A HISTORY OF ESSEX rivers, up which Danish raiders doubtless passed, and ask ourselves whether it was not for defence against those marauders that these homestead moats were made, or in some instances by landing parties of the Scandinavians themselves ? At no subsequent period could it have been necessary to defend a whole village, as in the case of Mundon and others already mentioned. Great moats guard the site of the eleventh-century homestead of the priory of St. Valery, where Warish Hall stands with its double island, water-girded, and its traces of the outer moat. Tiptofts, in Wimbish, has thirteenth-century oaken columns, door and stud work, within its modern casing. We find moats surrounding fifteenth century halls, such as Cammas in the Roothing country (a district abounding with homestead moats) and others, while of sixteenth century homes thus water-guarded we have far too many to name here. The moated enclosures may, of course, have been ready to hand when the houses were reared, but we incline to think that such moats were made from an early time down to the late period when barns and stacks needed protection from beasts of the forests rather than from human foes. MISCELLANEOUS EARTHWORKS [Under this heading are included tumuli, barrows, boundary banks, and such early works as cannot be definitely classified.] ASHDON : 'The Eartlow Hills. Although named after the parish in Cambridgeshire to which they are contiguous, these fine tumuli are situate in the parish of Ashdon in Essex. There were originally seven of these mounds, the height of the largest being 45 feet and its diameter 147 feet. The remainder were of somewhat smaller dimensions. There are now only four of the hills remaining. Those which were situate near the road were removed in 1832 for the purpose of clearing the ground for agricultural use, but their contents were duly recorded and their sites are still indicated by slight elevations of the surface. Between the years 1835 and 1840 three tumuli were opened up and examined. Drawings and plans with full reports of the excavations are given in Archceologia. As these works were erected during the Roman occupation, reference to them will be found in the chapter devoted to that period and it is therefore unnecessary to add more here. CHRISHALL. In 1847 the Hon. R. C. Neville (afterwards Lord Braybrooke) opened a barrow, apparently in this parish, though there is some difficulty in identification of the neighbourhood from the writer's description. Of relics the tomb was * rich only in poverty,' but it was of exceptional interest insomuch as the one barrow contained ' two different modes of interment . . . one Roman the other British.' COLCHESTER. The earthworks (still in part surrounding the castle bailey) cover much Roman masonry. It is only necessary here to men- 304
