Devil's Dyke is the remains of a prehistoric defensive ditch which lies at the east side of the village of
Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell.
History
Settlements in this area were ...
,
Hertfordshire,
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 ...
. It is protected as 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 ...
.
It is generally agreed to have been part of the defences of an Iron Age settlement belonging to the
Catuvellauni
The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century.
The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their ...
tribe of
Ancient Britain. It has possible associations with
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
's
second invasion of Britain (54 BC)
Description
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
refers to the Devil's Dyke as being part of a much larger site.
Other sources are more specific as to what sort of earthwork it may be, suggesting that the dyke protects one side of an
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
(a large fortified
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
settlement) covering about 40 ha.
The area is marked as a "Belgic oppidum" on
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
maps.
Although recent archaeological studies have proven the main 'devil's dyke' ditch, the deepest part of what was assumed to be defensive ditches, around the settlement, was in fact the only part to have such ditches.
It was thought that ditches in other parts of the site had been lost to erosion, but tests have shown the rest of the settlement would have been indefensible by ditches alone, and that what had been thought to be ditches were just minor boundaries surrounding the majority of the settlement, perhaps to keep animals from straying outside rather than defending the interior from attack.
Today two sections of ditch remain. The western section, adjacent to the village, is the Devil's Dyke. It is around 30 m wide and 12 m deep at its largest. A smaller ditch to the east is known as "
The Slad". A moat continues the line of the ditch to the south of The Slad. Unlike Devil's Dyke, the Slad is located on private property, and is not accessible to the public.
The
River Lea could have served as a defensive barrier on the northern side of the settlement.
History
Dating
Belgic pottery was found in the 1970s during construction of the Wheathampstead by-pass which goes through the northern part of the putative oppidum to cross the River Lea. The Catuvellauni are often linked to
Belgic Gaul. There was also a smaller amount of pre-Belgic pottery.
Conservation and access
Visitors are welcome to visit the Devil's Dyke. According to a plaque at one entrance to the dyke, the land was presented by
Lord Brocket
Baron Brocket, of Brocket Hall in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 January 1933 for the businessman Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Baron Brocket, Sir Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Baronet. He was chair ...
in 1937 on the occasion of the
coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
[It does not mention the recipient of this gift.]
Other parts of the Wheathampstead earthwork are not accessible. According to Historic England, there is a risk to the site from arable ploughing. It is included in the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
.
Possible association with Julius Caesar
The site is a candidate for the strongly defended place where
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
fought
Cassivellaunus
Cassivellaunus was a historical Celtic Britons, British military leader who led the defence against Caesar's invasions of Britain, Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Ancient Rome, Roman for ...
in 54 BC, as described in his firsthand account ''
De Bello Gallico
''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
''. There are other possible locations for the stronghold (for example, Ravensburgh Castle,
Hexton
Hexton is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, about west of Hitchin.
This parish is a salient of Hertfordshire jutting northwards into Bedfordshire. The southern half of the parish is part of the chalky downs of the Ch ...
) and the historical evidence neither supports nor disproves the claim of the Devils Dyke.
The theory that Wheathampstead was attacked by Caesar was supported by Sir
Mortimer Wheeler
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
1932 excavation of the site. The sign at the entrance to the Dyke states that it is the probable place (based on the assertions of Sir Mortimer), which has led to the claim often being repeated as an established fact. No archaeological evidence exists of first century military activity in Hertfordshire.
Related sites
Some archaeologists including Cunliffe suggest that the Wheathampstead earthwork was connected with other local earthworks, particularly
Beech Bottom Dyke
Beech Bottom Dyke, is a large ditch running for almost a mile at the northern edge of St Albans, Hertfordshire flanked by banks on both sides. It is up to wide, and deep, and it can be followed for three quarters of a mile between the "Ancien ...
, four miles to the south west.
This theory implies a single defensive earthwork running from the
River Lea to the
River Ver
The Ver is a long chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Colne.
Course
The source is in the grounds of Lynch Lodge, Kensworth Lynch on the west side of the A5 trunk road and stays on the west side for som ...
, and possibly a large enclosed settlement. The fortifications were probably erected by
King Cunobelinus to define areas of land around their tribal centre at
Verlamion
''Verlamion, or Verlamio, was a settlement in Iron Age Britain. It was the centre of Tasciovanus' power and a major center of the Catuvellauni from about 20 BC until shortly after the Roman invasion of AD 43. Its location was on Prae Hill, 2& ...
– the predecessor of the later Roman city of
Verulamium
Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...
.
Loughton Camp
Loughton Camp is an Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcol ...
according to Roger Nolan (2018) was the previous marching camp used prior to the assault on Devil's Dyke.
See also
*
Deil's Dyke - A linear earthwork in south-west Scotland.
References
External links
Beech Bottom Dyke and Devil's Dykeat The Celtic Planet website
Hertfordshire.com: Devil's DykeThe Modern Antiquarian: Devil's Dyke and the SladSecond plaque at the entrance{{Coord, 51.80673, N, 0.28555, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TL183134), display=title
History of Hertfordshire
Iron Age sites in England
Scheduled monuments in Hertfordshire
Archaeological sites in Hertfordshire
Former populated places in Hertfordshire
Ancient dikes
Linear earthworks