A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



rivers, up which Danish raiders doubtless passed, and ask ourselves 

 whether it was not for defence against those marauders that these 

 homestead moats were made, or in some instances by landing parties of 

 the Scandinavians themselves ? 



At no subsequent period could it have been necessary to defend a 

 whole village, as in the case of Mundon and others already mentioned. 



Great moats guard the site of the eleventh-century homestead of 

 the priory of St. Valery, where Warish Hall stands with its double 

 island, water-girded, and its traces of the outer moat. Tiptofts, in 

 Wimbish, has thirteenth-century oaken columns, door and stud work, 

 within its modern casing. 



We find moats surrounding fifteenth century halls, such as Cammas 

 in the Roothing country (a district abounding with homestead moats) 

 and others, while of sixteenth century homes thus water-guarded we 

 have far too many to name here. 



The moated enclosures may, of course, have been ready to hand 

 when the houses were reared, but we incline to think that such moats 

 were made from an early time down to the late period when barns 

 and stacks needed protection from beasts of the forests rather than from 

 human foes. 



MISCELLANEOUS EARTHWORKS 



[Under this heading are included tumuli, barrows, boundary banks, and such early works 

 as cannot be definitely classified.] 



ASHDON : 'The Eartlow Hills. Although named after the parish in 

 Cambridgeshire to which they are contiguous, these fine tumuli are 

 situate in the parish of Ashdon in Essex. There were originally seven 

 of these mounds, the height of the largest being 45 feet and its diameter 

 147 feet. The remainder were of somewhat smaller dimensions. There 

 are now only four of the hills remaining. Those which were situate 

 near the road were removed in 1832 for the purpose of clearing the 

 ground for agricultural use, but their contents were duly recorded and 

 their sites are still indicated by slight elevations of the surface. Between 

 the years 1835 and 1840 three tumuli were opened up and examined. 

 Drawings and plans with full reports of the excavations are given in 

 Archceologia. As these works were erected during the Roman occupation, 

 reference to them will be found in the chapter devoted to that period and 

 it is therefore unnecessary to add more here. 



CHRISHALL. In 1847 the Hon. R. C. Neville (afterwards Lord 

 Braybrooke) opened a barrow, apparently in this parish, though there is 

 some difficulty in identification of the neighbourhood from the writer's 

 description. 



Of relics the tomb was * rich only in poverty,' but it was of 

 exceptional interest insomuch as the one barrow contained ' two 

 different modes of interment . . . one Roman the other British.' 



COLCHESTER. The earthworks (still in part surrounding the castle 

 bailey) cover much Roman masonry. It is only necessary here to men- 



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