Dodderhill fort sits on a prominent ridge above the River Salwarpe at Droitwich (Roman Salinae) in Worcestershire, occupying a commanding position over the salt-producing settlement below. It was a Claudio-Neronian auxiliary fort, established c. AD 47–50 as part of the early conquest-period military network in the West Midlands, and appears to have been occupied into the Flavian period before being given up by around AD 75–80.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fort's primary role was almost certainly to control and secure the brine springs and salt industry at Droitwich, one of the most important salt-producing centres in Roman Britain, as well as guarding the salt roads radiating across the Midlands. It formed part of a chain of early forts in the Severn–Avon corridor alongside sites such as Metchley (Birmingham), Greensforge and Wall.
Excavations from the 1960s onwards (notably by Freezer and later work by the Hereford and Worcester archaeological unit) have identified multiple ditches, rampart material, internal timber buildings and military equipment, with evidence suggesting at least two phases and a possible reduction in size. The site is partly overlain by the medieval church of St Augustine and its churchyard, which limits investigation, but finds of Claudian and Neronian pottery and samian have helped date the occupation.
Dodderhill fort sits on a prominent ridge above the River Salwarpe at Droitwich (Roman Salinae) in Worcestershire, occupying a commanding position over the salt-producing settlement below. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Roman fort, Saxon church and medieval hospital at Dodderhill is classified as a Roman fort — a military 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 Roman camp 430m east of Dodderhill Court Farm (0.4 km), Roman settlement at Bays Meadow (0.5 km), Salinae (0.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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