NEAR THE RAILWAY STATION AT HARLOW, ESSEX. 63
Thus there can be no doubt that this supposed earthwork at
Harlow is a natural mound, the result of the circumdenuding action
of the Stort, or, as Mr. Gould suggests, "a natural oblong hill." But
I would add that there seem to me to be no signs that it has ever been
modified to form an earthwork. From the road, a few yards north
of Harlow Railway Station, Mr. Wilson and I had an excellent view
of the outline of the hill, and I was much struck by the fact that its
contour suggests that it is simply a natural hill of London Clay.
Indeed, it seems impossible to me that its shape should ever have
been modified by man, except possibly to the most trifling degree;
Fig. 2.—The Severn at the Isle. (From the Ordnance Map.)
certainly not to the extent implied by the formation of a defensive
earthwork.
The outline here given will sufficiently illustrate its contour, as
seen from the spot mentioned, though the height is somewhat too
great in proportion to the length. And anyone who compares it
with the outlines of unmodified London Clay hills elsewhere will
see at once the perfect resemblance between them (Fig. 3).
On walking all round the hill, a few days later, I saw nothing to
give a different impression. All round its base was an ordinary
ditch, here faintly, there clearly marked, just where one might expect
to see a ditch or hedge, or both, along the line of junction between
the London Clay hill and the alluvial flat. At the base of the hill,
at its north-western end, there was possibly a trace of an old river
terrace. At the south-eastern end there seemed to be a pond of no