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<< Our Photo Pages >> Lydney Hillfort - Hillfort in England in Gloucestershire

Submitted by AngieLake on Saturday, 11 June 2016  Page Views: 13615

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Lydney Hillfort
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 2.801 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Gloucestershire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Lydney
Map Ref: SO616027  Landranger Map Number: 162
Latitude: 51.721699N  Longitude: 2.5573W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
2 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : This is the eastern end of the NE side, showing the entrance at SE just above centre far left. In the plan on the notice board this rectangular extension is lightly etched. (Vote or comment on this photo)
A promontory fort some 5 acres in extent was established at Lydney in or just before the 1st century BC and was subsequently during the 2nd. & 3rd. cents. AD, occupied by a Romano-British population engaged to some extent in iron-mining.

Soon after A.D. 364-7, a temple, dedicated to Nodens, was built, & with it a guest-house, baths & other structures. About the end of the 4th. c., the buildings were surrounded by a precinct-wall, but later fell into decay, & the final phases of occupation, probably in the 5th. & 6th. cents., is represented by a reinforcement of the prehistoric earthwork.

This site is on private land so unless there is an open day, permission should be sought in writing from the Lydney Park Estate office.

Page originally by Vicky Morgan

Note: The last chance to visit Lydney Park Gardens, Hillfort and Romano-British temple for this year is this Sunday 12 June, more details in the comment on our page
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Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : The rooms include cold baths, warm baths and saunas. Here are the supports for the floor allowing the hot air to circulate. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : The gap by this beautiful tree led to another enclosed area with further banks. "In the Iron Age the spur on which the shrine sits was defended by multiple banks and ditches to the north and a single rampart on its eastern side. At some period prior to the construction of the temple, mining of iron ore took place on the spur, as elsewhere in the Iron Age and Roman period in the Forest of Dean." (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Looking down the NE side from NW towards the SE entrance/exit. Note the 'bench' (as described in plan on info board) along low wall near centre of photo. Also note what looks like a 'new' piece of wall inserted into the existing one at centre right foreground. I wondered if this might have been a doorway into the temple from the long narrow building that almost joined the bath house to the temp... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Looking across the bath house site towards SE, with view of the two rooms with curved walls on its east side. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : This may have been the water-holding 'tank' marked on the plan. The temple is in the background and the bath house off to right.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Just before leaving I spotted this piece of what appears to be a Roman roof tile on the ground near the temple.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : This diagram from 'Later Roman Britain' by Stephen Johnson, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1980, clearly shows the situation of the Roman temple at the SW end of the hillfort. It's a good illustration of the contours of the hill, too. In the photos taken on 11th May 2016, the 'altar' to east of the temple is shown here as 'stone'. The banks and ditches to the south where one would be able to see ... (1 comment)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : A closer view of the hole leading to the Roman iron mine inside the triangular fencing.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Looking back towards the temple from the 'altar'.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : This was thought to be some kind of altar* and sits near the sloping edge of the site to the east of the temple. *[I read this in info on the day and will try to verify it later.]

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : The bath house and some of the separate rooms.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Another view across the bath house, towards the steep valley slopes.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : A view over the edge of the hill right next to the bath house. The river winds through this valley and also a road which is the grey line running at an angle across the lower right side of the photo.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : The bath house sits very close to the edge of the steep slopes of the hill.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : A plan of the layout of the bath house from the noticeboard at the site.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : A model of the temple as it was believed to have looked in Roman times.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Banks and ditches of the hill fort to the south, or south-east, of the temple, where one would probably be able to just see the River Severn on a sunnier day. (1 comment)

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : The bank dividing the very northern part of the fort with the central area, looking south.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Looking back over the gap in the bank from north to south, with view of eastern rampart.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Coming around towards the northern end here, showing a gap in the banks near the lovely old tree.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Continuation of the eastern - n.eastern banks of the iron age hill fort.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Now for the hill fort photos! This view shows the banks to the east of the site, north of where the temple is situated. To right of centre, the triangular metal fencing protects the small entrance to a Roman iron ore mine. "The temple at Lydney was preceded by Roman iron ore working operations. It is reasonable to assume that both sites [inc Thistleton] have deposits that are particularly ric...

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : A closer look at the plan of the site and the temple, also showing the mosaic floor found during 19th century excavations.

