214 PRE-SAXON CIVILIZATION IN DORSET. 



the hill opposite Whatcombe and, running parallel to Lalee 

 and Whitechurch, extends to Colwood and Anderson, beyond 

 which no traces of it have been observed. It is composed of 

 a single bank and ditch, the former being always on the 

 western side. In the best preserved places it is 10 feet high, 

 and in some parts the bank is broad enough to have formed 

 a road. It is not made in a straight line, but forms bends 

 and curves, as if with a design to avoid obstructions such as 

 trees and bushes. 



A Roman road apparently went from Poole to Badbury 

 Rings. It has been traced in a private lane at Upton. The 

 dorsum is plain a little beyond Cogdean Elms, where two 

 large barrows stand to the west of it. The Romans probably 

 made a convenient landing-place at Poole, whence they 

 directed their marches to and from the station at Badbury. 

 Tracks of the Roman road, called Ackling Ditch or Dyke, are 

 found in the direct line of their traditional route from Sarum 

 to Badbury. It is noticeable at Woodyates, where lies the 

 county boundary. It is very perfect for four miles running 

 across the downs, a parish boundary following it for three 

 miles. It is five yards wide across the top, and four, five, or 

 six feet high. Traces of side ditches remain, and in several 

 places they cut into the bank and ditch surrounding a barrow. 

 This is perhaps the most striking example of the embankment 

 of a Roman road remaining in the country. It runs for miles 

 in a straight line in bold and sharp relief over the open down, 

 and the magnitude of the work and its situation are alike 

 imposing. When it leaves the down it appears as a hedgerow 

 at the side of a lane with the parish boundary beside it. It 

 is traceable in Crichel Park and on Witchampton Common ; 

 a road has been made along the course of it, which is then 

 followed by a lane for two miles near to Badbury Rings. 



Leaving Badbury the ridge runs through Shapwick, crosses 

 the Stour a little below the church, and on through Little' 

 Coll Wood to high ground ; it can be traced through fields 

 in Winterbourne Kingston, as in Tolpuddle. There are remains 

 of the ridge on Puddletown Heath and in Kingston Park. 



