The Saxon Fortress

This passage is about an ancient Saxon fortress.

Lexile Level: 1480L

Categories: History People & Places


There are few more beautiful or striking scenes in England than are presented by the vicinity of this ancient Saxon fortress. The soft and gentle river Don sweeps through an amphitheater in which cultivation is richly blended with woodland, and on a mount, ascending from the river, well defended by walls and ditches, rises this ancient edifice, which, as its Saxon name implies, was, previous to the Conquest, a royal residence of the kings of England. The outer walls have probably been added by the Normans, but the inner keep bears token of very great antiquity. It is situated on a mount at one angle of the inner court, and forms a complete circle of perhaps twenty-five feet in diameter. The wall is of immense thickness, and is propped or defended by six huge external buttresses, which project from the circle, and rise up against the sides of the tower as if to strengthen or to support it. These massive buttresses are solid when they arise from the foundation, and a good way higher up; but are hollowed out towards the top, and terminate in sorts of turrets communicating with the interior of the keep itself.


Peanuts

You may have eaten them out of a bag at a baseball game or covered with chocolate and cara...

Read

Galileo

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer. He lived from February 15, 1564 to January 8, 1...

Read

Martin Luther King

For many people, the name Martin Luther King is closely associated with the American civil...

Read