Fig. 22.
These preparations rendered it clear to Clodoald that the enemy since his first checks was acting with method, and preparing for a decisive action. He had quickly perceived that his attack would be directed to the weak points of the fortress,—that is to say, the northern salient and the banks of the river opposite the western bend of the cité; he had therefore strongly barricaded all the roads of the town leading to the quay, and had strengthened the latter with a vallum.
Fig. 23
In addition to this, two hundred paces behind the square tower on the river, to the north, he had run another vallum, a, b, through the houses and gardens, following the slopes of the plateau in an oblique direction, and joining the south-west gate ([Fig. 23]). The habitations had been left as a mask in front of this entrenchment; a few houses and fences only had been cleared away to give a free space outside.
Fig. 24.