Bokerley Dyke
Bokerley Dyke was excavated by Augustus Pitt Rivers between 1888 and 1891 and by Philip Rahtz in advance of road widening in 1958. Bokerley Dyke may have originated in the Bronze Age or Early Iron Age and formed a political and cultural boundary. It was cut through by a Roman Road (Ackling Dyke running between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings) in the 1st century.
In the 4th century it was remodelled and brought back into use, and excavations show that the Roman road was blocked. A coin of Valens dates this activity to shortly after 364 AD. It may have been built in 367-8 AD when Roman sources report that Britain was attacked by Picts, Scots and Saxons in a supposed Great Conspiracy. The Roman road was later reopened, but the dyke may have continued in use after the cessation of the Roman rule and still forms part of a boundary between the counties of Dorset and Hampshire.
Bokerley Dyke runs through Martin and Tidpit Downs, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and it is continuous with Grim's Ditch.
References
- ^ Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-Fox (1898). "Plan and sections of Martin Down Camp; and sections of the Roman pit and Bronze Age trench near Martin Down Camp". Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rushmore, on the borders of Dorset and Wilts. Vol. 4. [Harrison and Sons, Printers] Printed privately. pp. 185–190. OCLC 863389459.
- ^ Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-Fox (1892). Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rushmore, on the borders of Dorset and Wilts 1888-1892. Vol. 3: Excavations in Bokerly and Wansdyke, Dorset and Wilts. [Harrison and Sons, Printers] Printed privately. pp. 3–239. OCLC 863389459.
- ^ "Bokerley Dyke, and a section of Grim's Ditch, a section of a medieval boundary bank, and two bowl barrows on and north west of Martin Down". Historic England. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Rahtz, Philip A. (January 1961). "An Excavation on Bokerly Dyke, 1958". Archaeological Journal. 118 (1): 65–99. doi:10.1080/00665983.1961.10854188. ISSN 0066-5983.
- ^ Bokerley Dyke Archived September 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Pastscape
- ^ Bill Putnam, (2000), Discover Dorset: The Romans, page 71. The Dovecote Press
Further reading
- Sanna, Cristina; Henry, Richard (2020), "The Finding Pitt-Rivers Project: the case for an unrecorded hoard discovered by Pitt-Rivers at Bokerley Dyke", British Numismatic Journal, 90: 53–66
- Bowen, H.C.; Eagles, B.N. (1990). The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke. London: Stationery Office Books. ISBN 978-0113000197.
50°58′20″N 1°56′30″W / 50.97220°N 1.94156°W
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