Monument record MDO5991 - Romano-Celtic temple to the south west of Badbury Rings, Shapwick

A Romano-British settlement next to Badbury Rings, in the form of an irregular enclosure bounded by a slight bank with traces of an inner ditch in places, and apparently associated with a circular earthwork. Excavations in and around this circular feature by W G Wallace in 1900 and C G Rudd in 1952 revealed stone roofing slabs and painted wall-plaster, pottery including as Samian and New Forest ware, and personal ornaments such as glass bead, pins and a brooch. A few Iron Age and many Roman coins, mostly of the 4th century, were found. Recent research by the National Trust suggests that this is the site of a temple. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water. The site is visible as earthworks and was digitally plotted from aerial photographs and lidar imagery (1-2) during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M Project.

Romano-British settlement (ST 960029) immediately W of Badbury Rings covers about 10 acres on a gentle S slope, about 260ft above OD. The major part of the site, an irregular enclosure beside the Roman Road, (RR 4c) is bounded by a bank, nowhere more than 2 1/2ft high and up to 20ft wide, with traces of an inner ditch in the SW. The enclosed area is featureless except for some ridge-and-furrow in the SW half, in places this has almost destroyed the bank. To the NE, in a triangular area delimited by the enclosure, by the outer ditch of Badbury Rings and by the Roman Road, are a barrow (ST 90 SE 33A) and a circular earthwork. The latter, 200ft to 250ft in diameter and bounded by a low bank with traces of an outer ditch, has an irregular mound 1 1/2ft high in the centre (ST 96100300). It has been suggested that it is a disc barrow <1-2> but this is extremely unlikely and it is almost certainly part of the settlement.

Excavations by W G Wallace in 1900 and by C G Rudd in 1952, on and arund the circular feature, revealed stone roofing slabs, painted wall-plaster and over 185 coins dating from Claudius to Arcadius, but mostly of the 4th century, as well as 21 Durotrigian silver and bronze coins. Samian ware, New Forest ware and other pottery, glass beads, bronze pins, a bracelet and a brooch were also found. The quantity of finds in so small an area is remarkable. Other Roman, Iron Age and earlier material was collected some 500 yds. to the N.e. (96420325), immediately N. of Badbury Rings. Finds are in BM and DCM/ The site, together with Badbury Rings, has been identified with Vindocladia of the Antonine Itinerary. <5>

ST 961030. The circular earthwork mentioned above was interpreted as a Roman temple by B Pybus in 1975. See plan. <6>

A single molehill at the eastern corner of the enclosure produced five sherds of prehistoric and Romano-British pottery, and a Roman coin. The prehistoric pottery is of a black sandy ware with reddish-brown exterior decorated with a row of four circular impressions 2.5mm wide and 2mm apart. The Roman sherds include three scraps of Black-Burnished Ware (BB1), and a New Forest Ware sherd. The coin is an antoninianus of Claudius II, 268-270 AD, Consecration type. <7>

'Enclosure' comprising diverse bounds including ? Linear. <8-9>

The site of a Romano-British settlement immediately west of Badbury Rings. The site comprises an irregular banked enclosure (180m by 128m) with later medieval ridge and furrow (MDO43844). To the north is a curvilinear enclosure. Excavations on and around a circular earthwork, revealed stone roofing slabs, painted wall-plaster and over 185 coins dating from Claudius to Arcadius, but mostly of the 4th century, as well as 21 Durotrigian silver and bronze coins. Samian ware, New Forest ware and other pottery, glass beads, bronze pins, a bracelet and a brooch. These finds would suggest it was a temple.

The site is visible as earthworks and was digitally plotted from aerial photographs and lidar imagery <11-12> during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M Project.

Papworth, M, 2000, Evaluation Excavation, Badbury Romano-Celtic Temple (Unpublished document). SDO21262.

<1> Crawford, O G S and Keiller, A, 1928, Wessex from the Air, 58, 60 (Monograph). SDO12591.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1933, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1932, 87-90 (Serial). SDO36.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 169 (Monograph). SDO132.

<4> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1966, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1965, 101 (Serial). SDO65.

