TheSaxon Shore (Latin:litus Saxonicum) was a military command of theLate Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of theEnglish Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the "Count of the Saxon Shore". In the late 4th century, his functions were limited toBritain, while the fortifications in Gaul were established as separate commands. Several well-preserved Saxon Shore forts survive in east and south-eastEngland; they are some of the best-preserved Roman forts surviving in the world, notable for the height and strength of their walls.
During the latter half of the 3rd century, theRoman Empire faced agrave crisis: Weakened by civil wars, the rapid succession of short-lived emperors, and secession in the provinces, the Romans now faced new waves of attacks by barbarian tribes. Most of Britain had beenpart of the Roman Empire since the mid-1st century. It was protected from raids by nativeCeltic Britons in the north by theHadrianic andAntonine Walls, while afleet of some size was also available.
However, as the frontiers came under increasing external pressure, fortifications were built throughout the Empire in order to protect cities and guard strategically important locations. It is in this context that the forts of the Saxon Shore were constructed. Already in the 230s, underSeverus Alexander, several units had been withdrawn from the northern frontier and garrisoned at locations in the south, and had built new forts atBrancaster andCaister-on-Sea in Norfolk andReculver in Kent. Dover was already fortified in the early 2nd century, and the other forts in this group were constructed in the period between the 270s and 290s.
The only contemporary reference we possess that mentions the name "Saxon Shore" comes in the late 4th-centuryNotitia Dignitatum, which lists its commander, theComes Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam ("Count of the Saxon Shore in Britain"), and gives the names of the sites under his command and their respective complements of military personnel.[1][2] However, due to the absence of further evidence, theories have varied among scholars as to the exact meaning of the name, and also the nature and purpose of the chain of forts it refers to.
Two interpretations were put forward as to the meaning of the adjective "Saxon": either a shoreattacked bySaxons, or a shoresettled by Saxons. Some argue that the latter hypothesis is supported byEutropius, who states that during the 280s the sea along the coasts of Belgica and Armorica was "infested withFranks and Saxons", and that this was whyCarausius was first put in charge of the fleet there, while others believe the term infestation relates to seabourne Saxons and Franks raiding the coasts.[3][non-primary source needed] It also receives some support from archaeological finds, as artefacts of a Germanic style have been found in burials, while there is evidence of the presence of Saxons in southern England and the northern coasts of Gaul aroundBoulogne-sur-Mer andBayeux from the middle of the 5th century onwards, although this timeline coincides with the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain.[4] This, in turn, could mirror a well documented practice of deliberately settling Germanic tribes (Franks becamefoederati in 358 AD under Emperor Julian) to strengthen Roman defences. Nevertheless, the evidence for extensive Saxon settlement in Britain typically only dates to the 5th century, later than the channel defences of the late 3rd and 4th century associated with the Saxon Shore.
The other interpretation holds that the forts fulfilled a coastal defence role against seaborne invaders, mostly Saxons and Franks,[5] and acted as bases for the naval units operating against them. This view is reinforced by the parallel chain of fortifications across theChannel on the northern coasts ofGaul, which complemented the British forts, suggesting a unified defensive system, although this could also be accounted for the Saxons having been settled on both sides of the coast as some archeological evidence presented earlier suggests.[6]
Other scholars like John Cotterill however consider the threat posed by Germanic raiders, at least in the 3rd and early 4th centuries, to be exaggerated. They interpret the construction of theSaxon Shore forts atBrancaster (Branodunum),Caister-on-Sea (Burgh Castle) andReculver (Regulbium) in the early 3rd century and their location at the estuaries of navigable rivers as pointing to a different role: fortified points for transport and supply between Britain and Gaul, without any relation (at least at that time) to countering seaborne piracy.[7] This view is supported by contemporary references to the supplying of the army ofJulian the Apostate by Caesar with grain from Britain during his campaign in Gaul in 359,[8] and their use as secure landing places by CountTheodosius during the suppression of theGreat Conspiracy a few years later.[9][non-primary source needed]
Another theory, proposed by D.A. White, was that the extended system of large stone forts was disproportionate to any threat by seaborne Germanic raiders, and that it was actually conceived and constructed during the secession ofCarausius andAllectus (theCarausian Revolt) in 289–296, and with an entirely different enemy in mind: they were to guard against an attempt at reconquest by the Empire. This view, although widely disputed, has found recent support from archaeological evidence atPevensey, which dates the fort's construction to the early 290s.[10]
Whatever their original purpose, it is virtually certain that in the late 4th century the forts and their garrisons were employed in operations against Frankish and Saxon pirates rather than to contain Saxons in Britain itself. Britain was abandoned by Rome in 410, withArmorica following soon after. The forts on both sides continued to be inhabited in the following centuries, and in Britain in particular several continued in use well into theAnglo-Saxon period.
The nine forts mentioned in theNotitia Dignitatum for Britain are listed here, from north to south, with their garrisons.[1]
There are a few other sites that clearly belonged to the system of the British branch of the Saxon Shore (the so-called "Wash–Solentlimes"), although they are not included in theNotitia, such as the forts atWalton Castle, Suffolk, which has by now sunk into the sea due to erosion, and atCaister-on-Sea inNorfolk. In the south,Carisbrooke Castle on theIsle of Wight andClausentum (Bitterne, in modernSouthampton) are also regarded as westward extensions of the fortification chain. Other sites probably connected to the Saxon Shore system are the sunken fort atSkegness, and the remains of possible signal stations atThornham in Norfolk,Corton in Suffolk andHadleigh in Essex.[14]
Further north on the coast, the precautions took the form of central depots atLindum (Lincoln) andMalton with roads radiating to coastal signal stations. When an alert was relayed to the base, troops could be dispatched along the road. Further up the coast in North Yorkshire, a series of coastal watchtowers (atHuntcliff,Filey,Ravenscar,Goldsborough, andScarborough) was constructed, linking the southern defences to the northern military zone of the Wall.[15] Similar coastal fortifications are also found inWales, atCardiff andCaer Gybi. The only fort in this style in the northern military zone isLancaster, Lancashire, built sometime in the mid-late 3rd century replacing an earlier fort and extramural community, which may reflect the extent of coastal protection on the north-west coast from invading tribes from Ireland.
TheNotitia also includes two separate commands for the northern coast of Gaul, both of which belonged to the Saxon Shore system. However, when the list was compiled, inc. 420 AD, Britain had been abandoned by Roman forces. The first command controlled the shores of the provinceBelgica Secunda (roughly between the estuaries of theScheldt and theSomme), under thedux Belgicae Secundae with headquarters at Portus Aepatiaci:[16]
Although not mentioned in theNotitia, the port ofGesoriacum orBononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer), which until 296 was the main base of theClassis Britannica, would also have come under thedux Belgicae Secundae.
To this group also belongs the Roman fort atOudenburg in Belgium.
Further west, under thedux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani, were mainly the coasts ofArmorica, nowadaysNormandy andBrittany. TheNotitia lists the following sites:[17]
In addition, there are several other sites where a Roman military presence has been suggested. AtAlderney, the fort known as "The Nunnery" is known to date to Roman times,[19] and the settlement at Longy Common has been cited as evidence of a Roman military establishment, though the archaeological evidence there is, at best, scant.[20]
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Sources
Media related toSaxon Shore at Wikimedia Commons