ANCIENT
EARTHWORKS
THE earthworks of Sussex are numerically and archæologically important. They present considerable variety of form, and are capable of definite classification.
In the present article it is proposed to deal with each of the earthworks in Sussex, and to illustrate by means of plans all the more important examples. It may be convenient to explain that the purpose is to record and describe each work, to give an account of its surroundings and strategic value, but not, except where sufficient and satisfactory evidence is available, to venture upon conjecture or speculation as to the period to which it belongs. The danger of assigning prehistoric and historic earthworks to definite dates or periods without a careful exploration and excavation on the site will be obvious to those who remember that several of the camps have been occupied at different periods, and that their defensive works may have been modified or extended by successive occupants. So little is known about objects which may lie below the surface, and the period they indicate, that the present state of archæological knowledge on the subject of British earthworks must be described as imperfect. In some cases probably nothing short of an elaborate investigation of the site will suffice to settle the question of age, but in the meanwhile the Congress of Archæological Societies has outlined an excellent scheme for recording ancient defensive earthworks and fortified enclosures. In the schedules contemplated by the Committee on Earthworks, with whom the scheme originated, it is suggested that ' though careful record should be made of any "finds" indicative of period of use of the forts, no effort need be made to assign a definite period of construction, excepting in those cases in which the age is beyond question, e.g. camps and fortified settlements of undoubted Roman origin, or enclosures of proved Neolithic, Bronze, or Iron Age.'
The following are the classes into which defensive works may be divided:—
- '(A) Fortresses partly inaccessible, by reason of precipices, cliffs, or water, additionally defended by artificial banks or walls usually known as promontory fortresses.
- (B) Fortresses on hill-tops with artificial defences, following the natural line of the hill;
