not seem easy to account for them, except
by supposing
that they are the remains of military works; but I leave
it to others, better acquainted with such subjects than
myself, to determine their origin and object; and in the
hope of assisting further research, I have added a rough
sketch of the ground.1
How far the foregoing ideas are consistent with
Caesar's narrative, and the faint aids which are discoverable
to guide us in tracing the course of his proceedings,
it is for my readers to decide, but to myself they appear
to lead to this conclusion,—that on his first expedition
Caesar brought his fleet to the foot of the hills descending
to what is now Pett level, with the intention of
landing there, but finding himself unexpectedly baulked
by the peculiarities of the place, and compelled to alter
his plan of operations, he resolved to make a dash at
some other part of the coast, and while waiting for his
ships to assemble, he called his officers together, explained what he
intended to do, and admonished them
to be prepared to act with energy, and then (at three
o'clock in the afternoon, about four hours before sunset)
moved off towards Beachy Head, and turned his attack
to the very first opening in the cliffs, in any degree
practicable,
which he came to; and, that on his second expedition
Caesar landed at the same place, and established
his camp on the hill referred to between Bulverhithe
and St. Leonard's.
1 The best time to
examine this ground is during a bright day in winter,
when the sun is low enough to show clearly the irregularities of
the surface.
A good view of some of the lines of embankment is obtained from
the rise
in the road, a little beyond (towards the north-east) the bridge
over the
railway. The accompanying plan is not to be regarded as anything
more
than a very rough sketch: an approximate scale may be applied to
it, of
about nine-eighths of an inch to a hundred yards. |