The Distribution and Density of the Old British Population of Hampshire Author(s): T. W. Shore Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 18 (1889), pp. 334-346 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2842147 . Accessed: 15/06/2014 12:43 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.79.78 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:43:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 334 T. W. SHORE.-The,Distribution and Density From the SOCIETY.-Proceedingsof the Royal Society. No. 272. - Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. Vol. xxii. Part I. - Journalof the Society of Arts. Nos. 1882-1885. - Proceedings of the Royal GeographicalSociety. Vol. xi. No. 1. Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. 1888. No. 3. From the SOCIETY.-Bulletin de la Societe de Borda, Dax. 1888. No. 4. Mittheilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien. xviii Band. Heft 4. From the EDITOR.-The Journal of Mental Science. No. 112. - Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana. Tomo iv. N. 9 e 10. Nature. Nos. 998-1001. The Photographic Times. Nos. 376-379. - Science. Nos. 304-308. - Revue Scientifique. Tome xlii. Nos. 24-26. The following paper was read by the Author: The DISTRIBUTION and DENSITY of the OLD BRITISH POPULA- TION OF HAMPSHIRE. By T. W. SHORE, F.G.S., F.C.S. [WITH PLATES XV AND XVI.] THE subject I wish to bring before you is this: Have we any means still remaining in such a county as Hampshire of estimating approximately the distribution and density of the population which preceded the Roman invasion ? I think we may assume that the number of inhabitants any area of England supported in British time must have depended mainly on the food supply, so that if we could show that one area naturally produced more food than another of equal extent, we nmightreasonably conclude that the former would attract to it a larger population than the latter. It appears to mneextremely probable that the shores of Southampton Water with its sheltered situation, its unique double tides, its abundant fish supply and the rich land along the courses of its tributary streams, must have attracted a relatively large population from the time of the earliest settle- ments of rnan in Britain. There are remains still existing and indications which are brought to light from time to time, which show that a very considerable pre-Roman population did live near these shores. We know that the gravel terraces along its banks and those of its tributary streams were their usual habitable sites, and there are earthworks of British date and This content downloaded from 62.122.79.78 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:43:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions of the Old British Population of Hampshire. 335 traces of others remaining at no great distance from this estuary. It is however mainly on the earthworks, and not on the food supply alone of any favoured area, that I wish to ground my argument. We have in Hampshire about forty British earthworks remain- ing in a more or less complete state of preservation. That others formerly existed in this county is certain from the partial traces which still remain of them in historical references, in place names supported by circumstantial evidence, or in field evidence. These earthworks of Hampshire are of various kinds and shapes, and where they inclose areas and form the so-called camps they are of widely different dimensions. Most of them are hill fortresses, either found on the tops of considerable hills or on rising ground conveniently near to the districts which they were, as I think, intended to protect. We have also marsh fortresses and peninsular fortresses, and in the New Forest one if not more examples of insular refuges, where as a defence for one or more small communities, mounds partly artificial, exist in bogs. In one case such a mound exists in what was formerly a small lake, and which might easily be re-converted into a lake at the present time. The surroundings of the Hampshire earthworks at the present time, help us to form an opinion as to the purposes they were intended to serve. The forests which existed near them, have for the most part passed away, but the variations in hill and dale which we see now, are the same, and the geological conditions connected with the dry-chalk hills, or with the chalk streams, and the alluvial meadow land through which they flow are the same as inprehistorictime. As we stand within the area of any one of these intrenched inclosures, and consider the probable purposes it was intended to serve,the natural featuresof the country in which it was placed, and the geological circumstances connected with these surroundings,will be found to be very important considerations. I have endeavouredto discover the purposes forwhich thelHampshire earthworks were constructed, by a careful study of these con- siderations. These camps could scarcely have been permanently inhabited sites, for very few traces of dwellings or articles of common domestic use such as have been found abundantly else- where in the county, have been found within them. They could not have been constructed by passing bodies of armed men, for the labour involved, would have been far too great for a passing shelter. There is but one other object, as far as I can see, for which they could have been constructed, that is as strongholds of defence or places of refuge in case of attack, for the people who lived near them. This content downloaded from 62.122.79.78 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:43:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 336 T. W. SHORE.-The Distribution and Density If this was the purpose of their construction, then I think these elntrenchedareas must have had a distinct reference to the number of people required for their defence, and to the popula- tion, and their capital. or head of cattle they were intended to shelter. We can scarcely imagine that any British or other community, whether what we understand by a village community, or an aggregation of such communities, would construct a defen- sive earthwork such as one of these camps, larger than their requirements for shelter, or larger than their power of defence. Otherwise such a large camp would be a source of weakness to the people attacked, instead of a tower of strength. If 'these considerations are allowed, then I think we nmaydraw some fairly correct inferences concerning the relative, and perhaps concerning the absolute density of the old British population, within reach of these strongholds, from the positions of the camps, the extent of their intrenchments, and the areas of their inclosures. The largest Hampshire camps are placed where large open areas must have existed, and the smallest of them are in situa- tions from which we can see even at the present day, they could have had no great clearings near them, and documentary evidence concerning the extent of the ancient forests confirms this. The smallest of the earthworks are but forest forts, while the largest are on some of the highest positions of the chalk hills, with extensive areas of down land and meadow land, generally alluvial meadow land, near them. The consideration of the water supply for such intrenched hill fortresses as exist on the higber parts of the chalk downs, is one which is important, and may help in determining their uses. I have met with no remains of permanent buildings such as exist at Old Sarum, within any Hampshire intrenchment except at Merdon which was used as a Norman fortress, and only in two of the smallest of these camps in addition to Merdon, viz., those at Ashley, and at Woodgarston, have I met with wells within the inclosed areas. All the remaining camps that can be described as bill fortresses, either have at the present time dew ponds, or cloud ponds as they are sometimes called within or near them, or have remains which show the probable former existence of such ponds. Most of our high ground in Hampshire is capped with Tertiary d6bris resting on chalk, commonly consisting of clay with flints, so that there being usually plenty of clay, such ponds might easily have been formed. Our system of water supply on the highest parts of the chalk downs of Hampshire at the present day, is by dew ponds. The dew ponds within or near several of the larger Hampshire camps at the present time, are sufficient for This content downloaded from 62.122.79.78 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:43:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions of the Old British Population of Hampshire. 337 the water supply of some hundreds of sheep, even in the heat of summer.