Waddon Hill is a hill and the site of an old Roman fort near

Beaminster Beaminster ( ) is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Dorset Council administrative area approximately northwest of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in a bowl-shaped valley near the source of the small River ...

, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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. Covering an area of , ...

. The name ''Waddon'' is from the Old English meaning ''wheat hill''. The Wessex Ridgeway passes to the north of the hill summit and Roman fort. The B3162 road passes close to the western end of the hill.

Lewesdon Hill Lewesdon Hill is a hill in west Dorset, England. With a maximum elevation of , it is the highest point in Dorset.Muir, Johnny, ''The UK's County Tops'', Milnthorpe: Cicerone, 2011, p. 26. Geography Location Lewesdon Hill stands about 4&nbs ...

is about to the west. There is no public right of way on the summit of Waddon Hill.

Roman fort

The fort is on a narrow east-west ridge reaching a height of 210 m, with steep natural slopes to the south and west, and linear ramparts facing north and east. The fort was built by the Second Legion under

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

, during their conquest of the

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe and the discovery of an Iron Age hoard in 2009 at Shalfl ...

and occupation of

. It is possible that the fort originated as a temporary camp during the campaign against nearby

Pilsdon Pen Pilsdon Pen is a 277-metre (909 ft) hill in Dorset in South West England, situated at the north end of the Marshwood Vale, approximately west of Beaminster. It is Dorset's second highest point and has panoramic views extending for many m ...

, where two Roman

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant ...

bolts have been found. First recognition of the site came when 19th century quarrying uncovered military artefacts from the 1st century AD. The site was investigated by Graham Webster in a series of archaeological excavations starting in 1959, which revealed the full layout of the camp, except for some small areas destroyed by the quarrying. The permanent structure of the fort appears to have been built and occupied in the period 50-60 AD, following the abandonment of

Hod Hill Hod Hill (or Hodd Hill) is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, north-west of Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The fort sits on a chalk hill of the same name that lies between the adjacent Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The hill fort ...

further east. The Roman road to Waddon seems to have left the main Dorchester-

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Ax ...

road at Two Gates, passed through

Eggardon Hill Eggardon Hill is a prehistoric hillfort on a hill in Dorset, England. It is located on chalk uplands approximately four miles to the east of the town of Bridport. The Hill Eggardon Hill stands above sea level and is classified as a Hump (hi ...

, then south of

, to enter Waddon from the east.

References

* ''Dorset and the Second Legion'', N.Field (1992), {{coord, 50.81040, N, 2.78625, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST447015), display=title Hills of Dorset History of Dorset Roman fortifications in England Archaeological sites in Dorset Roman legionary fortresses in England

Roman fort

See also

References