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JULIUS CESAR
DID HE CROSS THE
CHANNEL?
BY THE EEV. SCOTT E. SUETEES,
HECTOR OF SPROTBUBGH, YORKSHIRE.

LONDON:
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH,
SOHO SQUARE.
1866.

\ lhf> ritrht nf tvnii vlnfi rtn te vtaootrnt/tjl 1

JULIUS OESAR:
DID HE CEOSS THE CHANNEL?
Chapter I.
'ID Julius Csesar cross the Channel?
In giving an answer in the negative
to the above question we ask for a
fair and dispassionate hearing ; and, in order to
avoid circumlocution, pass at once our Rubicon,
and propound, as capable of all proof, the follow
ing historical heresy, viz. : that Caesar never set
foot at Boulogne or Calais, never crossed the
Channel, or set eyes on Deal or Dover, but
that he sailed from some place in front of the
mouths of the Rhine or Scheldt, most probably
from a peninsula formerly the fore-shore of
Walcheren, that he made the coast of Britain in
his first expedition, off Cromer; that in his

4 Julius Casar.
second he purposed to make the land at or near
Wells, and being carried a little beyond the point,
found himself off Hunstanton and, pulling in to
the shore at Brancaster Bay, fixed there his camp.
We have long held the conviction that thus it
must be, and waited for the publication of the
Emperor's " Life of Caesar," in order to find out
what would be said on the popular side of the
question. Evidently, with all the care and
minute research Louis Napoleon has employed
upon the investigation of the subject, he is driven
to great straits to make even a colourable case,
and difficulties meet him at every turn.
First he is obliged to bring the Morini from
the Scheldt and the mouths of the Rhine, where
they were certainly situate, to occupy the whole
length of the coast of Belgium, and the north
eastern coastline of France as far as Boulogne ;
yet we know from Caesar (B. II. 4), that they
were far from being the most populous of the
Belgic tribes. Then the Veneti, who obviously
occupied a position on that coast, are moved yet
further down. Next he is obliged to fling over
Caesar's statement, viz., that he crossed at the
shortest passage between the Continent and

Julius Casar. 5
Britain (brevissimum), and to take him to Boulogne,
to find a harbour that would in any way answer
the description, or from whence Caesar could sail
with a south-west wind. He makes him take
ten hours for a run of thirty miles with a fair
wind; he is obliged to picture a landing on a
coast which is not situate in a corn-producing
country, and where he could not send out, as he
did, his legions to forage ; he can find no shallows
or flat ground covered with the tide, over which
his ships could row round to the flank of the
enemy ; and when he returns he comes back to a
district where there are no marshes in which the
Morini could be sheltered.
In his second expedition he is necessitated to
make Caesar march, whilst he is waiting for his
ships to rendezvous, from Boulogne to the Rhine
and back, to campaign in the country of the
Treveri, in an incredible short space of time ; a
march more suited to the means of locomotion in
our day than to the slow tread of Caesar's legions.
The Meldae he must place, although he doqs it
with reluctance, far from their" habitat "near the
Scheldt. He can make nothing out of Caesar
" leaving Britain behind him" as he voyaged.

6 Julius CcEsar.
The little brook " Stour," which our school-boys
would despise as a leap, is advanced to the dignity
of a river. Deal, which he has selected as the
point of disembarkation, he has forgotten must be
the place of re-embarkation, and if it was indis
pensable, " in order to embark an army on board
800 ships, it should be at a point where there is
sufficient space to allow ships to approach the
banks so that all may be embarked at one tide,"
Deal will not fulfil these conditions, as Csesar did
re-imbark all his troops and sail at one tide. Last,
but not least, the Emperor fails in his nautical
calculations, and is then himself altogether at
sea! Now Caesar in his first expedition does not
mention by name what port he sailed from, " he
repaired to the country of the Morini, whence the
passage from Gaul to Britain is the shortest."
We feel almost ashamed of calling the attention
of the student of history to the fact that the
Morini and Menapii dwelt at or near the mouths
of the Rhine or Scheldt.
Strabo tells us that Britain and the mouths of
the Rhine were near enough to be in sight. He
also informs us (Lib. IV.) that " those who sail

