ANCIENT EARTHWORKS In the abundance of early earthworks Herefordshire is, in proportion to its area, one of the richest in England ; a fact due in part to its position between the peaceful and productive midlands and the wild western regions of mountain ridges and deep valleys which became the refuge of those who were driven westward by successive waves of invasion. Of contests between Roman and Briton, and Saxon and Dane in this district we know little, nor is there written record of many local events in the course of the Norman Conquest, though there are those silent witnesses, the strongholds erected by Norman feudal lords to hold the Englishmen in check, and to stay the rush of the still untamed Welsh, descendants of the never wholly conquered Britons. But it must be remembered that long ere the Roman sought to bring this land within his sphere, Goidel contended against Brython, and we know not how far north-west the later Belgic Briton may have advanced from the south. Some hill-fortresses seem to tell of those early days when British tribes warred one against another, and thus compelled the construction of camps of refuge for the aged men, women, children, and cattle ; strongly defenced positions available as a last resort for the tribe, some indeed yielding evidence of continuous occupation. It is not surprising to find that many of these are locally attributed to the British warriors who so long withstood the Roman forces, one name standing conspicuously in the story — Caractacus (or Caradoc). The late Dr. William Bull well said : — Dazzled by the brilliancy of his character, every camp in the county whose entrench- ments are oblong, or follow the irregular outline of the hills, is a British camp — a camp of Caractacus, whilst every one with rectangular sides is Roman — a camp of Ostorius Scapula ; ... as if there was no fighting after the time of Caractacus ; as if the camps had always remained as originally constructed, or as if no other invaders had ever reached Herefordshire and occupied the strong positions they found there.^ When we seek to distinguish between earthworks of early days and those constructed later we have to admit that, lacking scientific examination by the aid of pick and shovel, we have no sufficient data and, desiring classi- fication, we must accept the following, issued by the Congress of Archaeolo- gical Societies, which is based on the form of the works rather than on chronological sequence, though this may be approximately indicated.' Class A. — Fortresses partly inaccessible, by reason of precipices, cliffs, or water, additionally defended by artificial works, usually known as promontory fortresses. Class B. — Fortresses on hill-tops with artificial defences, following the natural line of the hill; Or, though usually on high ground, less dependent on natural slopes for protection. ' Trans. Woolhofe Field Club (1883-5), 20. ' It must not be forgotten that successive races may have occupied the same fortresses, and that forms of construction were similar in many ages, down to the days of the Commonwealth wars, and even to the present time. 199
