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Dorchester Roman walls are the substantial remains of the defensive fortifications that enclosed the Roman town of Durnovaria during the late second century AD. The walls, constructed of flint and stone bound with mortar, survive to considerable height in places and form one of the most complete examples of Romano-British urban defences in England. Originally measuring approximately 1,680 metres in circuit, the walls enclosed an area of some 29 hectares and were built in the Flavian period before being substantially rebuilt and reinforced in the late second century. The monument represents a crucial phase in the development of Dorchester as a planned Roman settlement and demonstrates the scale and engineering capability of Roman provincial administration in Britain.
Dorchester Roman walls is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002449. View the official record →
Dorchester Roman walls are the substantial remains of the defensive fortifications that enclosed the Roman town of Durnovaria during the late second century AD. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002449.
Dorchester Roman walls is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1002449.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Multi-period archaeological landscape centred on and including a slight univallate hillfort called Chalbury, two bowl barrows, part of a Bronze Age urnfield and a series of medieval strip fields (6.6 km), Preston Roman villa (7.8 km), Barrow 500yds (450m) E of village (8.1 km).
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Research the area around Dorchester Roman walls