The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-05-29
The Halifax Wall.

COLESS FERRY, VA.
MeSsrS. Editors Dispatch: Professor
Campbell, in your issue Of Monday, asks
for clear statement Of facts in regard to
the Halifax" wall. ! shall endeavor to do
so as succinctly US possible and as clearly as
ignorance OF geological formations admits.
The wall is in length 81 feet and 10 inches,
in height 10 feet, in Thickness IS inches ut
the top and g feet at the bottom. 1t runs
northeast and southwest, and is situated at
the lower end OF a slight elevation, which
ascends gradually with an inclined plane.
The relative position Of the wall and all the
circumstances Of its environments preclude
the idea that it could have been buried
under the accumulation OF sands conveyed
by the rains from above. The stone OF
which the wall is composed is probably, as
Professor Campbell coniectures, the COM
mon white finty quartz. The rocks are
irreglarly shaped, but as flat and smooth rs
if designed for the ordinary purposes OF
masonry. The intcrslices are chinked with
smaller stones precisely as in the common
stone walls so frequently seen in Virginia.
A few words as to the facts which initiate
against the Professors theory: The clay
or cement is not thrust into the crevices, as
he supposes, but is spread out in thick
layer on the upper surface of every stone.
Upon this layer each block is fitted with
the utmost precision. The cement or clay,
when first exposed TO the air, is OF the con-
SiStency OF putty, but soon indurates to n
degree that it may readily be cut into any
shape with pocket-knife. II has no obyi-
Gus affinity with the soil which formerly
enclosed the wall, and gentleman who re-
sides in the neighborh0od declared that
nothing similar ia character can be found
in a radius OF miles. 1t is not OF a white but
OF chocolate color, occasionally diversified
with blush tint, giving it somewhat the
appearance OF the. lower stratum OF our
Virginia gullies, which are unfortunately
much more common than prehistoric walls
in Halifax and Charlotte. 1t must be borne
in mind by those who have not seen this
strange curiosity that excavation is as yet
incomplete. Only in one place has the
mass been explored to its base, and upon
striking the ground there with the
foot it reyerberates as il large cavity
yawncd beneath. Only two or three feet OF
the rest OF the structure. has been exposed
to view, and il we admit the possibility OF
o segment Of the vail having been thrown
down or detached in some way, we can see
no reason to believe that its termination has
yet been reached. We might also suggest
to Professor Campbell that the earth which
formerly developed the wall is not only free
from rock, but almost from gravel, and that
a. knife. blade can be thrust into it without
injury to its edge. Do not the character OF
the surrounding soil, the uniform shape OF
the blocks or slabs Of masonry, the intersti.
t!al hlings, the mysterious cement, and the
clearlY-defned appearance OF this solid
wall, extending sixiy-seYen feet, and for
merly embraced by light. porous soil, all
afford strong presumptive evidence that the
anomalous structure must be ascribed to
human instrumentality W.. b.