Ancient Earthwork in Epping Forest. 229
comparative freshness of the flakes, however, although it may
to some extent be attributed to the sandy nature of the soil,
appears to me to favour the opinion that they were struck off
and covered up soon after; and the finding of several frag-
ments fitting one another confirms this view, as noticed by
Mr. Worthington Smith. The discovery of a half-formed
flint celt also appears to me to corroborate this opinion.
"On the whole, therefore, judging from the specimens Mr.
Cole has been good enough to show me, I think the evidence
is sufficient to identify the camp as pre-Roman, and probably
of very early period."
In conclusion, we may be permitted to point out that the
evidence brought forward in this Report agrees well with the
theory of a British origin of the camp. Its irregular outlines,
and the way in which the ramparts were adapted to the form
of the hill on which it is placed, are characteristics of British
methods of castramentation. The V shaped section of the
fosse is, as was pointed out by General Pitt-Rivers in his
Report on the Ambresbury Banks, a very noteworthy feature,
and a somewhat exceptional one, in British camps, so far as
our knowledge extends; the ditches in the camps at Cissbury,
Caburn, and Seaford were all flat-bottomed. The worn ap-
pearance of Loughton Camp, and the immense amount of
denudation apparent in many places, favours the idea that it
may be of earlier date than Ambresbury Banks, although both
are of British workmanship. Whether their constructors
used flint tools in ordinary life can only be satisfactorily
determined by means of further explorations, both in the
ramparts and within the enclosures. The numerous pits in
the Loughton Camp, and the ground around the supposed
"well," also deserve attention. The extended examination
of these earthworks and the other prehistoric remains in the
Forest is a matter not only of scientific importance, but also of
very considerable popular interest to all inhabitants of London
and its environs, who have now, thanks to the Corporation, a
sort of personal lien upon its many attractions. No better or
more permanently useful work can engage the energies of
local scientific societies than an endeavour to gain and place