Jordan Hill is a Romano-Celtic temple of the standard concentric plan — a square cella (roughly 6.7 m across) surrounded by an outer wall forming an ambulatory — situated on a low coastal hill overlooking Weymouth Bay in Dorset. Although the standing remains and most diagnostic finds belong to the fourth century CE, occupation and ritual activity at the site appear to extend back into the earlier Roman period, with the temple likely serving the rural population of the Durotrigian hinterland and possibly seafarers using the adjacent coast.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The site is one of the better-known rural sanctuaries of southern Britain and exemplifies the persistence of Romano-Celtic cult into the late fourth century in a region where such temples (compare Maiden Castle and Lamyatt Beacon) often outlived urban religious infrastructure. Its commanding coastal position has prompted suggestions of a maritime or weather-related dedication, though the deity worshipped remains unknown.
Excavations in the nineteenth century, most notably by James Medhurst in 1843, recovered a remarkable ritual shaft within or beside the temple containing alternating layers of roof-slabs and ash, each layer interleaved with the remains of birds (especially crows, ravens, and buzzards) accompanied by coins, and a sword and spearhead were also recovered. A large assemblage of late Roman coins, brooches
Jordan Hill is a Romano-Celtic temple of the standard concentric plan — a square cella (roughly 6.7 m across) surrounded by an outer wall forming an ambulatory — situated on a low coastal hill overlooking Weymouth Bay in Dorset. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a sanctuary site from the Roman period in Britain.
Jordan Hill Roman Temple is classified as a Roman sanctuary — a religious site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Preston Roman villa (0.8 km), Maiden Castle, Dorset (7 km), Roman amphitheater at Durno(no)varia (7.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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