Suspected Roman Marching Camp, Westcott Dorking

This is what I thought all these blips would be - empty fields with some bumps that are possibly Roman!

Well this is a classic of the genre in the Winter sunshine this afternoon. This suspected Roman marching camp was observed from the air just north of Westcott outside Dorking, in 1953.

The observed features in the field in front of us, are two short lengths of ditch set at right-angles, with a rounded corner-angle connecting the two; the military precision of the ditch leading to its speculative identification as Roman work.

It has to be admitted the identification is tenuous, however there ought to be a Roman marching camp here! Since Stane Street, the Roman road between Chichester and London crosses the ancient prehistoric trackway of the North Downs Way just to the north-east of here. In fact the North Downs Way runs along just below the crest in this picture.

So what is the story? Two possibilities are given in the excellent Roman-Britain.org site.

First it is possible that Westcott is a temporary overnight camp of the Roman military force en-route through the Mole Gap where modern Dorking is situated. Westoctt may date to late Summer A.D. 43, when Vespasian in command of Legio II Augusta was campaigning in the south-west (Suetonius VIII.iv). If you subscribe to the secondary landing in Chichester Harbour in 43AD to connect with Cognidubnus' followers, theory; then Vespasian was driving North East towards London and rendezvousing with the main force under Suetonius Paulinus.

Second Westcott camp could date to the summer of A.D. 296, when the legitimate
Emperor Constantius wrested the province of Britannia back from the hands of the rebel Allectus. During this campaign the imperial invasion army was split into two; the first, under the praetorian commander Asclepiodotus, landed in the natural harbours around Portsmouth and Chichester during a thick fog, and immediately attacked and defeated Allectus near Silchester, while Constantius himself commanding the second division, used the shorter English Channel route and marched westwards through Kent along Watling Street to 'liberate' Londinium. It is possible that Asclepiodotus would have sent a force to defend against attack arising along the Stane Street while he dealt with the rebel forces around Winchester and Silchester. This is indeed the place to block an invasion as the 1890s Camp on Box Hill demonstrates (see earlier blip).

Whilst loving the second explanation, I feel the first is more probable.