| Caesar and Britain No 1. |
Britain before the Saxons
In the middle of the first century BC Britain was still in its political infancy compared with the Mediterranean countries. There were some semblance of a tribal system in south-east Gaul albeit somewhat undeveloped. it came about by the succession of migrations of the north Gaulish tribesmen to Britain and there was, at first,a degree on kinship and political control existed between both communities both here and in Gaul.
When Julius Caesar was considering expeditions into Britain,it is possible to recognise, by the study of relevant coinage and archaeological material, areas of tribal interest, for example, the Catuvellauni of Hertfordshire, the Trinovantes of Essex and Suffolk. Great strides have been made in our understanding of the times by the number and variety of coins, some of which were never known a few years ago, recovered in both hoards and as individual finds by metal detectorists, these being coins which had been imported during this migratory period.
Coin production in Britain really began at the very end of the second century BC with the cast potin coinage of Kent. This coin derived from the potin coins of Massalia (Marseilles) in southern Gaul.
During Caesars campaigns in Gaul around 57 to 56 BC, he quickly learned of the relationship between Britons and Gauls. Which yielded military aid and a place of refuge for the latter in their resistance to Caesars advances as when the Armoricans of modern Brittany and Normandy, who surrendered to Caesar in 57 BC,staged an uprising the following year.
The close contacts commercially with southwest Britain were then invoked to provide military assistance. After the revolt had been quelled, this alliance made Caesar gaze across the Channel, and possibly reconnoitre the area from the sea, in which he could in which he made use of the maritime knowledge of the Veneti one of the tribes in the Armorican confederation.
If it was Caesars intention to invade Britain in 56 BC it certainly must have been put aside for the constant hostility in Gaul as far north as the mouth of the Rhine while an invasion was being threatened by the German tribes from across the river. This threatened invasion was contained and countered by a Roman campaign across the Rhine. It had taken precious time and the autumn of 55 BC was approaching before Caesar was able to take steps to personally examine Britain.
It was inevitable that he must at first make a reconnaissance in force to test the strength of the opposition before making a full-scale assault on the island. Accurate information was needed regarding the coastline, where it would be suitable to land such a force to ensure victory and occupation. Caesar entrusted the task of the reconnaissance of Britain to a favourite tribune but he failed to secure a thorough recording of the area as he failed to locate the southern arm of the Wantsum river but also misreported on the harbour of Dover.
Caesar arrived off Dover in the early morning with a fleet of some eighty with two legions aboard and promptly deemed it unfit for an apposed landing and ignored the river estuary which later became one of the formost harbours of Roman Britain.
He changed course and sailed northwards up the Kentish coast and descended upon Albion on the low, shelving beach between Deal and Walmer, there they were met by the islanders with their chariots and horsemen and advanced into the sea to meet the invaders.
The legionaries, uncertain of the depth, hesitated in the face of the shower of javelins and stones, but the eagle-bearer of the Tenth Legion plunged into the waves with the sacred emblem, and Caesar brought up his warships with their catapults and arrow-fire upon the British flank.The Romans,encouraged by the success, leaped from their ships and waded toward the British. There was a short fight amid the waves and the Romans reached the shore and put the Btitish to flight.
The coastline today is very exposed and has shingle beaches and stranded ships would have had little protection if stranded. Much has changed since Caesar's day and therefore we cannot be certain of its condition at the time of landing.
The sea level was much lower than it is at the present time and it may have been that the Goodwin Sands, so much of a grave-yard to shipping which is some 6km off-shore and known to have been there in Roman times, would have been higher out of the sea than at present.
Whilst there would be no doubt that a modern commander would never contemplate a landing at Walmer beach had he been in service in Caesar's days. Conditions then would have been less hostile, as the landing, we are told, after a slight skirmish and hesitation was quite successful.The cavalry, which was carried separate in a smaller fleet, had been prevented from going with the main force by bad weather; consequently, Caesar was deprived of an outright victory, as the Britons could not be persued.
The high tide of the full moon which was not understood by Caesar damaged his fleet at anchor. A number of ships were shattered, and the rest, having lost their cables, anchors and the remainder of their tackle, were unusable. They had neither other vessel in which to return nor any materials to repair the fleet; and, since it had been generally understood that they were to return to Gaul for the winter they had not provided any grain for wintering in Britain.
The Britons negotiated for peace but soon abandoned the negotiations when it was realised the plight the Romans were in and in great numbers they attacked the Roman foragers. The legion concerned had taken all precautions and the usual discipline and their armour once again saved the day.
The two legions lived for a fortnight off two cornfields close by their camp, the British submitted to the conquerers who in turn only imposed nominal terms. Many ships were broken up to repair damaged vessels and Caesar was glad to return to the mainland with some hostages and captives. He never pretended that the expedition was a successful one.