Julius Casar. 7
from the mouths of the Rhine sail from Ition, a
port of the Morini,* which the divine Caesar used
as a naval station when he crossed into Britain."
Ptolemy and Pliny tell us that the port of the
Morini was called Gessoriacum, or Gaesoriacum.
Pomponius Mela says, " it was the best known
port of the Morini." Pliny again (Lib. iv.)
speaking of the mouths of the Rhine, says, " over
against this tract lieth Britain." When next we
hear of Britain after Caesar's time (Dion Cassius,
LX.), we find the soldiers under Plautius en
couraged " by a meteor which, springing from the
east, darted across to the west, whither they
were navigating." Procopius, speaking of Brittia
(he evidently means Brittania), says, " in the
Northern Ocean lies the island Brittia, not far
from the continent, right opposite the outlets of
the Rhine." Dionysius Periegeta places the
British Islands " xvnx Pjivou." ./Ethicus Ister also
states " that the nearest shore of Britain is over
against the country, of the Morini and Menapii

* " Morini," from " More," " flat ground near the sea."
It was from More in Norway that Kolf Ganger sailed
to conquer Normandy.

8 Julius CcEsar.
and Batavi,"* thus bearing out " Cluver," who
has as follows : " Scalde enim Morinos, ut ante
ostensum, a Germanis Cisrhenanis, quorum ex-
tremi Toxandri, distinxit; Caesar autem omneis
istos insulanos a Morinorum nomine segregat."
(Lib. II. c. 29.)
Well, next we join issue with the Emperor on
these several points : " It was at Boulogne that
Caligula caused a Pharos to be erected, and that
Claudius embarked for Britain. It was thence
that Lupicinus under the Emperor Julian, and
Theodocius under the Emperor Valentian and
Constantius Chlorus, and lastly, in a. r>. 893, the
Danes set sail." As to the Pharos built by
Caligula, Camden tells us, " it was erected on the
coast of Holland, and that the foundations were
still visible at low water, and that the people of
the country called it ' Britenhuis.'" Now we
learn from Suetonius that it was for " Germany "
he started on this expedition, and one of his
objects was to recruit his cohort of Batavians who

* See Caesar (Bell. Gall. Lib. IV.), whence it is plain that
the confluence of the Rhine and Meuse took place in the
country of the Menapii.

Julius Ccssar. 9
lived at the mouths of the Rhine. It was there
that bad fool ordered some of these Germans,
soldiers of his, to be carried over the Rhine, and
then, playing at making them prisoners, pretended
he had captured them. It was here, on the
shores of " the Ocean," that he gathered up the
shells as spoils of Britain.* Then Claudius, no
doubt, follows the same course, and sails from
the same port as Plautius his pioneer, and he, we
have already noted, sailed from east to west.
His short campaign was against the Brigantes
(see Juvenal, Seneca, &c), and Boulogne would
have been far away out of his track. Julian
again has frequent intercourse with Britain, em
ploys a fleet of corn ships to go to and fro ; these
come and go from the mouths of the Rhine, where
he establishes his depots (see Libanius, Zosimus,
Amm. Marcellinus, Eunapius).
Then Constantius besieges Carusius (a Mena-
pian, remember,) at Gesoriacum, blocks up the
* " Caligula advanced towards the ocean, as if he de
signed to carry the war into Britain, put his army in order
of battle on the shore, embarked, and after he had gone a
little way out to sea, returned." Dion Cass, abridged by Xiphilin

10 Julius Ccesar.
harbour, " where the sea, by the alternating
tides, is brought up to their very gates," he makes
it inaccessible to their ships by piles and stones;
and yet Carusius is able, by another exit, to carry
off his fleet into Britain. Constantius's fleet
" was then ready to launch into the ocean from
every river's mouth." How in any way does, or
ever could Boulogne answer to these descriptions?
(see Eumenius and Mammertinus.)*
Lastly, as to the Danes (a.d. 893). What is
really stated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is:
" In this year the great army, about which we
formerly spoke, came again from the East king
dom, west to ' Bunnan,' and there was shipped ;
so that they came over in one passage, horses and
all, and they came to land at Limenan muth
(Gaimar, Limne) with two hundred and fifty ships.
This port is in the eastern part of Kent, at the
east end of the great wood which we call Andred."
Now the army to which reference is made, we
find, by referring back to the Saxon Chronicle
(a.d. 891), was an army which had gone away
* Giraldus Cambrensis, speaking of the arrival of the
Oastmen, says, — " They are called ' Ostmen' from a word
corrupted from Saxon, Eastern-men."

