noticed under another heading (see pp. 20-21).

Of the Roman occupation the traces are more varied. Bath and Ilchester
are Roman towns, and from and through them Roman roads run across the
county. In constructing these, the Romans probably used in many
instances existing British trackways. The principal was the Fosse Way
(as it is called), entering the county near Chard from Seaton, and
leaving it at Bath for Lincoln. Within Somerset it is still a very
important artery of traffic. From near Chard a road is thought to have
diverged from it to the N.W., towards the Quantocks, passing by Castle
Neroche. The Fosse Way was, and is, cut at Ilchester by a road coming
from Dorchester and continuing to Glastonbury, and near Masbury, on the
Mendips, by a second, connecting Old Sarum with Axium (Uphill, near
Brean Down). At Bath it was joined by two more roads, one coming from
London and the other (the _Via Julia_) from Aust and South Wales. The
road along the Mendips was doubtless largely used for the transport of
the lead which was mined at Priddy and elsewhere, and shipped at
Uphill. Somerset, during its occupation by the Romans, seems to have
enjoyed tranquillity, for their villas, pavements, and other remains
indicative of peaceful possession are not confined to the neighbourhood
of their large cities (see p. 21).

When the Saxons made themselves masters of England, Somerset became
part of the kingdom of Wessex. Its subjugation was accomplished in
three stages. The first is associated with the name of Ceawlin, who,
after defeating the British at Deorham (in Gloucestershire), captured
Bath, and by 577 reduced the northern part of the county between the
Avon and the Axe. _Englishcombe_ near Bath recalls this occupation, and
the Wansdyke probably served as a barrier between Saxon and Briton. But
between this conquered territory and Dorset, which was also Saxon,