Map Position This map shows the position of locations of type 'Town, Village, Roman City, Roman Town, Roman Villa, Roman Major Fort, Roman Watch Tower, Roman Port, Saxon Landing' containing 'borough, ing, ypwinesfleot, dubris, durovernum, portus lemanis, regulbium, rutupiae' centered on Rochester in Medway.
Map Logic This map shows the land in 455AD.
The forest of Andredsweald is shown, which was impassable except where Roman Roads or rivers cut through it.
Roman roads are shown in black plotted from Ivan D Margary 'Roman Roads in Britain' published in 1955.
The red roads are taken from Ivan D Margary 'Roman ways in the Weald' published in 1948.
The Blue lines show the extent of the tidal rivers with the blue shaded areas showing tidal salt marshes as it would have been
in Saxon times.
Lets start by looking at the documentation available
Extract from the Anglo Saxon Chronicles 455AD
Original :- Her Hengest ⁊ Horsa fuhton wiþ Wyrtgeorne þam cyninge, in þære stowe þe is gecueden Agelesþrep, ⁊ his broþur Horsan man ofslog; ⁊ æfter þam Hengest feng to rice ⁊ æsc his sunu.
A.D. 455. This year Hengest and Horsa fought with Wurtgern the king on the spot that translates as
Eagle Troops(An old Roman Fortress - most likely Rochester as its a strategic crossing point of the Medway).
His brother Horsa being there slain, Hengest afterwards took to the kingdom with his son Esc.
Pink line - Hengest and Horsa have now pushed up from the coast at Dover probably along the Roman road, and now meet up with
Wurtgern at Rochester on the Roman Road where it crosses the main trackway, they defeat him although Horsa is killed, and Hengest
puts up a new line of forts/lookout posts on the London side of the Medway.
