Ancient Wessex News and Information
Ancient Wessex News and Information

Badbury Rings

Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. The National Trust acquired Badbury Rings as part of the Bankes Estate in 1982. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia a short distance to the south-west.

Badbury Rings sits 327 feet (100 m) above sea level. There are two main phases of construction; the first covered 7.3 hectares (18 acres) and was defend by multiple ditches, while the second was more than twice the size, covering 16.6 ha (41 acres) and defended by a single ditch and rampart.[1] Bronze Age round barrows in the vicinity demonstrate an earlier use of the area.

Next to Badbury Rings is High Wood, another Iron Age enclosure. The head of a Palaeolithic flint tool was discovered by National Trust archaeologists during an excavation at the site. Estimated to be between 12,000 and 40,000 years old, it is the oldest recorded object in Kingston Lacy’s collection.

Image: Pasicles

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