Based on the latest excavations and research, and on a wide variety of source material from historical accounts, epigraphy, numismatics and geography, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the Roman military fortifi cations along the North Sea and the Channel. It states that they played periodically a crucial role in the coastal defence. Because of the state of preservation of the so-called Saxon Shore forts, authors mainly focussed on British evidence. For the first time emphasis is given to the Continent. This book will appeal to the specialist as well as to anyone interested in Roman military archaeology and history. It is lavishly provided with illustrations, many previously unpublished. After discussing main topics as Germanic seaborne raiding, the mechanisms used to fight off and prevent seaborne raiding, the shoreforts and and other means developed by the Romans in order to protect the coasts of the North Sea and Channel, are brought up. The second part of the book consists of a catalogue of the Roman military sites in those areas.