58 Casterley Camp Excavations. 



distance of the bank. The entrenchment is strong all along the 

 eastern side up to the point, " B," where it turns sharply down the 

 slope of the combe, but from this corner onwards the defence is of 

 much feebler proportions. The big ditch ends abruptly at the 

 corner, " B, : ' and the ditch of the smaller rampart that forms the 

 continuation of the entrenchment, starts from the outer side of the 

 big ditch at right angles to it. PI. XIV., B. and section. 



It will be seen that ditch No. 6, coming from the interior of the 

 camp, ends also at this corner at the inner edge of the big ditch. 

 It is remarkable that the ends of these two ditches are almost, but 

 not quite, opposite to one another. It has been suggested, as these 

 two ditches are as nearly as possible of the same size and depth, 

 that they were once continuous, and that the big ditch was simply 

 cut through it, thus leaving a section exposed on either side of the 

 big ditch. But as the ends are not opposite each other, and the 

 distance between them is only 23ft., if the ditch was ever con- 

 tinuous there must have been a sharpish turn or kink at this point. 

 It seems on the whole more probable that the ditches were 

 separately designed to end as they do, the one being a part of the 

 outer entrenchment, and the other of the inner works. 1 



Entrances, and other Gaps in the Rampart. 



There were originally at least three entrances into the camp; 



weaker rampart originally merged into the stronger one as they still actually 

 do at their other point of junction on the south side of the camp. In con- 

 firmation of this it is interesting to find that the big rampart perceptibly 

 lessens off for the last few yards as it comes to the corner. Nevertheless 

 when it was found that the big ditch came to an abrupt end at " B " cuttings 

 were made along the course where it appeared that the ditch might have 

 been continued on the level, but no such continuation exists. It was also 

 proved that the outer ditch at "A" does not turn round, but runs unin- 

 terruptedly round the head of the combe. 



1 In connection with these long ditches stretching out from the inner to 

 the outer works the possibility of their having been covered ways suggests 

 itself. But with the exception of both ends of the small ditch, No. 5, the 

 eastern end of ditch No. 9, and one end of ditch No. 3, the ends of the ditches 

 were all too deep and too steep to admit of this explanation, for had they 

 been sunken ways they must have sloped up gradually, as was actually the 

 case in the sunken way to the western entrance. 



