ANGLO-SAXON REMAINS WERE it not for the unmistakable evidence afforded by the county name, it would be difficult to identify the founders of Essex with any particular branch of the Teutonic race that migrated westward as the Roman power declined. A natural course would have been to assign the conquest and occupation of this part of Britain to the Anglian tribesmen who spread themselves over the region between the central east coast and the Fens ; and there would have been little or nothing in the physical features of the country to preclude such a possibility. The river Stour, which forms the greater part of the county border on the north would not have been a serious obstacle to intercourse between the dwellers on either bank, much less to a hostile advance in one direction or the other. Fourteen centuries ago there was no doubt much more marsh and woodland along its course than at the present time ; but practised seamen ascending the river would easily effect a landing, while their skill as boat builders would render such forest clearing as was necessary a matter of little difficulty. What actually happened however may well have been quite dif- ferent. So long as Britain remained part of the Empire, the police of our narrow seas was doubtless one of the first duties of the Roman authorities; while the career of the usurper Carausius and the fortification of the Saxon shore combine to show the necessity then felt of guarding the natural approaches to south-east Britain. Such an inlet as the mouth of the Stour would not have been left unsecured so long as the province retained means of self-defence ; but it will perhaps always remain doubt- ful how long the forts of the Saxon shore were maintained in an efficient state. The prime importance of London, the Augusta of Britain, had been fully recognized by those responsible for the safety of the province ; but it must be remembered that Colchester was another of the chief military centres in the early days of the Roman dominion, and was doubtless included in the scheme of defence evolved some centuries later for the protection of the coast-line most exposed to piratical attacks. The havoc wrought by Boadicea in the year 62, so far from permanently ruining Colchester as a point of vantage, probably led to the erection of its walls ; and here an organized force could stand sentinel over the Colne waterway as well as the system of roads that converged at this point and connected the eastern stronghold with London and the north.
