hern Britain continued
undisturbed.

But when the garrison of the Wall became liable to attacks from
the rear, the "Vallum" was once more repaired, very probably by
Theodosius,[293] and this time with a ditch to the south, to enable
the soldiers to meet, if needful, a simultaneous assault of Picts in
front and Scots[294] or Saxons behind. Weak though it was as compared
to the Wall, it would still take a good deal of storming, if stoutly
held, and would effectually guard against any mere raid both the small
parties marching along the Military Way[295] from post to post, and
the cattle grazing along the rich meadows which frequently lie between
the two lines of fortification.

F.6.--As we have said, the line of country thus occupied teems with
relics of the occupation. Coins by the thousand, ornaments, fragments
of statuary, inscriptions to the Emperors, to the old Roman gods, to
the strange Pantheistic syncretisms of the later Mithraism[296], to
unknown (perhaps local) deities such as Coventina, records of
this, that, and the other body of troops in the garrison, personal
dedications and memorials--all have been found, and are still
constantly being found, in rich abundance. Of the whole number
of Romano-British inscriptions known, nearly half belong to the
Wall.[297]

F.7.--As an example of these inscriptions we may give one discovered
at Caervoran (the Roman _Magna_), and now in the Newcastle Antiquarian
Museum,[298] the interpretation of which has been a matter of
considerable discussion amongst antiquaries. It is written in letters
of the 3rd century and runs as follows:--

IMMINET . LEONIVIRGO . CAELES TI . SITV SPICIFERA . IVSTI . IN
VENTRIXVRBIVM . CONDITRIX EXQVISMVNERIBVS . NOSSECON

TIGITDEOS . ERGOEADEMMATERDIVVM PAX . VIRTVS . CERES . DEA .
SYRIA LANCEVITAMETIVRAPENSITANS IN . CAELOVISVMSYRIASIDVSEDI
DIT . LIBYAE . COLENDVMINDE CVNCTIDIDICIMVS
ITAINTELLEXITNVMINEINDVCTVS TVO . MARCVSCAECILIVSDO NATIANVS .
MILITANS . TRIBVNVS INPRAEFECTODONO . PRINCIPIS.

Here we have ten very rough trochaic lines:

Imminet Leoni Virgo caelesti situ Spicifera, justi inventrix,
urbium conditrix; Ex quis muneribus nosse contigit Deos. Ergo
eadem Mater Divum, Pax, Virtus, Ceres, Dea Syria, lance vitam
et jura pensitans. In caelo visum Syria sidus edidit Libyae
colendum: inde cuncti didicimus. Ita intellexit, numine
inductus tuo, Marcus Caecilius Donatianus, militans