164 president's address. 



last long, the northern nations commenced their attacks upon 

 the shores of the Roman empire, and these became so frequent 

 and successful that the imperial authorities found it necessary 

 to establish a completely new system to defend the coast and 

 appointed a special officer, under the title of Count of the 

 Saxonshore, to repel these invaders. Carausius held this office 

 in A.D. 287, but notwithstanding every effort, the pirates 

 continued their attacks, and, no doubt, Guernsey and Jersey 

 suffered severely from them. To this period I put the 

 construction of the trenches cutting off Jerbourg peninsula 

 from the main-island ; similar earthworks are to be seen in 

 Jersey, and, perhaps, that on the Hog's Back, in Sark, may 

 also belong to this age. Such entrenchments were the 

 common mode of defence of the Iberic and Celtic inhabi- 

 tants of Britain and the adjacent parts of Gaul. Behind 

 them the inhabitants would retreat and defend themselves 

 from their adversaries, who for centuries merely plundered 

 and sailed away. Probably also the cists which have been 

 fonnd in various places in Guernsey were the burial places of 

 leading men among the marauders who fell during their 

 forays ; for they contain iron swords, ornaments, and other 

 objects proper to this period ; they belong to a date before 

 the introduction of Christianity for they are not found in 

 connection with any religious structure, but in scattered 

 situations, remote from such erections. One such was dis- 

 covered, in 1818, in *St. Saviour's parish. " The grave was 

 walled on each side. . . . No bones were found ; ancient 

 arms deposited on the left side of the tomb cause a strong 

 presumption that some distinguished character had been 

 entombed there many ages ago. A sabre in a steel scab- 

 bard, a small piece of brass, . . . the remains of a 

 pike, or lance, the handle of which was cedar wood, cause 

 the conjecture that they must have belonged to some Roman 

 chief. . . . The body was completely decomposed. An 

 ancient vase was discovered a few days after about 30 paces 

 from this cist." Another such cist was found in a furze- 

 brake, N.E. of Cobo church about 1890, it also contained 

 not the slightest vestige of a body ; an iron sword, and 

 beads of various kinds were in the stone chamber. Another 

 such, but double, the two cists forming a right angle, but, 

 containing no remains, was found this year near Paradis, Vale. 

 The steel scabbard and the lance of the St. Saviour's cist do 

 not suggest to me a Roman warrior ; but one of those called 

 in English history Danes or Northmen. The ravages of these 



* Jacob's Annals, pp. 6-7. 



