ANCIENT EARTHWORKS 



above Berkhampstead, in Hertfordshire. Crossing the valley northward at that 

 point it stretches over Berkhampstead Common towards Ashridge. 



The purpose of Grimes Dyke is a question which has exercised the minds 

 and imaginative powers of many people in different periods. Some have 

 wildly suggested that ' Grim ' is a translation of Severus, whilst the character 

 of the name itself clearly attributes the work to a supernatural origin. 

 Another theory is that this great ditch running along the Chiltern Hills 

 served as a line of embankments to connect the strongholds of West Wycombe, 

 Cholesbury, and other camps by which it passes. The obvious objec- 

 tion to this explanation is that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to 

 defend such an extremely extended bulwark without the aid of an armed 

 force which was entirely out of the question at the time. Again, it cannot 

 have been constructed for a roadway, because it passes over hills too steep for 

 vehicles. It is quite certain that it could not have been constructed for 

 purposes of fortification, because the works are less developed on low ground 

 than they are on steep hills. 



It seems almost certain that this ancient line of fosse and rampart was 

 intended to serve as a boundary-mark, separating the districts occupied by 

 different tribes or principalities. It is clear, too, that such an extensive line 

 of earthworks must have been the work of peaceable times, and of a large 

 combination of willing hands. Such operations as these would have been 

 impossible in war-like times, and in the presence of active and belligerent 



enemies.' 



Without presuming to have finally settled what has long been a vexed 

 question amongst antiquaries, we may suggest this as a useful working theory. 

 It is possible, of course, that future discoveries may have the effect of proving 

 quite clearly that the earthworks were made for another purpose, but in the 

 meanwhile the boundary-mark theory seems to be open to few if any 

 objections. 



In conclusion the writer desires to express his thanks for valuable assis- 

 tance, particularly in reference to little-known earthworks, courteously given 

 by Mr. A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A.,and Mr. C. Angell Bradford, F.S.A., and 

 to the late Mr. I. Chalkley Gould, F.S.A., for kindly reading the proofs of 

 this article. 



* Arch. Journ. xiv, 272-4. 



