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Dorchester Roman walls are a series of defensive fortifications enclosing the Roman town of Durnovaria, constructed in the late third century AD. The walls, built of flint and stone with a clay core, originally formed a substantial circuit around the settlement, portions of which remain visible today, particularly along the northern and eastern sections. These defences represent a significant phase in Romano-British urban development, reflecting the increasing need for military protection during the later Roman period. The preserved sections provide important evidence for Roman military architecture in Britain and the layout of one of the province's notable market and administrative centres.
Dorchester Roman walls is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002449. View the official record →
Dorchester Roman walls are a series of defensive fortifications enclosing the Roman town of Durnovaria, constructed in the late third 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).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Dorchester Roman walls's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Dorchester Roman walls stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.