ANCIENT EARTHWORKS 



and external fosse cut through the hard rock to a depth of from seven to 

 eight feet. The removed material was thrown inwards so as to make 

 the rampart almost perpendicular on its outer face. Inside, the slope 

 leading up to the top of the rampart was gentle towards the southern 

 end of the rampart, and within it are traces of earthworks, both parallel 

 to the rampart and at right angles with it, which may have been parts 

 of a supplementary defence of the south-eastern corner. 



One feature of the hill-top camps of Sussex which stands out with 

 peculiar clearness is the insufficiency of many of the actual earthen 

 ramparts and fosses, as they now exist, for any serious purpose of defence. 

 Indeed, it must be evident to any one who carefully considers the 





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9 



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SECTIONS AT A B C-0. 



East HiLt, Hastings. 



question, that many of these camps or earthworks are not military 

 works at all. They may have been extensive cattle-pens or enclosures, 

 but their very extent, to say nothing of their inadequate bulwarks, is 

 enough to show that they can never have been successfully defended 

 against a powerful and resolute foe. The length of rampart could only 

 have been held by such an army as would have been out of the ques- 

 tion at the early age to which the earthworks obviously belong. The 

 real purpose of such works as Ditchling Beacon, Wolstanbury, and 

 Beltout, was apparently to provide a place of safety for cattle and men 

 against wolves and possibly, human marauders. The thick, persistent 

 hedge at the point on the slope of the Downs where pasture land meets 



469 



