The Saxon Shore (Latin: litus Saxonicum) was a military command of the Late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the English 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 to Britain, while the fortifications in Gaul were established as separate commands. Several well-preserved Saxon Shore forts survive in east and south-east England; they are some of the best-preserved Roman forts surviving in the world, notable for the height and strength of their walls.
Background
During the latter half of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire faced a grave 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 been part of the Roman Empire since the mid-1st century. It was protected from raids by native Celtic Britons in the north by the Hadrianic and Antonine Walls, while a fleet 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 Already in the 230s, under Severus Alexander, several units had been withdrawn from the northern frontier and garrisoned at locations in the south, and had built new forts at Brancaster and Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk and Reculver in Kent.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.
Meaning of the term and role
The only contemporary reference we possess that mentions the name "Saxon Shore" comes in the late 4th-century Notitia Dignitatum, which lists its commander, the Comes 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. 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 shore attacked by Saxons, or a shore settled by Saxons. Some argue that the latter hypothesis is supported by Eutropius, who states that during the 280s the sea along the coasts of Belgica and Armorica was "infested with Franks and Saxons", and that this was why Carausius was first put in charge of the fleet there, while others believe the term infestation relates to seabourne Saxons and Franks raiding the coasts. 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 around Boulogne-sur-Mer and Bayeux from the middle of the 5th century onwards, although this timeline coincides with the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. This, in turn, could mirror a well documented practice of deliberately settling Germanic tribes (Franks became foederati 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, and acted as bases for the naval units operating against them. This view is reinforced by the parallel chain of fortifications across the Channel on the northern coasts of Gaul, 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. 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 the Saxon Shore forts at Brancaster (Branodunum), Caister-on-Sea (Burgh Castle) and Reculver (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. This view is supported by contemporary references to the supplying of the army of Julian the Apostate by Caesar with grain from Britain during his campaign in Gaul in 359, and their use as secure landing places by Count Theodosius during the suppression of the Great Conspiracy a few years later. 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 of Carausius and Allectus (the Carausian 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 at Pevensey, which dates the fort's construction to the early 290s. 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, with Armorica 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 the Anglo-Saxon period.
The forts
In Britain
The nine forts mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum for Britain are listed here, from north to south, with their garrisons.
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