Bokerley Dyke, Bokerly Dyke,[1] Bokerley Ditch, is a linear earthwork 5.75 kilometres (3.6 mi) long in Hampshire, between Woodyates and Martin. It is a Scheduled Monument.[2]
Bokerley Dyke was excavated by Augustus Pitt Rivers between 1888 and 1891[1] and by Philip Rahtz[3] in advance of road widening in 1958. Bokerley Dyke may have originated in the Bronze Age or Early Iron Age and formed a political and cultural boundary.[4] It was cut through by a Roman Road (Ackling Dyke running between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings) in the 1st century.[4]
In the 4th century it was remodelled and brought back into use, and excavations show that the Roman road was blocked.[4][5] A coin of Valens dates this activity to shortly after 364 AD.[4] It may have been built in 367-8 AD when Roman sources report that Britain was attacked by Picts, Scots and Saxons in a supposed Great Conspiracy.[5] The Roman road was later reopened, but the dyke may have continued in use after the cessation of the Roman rule and still forms part of a boundary between the counties of Dorset and Hampshire.[4]
Bokerley Dyke runs through Martin and Tidpit Downs, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and it is continuous with Grim's Ditch.
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50°58′20″N 1°56′30″W / 50.97220°N 1.94156°W