Julius Caesar. 11
east, and had been defeated by" Arnulf." Now
we learn from the Chronicle (a.d. 877) that
Arnulf dwelt on " thoem londe be eastan kin," and
they are said to come again from the east kingdom
west to Bunnan, and it is mentioned as an extra
ordinary fact that in one passage they came to
Limenan muth, horses and all. How could they
have made more than one passage from Boulogne,
and what would there be extraordinary in that
short run ? or what is there in Bunnan to identify
it with Boulogne, save that the word begins with
a big " B," and has an " n" and " u" in it?
Having reviewed the Emperor's statement, let
us now strengthen our position by a few " broad
cast" observations of our own. We have it
stated in the ancient records of British history
that it was from Flanders that Caesar sailed, and
thither he returned (see " The Brut,'' edited by
Sir F. Madden, p. 309).
" Into Flandres he ferde and makede his schip
foerde. It was on a time, that the day was well
bright, and the sun was most bright, and Caesar
wende in Flandres lond wandrenge bi soe strond, and
he this lond a-kende. ' Wat his that ilke lond feor
over soe stram ?'" he asks. Caesar invades Britain,

12 Julius Ccesar.
is worsted in battle, " went forth-right to ship, all
bi night, he had weather most fair and wenden
into Flandre."*
Let us next note how our part of the coast fits
in with the account of Caesar's expeditions. He
sails, we suppose, from a peninsula, at low water
accessible, at high water an island, for we are told
by Florus (Lib. IV.) that Drusus " Bonnam et
Gesoriacum pontibus junxit." This, we conjecture,
might be in front of Walcheren or Leyden. The
port has another name, Ictium, Iccium, mov, ixiov,
is not this the port of the Ictii ? Ictis was clearly
situate in the German Ocean, one of the ixrepiSti,
or Glessariae, " where amber is engendered," over
against Britain. Now turn to our dictionaries.
Latin, glessum or gloesum, amber ; French, ict&re,
jaundice; Greek, dcte/ua;?, yellow. Pliny adds
that Britain was only between fifty and sixty
miles from Gesoriacum (see also Dion, Bede, and
Richard of Cirencester).

* Csesar doulent et courrouciez rentra en ses nefz avec
ce quil lui estoit demoure de gens sy ala tant nagant parmy
la mer quil arriva en Flandres." — Croniques de la Orant
Bretaign, par Jehan de Waurin, lib. n. c. 34.

Julius Caesar. 13
The headlands on this east coast have been dis
appearing year by year. Take up a Norfolk
Directory, or an East Riding local history, you
will find this village has been carried off by the
encroachments of the sea, and that place has a
church that has been washed away, and this is es
pecially the case round Cromer and its adjacent
villages. Now if this has been going on for
near 2000 years, it is clear that the distance from
shore to shore (now not more than eighty or
ninety miles) may have been then much less, and
that Pliny's guess of between fifty and sixty miles
was not so far from wrong ; and in that change
of coast " Ictis" may have shared the same fate
as we know other places * have met with. Heylin
states"thatinthe time of King Henry II. Flanders
was so overflown that many thousands of people,
whose dwellings the sea had devoured, came into
* " Sir H. Spelman was informed that by report there
had been fifty churches in Dunwich and that the
foundations and church-yards of St. Michaels, St. Mary's,
St. Martin, and St. John's, were then to be seen .... The
sea hath gained so much hereabouts, that all the churches
are now swallowed up except All Saints' ; one particularly
having fallen into the sea within these few years.''
Camden.

