Car Dyke

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A broad section of the Car Dyke in high summer.
A broad section of the Car Dyke in high summer.

The Car Dyke was, and to large extent still is, an eighty-five mile (140 kilometre) long ditch which runs along the western edge of The Fens in eastern England. It is generally accepted as being of Roman age and, for many centuries, to have been taken as marking the western edge of The Fens. There, the consensus begins to break down.

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[edit] Likely purpose

In the eighteenth century, William Stukeley described it as a canal used for transporting goods and that idea is still promulgated: For example, excavations at Waterbeach in the 1990s by the archaeology unit of Cambridge County Council found what were seen as the remains of a Roman-era boat and cargo of pottery from Horningsea.[1] This stretch has been protected as a scheduled ancient monument. Other archaeological investigations for the same period have found coal from the Midlands in use to dry Fenland grain and claim this as evidence of trade and transport along the Car Dyke.[2] At its northern end accounts of Roman Britain describe it as an extension of the Foss Dyke, an accepted transport route.[3][4]

In other parts, however, the topography suggests that its use as a canal was unlikely: The segment which ran and to some extent still runs through the Soke, now City, of Peterborough rises from the River Nene to a ridge at Eye then falls to the River Welland. This it does in steady gradients, quite unlike the characteristics of a canal designed for transport. Its course makes it clear that this outcome was carefully planned.[5] At some level sections in Lincolnshire it has causeways of never-disturbed ground crossing it and it passes in gradients, up and down the sides of slight ridges. Given the length of the canal, however, modern surveyors suggest that the original engineers "lost their level" at points along the course and these natural barriers were left in place to maintain the required depth of water.[6]

Upcast banks set well apart, as in this well-preserved section near Branston, Lincolnshire, suggest a canal intended for navigation
Upcast banks set well apart, as in this well-preserved section near Branston, Lincolnshire, suggest a canal intended for navigation[4]

It acts as a catchwater drain in parts, intercepting runoff from the higher ground to the west: evidence of seventeenth century improvements to form part of local drainage schemes has been identified, overlying material from the Roman period.[1] Conversely, the southern half of its passage through Lincolnshire and its northern end, near Washingborough, are accepted as having had a raised bank on each side. However, the one on the upland side would not be a feature well adapted to a catchwater drain.

One conclusion, though given the conflicts in the surviving evidence one not reached by everyone, is that overall it was used primarily as a boundary, (as part of it in south Lincolnshire undoubtedly was in the medieval period) but that parts were adapted to serve also as a catchwater drain. Although possibly not originally intended as a means of transporting goods, archaeology has demonstrated that, at some parts at least, it was used by cargo-carry vessels. It is possible to trace features which could be interpreted as boundaries all round The Fens which are either of Roman date or natural. The exception is in the south-east of The Fens where the landscape was manually strip mined for phosphate so destroying any evidence, before the days of detailed mapping and aerial photography.

In his historical novel Imperial Governor, ISBN 0-432-14750-0, George Shipway maintains that Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, then governor of Britain, conceived draining the fens as a way of denying Icenian rebels a place to hide.

[edit] Fens Waterways Link

The section between the rivers Nene and Welland may be restored to navigation as a section of the new Fens Waterways Link for leisure craft. An engineering study has been made, but because of concerns for its historic status it is not the preferred route.[7][8]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Car Dyke, Waterbeach Cambridgeshire Archaeology Unit, accessed August 21, 2006
  2. ^ Forbes, R J (1966): Studies in Ancient Technology. Brill Academic Publishers, Boston, Mass. ISBN 90-04-00626-5.
  3. ^ Roman Britain (2001). Southampton, England: Ordnance Survey. ISBN 0-319-29029-8
  4. ^ a b Ransom, P J G (1979). The Archaeology of Canals. Tadworth, England: The Worlds Work, pp 9-10. ISBN 0437144003. 
  5. ^ Pryor, Arnold. The Car Dyke p.24 in Durobrivae A Review of Nene Valley Archaeology: 6. Nene Valley Research Committee. (1978) ISSN 0307-7756.
  6. ^ Cook, Hadrian; Williamson, Tom (2001). Water Management in the English Landscape. Edinburgh University Press, p118. ISBN 1853312061. 
  7. ^ Fens Waterways Link Supporting Report 1: Navigation. Environment Agency (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  8. ^ Fens Waterways Link Supporting Report 3: Engineering. Environment Agency (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-05.

[edit] References

  • Phillips, C.W. ed. The Fenland in Roman Times Royal Geographical Society (1970)
  • Macaulay, S. & Reynolds, T. Excavation and Site Management at Cambridgeshire Car Dyke, Waterbeach (TL 495 645) in Fenland Research No 8 (1993) ISSN 0268-263X
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