Wraetlic is thes wealstan, wyrde yebraecon; burgstede burston, brosnath enta yeweorc. Hrofas

Wondrous is this wall-stone,    by Wyrd broken; Strongholds shattered,    the work of giants crumbles. Roofs are toppled,    towers in ruin, the barred gate plundered,    frost on the mortar, weather-walls shattered,    sheared and sunken, by age undermined.    The earth's grip holds the master builders,    perished and gone, in the ground's hard grip,    till a hundred generations of people have passed.    Often this wall endured, hoary with lichen and red-stained,    reign after reign, standing against storms;    the high arch has fallen. Still the [...] heaped up, fiercely ground down [...] [...] shone [...] ingenious skill [...] ancient work [...] clay-crust bent [...] a mind [...] a swift plan conceived, wise in counsel, bound the rings,    the brave-minded fastened the wall-foundations wondrously    together with wire.

Bright were the city-halls,    the bath-houses many, high-gabled treasures,    a great host's clamor, many a mead-hall    full of human joys, until mighty Wyrd    overturned it all. The slaughtered fell far and wide,    days of plague came, and death took all    the sword-brave men. Their ramparts became    wasted foundations, the stronghold crumbled.    The builders crumbled, armies fell to earth.    And so these courts are dreary, and this arch of red tile    sheds its covering. The raftered roof decays.    Ruin has crushed the ground, broken into mounds,    where once many a warrior, glad-hearted and gold-bright,    adorned in splendor, proud and wine-flushed,    shone in his war-gear; gazed on treasure, on silver,    on intricate gems, on wealth, on possessions,    on precious stones, on this bright city    of a broad kingdom.

Stone courts stood;    a stream threw up heat in a wide surge;    a wall enclosed all within its bright embrace,    where the baths were, hot at their heart.    That was a welcome thing. They let pour then    over the grey stone hot streams [...] [...] until the round pool grew hot [...] Then is [...]    that is a kingly thing, a house [...] a city [...]