14 Julius CtBsar.
England to beg new seats, and were by that king
first placed in Yorkshire, and then removed to
Pembrokeshire. Since that it hath in Zeland
swallowed eight of the islands, and in them 300
towns and villages ; many of whose churches and
strong buildings are at a dead low water to be seen."
Singular also, much amber is found on that coast.
We ourselves, when young, have searched for and
sometimes found amber on the beach at Cromer.
But Ictium was also called Gesoriacum ; this, no
doubt, was the name given it by the northern
traders, — " Gae," to go, " Soreise," a sea voyage
(see Dictionary), Gaesoreise. Our ports also suit
exactly Caesar's narrative. He starts at night,
and arrives at 10 a. m. with a favourable wind,
(we know from Caesar's second expedition, that
this was south-west,) supposing it to be from
Walcheren to Cromer or Wells or Hunstanton,
(a nice little night's run, as was observed to me
by a captain of a vessel who knew well that coast,)
it would easily be done, even if present distances
are allowed. Then the eteep cliffs at these places
would exactly answer to the account Caesar gives,
" that they could throw down darts upon them."
Then Caesar waits until 3 o'clock for the tide to

Julius Ccesar. 15
ebb, and, taking advantage of it, runs on to
Weybourne to the shingle beach where the
cliff ends. It is high tide, mark ! at 3 o'clock
on the 24th of August; six days after, (August
30th,) it is full moon. Take your tidal tables
and calculate back six days from the full moon,
and you will find, not only that this must fix
Cromer as the spot where Caesar made the land,
but that it could be no other place, supposing our
data correct, owing to the influence of the tidal
wave, within 360 miles. Then the high tide,
at full moon, rises on this coast full eighteen
or twenty feet, which will account for " his ships
being disabled by the rising of the tide." They
land upon a coast in a corn-growing country,
they go out to forage, as they had provided
no corn ; one day, as they are reaping, they
fall into an ambuscade and meet with grievous
loss, and it ends in Caesar's leaving Britain.
Now here we find a Roman camp* still in existence,

* " Here (Brancaster) we see the plain remains of the
said Roman camp, answering the figure of that which is
described by Csesar, twelve foot high, with a rampire and
ditch eighteen foot deep." — Camden.

16 Julius Ccesar.
and the name " Branc castra," surviving the lapse
of ages, the very name given to it by the Britons,
in memory of their success over their enemies,
whilst reaping their " Brance ;" for we find (in
Camden, p. xxvi.) : " Gaul, saith Pliny, yieldeth
a peculiar sort of corn, which the natives call
' Brance,' we ' Sandalum,' a very fine sort of
grain. Among the Britains a sort of grain, which
yields a pure white flower, is called ' Guineth
Vrank,' and with us in Norfolk ' Brank.' " *
Caesar's second expedition starts, it appears, al
though we do not know for certain, from the same
place as that of the previous year. He is, recol
lect, at the Rhine, amongst the Treveri, just be
fore he sails ; his fleet and legions assemble at
the port of the Morini, " Gesoriacum," (" Ictium") ;
he sets sail, at sunset, with a south-west wind ; it
takes him longer to make the passage, as the wind
drops during the night, and Caesar finds that he
has " left Britain behind him to the left." Where,
in the Channel, could this happen? but on our
* May not " Ritubi" be a compound of the Northern
" Rit," corn or grain ? We learn from Giraldus that these
northern traders established themselves as merchant ad
venturers at the principal sea-ports of our coasts.

Julius Ccesar. 17
supposition that he purposed to make Wells., and
is carried past Hunstanton, this would exactly be
the case, and, taking to his oars, and coming back
with the flood tide, he would pull in to land at
Brancaster Bay ; he lands at noon, thus taking
from sixteen to eighteen hours to make the
passage. It appears, we think, that it was not
on the same beach as that of the year before he
disembarked, as that wa.$," piano et aperto littore,''
this " molli et aperto :" " piano," the shingle bed
beyond Weybourne, " molli," the softer or muddier
shore further on. He makes a night march of
twelve miles to Hanworth, " a place singularly
strong by nature and by art ;" the enemy " come
down" to meet him at the river Glanvron; and
the mound, the key of the position, yet exists.
There is another undesigned coincidence we
may mention, in addition to the amber which the
Romans got from the port they frequented in
Britain, and the corn or " brank" which yet may
be seen growing in the fields in Norfolk, called
now by the same name as then. From the part
of Britain frequented by the Romans came to
Rome the oysters so dear to the Roman " gour
mands;" all speak of the oyster fisheries in Britain ;
B

