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The History and Antiquities of Dartford, with Topographical Notices of the Neighbourhood. By John Dunkin, Gent., M.A.S. 8vo. London, 1844. John Russell Smith.

Mr. Dunkin has industriously recorded a mass of facts, chiefly relating to the ecclesiastical and social history of Dartford, all of more or less value, and has thus earned the gratitude of all who can appreciate the utility of topographical compilations, which, requiring much zeal, discrimination, and labour, contrary to works of more direct and immediate interest, seldom repay the authors the expense incurred in publishing them, to say nothing of that incurred in various ways during the progress of compilation. The town of Dartford, lying on the direct and ancient road from London to Canterbury and Dover, is unquestionably of high antiquity. There are doubts as to its having any very strong claims to be identified with the Noviomagus of the Romans, but the discovery of an extensive Romano-British burial-place on East Hill adjoining the town, shews that the immediate neighbourhood was well populated during the Roman occupation of Britain. The two stations or posts next to London on the great road to Dover, namely, Noviomagus and Vagniacæ, have yet to be satisfactorily located. According to the Itinerary of Antoninus, the former should be placed much nearer London than Dartford, while that of Richard of Cirencester, fixing it about Dartford, renders thereby the sites of the proximate stations somewhat uncertain; the latter is marked in Antoninus as a position about Southfleet, not far from which place, in the immediate vicinity of Springhead, are extensive foundations of Roman building more than sufficient to indicate a station such as Vagniacæ probably was. It must be considered that places in the Roman itineraries, coming next to strong military stations, are always the most difficult to be traced at the present day, and the reason seems obvious; they were most likely places of secondary consideration, often neither walled nor fortified, on account of the protection afforded by the important stations to which they were intermediate. A more careful personal examination of places may assist in appropriating some of these dubious settlements. There are, no doubt, vast quantities of the remains of Roman buildings throughout England, in very unsuspected localities, the discovery of which will speedily follow a more general attention to indications unnoticed by the unpractised eye. In the neighbourhood of Dartford, as well as in other parts of the county of Kent, are numerous pits sunk perpendicularly sixty or seventy feet, and connected by passages which in some instances are said to lead to spacious rooms. If, as is probable, these subterranean apartments were tenanted by the early inhabitants of the district, there can be but little doubt of some of their implements or weapons being discovered were an excavation of the floors of the caves to be made, and it is to be hoped that Mr. Dunkin, with his practical knowledge of these mysterious works, may have leisure and opportunity to institute a regular exploration. Hasted describes these pits as having in some instances several rooms or partitions one within another, strongly vaulted and sup-