced in several places. Whether or not there was a Roman camp at Dalton appears uncertain; but no doubt at all exists as to the one at Ambleside, immediately on the b...