18 Julius CcBsar.
and here even yet, off the coast near Wells, re
main in use famous oyster beds, the oysters of
which, larger and finer than others, are called by
the name of " Burnham Flats." Again, the in
habitants of the part of Britain frequented by the
Romans in these earlier days, used " marie ' for
the purposes of agriculture (Pliny, B. xvii, C. 8),
and it is here that Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, turned
a barren wilderness into a fruitful field, by return
ing to the practice of the earlier Britons, and
marling his broad acres in these parts. Here
then we have a coast where amber, corn, marie,
and oysters are found. We may also note that
barrows, intrenchments, and earthworks abound
in every village far and near upon that coast, and
will well repay archaeological research.
We have done, not for want of matter, for our
note-book is yet full of unexhausted notices from
other writers, which tell in favour of the opinions
we have put forward. Every author who men
tions Britain touches upon no point in opposition
to our view which is incapable of explanation ; *
the majority, either directly or indirectly, say
* See Appendix.

Julius Ccesar. 19
something to support it. We have found, we
believe, the key to open up the mystery which
has hitherto, through ages, enveloped the subject.
We leave to others the pleasing task of further
discoveries, fully confident of this one thing, that
if ever there was an historical fact out of joint
and out of place, it is the fabled crossing of the
Channel by Julius Caesar : and that there are few
points of history more self-evident and precise
than that Caesar sailed from at or near the mouths
of the Rhine, and landed upon the coasts of
Norfolk.

CHAPTER IL
. E had written thus far, and the above
sheets were in the press, when it oc
curred to us that if we were right in
our theory it was possible some relics might yet
be in existence which would support our views,
and so we started to visit the different places
on the coast where previously we had conjectured
Caesar would land. We have found our views
stand the test of the strictest local criticism and
evidence upon evidence, fact upon fact, accumu
late upon us at every turn and point. In the
minutest details, land and sea, hill and coast,
marsh and river, Roman camps and Celtic habi
tations, British scoria, and Roman pottery, tra
ditions of living people and barrows of past ages,
all bring to bear a mass of corroborative testimony
that is almost overwhelming in its minutiae and

Julius Ccesar. 21
exactness. We will try and condense it as much
as we are able.
We had fixed upon Cromer as the point where
Caesar made the land, Sheringham the promontory
which Dio Cassius says that he rounded ; Wey-
bourne as the shingle beach, seven or eight miles
distant, where the cliff ended and Caesar disem
barked. Now the cliffs, up to the very edge, are
smooth and level ground, and there would be
no difficulty in the British chariots and horse
men keeping up with the ships as they dropped
down with the ebb-tide. Then the nature of the
shore is such that their chariots could easily
manoeuvre even down to the very water's edge.
The water is so deep at high tide and the shingle
beach here so abrupt and shelving, that Caesar's
larger ships could come close in shore, and it is
literally true to the letter that his soldiers would
have to jump into deep water, whilst the smaller
galleys could row up to the very bank, and come
to blows hand to hand with the enemy. The
spring tide at full moon rises from eighteen
to twenty feet, which would dash together and.
cripple his ships ; here in the marsh, at the very
border of the sea, rises a fit place for his camp, a

22 Julius Ccesar.
mound of large extent elevated above the marshes,
and affording under its shelter an anchorage for
his fleet. This mound, " Green Barrow Hill " or
" Grenaburh," lies between Weybourne and
Salthouse; opposite is an old Roman causeway
running down to it from Kelling, with a track
direct through the marshes to the hill, and with
a streamlet of clear fresh water alongside. Here
a? e found in great abundance, as we shall presently
relate, Roman culinary and drinking articles, and
heaps of bones and other things, which plainly in
dicate a Roman camp. We ourselves in our short
walk were told that if we kept our eyes open we
could pick up Roman pottery, &c. and came back
with our pockets full ; we doubt if this would be
the case on the highways and bye ways in any
other part of England. On the hills facing this
mound, at Salthouse Heath, we find barrow after
barrow ; at Weybourne itself, another Roman
camp on a smaller scale may be traced ; at Wey
bourne, again, the telegraph wires enter " the
ocean " to take the shortest (brevissimum) route to
.the opposite shore. In this district there is an old
saying familiar in every one's mouth as a house
hold word —

