T. E. Lawrence’s Undergraduate Dissertation – Page 54

the Bald in Northern France ; the burhs of Alfred and his family, and the earthworks of Henry the Fowler in Germany. One may infer others : that the century-long struggle of Britons and Saxons in the South Midlands could not have lasted so many years without fortresses on both sides ; that if Offa ... his colossal dyke merely "to mark the limit" of his kingdom, it shows a remarkable degree of proficiency in earth-working : and that presumably these wars, and those against the Danes would leave more trace in the country than prehistoric struggles. Yet none the less hardly a single one of these defence-works has been identified. The modern archaeologist has ... ... ... for identifying every "mount and bailey" fortress with Norman post-conquest work. The Normans were near of kin to the Danes, and settled in North France. If they brought their system of fortification from Scandinavia one would imagine it to be very like the Danish. If it was copied from that of North France then presumably it was also copied in England long before 1066. In either case it is far too sweeping to ascribe every mound and bailey work to Norman hands, especially as it gives them the absurd total of nearly 500 such forts in England and Wales : in- deed it is but little short of a phenomenon to find Norman castles in the Snowdon range ! Earthworks are not always devoid of masonry. Great