Bokerley Dyke Explained

Bokerley Dyke, Bokerly Dyke,[1] [2] Bokerley Ditch, is a linear earthwork 5.75km (03.57miles) long in Hampshire, between Woodyates and Martin. It is a Scheduled Monument.[3]

Bokerley Dyke was excavated by Augustus Pitt Rivers between 1888 and 1891 and by Philip Rahtz[4] 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.[5] It was cut through by a Roman Road (Ackling Dyke running between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings) in the 1st century.[5]

In the 4th century it was remodelled and brought back into use, and excavations show that the Roman road was blocked.[5] [6] A coin of Valens dates this activity to shortly after 364 AD.[5] 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.[6] 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.[5]

Bokerley Dyke runs through Martin and Tidpit Downs, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and it is continuous with Grim's Ditch.

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-Fox . Augustus Pitt Rivers . 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 . 4 . [Harrison and Sons, Printers] Printed privately . 863389459 . 185-190 . https://archive.org/details/excavationsincra04pitt/page/185/mode/1up .
  2. Book: Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-Fox . Augustus Pitt Rivers . 1892 . Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rushmore, on the borders of Dorset and Wilts 1888-1892 . 3: Excavations in Bokerly and Wansdyke, Dorset and Wilts . [Harrison and Sons, Printers] Printed privately . 863389459 . 3-239 .
  3. Web site: 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. 15 May 2020.
  4. Rahtz. Philip A.. January 1961. An Excavation on Bokerly Dyke, 1958. Archaeological Journal. 118. 1. 65–99. 10.1080/00665983.1961.10854188. 0066-5983.
  5. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=906268 Bokerley Dyke
  6. Bill Putnam, (2000), Discover Dorset: The Romans, page 71. The Dovecote Press

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