Julius Ccesar. 23
" He that England's crown would win,
Must at Weybourne Hope begin."
"Weybourne Hope" is still the promontory the
sailors make for as their last land-mark as they
sail along this coast.
The following articles of Roman workmanship
have been found, and are in the possession of Mr.
Bolding, at or near Weybourne, mostly on Green-
barrow Hill, and near the road immediately
opposite on the land side of the marsh :* Roman
pottery in great quantities, chiefly for culinary use,
mortars, amphorae to hold drinking-water, and drink
ing-cups (many of these mortars are studded with
scoria), a perforated cullender, Dunrobrivae ware,
small quantity of Samian ware, flange tiles, scored
tiles, pieces of iron, large-headed nails, coin, glass,
remains of glass vessels, turned ivory knife-handle,
* We are indebted to Mr. Bolding, a gentleman resident
at Weybourne, whose archaeological attainments of the
highest order are united with that sound common-sense
which in archaeologists in general is so apt to be wanting, —
for this valuable information as regards Weybourne and
its vicinity. It was his research found out these Celtic pits
and the Hanworth embankment, and it was he who collected
and has preserved in his studio these many treasures in
dicative of Roman occupation.

24 Julius Ccesar.
bones in heaps — in quantities sufficient to en
courage an enterprising bone-man to collect them
and sell them for manure! — they were bones of
different animals and teeth, principally horses
and hogs, horns and teeth of oxen. Then there
are signs of an after location in this same district
nearer Weybourne, viz. large quantities of broken
vessels and pottery untouched by the lathe, sup
posed to be, from their make, not Roman but
Saxon ; Roman pottery has also been found in Mr.
Bolding's fold-yard at Weybourne.
Next, as to Caesar's second expedition, he landed
" at different points " along the coast (Dio Cassius,
xl. 1). There is a -eamp at Brancaster with the
fosse clearly marked ; we calculated that this en
closed about eight acres. There is another, we
were told, further on, at Holme, almost surrounded
by the sea ; then there is at Holkham one of the
most perfect Roman camps existing, we estimated
it inclosed about twelve acres in its area, the
different gates are yet to be traced on the ram
parts ; there is a raised causeway, both towards
land through the marshes, and seaward through
the " sand dunes " or hills which would afford a
protection for his fleet ; so also is there running

Julius Caesar. 25
in from the sea, and forming a harbour a creek at
Brancaster Staithes, — a channel from whence at
high water Caesar could embark all his army at a
single tide ; we doubt if there is any other spot on
the coast of Britain so convenient for such a diffi
cult operation (600 or 800 ships and 25,000 men).
Then also it was natural to suppose that if there
was a large army on the cliffs prepared to receive
Caesar, the British population must also have had
their habitations here. We are confident there
are no such numerous Celtic pits in other parts of
Britain as these at this very spot on the cliffs at
Cromer. There is a large British or Celtic
dwelling-place, or town (if so you choose to call
it,) consisting of several thousand Celtic habita
tions. It begins at Felbrigg and runs up to
Beeston. It is divided across the middle by a
bank, the base of which is from twelve to twenty
feet in width, as if two tribes had been encamped
together. At each end of this encampment are
two large Celtic burial-grounds, and here is also
found, in considerable quantities, Celtic pottery.
At the extremity of the cliff, on the high sand
hills above Weybourne, is another vast Celtic
habitation; not so numerous, however, by one-

26 Julius Ccesar.
tenth as the larger settlement above Cromer, yet
here Mr. Bolding has counted near upon 1000
pits. Singular, close to this settlement is a heap
of scoria. It is in appearance like bronze, and
evidently has much copper in its composition. We
have sent it to be analyzed, and hope that we
may be enabled by the help of science to find out
what that metal was, for which Britain was then
so famous, and which was one of the temptations,
let alone the honour and glory, which led Caesar
on to this invasion.*
There is another place we have to fix the situa
tion of. Taking Holkham as Caesar's advanced
camp, more strongly fortified, as being nearer the
enemy, — at the distance of twelve miles in the
rear of these Celtic towns we find the stronghold
of the British. Here, at Hanworth, is indeed a
position " strong by nature and by art." It is an
enclosure on two sides of a triangle shut in by the
river Glanvron ; on the third, in the direction of
Holt, defended by a strong embankment, the di
rection of which, notwithstanding the lands being

* Suetonius speaks of the enormous debt in which Csesar
was involved.

