known as Ambresbury Banks, Epping Forest. 57
reader for all that has been known about these camps up to
the present time, as it appears to me undesirable to trench
upon them by quoting passages which might deprive them of
their proper place in the history of this investigation. Not
having been the result of actual excavations they are neces-
sarily speculative, but they have served to keep up interest
in the subject, and may therefore be said to have contributed
materially to the present results. I would, however, remark
with respect to the Ambresbury Camp that the somewhat
angular form given to it has not conveyed to my mind, as it
appears to have done to some, the impression that it was the
work of the Romans. Reference to Mr. D'Oyley's new plan,
accompanying this paper (Plate III.), in which, at my
suggestion, the shading of the slopes around the camp are
given, will show that the configuration of the ramparts is
adapted to the features of the ground.1 On the east side a
ravine (a) approaches the camp from the valley below, and
divides into two forks (a b, a c) as it nears the camp; the
rampart at this place is drawn across the points of these
forks so as to sweep down them. On the south side also
advantage is taken of another ravine (d) to strengthen the
fortifications on that side. These are points which, although
influencing the principles of defence which have prevailed at
all times, are more especially British as distinct from Roman.
The Romans, caring more for their internal discipline and
the position of their cohorts than for external defence,
arranged their camps on geometrically constructed lines, and
often disregarded natural features altogether. It is true that
at the northern corner (e) of Ambresbury Camp the rampart
turns at an abrupt angle, but this is owing to the fact that at
that particular spot there are no natural features to guide
camp builders : the ground is a dead flat, and as the turn had
to be made somewhere it was made abruptly, as so often
occurs in British camps. An example of this is seen in the
1 [Levels were carefully taken by Mr. D'Oyley for the purpose of this
investigation around and through the camp at distances of 100 feet or
less. The results are given in the plan, the datum being, of course, one
of the Ordnance bench-marks.—Ed.]
G