A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE 



ditch, the earthworks have been partially levelled by buildings and gardens. To the 

 south of the road to Sotwell and for a part of the return eastward, where the rampart 

 and ditch form the boundary to the Public Recreation Ground, they are in good preserva- 

 tion. The rampart here stands up about 10 feet or 12 feet from the inside and must 

 originally have been higher as it has been cut through in places on the western side and 

 the earth spread over the ground. The ditch on the outside falls 5 feet to 10 feet below 

 the inside level, giving a height from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the rampart 

 of from 15 feet to 20 feet. The earthworks, though not so high, can be clearly traced for 

 the remainder of the southern side almost to the Thames. 



Whether the ditch on the north and north-western sides was wet or dry it is now 

 difficult to say. Mr. Hedges [Hist, of Wallingford, i. 139] states that at the point where 

 the stream joins the ditch, the bottom of the ditch is 14 feet or 1 5 feet above the level of the 

 Thames, and he was of opinion that the stream flowed both ways, making a wet ditch all 

 round the camp. There are possible difficulties regarding this theory as the land rises 

 slightly to the north which would necessitate heavier earthworks on this side, of which there 

 is now no indication, and the entrances would have had to have been carried over bridges 

 which though possible is not probable. The entrances are on the north, west and south sides, 

 and roads from these intersect at the middle of the town. Whether the north and south 

 entrances are original is doubtful, the probability seems to be that there existed at first 

 only the western entrance, with a causeway of solid earth, and that the ditch to the south 

 of it was wet while that to the north was dry. 



As to the date of the earthworks there is considerable diversity of opinion. They 

 have been attributed to the Prehistoric, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon eras, but there can be no 

 doubt from the large number of antiquities of the Bronze Age which have been found at 

 Wallingford and its immediate neighbourhood that there was a settlement here before 

 the Roman occupation [See antea ' Early Man ']. The important ford across the Thames 

 would, even at this age, probably attract people for purposes both of trade and defence, 

 who possibly erected the earthworks. But as far as our knowledge goes at present the 

 earthworks themselves show nothing decisive as to their date. The late Prof. Freeman 

 considered them to be post-Roman British imitations of Roman fortifications. 



It is clear that this site was occupied during the Romano-British period, though there 

 is no reason to suppose, as Mr. Hedges implies, that the occupation was military. It was 

 not, however, a town of any particular importance ; it was neither protected by masonry 

 walls nor, so far as we know, did it contain any houses sufficiently substantial to have left 

 vestiges of foundations. The inhabitants trusted to their earthen walls and were probably 

 content to live in timber and mud houses. But of its class it was apparently a thriving 

 town, judging from the antiquities which have been found. Vast quantities of coins 

 ranging from the time of Augustus (B.C. 2O/-A.D. 14) to Honorius (A.D. 395-423) have come 

 to light, the most numerous being those of the latter half of the third century. A Roman 

 eagle and some spear-heads are said to have been found in the Thames [Hedges, op. cit. 147. 

 Mr. Hedges could not however trace this find]. A Roman urn of rude workmanship 

 encased in a small arched recess of thin red bricks and tiles, and containing charcoal, small 

 bones, and the skull of a rabbit or hare is said to have been dug out whilst a road was 

 being made in the Castle grounds in 1859, but unfortunately broken. The Reading 

 Museum preserves a Romano-British amphora with burnt bones and ashes found at 

 Wallingford, a bronze buckle, bell, pins, an armilla, a series of six keys and a poorly modelled 

 figure of a man about 4^ inches in height. 



The name of the Roman settlement is unknown. It is needless to attempt to rebut in 

 detail the arguments put forward by Mr. Hedges in his History of Wallingford and others 

 in favour of Wallingford being Calleva Atrebatum ; the question has been fully dealt 

 with in the article on the Romano-British Remains of Hampshire {F.C.H. Hants, i. 

 271]. 



WALTHAM ST. LAURENCE. Near the south-west extremity of this parish, which lies 5 miles 

 south-west of Maidenhead, is a field called Weycock, where for centuries past traces of 

 Roman occupation have been found. It does not seem, however, that any serious attempt 

 was made to examine the site before 1847 when excavations were begun under the directions 

 of the Hon. Richard Neville [Arch. Journ. vi. 114-123]. The foundations of an octagonal 

 building enclosing another smaller octagon were exposed to view and inspected by Mr. 

 Buckler who furnished a plan and section. 



The walls, which were 8 feet in height and 3 feet 6 inches in thickness, were of rough 



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