Journal of Proceedinifs. xxxiii 



the intention was answered." The road was therefore not founded on a 

 Roman one, and the Camp in early days was hidden away in the depths 

 of the Forest (using the word "Forest" in its legal sense, of a wild 

 unreclaimed tract of country). We are told that it was an instinct with 

 the Romans in the erection of their forts to attend closely to means of 

 rapid access and intercommunication. ^Vliere Roman Camps or settle- 

 ments have been, there are the remains of the Roman roads, straight, 

 useful, and ugly But the British loved to hide their Camps and Kraals 

 in the midst of the wild moorland, morass, or woodland of primeval 

 England, and cared for no better roads than mere forest-paths, curving 

 and straying as the oaks permitted, or as open glade or heath tempted — 

 bad roads, j^erhaps, but to this day charming and beautiful ! 



Although the occupation of watching the gradual and systematic 

 removal of the rampart was ofttimes felt to be somewhat monotonous and 

 tedious, yet the weather during the greater part of the time was so balmy, 

 and the fresh spring woods so cheerful and pleasant, that the members on 

 duty felt themselves amply repaid for their enforced sojournings in the 

 "house of the forest," with its pillared arches, shadowy aisles, and 

 arabesques of leaves and flowers. In the early mornings, especially, as 

 we rode down from Loughton at five o'clock to meet the workmen at the 

 Camp, the quiet beauties of the "merry green woods " sank deeply into our 

 minds ; the sweet blossoming hawthorns bordering the Epping Road, 

 snowy white when newly petaled, but flushing with a lovely pink as the 

 myriads of tiny roses hastened to decay, were surely never seen in greater 

 glory. Friends from time to time strolled over to watch our proceedings, 

 and to share our primitive meals at the "Wake Aims"; and our 

 entomologists took advantage of the sunshine to organise hunts in the 

 woods about the Camp, meeting with a fair amount of success. Once a 

 swarm of bees settled on a bush not far from the scene of operations, and 

 as it was "a swarm in May" and therefore worth "a load of hay," a 

 neighbouring cottager quickly hived the little emigrants with all the 

 accustomed ritual. A few fossils were obtained by breaking the flints so 

 abundantly turned up with the soil, and some of the nodules when broken 

 were remarkable for their banded and agate-like colours. Good herds of 

 the forest deer were espied more than once as we wended our way home 

 through the woodland rides in the gloaming of the June evenings, and on 

 the whole we agreed that, with fine weather, camp exploration in an 

 ancient forest was an employment by no means unenjoyable. 



Our learned conductor deeming it necessary that the levels of the 

 ground in and around the Camp should be noted on the plan, two days 

 (July '26th and 28th) were given to this further work by Mr. D'Oyley, 

 assisted by Messrs. H. A. and W. Cole and our coachman. Captain 

 McKenzie very courteously allowed us the use of his surveying instruments, 

 Mr. D'Oyley 's being then in service in another part of the country. As 

 intimated in the 'Transactions,' the results of this additional survey 

 are recorded on Plate III. 



e 



