Bokerley Dyke
Bokerley Dyke (or Bokerley Ditch) is a linear earthwork three and a half miles long forming part of the border of Dorset and Wiltshire, stretching between Woodyates and Martin. It is a Scheduled Monument.[1] It is also spelt Bokerly Dyke.[2]
Bokerley Dyke was excavated by Augustus Pitt Rivers between 1888 and 1891[2] and by Philip Rahtz[3] 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.[4] It was cut through by a Roman Road (Ackling Dyke running between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings) in the 1st century.[4]
In the 4th century the dyke was remodelled and brought back into use, and excavations show that the Roman road was blocked.[4][5]
A coin of Valens dates this activity to shortly after 364 AD.[4] 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'.[5] 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 Wiltshire.[4]
Bokerley Dyke runs through Martin and Tidpit Downs, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and it is continuous with Grim's Ditch.
Outside links
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- Location map: 50°58’20"N, 1°56’30"W
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1012135: Bokerley Dyke, and a section of Grim's Ditch, a section of a mediæval boundary bank, and two bowl barrows on and north west of Martin Down (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-Fox, 1827-1900. (1887-1905). Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rushmore, on the borders of Dorset and Wilts.. [Harrison and Sons, Printers] Printed privately. OCLC 863389459. http://worldcat.org/oclc/863389459.
- ↑ Rahtz, Philip A. (January 1961). "An Excavation on Bokerly Dyke, 1958". Archaeological Journal 118 (1): 65–99. doi:10.1080/00665983.1961.10854188. SSN 0066-5983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00665983.1961.10854188.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 National Monuments Record: No. 906268 – Bokerley Dyke
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bill Putnam, (2000), Discover Dorset: The Romans, page 71. The Dovecote Press