Lydney Hillfort
Lydney Hillfort submitted by AngieLake : Looking across the three 'rooms' that may have once held statues of deities, towards the 'bench' on the NE side.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 917m S 172° Aylburton Cross* Ancient Cross (SO6172101791)
 3.4km ESE 114° Lydney Harbour* Modern Stone Circle etc (SO64730126)
 5.9km WNW 286° The Ancient Barrow Well, St. Briavel's* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO5593004337)
 6.1km WNW 287° St Bride's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO5574404515)
 6.2km WSW 245° East Wood Ring Cairn* Ring Cairn (SO5594600157)
 6.4km NW 305° Stowe Enclosure* Misc. Earthwork (SO56430643)
 6.7km SW 215° Broad Stone (Gloucestershire)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST5776397247)
 6.8km NW 324° Clearwell Caves* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (SO57700822)
 6.8km NNW 329° Gattle's Cross* Marker Stone (SO5812608512)
 7.0km SE 145° Blisbury Hill Camp* Hillfort (ST65569692)
 7.2km W 259° Cup Stone on Mill Hill* Rock Art (SO545014)
 7.4km NNE 31° Drummer Boys Grave Stone* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (SO65470898)
 7.5km E 100° Wanswell Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO68980139)
 7.6km SW 236° Soldier's Tump* Round Barrow(s) (ST55289849)
 7.9km WSW 252° Offa's Dyke near Brockweir* Misc. Earthwork (SO541003)
 8.0km NNE 30° Patten Stone Marker Stone (SO65640959)
 8.3km SW 234° Offa's Dyke at Tidenham Chase* Misc. Earthwork (ST548979)
 8.5km SSW 192° Oldbury-on-Severn Submerged Forest* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (ST59849440)
 9.1km NNE 30° Soudley Camp* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (SO66161058)
 9.2km NNE 31° Dean Heritage Centre* Museum (SO664106)
 9.3km NW 317° Newland Crosses* Ancient Cross (SO5530809511)
 9.4km N 2° The Speech Stone* Marker Stone (SO62011212)
 9.4km WSW 246° Blackfield Wood* Hillfort (ST529990)
 9.5km SW 230° Spital Meend* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (ST54269671)
 9.6km W 259° Lower Halewood Round Barrow(s) (SO521009)
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"Lydney Hillfort" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: Lydney Hillfort by AngieLake on Tuesday, 14 June 2016
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Excerpt from 'Later Roman Britain' by Stephen Johnson, Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1980:
"The almost overnight transformation of Christianity into an accepted state religion, and its acceptance among the pantheon of Roman religions to be paid lip-service by men anxious to promote their careers, did not immediately give victory in the church's great battle with paganism. There is evidence within Britain for a resurgence of interest in the old pagan Celtic cults of the countryside. A number of Romano-Celtic shrines, many of them established in the ancient places hallowed as the haunts of Celtic forebears, the Iron Age hill-forts, were rebuilt or built new in the fourth century, and, to judge from the quality and quantity of the offerings deposited at their sites, they had a rich and devoted following.
One of the most complex of such sites was the temple of Nodens at Lydney, where the cult centre incorporated an elaborate guest house and several temples. Others were established at or near well known hill-forts like Maiden Castle, Jordan's Hill, and Uleybury Hill. The style of such temples owes little to Roman architecture as such. As tall rectangular buildings surrounded by a verandah, they were a distinctively different type of building within the Roman landscape. Such cult ritual as there was would have had to take place in the open air within the temple-complex - an altogether different style of worship from the secretive mystic cults of the east or the larger temple-cults of Graeco-Roman theism."

Later in the same book Johnson writes about the mosaic floor at Lydney temple:
"A connection between the Bristol Channel and a Roman fleet is suggested by a pavement from the great temple complex at Lydney dedicated by a man whose official title was shortened to PR.REL, which is interpreted as praefectus reliquationis Classis ('in charge of the fleet's supply depot'). Such a base probably lay nearby."

Here are a couple of websites mentioning the Roman use of a harbour at Lydney:
http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/riversevern/lydney.html
http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=797

When staying near Weston-super-Mare we visited Uphill, a small port which had also been used by the Romans. It lies at the mouth of the River Axe, on the southern side of the River Severn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uphill
If you get the chance, take a look at the ancient church of St Nicholas on the hill overlooking the area, and with stunning views towards Brean Down.
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Re: Lydney Hillfort by AngieLake on Sunday, 12 June 2016
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I've just found this interesting pdf article by Bob Trubshaw about Dream Incubation written in 2015. It has great photos of the Lydney complex and the diagrams I would have put up with my visit photos if I'd got a better shot of the information boards:
http://www.hoap.co.uk/dream_incubation.pdf
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Re: Lydney Hillfort and Dream Incubation by Bob Trubshaw by AngieLake on Sunday, 12 June 2016
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I'd saved a 1995 article written by Bob Trubshaw about 'Dream Incubation' in an 'At the Edge' archive that appeared online several years ago.
It mentions Lydney's temple:

"Dream incubation temples are known in Britain. In an especially attractive, and steeply undulating, part of the Forest of Dean near Lydney in Gloucestershire is the Temple of Nodens [2]. The remains which can be seen are of a fairly late (third/fourth century) basilica- type Roman temple. Whether this was a continuation of an earlier Celtic rite is unknown, but is perhaps unlikely as the site had previously been used by the Romans as an iron ore mine.

