Monument record MDO6031 - Roman fort at Crab Farm, Shapwick

A Roman multi-vallate (possibly tri-vallate) military fort set obliquely on the line of the Roman road from Badbury Rings to Dorchester (Durnovaria), some 1.2 kilometres south west of Badbury Rings. The site of the Roman fort is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project.

Roman fort at Shapwick discovered from Boyden air photograph. The fort is situated at ST 948023 and is seen on the photograph as a multiple-ditched rectilinear enclosure with straight sides and rounded corners. It is slightly asymmetrical with long sides measuring overall 690 and 620 ft and with a width of 520 ft to give an area within the ditches of some 6 acres. The defence system includes three ditches, except on the NE, where only the two inner ditches appear. The evidence from pottery picked up on the ground in August 1975 confirms a mid 1st century date for the fort. A polygonal enclosure, of under 1/2 acre, which adjoins the NE side of the fort is probably an annexe. The track of the Badbury to Dorchester Roman Road (RR 4c), which crosses the fort, post-dates it. ST 948023. Probable Roman fort, area about 3ha. Playing card shape, rounded corners, triple ditched but with no visible entrances or recognisably Roman interior works; cut diagonally by Roman road. Partly overlies poorly defined ovoid enclosure of about 4 acres. (9-10) The monument was identified in 1975 from aerial photographs (NMR ST9402/3-6), but is also visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946 (RAF CPE/UK/1934:1106), where the remains of two probable ramparts can be seen as spread chalky soil marks. The site of the Roman fort is visible as cropmark on aerial photographs [4-6] and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project. The trivallate defensive ditches are visible on all but the south-east side. A bank is visible on lidar imagery [7] alongside the outer ditch on the north east side which may be contemporary with the fort. Traces of internal features are also visible

Record last edited

Mar 26 2024 11:33AM