A HISTORY OF ESSEX an earthwork which he imagined to be an 'Alate Temple of the Druids.' Extracts from Stukeley's diary 1 show that he was at his Alate Temple at least four times (from 1725 to 1761). The entry of August 5, 1761, says : ' 'Tis much overgrown with fern, and but lately, so that 'tis difficult fully to discern it. They have dug gravel there lately.' Fortunately Stukeley not only specifically described the position of the earthwork but also made a sketch of its form, 2 and we may recognize in the main the lines of a ' mound and court ' fortress such as we have some splendid examples of in Essex, though here the mound by Stukeley's time had lost some of its altitude or he could not have found it ' diffi- cult fully to discern.' The late Rev. S. Coode Hore of Navestock and Professor Meldola, F.R.S. (of course without any faith in Stukeley's Druid theory), deter- mined to discover the site, and after a prolonged search they arrived at the conclusion that the excavation by the roadside near Princes' Gate is part of the work. The solitary remnant of an excavation fails to convey any definite impression, but its position tallies with Stukeley's description of the site. ONGAR. The altitude and bulk of the great mound of Ongar Castle, the depth and width of the moat, the solid rampart round the bailey, and its height above its moat, tell us that we have here the remains of a once important fortress. Part of the rampart and fosse of a second bailey extends for about 400 feet on the west, the rest having been mainly destroyed in the growth of the town of Ongar, though here and there further traces of the sweep of the defences may be found. There are indications also of a court to the east of the mound, and perhaps of a second beyond, or possibly of an outwork cutting off the site of the fortress on that side. Careful examination is necessary to realize the physical conditions of the site in the days when it was first fortified a promontory project- ing southward from the tableland above, with the then marshy valley of the Roding on the east, a narrower stretch to the south, and the little valley on the west, through which the Cripsey flowed to meet the Rod- ing. Only on the north was natural protection entirely lacking, and across that side the earliest occupiers seem to have constructed some slight protective work. It was probably long subsequent to the first occupation of the site that the great earthworks of Ongar Castle were constructed. Without going into detail as to their date, we may say that our view is that though there may have been works here in pre-Norman days which had fallen into disuse when Count Eustace of Boulogne 1 Essex 'Naturalist, viii. 221, 222. 2 Reproduced in facsimile in Essex Naturalist, ix. 214. 296
