128
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
In one of these re-fits (No. 5) both pieces were found near to-
gether in the "Relic-bed," but at different levels, one in the upper
and the other in the lower part. Another joins a flake from the
bleached sand in area XIX. with another flake found in the
"Relic-bed" some ten or twelve feet away. A third joins two
pieces of a broken flat quern of sarsen stone, one from the
bleached sand, also of XIX. and the other piece from the main
body of the same inner bank about 6 or 8 feet away. Now,
although the "Relic-bed" is later than the ramparts, I think
the evidences that we have been considering indicate that the
difference of date is only a trivial detail in the progress of the
work. Of course, one cannot know, but the re-fitting of pieces
between the inner bank and the "Relic-bed" suggests the idea
that the latter may represent the camping ground of the men who
were making the banks.
If it be objected that these re-fits might have been antiquities
pre-existent in the soil, I would answer by reiterating the general
evidence that the flakes are in "mint" condition and have
never been exposed to the atmosphere, but must have been
buried in the soil at the time they were made. There are,
however, a few flakes which show patination, and these may be
of earlier date than the camp, but they are very few, and their
rejection as being untrustworthy as evidence does not affect the
character of the flint industry.
The Loughton Camp industry does not stand alone as
evidence of Iron Age flint working. There is a good deal of
scattered evidence of the contemporary association of flint
implements with Iron Age remains. I have also, in my own
collection, some important evidences that are as yet unpublished,
pointing to the same conclusion. After all, it is only what one
would expect. Iron working must have been a localized industry,
and iron implements expensive in baiter value ; they were
probably unobtainable at times.
If the conclusions suggested here be sound, then our Loughton
Camp collection is certainly one of the best Early La Tene
flint industries that is yet available for comparative study.
Although not a large one, it is representative of a great variety
of types.
Many of the flint implements from Loughton Camp are made
from flint fresh from the chalk, which must have been brought