Map showing the location of Jordan Hill Roman Temple in Dorset. | |
Location | Preston, Weymouth, Dorset |
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Coordinates | 50°38′15″N2°25′38″W / 50.637547°N 2.4271160°W |
Type | Romano-Celtic temple |
Area | Cella: 6.8 m2 (73 sq ft) Temenos: 84 m2 (900 sq ft) |
History | |
Founded | AD 69–79 |
Abandoned | 350–400 |
Cultures | Romano-British |
Site notes | |
Ownership | English Heritage |
Management | English Heritage |
Public access | Open any reasonable time during daylight hours |
Website | https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/jordan-hill-roman-temple/ |
Official name | Romano-Celtic temple and associated remains at Jordan Hill |
Designated | 08 October 1981 |
Jordan Hill Roman Temple is a Romano-Celtic temple and Roman ruin situated on Jordan Hill above Bowleaze Cove in the eastern suburbs of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Original amateur archaeological excavations 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 c. AD 69–79 to the late 4th century. Some of the finds from the excavations in the 1930s are in the Dorset Museum and the British Museum. There are other Roman sites nearby including Preston Roman Villa to the north west. [1]
This is a Romano-British type temple, [2] with a square-plan building situated within a courtyard or precinct. The floorplan of the temple measured 6.8 square metres (73 sq ft). The surrounding precinct measured 84 square metres (900 sq ft) and contained numerous deposits of animal bones, ceramics, and coins. [3] The site may also have served as a late 4th-century signal station. [3] The temple does not have an ambulatory but this is probably due to stone robbing. [4] The site also includes a cemetery containing both cremations and inhumations. [5]
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 who open it to the public with free access. The site was designated a Scheduled Monument in 1981. [6] [7] [8] There are views from the site across Bowleaze Cove. [9]
Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hillfort 1.6 mi (2.6 km) southwest of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age.
Overcombe is an coastal area in Preston in south Dorset, England, situated on top of cliffs 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Weymouth. The River Jordan flows in the vicinity.
Preston is a coastal village and suburb of Weymouth in south Dorset, England. It is approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-east of Weymouth town centre and 2 kilometres (1 mi) west of the village of Osmington.
Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. 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.
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Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth. Weymouth Bay is situated approximately halfway along the UNESCO Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Lydney Park is a 17th-century country estate surrounding Lydney House, located at Lydney in the Forest of Dean district in Gloucestershire, England. It is known for its gardens and Roman temple complex.
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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. Just to the west is Furzy Cliff.
Weymouth Bay: Bowleaze Cove and Jordon Hill is an oil-on-canvas painting executed between 1816 and 1817 by the English landscape artist John Constable. It is the second of three oil versions of this view painted by Constable and now hangs in the National Gallery, London.
Jordan Hill is located near the coast close to the village of Preston, just to the east of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The hill leads down to Furzy Cliff on the coast to the south. Close by to the east is Bowleaze Cove. The hill figure of the Osmington White Horse can be seen from the hill to the north. There are also views across Bowleaze Cove from the hill and nearby public footpaths. The hill is a short detour from the South West Coastal Path National Trail.
Furzy Cliff, also known as Jordan's Cliff, is located on the coast near the village of Preston, just to the east of Weymouth in Dorset, England. It is at the north-eastern end of Weymouth Beach, looking out over Weymouth Bay to Portland Harbour and the Isle of Portland. Close by to the east is Bowleaze Cove. Just inland to the north are Jordan Hill and the remains of the Jordan Hill Roman Temple. On the top of the cliff there is a large grass area with good views.
Bucknowle Farm is the site of a Romano-British settlement and a Roman villa, located one kilometre southeast of Church Knowle and one kilometre southwest of Corfe Castle village in Dorset, England. It is about seven kilometres south of Wareham and approximately nine kilometres west of Swanage in the heart of the Isle of Purbeck.
Nothe Gardens is a public garden, located in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Positioned on the Nothe Peninsula overlooking both Weymouth and Portland harbours, the informal gardens are often acclaimed to be the most beautiful the borough has to offer.
A Romano-Celtic temple or fanum is a sub-class of Roman temple found in the north-western Celtic provinces of the Roman Empire. They were the main places of worship in Gallo-Roman religion. Romano-Celtic temples differ from classical Roman temples, and evidence shows they had much continuity with earlier Celtic temples. Many were built on earlier sacred sites of the Celtic religion.
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority created on 1 April 1996, following the abolition of the County of Avon, which had existed since 1974. Part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset occupies an area of 220 square miles (570 km2), two-thirds of which is green belt. It stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border. The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. The area has a population of 170,000, about half of whom live in Bath, making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the area.
The River Jordan is a river in the county of Dorset, England. The river is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long, and includes the tributaries of the Osmington Brook and the Preston River. The River Jordan discharges into the English Channel at Bowleaze Cove, northeast of Weymouth.
Hollingbury Castle, also known as Hollingbury Camp and Hollingbury Hillfort, is an Iron Age hillfort on the northern edge of Brighton, in East Sussex, England. It is adjacent to Hollingbury Park Golf Course.
Brantingham Roman villa is a Roman villa, now a scheduled monument, near Brantingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
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