<5> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 60-61 (Monograph). SDO129.

‘(31) ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT (960029), immediately W. of Badbury Rings (34), covers about 10 acres on a gentle S. slope, about 260 ft. above O.D. The major part of the site, an irregular enclosure beside the Roman road, is bounded by a bank, nowhere more than 2½ ft. high and up to 20 ft. wide, with traces of an inner ditch in the S. W. The enclosed area is featureless except for some ridge-and-furrow (30) in the south-western half; in places this has almost destroyed the bank. To N.E., in a triangular area delimited by the enclosure, by the outer ditch of Badbury Rings and by the Roman road, are a barrow (50) and a circular earthwork. The latter, 200 ft. to 250 ft. in diameter and bounded by a low bank with traces of an outer ditch, has an irregular mound 1½ ft. high in the centre (96100300). It has been that it is a disc barrow (Wessex from the Air, 60, and Pl. IV; Dorset Barrows, Shapwick (11a)), but this is extremely unlikely and it is almost certainly part of the settlement.

Excavations by W.G. Wallace in 1900 and by C.G. Rudd in 1952, on and around the circular feature, revealed stone roofing slabs, painted wall-plaster and over 185 coins dating from Claudius to Arcadius, but mostly of the 4th century, as well as 21 Durotrigian silver and bronze coins. Samian ware, New Forest ware and other pottery, glass beads, bronze pins, a bracelet and a brooch were also found. The quantity of finds in so small an area is remarkable. Other Roman, Iron Age and earlier material was collected some 500 yds. to the N.E. (96420325), immediately N. of Badbury Rings. Finds are in B.M. and D.C.M.

The site, together with Badbury Rings, has been identified as Vindocladia of the Antonine Itinerary. (Hutchins III, 187; Dorset Procs., LIV (1932), 87-90; 66 (1944), 28-34; 76 (1954), 95; Arch., XCIII (1949), 25; I.A.S.B., 239, 242-3, 245; Britannia, I(1970), 61; MS. Notes by C.G. Rudd in D.C.M.).’

<6> Mead, Richard, Field Investigators Comments RPM, R1 RPM 24-JUL-79 (Unpublished document). SWX2301.

<7> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1985, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1984, 115 (Serial). SDO84.

<8> Bowen, H C, 1990, The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke (Monograph). SWX800.

<9> Bowen, H C, 1991, The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke: Inventory, 29 (Monograph). SDO14864.

<10> Papworth, M, 1994, Shapwick Parish, Kingston Lacy Estate, Wessex Region, 57 (Unpublished document). SDO14228.

The site is best seen on aerial photograph NMR ST9603/7. The area attributed to the settlement (RCHM 1975,60) is bounded by the bank and the ditch (112,780) on the SE and SW and the Roman Road to Dorchester (112,047) on the NW. The enclosure bank, of irregular shape, which encloses approximately 5 hectares and is up to 6m wide and 0.7m high has the form of a Later Bronze Age linear boundary and the mole hills in the southern part of the site do not contain Romano-British occupation debris. To the NE is a triangular area delimited by the enclosure, by the outer ditch of Badbury Rings and by the Roman Road. Within this is a roughly oval earthwork 61m north-east to south-west by 75m north-west to south-east. This has been described as a disc barrow (Gingell 1959) and a Romano-British temple (O.S. ST90SE57). The excavations by Wallace (1932) and Rudd (1952) revealed numerous coins and pot sherds indicating that this is a site in use from the late Iron Age throughout the Romano-British period into the 5th century. Further finds of Romano-British date were made when the information panel was erected to the northwest (ST960029). The site has been associated with Vindocladia of the Antonine Itinery (Chancellor 1944) although the settlement 2km SW (112, 481) is more likely to be Vindocladia.

<11> Alexander Keiller Collection, 14-JUL-1924, ALK 7415/257 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18098.

<12> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<13> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/091 RCHME Inventory: Dorset V (East) (Unpublished document). SDO18032.

<14> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 1097884 (Index). SDO14738.

Shapwick Romano-British settlement; also Roman road and round barrows/pencil survey

<15> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209544 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 14 2025 4:58PM