Roman BritainTwo Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm
Roman Settlement · Civilian

Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: nhle-1487
Site type
Settlement
Category
Civilian
Latitude
50.8988
Longitude
-2.1151
Overview

History & context

This site comprises two enclosed settlements with associated field system remains located in the chalk downland of central-southern Dorset, likely active in the Late Iron Age and into the Romano-British period (c. 100 BC – AD 200/300). The enclosures probably represent small farmsteads of a type widespread across the Dorset chalk, housing extended family groups engaged in mixed agriculture, with the adjoining field system indicating arable cultivation alongside likely sheep husbandry.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

Significance

Historical significance

Sites like this formed the rural backbone of the Durotrigian landscape, continuing largely uninterrupted after the Roman conquest as part of the dispersed pattern of native farmsteads supplying surplus to local markets and possibly to villa estates and towns such as Durnovaria (Dorchester). It is not individually notable but is part of the dense, well-preserved Romano-British rural settlement pattern characteristic of Cranborne Chase and the South Dorset Downs.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

The site is known principally from aerial photography and earthwork/cropmark survey rather than excavation, showing the conjoined enclosure ditches and the geometric pattern of "Celtic" fields; it is a scheduled monument identified through the National Mapping Programme. No published excavation assemblage is recorded for this specific site, so artefactual dating relies on analogy with comparable excavated Dorset farmsteads such as those investigated on Cranborne Chase.

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm?

This site comprises two enclosed settlements with associated field system remains located in the chalk downland of central-southern Dorset, likely active in the Late Iron Age and into the Romano-British period (c. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm?

Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm is classified as a Roman settlement — a civilian 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.

What other Roman sites are near Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Roman villa on Little Barton Hill (1.1 km), Tarrant Hinton (1.9 km), Romano-British settlement and two bowl barrows on Blandford Race Down 450m south east of Telegraph Clump (2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm?

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Research the area around Two Late Iron Age or Romano-British enclosed settlements with part of an associated field system 420m NNW of South Farm