Scheduled MonumentsEnglandLexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum

England
List entry 1019965
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1019965
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.26 hectares
Grid reference
TL 97362 25271
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow is a defensive earthwork forming part of the Iron Age territorial system associated with Camulodunum, the major oppidum and later Romano-British town in Essex. The dyke comprises a substantial linear bank and ditch structure characteristic of late Iron Age fortification, dating to the late first century BC and the period immediately following the Roman conquest of Britain. It formed one element of a series of boundary and defensive works that enclosed the settlement and its immediate hinterland, reflecting the strategic importance of Camulodunum as a centre of Trinovantian power. The monument survives as an earthwork feature within the landscape of Spring Meadow, contributing to the archaeological record of one of Britain's most significant Iron Age and Romano-British sites.

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1019965. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum?

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow is a defensive earthwork forming part of the Iron Age territorial system associated with Camulodunum, the major oppidum and later Romano-British town in Essex. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1019965.

Who is responsible for protecting Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum?

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum 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 1019965.

What other scheduled monuments are near Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Heath Farm Dyke Middle (rear of Alan Way): part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum of Camulodunum (1.7 km), Kidman's Dyke North and Middle: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum of Camulodunum (2.2 km), Gryme's Dyke at Stanway Green: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum (2.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum

Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum stands on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

The wider landscape

Around Lexden Dyke at Spring Meadow: part of the Iron Age territorial oppidum and Romano-British town of Camulodunum

ColchesterRoman town · ~1.5 milesSutton HooArchaeological site · ~24.3 milesBattle of Maldon 991Battle (991) · ~13.8 miles