both expeditions the Roman fleet suffered
very severely
from storms on the coast of Britain, hut after the second
of these misfortunes the ships were, with much labour,
drawn on shore, and protected by fortifications united
with the camp,—an additional proof that there was no
harbour to receive them.
The peninsular hill before spoken of, the form of
which may be seen on the map, deserves particular notice
: its length is rather over three-quarters of a mile,
and the breadth at the widest part nearly half a mile;
the isthmus at the north-east end, which joined it to the
neighbouring hills, is cut through by a railway, and its
precise width cannot now be ascertained, but it probably
did not much exceed a hundred yards; the valleys on
both sides contain streams, and, when undrained, must
have given considerable protection to the flanks, so that
the entire hill, in its original state, possessed very much
the character of a natural fortress, and was peculiarly
suited for military occupation. Here, it may be supposed,
Caesar would have found a favourable site for his
camp, with one end touching the high ground inland,
and the other reaching to the shore, in immediate connection
with the shipping.1 Very little of the entrenchments
thrown up by the Romans can now be supposed
to remain; the Britons would have destroyed whatever
they thought formidable, and in later ages the tides and
floods in the valleys, and the plough on the hills, will
have obliterated the traces which the Britons left. The
greater part of the ground here referred to is ploughed
land, on which I can find no indications of entrenchments
; hut at the north-east end of the hill are several
meadows, and in these there are various irregularities
and banks which deserve to be very carefully examined
by those who are skilled in such investigations. It does
1 The military
advantages of this hill may have influenced Caesar in determining
the course of his second expedition. |