The West Wansdyke

An appraisal of the dating, dimensions and construction techniques in the light of excavated evidence

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11611762
AutoresJonathan G P Erskine (autor de correspondencia)
Año2007
Volumen164
Número1
Páginas80-108
Fecha de publicación2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0066-5983 • E-ISSN: 2373-2288
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00665983.2007.11020707
OpenAlexW2059525888
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas12

The West Wansdyke is a major earthwork in the former County of Avon, now Bath and North-East Somerset, which is thought to date to either the late Roman or early post-Roman periods. A series of cross-sections excavated across the earthwork showed, firstly, that it originally existed in some areas where there are no longer any visible remains, but, secondly, that there are still some unexplained gaps. The research suggests that the monument was of a very consistent and uniform design and dimensions, a feature which implies strategic planning and co-ordinated management during construction. Evidence from two particular sites, Blackrock Lane and Compton Green, indicated that significant stretches of the dyke bank originally had a timber revetment, but that, where it was easily available, stone was used, as at Binces Lane, Stantonbury. Little artefactual dating evidence was recovered during the work, although the presence of Romano-British and earlier pottery, and prehistoric flints from bank construction deposits does not preclude the established, post-Roman, context, but can also allow a late Roman date. Construction techniques indicate work in a Roman military tradition, possibly re-using an earlier structure

Archaeology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Historical Architecture and Urbanism · History · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology