18. Ancient Camp at the Mouth of the Avon. —
Bantham, at the mouth of the Devonshire Avon, is the site of an ancient camp in a very strong position, surrounded on three sides by the sea and the Avon estuary, and defended on the fourth side by a marsh. The earthworks, as they exist, are no doubt Roman, but the contents of the refuse heaps outside the camp shew that the stronghold was occupied for ages prior to the Roman era by people less civilised than the Britons described by Caesar.
The heaps of refuse are mainly composed of shells of edible shell-fish, mixed with quantities of bones and teeth, mostly of domestic animals. They are similar in character to the kjokken middens of the Baltic shore. All the bones likely to contain the smallest quantity of marrow are split. In the lower stratum no metal is found. The stone axe, precisely of the Baltic pattern, has been ground into shape, but not polished. The presence of small particles of charcoal and the fact that the bones have been cooked indicate a people advanced a little above the lowest point, enjoying the benefit of the greatest of all inventions — the discovery of the use of fire.
Local tradition is quite silent as regards the camp. The lines of the earthworks are so far obliterated by blown sand, and by the bent grass which gives its name to the place, as only to be distinctly traceable when looked at from the hills when the sun is low, do not appear to have attracted the attention of persons living on the spot. But the refuse heaps were first brought to light in modern times by the great
