A further important step in the study of earthworks was taken by the late Mr I. Chalkley Gould, when he founded the Committee for Ancient Earthworks, and drew up the classification of earthworks which is now being generally adopted by archæological writers. This classification may be abridged into (_a_) promontory or cliff forts, (_b_) hill forts, (_c_) rectangular forts, (_d_) moated hillocks, (_e_) moated hillocks with courts attached, (_f_) banks and ditches surrounding homesteads, (_g_) manorial works, (_h_) fortified villages.
We venture to think that still further divisions are needed, to include (1) boundary earthworks; (2) sepulchral or religious circles or squares; (3) enclosures clearly non-military, intended to protect sheep and cattle from wolves, or to aid in the capture of wild animals.[2]
This classification, it will be observed, makes no attempt to decide the dates of the different types of earthworks enumerated. But a great step forward was taken when these different types were separated from one another. There had been no greater source of confusion in the writings of our older antiquaries, than the unscientific idea that one earthwork was as good as another; that is to say, that one type of earthwork would do as well as another for any date or any circumstances. When it is recognised that large classes of earthworks show similar features, it becomes probable that even if they were not thrown up in the same historic period, they were at any rate raised to meet similar sets of circumstances. We may be quite sure that a camp which contains an area of 60 or 80 acres was not constructed for the same purpose as one which only contains an area of three.
We are not concerned here, however, with the attempt to disentangle the dates of the various classes of prehistoric earthworks.[3] Such generalisations are for the most part premature; and although some advance is being made in this direction, it is still impossible to decide without excavation whether a camp of class (_a_) or (_b_) belongs to the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, or the Iron Age. Our business is with classes (_d_) and (_e_) of Mr Gould's list, that is, with the moated hillocks. We shall only treat of the other classes to the extent which is necessary to bring out the special character of classes (_d_) and (_e_).