Julius Ccesar. 27
under plough, may be distinctly traced. It en
closes an area of from two to three hundred acres.
It takes in wooded knolls and strong positions,
and at the extreme apex of the triangle, near the
Rectory, where the river comes to a narrow point,
is a lofty hill fort, the mound or earthwork, we
have little doubt, that Caesar's soldiers carried by
" forming the testudo," and behind are " the hills
and woods" to which they drove the Britons.
We have a shrewd idea that we could point out
Cassivelaunus' stronghold, and the place where
Caesar camped over against it, and the ford over
which he sent his cavalry to turn their flank, but
we wish not to overlay our subject with what
may be partly conjecture and not capable of proof.
Whatever evidence the most sceptical can ask for,
we believe, as far as we have gone, we can produce
it, and hold our own against all comers. We
feel confident that few of the many points we have
advanced will need, even in detail, modification or
change. If " seeing is believing," no one, we
think, with Caesar's Commentaries in his hand,
or the salient features of his expedition to Britain
in his head, could follow the coast-line as we have
done, from Cromer to Gore point, without being

28 Julius Ccesar.
convinced with a conviction that leaves no shade
or shadow of a doubt behind, that these are
Caesar's very landing-places and camps, that we
stand on ground where Caesar himself may have
set foot ; that here he camped, and there he fought,
that from those hills above us the Britons watched
his movements, followed him along the cliffs, closed
with his legions on their landing ; on that shingle
beach drove down their chariots amongst his
soldiers as they struggled on shore, and finally,
after a short sharp campaign, forced him back to
his ships and from Britain, without that booty in
either slaves or minerals (vide Cicero,) which he
and his had hoped to gain. His second ex
pedition also we can map out and explain ; we
can take up our position within the ramparts of
the camp at Holkham,the same almost in itsleading
features now as Caesar planned and left it then,
and from thence we can trace the course of his
night march to the British stronghold at Hanworth,
the exact locality of which he was well acquainted
with from its situation in reference to his first
campaign ; we can point out the very place where
he drew up his ships for safety, and whence, with
that large army, he could re-embark at a single tide,

Julius Caesar. 29
on that night when he left for ever that Britain
he dared to win, but from whose shores he retreated
foiled and baffled by the energy and skill and
valour which were more than a match for his
discipline and legions, — for recollect, it is Caesar
himself who tells the story of his campaign, and
makes the best of his failures and practical defeat.
Strange it is, that in this busy bustling England
of the nineteenth century, with its teeming popu
lation and its craving after land, that alike in the
marshes on the shore, and the sand hills on the
heights, Roman camp and British dwelling should
both be left untouched by plough or spade ! May
they not read us a lesson, in this sceptical age,
when history, sacred and profane, is so recklessly
and roughly handled, that after all that which we
cannot make fit or understand, may be not the
fault or error of the historian, but our own wilful,
crass, stupid blmdness, which, as in this case,
has hid from us the meaning of that which, when
we look at it aright, is clear and plain as the sun
at noonday, and may convince us not only that
we may " live and learn," but also may teach us
to hold fast to that precious heirloom which be
longs to people of every age and clime, viz. : that

30 Julius Ccesar.
in the long-run, although it may be after the
lapse of centuries, " magna est Veritas et praevale-
bit," — truth will come uppermost and error dis
appear.

APPENDIX.
(Page 18.)
THE' Commentaries mention the distance as being
thirty miles. This we know to be wrong, as thirty
miles is not the shortest (brevissimum) passage across the
Channel. Every student of history well knows how names
and numbers are altered both in history sacred and secular,
as the transcriber's will or fancy leads him. Csesar, no
doubt, wrote lxxx, but when the Channel theory was
broached the transcribers, knowing that could not be, struck
out the i> and left the xxx. The Emperor mentions an in
stance of this kind (p. 94, Vol. II.) as regards "the Doubs,''
at Besancon, where he says " the copyists must have omitted
an M. before DC."

