Section of Roman road north of Bagwood Coppice

Reasons for Designation

Roman roads were artificially made-up routes introduced to Britain by the Roman army from c.AD 43. They facilitated both the conquest of the province and its subsequent administration. Their main purpose was to serve the Cursus Publicus, or Imperial mail service. Express messengers could travel up to 150 miles per day on the network of Roman roads throughout Britain and Europe, changing horses at wayside 'mutationes' (posting stations set every 8 miles on major roads) and stopping overnight at 'mansiones' (rest houses located every 20-25 miles). In addition, throughout the Roman period and later, Roman roads acted as commercial routes and became foci for settlement and industry. Mausolea were sometimes built flanking roads during the Roman period while, in the Anglian and medieval periods, Roman roads often served as property boundaries. Although a number of roads fell out of use soon after the withdrawal of Rome from the province in the fifth century AD, many have continued in use down to the present day and are consequently sealed beneath modern roads. On the basis of construction technique, two main types of Roman road are distinguishable. The first has widely spaced boundary ditches and a broad elaborate agger comprising several layers of graded materials. The second usually has drainage ditches and a narrow simple agger of two or three successive layers. In addition to ditches and construction pits flanking the sides of the road, features of Roman roads can include central stone ribs, kerbs and culverts, not all of which will necessarily be contemporary with the original construction of the road. With the exception of the extreme south- west of the country, Roman roads are widely distributed throughout England and extend into Wales and lowland Scotland. They are highly representative of the period of Roman administration and provide important evidence of Roman civil engineering skills as well as the pattern of Roman conquest and settlement. A high proportion of examples exhibiting good survival are considered to be worthy of protection.

Despite some ploughing, the section of road north of Bagwood Coppice is among the best preserved of the Roman road between Dorchester and Badbury Rings. It represents one of only three sections of this road to survive as an upstanding earthwork and, therefore, to contain traces of the road surface.

Details

The monument includes an upstanding section of Roman road situated on an east- facing slope, north of Bagwood Coppice, forming part of the original Roman road which ran between Dorchester (Durnovaria) and Old Sarum (Sorviodunum) via Badbury Rings. The road is visible as a convex earthwork with dimensions of 158m in length, 15m in width and c.0.5m in height. Part excavation of the road was conducted by the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments in 1949, at a point c.700m to the west of the upstanding section. This investigation revealed that the road included an agger (or metalled surface) 6m wide, consisting of a layer of flints and small stones set within a bed of clay over chalk bedrock. The agger was found to be associated with side ditches c.10m in width, and 18m apart. Part excavations have also been conducted immediately to the west of this section of Roman road revealing traces of a contemporary settlement. Excavations by William Shipp in 1860 identified a chalk-cut well 2.4m in diameter and at least 18m in depth. The upper walls of the well were lined with chalk-cut and Greensand blocks for a depth of c.10m. The well contained an ashy material associated with Romano-British pottery, nails and blocks of Kimmeridge shale. Traces of an occupation floor associated with fragments of building materials such as clay roof tiles, sandstone, daub and mortar, as well as a gravelled area associated with Roman artefacts dating to the 3rd or 4th centuries AD, have also been found in the vicinity. Neither the well nor the occupation terraces are included in the scheduling. Excluded from the scheduling are the wooden fence posts relating to the field boudary to the east, although the underlying ground is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

28387

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 594
RCHME, , Proc Dorset Nat Hist Arch Soc in Bere Down: Badbury - Dorchester Roman Road, Vol. Vol 71, (1949), 60
RCHME, , Proc Dorset Nat Hist Arch Soc in Bere Down: Badbury - Dorchester Roman Road, Vol. Vol 71, (1949), 60
RCHME, , Proc Dorset Nat Hist Arch Soc in Bere Down: Badbury - Dorchester Roman Road, Vol. Vol 71, (1949), 60

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