1899.] Mr. Victor Horsley on Roman Defences. 35 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, February 3, 1899. 



Sik Henky Thompson, Bakt., F.K.C.S. F.R.A.S., Vice-President, 



in the Chair. 



Victoii Hokslet, Esq., M.B. B.S. F.R.S. F.K.C.S. M.B.I. 

 Roman Defences of South- East Britain. 



It is stated, on the authority of Dickens, that at Dr. Blimber's 

 academy for young gentlemen, which was an establishment upon 

 the south coast, where, as Mrs. Pipchin said, " there was nothing 

 but learning going on from morning to night," the Doctor, at the 

 end of dinner, " Having takeu a glass of port and hemmed twice or 

 thrice, said : ' It is remarkable, Mr. Feeder, that the Romans — ' At 

 the mention of this terrible people, their implacable enemies, every 

 young gentleman fastened his gaze upon the Doctor with an assump- 

 tion of the deepest interest." It is of these terrible people that I 

 desire to speak to you to-night, and especially with reference to their 

 defences — the Roman camps on the south-east coast of Britain — 

 against the continual piratical attacks of their implacable enemies, the 

 Scandinavian and Germanic tribes living on the shores of the North 

 Sea. The number of these sea-coast camps is considerable, and pos- 

 sesses not only an archaeological interest, but is a practical example of 

 general political science ; and owing to their being naval headquarters, 

 they are actually illustrative of the present position of Continental 

 politics so far as they affect this country. For to use what is perhaps 

 now a hackneyed phrase, the interest of these camps lies in the 

 tenure of sea power and the command of the English Channel, as I 

 hope to show later in discussing the historical aspect of the subject. 



As regards the ocenjjation of Britain by the Romans, it is now of 

 course well understood that Caesar's invasions had no lasting effects — 

 tbat in fact his two expeditions were little more than reconnaissances 

 in force. The permanent occupation of Britain was only effected by 

 Agricola, the able general of the Emperor Claudius, and his campaign 

 was fortunately recorded for us by his son-in-law Tacitus. There 

 is nothing to show that at that time the Scandinavian and North 

 German tribes who ultimately invaded England were causing any 

 appreciable trouble to the Romans, who had command of the sea, and 

 who had conquered the Continental coast as far as Friesland. 



Duriug the campaigns of Hadrian and Severus, walled towns had 

 been constructed all over the country ; but about 230 a.d. it became 

 necessary to re-organise the defence of the south-eastern coast against 

 the aggression of the Baltic tribes, and this the authorities proceeded 

 to effect by enlarging and reconstructing the walled defences of the 



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