TIIK EMBANKMENT OF THE THAMES, 



13 



an curly period on the high ground ou which St. Paul's 

 Cathedral stands, by reason of its natural defences, being 

 bounded on the south by the Thames, on the west by 

 the Fleet, and on the north and east by morasses, 

 Moorfields Marsh having only been reclaimed within a 

 comparatively recent period. The natural advantages 

 of the situation were great, and the City seems to have 

 acquired considerable importance even before the Roman 

 period. The embanking of the river has been attri- 

 buted to that indefatigable people ; but on this point no 

 evidence exists. The numerous ancient British camps 

 found in all parts of the kingdom afford sufficient proof 

 that the early inhabitants of the country possessed a 

 knowledge of the art of earthwork ; and it is not im- 



MAP OF THE VALLEY OF THE THAMES (EASTERN PART). 



N.B. The dotted line represents the embankments raised along the banks of the river. 



probable that the same Belgian tribes who reclaimed 

 Romney Marsh were equally quick to detect the value 

 for agricultural purposes of the rich alluvial lands along 

 the valley of the Thames, and proceeded accordingly 

 to embank them after the practice of the country from 

 which they had come. The work was carried on from 

 one generation to another, as necessity required, until 

 the Thames was confined within its present limits, the 

 process of embanking serving to deepen the river and 

 greatly improve it for purposes of navigation, while 

 large tracts of fertile land were at the same time added 

 to the food-producing capacity of the country. 



