Wansdyke facts for kids

The Wansdyke on Tan Hill, Wiltshire, showing the ditch and bank.

Wansdyke (which means Woden's Dyke) is a very old, long earthwork in the West Country of England. It was built a long, long time ago, during the early Middle Ages. It's made up of a ditch and a bank of earth next to it. The ditch always faces north.

Wansdyke has two main parts. The eastern part runs through Wiltshire, between Savernake Forest and Morgan's Hill. The western part goes from Monkton Combe to an old hill fort called Maes Knoll in Somerset. Between these two parts, there's a middle section. This middle part is actually what's left of an old Roman road that went from London to Bath. Some old records suggest it might have gone even further west from Maes Knoll, all the way to the coast, but we're not completely sure about that. It might have been a border after the Romans left Britain.

What is Wansdyke?

Wansdyke is one of the biggest defensive earthworks in the United Kingdom. It's like other famous borders such as Offa's Dyke or Hadrian's Wall. Offa's Dyke was built later to mark a border with Wales. Hadrian's Wall was built much earlier by the Romans to separate Britannia from Caledonia (Scotland).

An 8th-century Welsh monk named Nennius wrote about these old defenses. He had access to even older stories that are now lost. He even linked these defenses to the legends of King Arthur.

Where did the name Wansdyke come from?

The name "Wansdyke" comes from Woden, an old Anglo-Saxon god. This name tells us that when the Anglo-Saxons arrived, they didn't know who built this huge earthwork. It was already there, and local people at the time didn't seem to know its history either.

The name "Woden's Dyke" started appearing in old documents from the 9th and 10th centuries AD. Historians like J.N.L. Myres thought in 1964 that Wansdyke was built by British leaders after the Romans left. Another historian, Fowler, thought it was a fort built in the 490s to defend against invading Saxons. He believes it might have been left unfinished when the British won a big battle at Mons Badonicus.

East Wansdyke

The eastern part of Wansdyke is in Wiltshire. It's on the south side of the Marlborough Downs. This part has been less changed by farming or buildings over the years. Because of this, you can see it much more clearly on the ground.

In some places, the bank is up to 4 meters (13 feet) high. The ditch can be as deep as 2.5 meters (8 feet). For a long time, even since the tenth century, there have been gaps or "gates" in the earthwork. The ditch is on the north side. This suggests that the Romano-Britons might have built it to defend against the West Saxons. The Saxons were moving westward from the upper Thames Valley into what is now the West Country.

Fowler also thinks its design is similar to Roman border forts like Hadrian's Wall. It might not have just been for military defense. It could have also been used to control local people and travelers along the Wessex Ridgeway. He also suggests that the work was never fully finished. It might have been abandoned when political changes made it unnecessary.

In the late 1800s, Augustus Pitt Rivers dug up parts of Wansdyke in Wiltshire. He thought it was what was left of a big war where the southwest was being defended. Later, in 1958, Fox and Fox believed that pagan Saxons built it, probably in the late 500s.

West Wansdyke

The western part of Wansdyke runs from Monkton Combe near Bath to Maes Knoll near Bristol. It's not as big or clear as the eastern part. For a long time, people thought it didn't exist west of Maes Knoll. However, new evidence found in 2007 showed that it did exist there, even where you can't see it on the surface anymore.

Archaeologists dug across the earthwork in several places. They found that it was built in a very consistent way, with stone or timber supporting the earth. There wasn't much evidence to tell them the exact date it was built. But what they found fit with it being built either in the late Roman period or after the Romans left.

A paper from a conference in 2007 suggests that West Wansdyke continued from Maes Knoll. It might have gone to the hill forts above the Avon Gorge. This would mean it controlled river crossings at Saltford and Bristol, as well as at Bath.

Since there isn't a lot of archaeological evidence to date the whole western section, it might have marked a border between different British Celtic kingdoms. Or it could have been a border with the Saxons. Evidence for its western part includes earthworks along the north side of Dundry Hill, a mention in an old document, and a road name.

This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the Anglo-Saxons. This happened after the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that the Saxon king Cenwalh of Wessex won battles against the Britons. He won at Bradford on Avon in 652 AD and at the Battle of Peonnum in 658 AD. After this, the Saxons moved west. It's interesting to note that the names of the early Wessex kings seem to be British, not Saxon.

A section of Wansdyke that is about 1,330 meters (1,455 yards) long in Odd Down is protected as an Ancient monument. However, it is currently listed as being in poor condition and at risk because of gardening activities.

Wansdyke Today

The western part of Wansdyke gave its name to the former Wansdyke district in the county of Avon. It also gave its name to the Wansdyke constituency, which is an area represented by a Member of Parliament.

Route and points of interest

See also

• Maes Knoll
• Bathampton Down
• Silesian Walls