CHISWICK PRESS:  PRINTED BY WH1TTINODAM AND WILKINS,
TOOKS COURT, CHANCKRr LANE.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Post Svo., cloth, gilt edges, price 3s. Qd.
WAIFS AND STRAYS OF NORTH-
HUMBER HISTORY.
Opinions of the Press.
" Taking local nomenclature and local tradition as a basis for
his- enquiry, he enters into a consideration of the circumstances
under which Hengist and his brother Horsa came to Britain ; and,
taking Doncaster, and the names of places in its immediate vicinity,
chiefly those to the west and south, it is astonishing to how great
an extent he is able to confirm, in their leading features, the
narratives of our ancient chroniclers. Nennius, Bede, the Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle, Layamon, in his version of the ' Brut,' Hol-
lingshed, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Hector Boece, and, lastly, the
' Buik of the Chroniclis of Scotland,' are all collated and found
to point to the district already indicated as ' the location of
Hengist.' In the same way — that is, with the aid of local no
menclature and frequent reference to the chroniclers — our author
is able to fix still more unerringly the site of ' the last battle of
Hengist, and his burial-place.' " — The Reader.
" The closing battle fought against, and lost to Aurelius Am
brosius, has been disputed ; but Mr. Surtees traces it almost field
by field through the local names, — through traditionary tales
which, at first, seem to have no connection with the old fact ; and
finally he shows the very spots where Hengist fell and was buried,
the old names being preserved in the modern Ordnance Survey,
into which no name gains admittance but with extreme caution
on the part of those who adopt it as the proper and traditionary
appellation." — The Atheneum.
" Mr. Surtees seems warranted in coming to the conclusion
' that there was at Coningsburgh an early settlement of Saxons,
in immediate connection with some mighty Saxon chieftain.' If
we admit that Hengest lived at Coningsburgh, there is some
prima facie probability that the scene of his last battle would be
in the neighbourhood. We have accounts of this engagement,
in which the Saxon is said to have been defeated, from (amongst
others') Gildas, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Layamon, in his
translation of the " Brut." The last-mentioned author ex'pressly
says that it was fought near Coningsburgh 'Castle, and Mr. Surtees
certainly shows that local tradition and local nomenclature tend
strongly to show that a great battle did at some time or other
take place here. Without committing ourselves to an unqualified
acceptance of Mr. Surtees's speculations, we must say that he

32
appears to us to make out a very fair case. It is certainly ex
tremely likely that this part of Yorkshire should have been the
scene of one of the most severely contested struggles between the
Britons and the Saxons, because we know that the district was
an early and a favourite settlement of the latter. At all events,
the arguments and statements of the author are well worth con
sideration." — London Review.
" His facts in their collective and admirable form add much to
our local topography ; and be has done great service in his en
deavour to interpret the testimony that modern topography, and
the relics of other days which may have survived the wear and
decay of centuries, bear to matters that pertain to the earliest
periods of our history. Whatever deductions may be arrived at,
and however various may be the opinions expressed upon the
subjects and the facts that the author of this volume has brought
to light, there is much matter for thought and investigation, and
he has done good service to the cause of history and of religion
by publishing his researches, and giving to local facts nothiag
short of national importance. Amongst the many volumes on
antiquarian research we may fairly claim for this a high position;
and not be far wrong, perhaps, in predicting for it the very great
attention of those who love to delve and grope in the dark places
of ancient lore." — Doncaster Gazette.
" True, he has not dug up the figure of a four-winged Dragon,
or a flying bull, but he has, to our thinking, clearly made out
the resting-place of Hengest the Saxon, and has adduced arguments
which go a long way towards solving an interesting historical
problem — the whereabouts of the seat of the almost forgotten
JLindisse Bishopric, and he clearly proves by quotation from the
old ' Chroniclis,' that the location of Hengest was in this dis
trict, and that ' Hengest's Castell,' where the hero resided, is
the veritable Conisborough Castle. The next chapter is devoted
to a consideration of the last battle of Hengest and his burial
place, the former of which Mr. S. proves to have taken place
near Cadeby, on which occasion Hengest fefl, being buried in a
field still retaining the name of Eing's-grave-fleld. Here the im
portance of local nomenclature is strikingly seen, and we think
the author satisfactorily proves his points." — Doncaster Chronicle.
" ' Those whom it may concern,' that is, the students of anti
quity, this little book will commend itself. It is evidently written
with great care, and is at the same time remarkably free from the
prejudices which so frequently mark productions of the kind
limited to a certain locality. It will prove a valuable addition to
the library of the student of our local nomenclature and early
history." — Northern Express.

JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 36, Soho Sqoake, London.

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