Badbury Rings
National Trust | |
Public access | Yes |
---|
Badbury Rings is an
Iron Age
Badbury Rings sits 327 feet (100 m) above sea level. There are two main phases of construction; the first covered 7.3 hectares (18 acres) and was defended by multiple ditches, while the second was more than twice the size, covering 16.6 ha (41 acres) and defended by a single ditch and rampart.[1] Bronze Age round barrows in the vicinity demonstrate an earlier use of the area.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Entrance_to_Badbury_Rings%2C_2010.jpg/220px-Entrance_to_Badbury_Rings%2C_2010.jpg)
Until 1983 Badbury Rings was privately owned as part of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Badbury_Rings_Digital_Terrain_Model.jpg/220px-Badbury_Rings_Digital_Terrain_Model.jpg)
Badbury Rings is the fifth in a series of Iron Age earthworks,[6] starting from Hambledon Hill, and also including Hod Hill, Spetisbury Rings, Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings and Dudsbury Camp. The Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head forms a final Iron Age monument in this small chain of sites.
Roman roads
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Shapwick%2C_gateway_to_Badbury_Rings_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1152933.jpg/220px-Shapwick%2C_gateway_to_Badbury_Rings_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1152933.jpg)
During the
The
Romano-Celtic temple
Immediately west of Badbury Rings is the site of a Romano-Celtic temple. It is located within a polygonal boundary bank visible on aerial photographs. It was excavated as early as 1900, and again in 1952.[12] These excavations revealed stone roofing slabs, painted wall-plaster, and over 185 Roman coins, as well as 21 Durotrigian silver and bronze coins.[12] Pottery, glass beads, bronze pins, a bracelet and a brooch were also recovered.[12] Further excavations were conducted in 2000 which showed that the temple was in use from the 1st to 5th centuries.[13]
Vindocladia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Site_of_Vindocladia_looking_northeast_-_April_2013.jpg/220px-Site_of_Vindocladia_looking_northeast_-_April_2013.jpg)
A short distance (1.5 km, 1 mi) to the southwest of Badbury Rings, between the hillfort and the modern village of Shapwick, lay a small Romano-British town (ST946022), believed to be that listed in the Antonine Itinerary as Vindocladia (from Brittonic *windos "white" + *klādiyos "ditch, earthwork"). In the later Roman period, a small fort was also established on the east side of the town. The fort was only discovered in 1975,[14] and the existence of the town only came to light in the 1990s.
It has long been known that there was Roman activity in the area. A Roman pit and occupation debris were discovered in 1954 in the village of Shapwick, which included
The evidence suggests that the settlement began as a pre-Roman village or town of the late Iron-Age which continued in use in the Roman period.
The Roman fort is a rectangular enclosure with straight sides and rounded corners, surrounded by triple ditches.[14] It measures around 200 m × 160 m (220 yd × 170 yd) and encloses about 2.5 ha (6 acres).[14] It is located on the east side of the town. Pottery picked up on the ground in 1975 suggested a mid 1st-century date for the fort.[14] However, the subsequent excavations have revealed that the fort was not built until the later Roman period, and that the fort went out of use at the end of the Roman era.[11] The fort contained a large building complex, and may have been the site of an imperial inn, or mansio.[11]
Saxon era
Finds of late Roman material within the hillfort indicate that Badbury Rings was reoccupied, perhaps as security declined in the post-Roman period.[20] The ancient frontier of Bokerley Dyke to the northeast was revived and may have played a role in keeping the invading Saxons out of Dorset during the 5th and 6th centuries.[20]
The identification of Badbury Rings with
Edward the Elder brought an army to Badbury, soon after his succession to the throne in 899, to face down a challenge to his claim for the crown by his cousin Æthelwold, based at nearby Wimborne Minster.[23]
Antiquarian accounts
The Tudor antiquarian John Leland visited Badbury Rings during his Itinerary of England conducted between 1538 and 1543. After speaking about the nearby town of Wimborne Minster he wrote:[24]
The Saxon Kinges had hard by the Toune a Castelle now caullid Badbyri, but clerely down. The Diches, Hilles, and Site ther of be yet evidently seene. now Conyes borough in it.
The site today
The site, on the dip slope of
Citations
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "BADBURY RINGS (209560)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ a b Papworth 2011, p. 41
- ^ a b Papworth 2011, p. 155
- ^ a b Papworth 2011, p. 156
- ^ Papworth 2011, p. 168
- ^ ‘Hill Forts of the Stour Valley’ by David E. C. Jardine, 1985, Bournemouth Local Studies Publications
- ^ Field 1992, pp. 32–44
- ^ a b Field 1992, pp. 50–57
- ^ Putnam 2000, p. 43
- ^ Putnam 2000, p. 44
- ^ a b c d e f g h Papworth 2011, p. 163
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Monument No. 209544". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Papworth 2011, p. 159
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "SHAPWICK 85 (209645)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 209644". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ a b Historic England. "SHAPWICK 81 (1066560)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Papworth 2011, p. 160
- ^ Papworth 2011, p. 161
- ^ Papworth 2011, p. 162
- ^ a b Papworth 2011, p. 178
- ^ The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset Volume III 1861–1874
- ^ Carr 2001, pp. 5–7
- required)
- ^ Hearne 1768, p. 86
- ^ Historic England (2021). "Badbury Rings (Grade Scheduled Monument) (1002679)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
References
- Carr, R. (2001), "Badbury or Badon", Dorset life, 267: 5–7
- Field, Norman H. (1992), Dorset and the Second Legion: New Light on a Roman Campaign, Dorset Books, ISBN 1871164117
- Hearne, Thomas (1768), The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary: Publish'd from the Original MS. in the Bodleian Library by Thomas Hearne M.A., Oxford
- Papworth, Martin (2011), The Search for the Durotriges: Dorset and the West Country in the Late Iron Age, The History Press, ISBN 0752457373
- Putnam, Bill (2000), Discover Dorset: The Romans, The Dovecote Press, ISBN 1874336741
Further reading
- Martin Papworth, (2011), The Search for the Durotriges: Dorset and the West Country in the Late Iron Age. The History Press. ISBN 0752457373
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)