Jordan Hill Roman Temple is a

Romano-Celtic temple A Romano-Celtic temple (more specifically a Romano-British temple in Great Britain, or Gallo-Roman temple in the Continental region formerly comprising Gaul) is a sub-class of Roman temple found in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire. ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

ruin situated on Jordan Hill above

Bowleaze Cove Bowleaze Cove is a small sand and shingle beach, near the village of Preston, just to the northeast of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The cove is on the Jurassic Coast and is known for its geology.Ian WestBowleaze Cove to Redcliff Point, east of ...

in the eastern suburbs of Weymouth in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Original amateur

archaeological excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

on the site were carried out by J. Medhurst in 1843-6. These were followed by excavations by C.D. Drew and C.S. Prideaux during 1931-32 suggesting that the site was in operation between to the late 4th century. Some of the finds from the excavations in the 1930s are in the

Dorset Museum The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building w ...

and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. There are other Roman sites nearby including Preston Roman Villa to the north west.

Temple

This is a Romano-British type temple, with a square-plan building situated within a courtyard or precinct. The floorplan of the temple measured . The surrounding precinct measured and contained numerous deposits of animal bones, ceramics, and coins. The site may also have served as a late 4th-century

signal station A signal station is a form of Aids to Navigation that is defined by the IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad definition would include coastal radio stations and fog signa ...

. The temple does not have an ambulatory but this is probably due to stone robbing. The site also includes a cemetery containing both

cremations Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...

and

inhumations Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Preservation and public access

The site was entrusted into the care of the State in 1933 initially cared for by the Ministry of Works and now in the guardianship of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

who open it to the public with free access. The site was designated a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

in 1981. There are views from the site across

References

Bibliography

* Ministry of Works, 1952. ''Ancient Monuments of Southern England''. London:

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...

. * Rev. E.V. Tanner, 1969. ''Romano-Celtic Settlement on Jordan Hill near Weymouth, Dorset'' * Woodward, A. 1992. ''Shrines and Sacrifice'' (English Heritage). London: Batsford. pp79

External links

Bowleaze & Jordan Hill Local History History, excavation and research information: English Heritage
1st-century Roman temples Ancient Roman temples Roman religious sites in England History of Dorset English Heritage sites in Dorset Tourist attractions in Weymouth, Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset Geoglyphs Temples in England {{UK-hist-stub

Temple

Preservation and public access

See also

References

Bibliography

External links