Another Roman temple has a similar ground plan. This is well within Mercian territory, near Thistleton in Rutland (130:c.910172). Before the rectangular Roman temple there was a circular iron age structure. Successive rebuilding took place during the Roman period, with the final phases being fourth century. To one side was a large building which is strikingly similar to the dream incubation chambers at Lydney and, according to Leicestershire County Archaeologist Peter Liddle, 'might be used for healing whilst visitors were asleep' [3].

The Thistleton temple site was lost to quarrying - for open cast iron ore. The temple at Lydney was preceded by Roman iron ore working operations. It is reasonable to assume that both sites have deposits that are particularly rich in iron and would have a pronounced effect on local geo-magnetic fields."
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Re: Lydney Hillfort Visiting Times. Sunday 12th June last day in 2016 by AngieLake on Saturday, 11 June 2016
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LAST CHANCE TO VISIT LYDNEY PARK GARDENS AND TEMPLE IS SUNDAY 12 JUNE. (UNLESS A LARGER GROUP BOOKS IN ADVANCE.)

"Lydney Park Gardens

OPENING DAYS AND TIMES FOR 2016

Sundays, Wednesdays and Bank Holiday Mondays from

Sunday 27th March to Sunday 12th June

Opening times: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Tea rooms open: 11.00 am to 5.00 pm

2016 Group Visits: Parties of 25 or over may be booked on days other than Open Days.
For details please contact us by email or call Mrs Sally James on 01594 842844 or 842922 "

Angie writes: I booked myself into a local motel for two nights so I could visit on Weds 11th May, which coincided with Nat Gardens Open Day.
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Re: Lydney Hillfort by coldrum on Sunday, 03 January 2010
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The following information from Pastscape site.

"A promontory fort some 5 acres in extent was established at Lydney in or just before the 1st. c. B.C., & was subsequently, during the 2nd. & 3rd. cents. A.D., occupied by a Roman-British population engaged to some extent in iron-mining. Soon after A.D. 364-7, a temple, dedicated to Nodens, was built, & with it a guest-house, baths & other structures. About the end of the 4th. c., the buildings were surrounded by a precinct-wall, but later fell into decay, & the final phases of occupation, probably in the 5th. & 6th. cents., is represented by a reinforcement of the prehistoric earthwork. (2)

Surveyed at 1/2500.
Of the Roman remains, the excavated temple has walls up to 1.0m. high and has been restored. The bath building has walling up to 1.5m. high, and the reservoir is a shallow depression with a flagstone floor. The top of the stone-lined drain which leads from the reservoir to the baths has been fully exposed. No other buildings can be identified.
See G.P.'s AO/63/94, 2,3, & 6. (3)

One of the best-known and most interesting Roman sacred sites in Britain - a prosperous temple complex dating from after AD 364 and consisting of, besides the temple itself, a courtyard house, a suite of baths and what was probably the "abaton" of a healing centre. To the north stood a water-tank and a guest-house. Very numerous small finds with some 8000 coins (including a hoard of minute barbarous copies) prove a rich occupation extending certainly into the 5th century, and such finds as representations of dogs in stone and bronze, 320-odd pins and nearly 300 bracelets point quite definitely to a healing cult. (4)

The position of the Roman name 'NEMETOBALA (?) in the Ravenna Cosmography (where it is shown as 'METABALA') indicates a location in the countries of Monmouth (Gwent) or Gloucester; a possibility is therefore the Roman temple in the hillfort at Lydney. (5)

Excavation and re-excavation of deposits at Lydney Park, see plans (5), indicate that a date of inception for the temple complex after 364 is not tenable. (6-7)

Exacavation of the context where the corridor of the bath building impinges on the end wall of the long building (Abaton) confirmed that the bath, which incorporates a hoard datable to c360 in a repair to an eroded mosaic post-dated the long building. It was demonstrated that the mosaics of the long building, which sealed a coin of Gratian, are secondary, the original floors being flags or opus signinum. On present evidence the complex appears to date to the late 3rd or early 4th century. The present temple may not be the earliest on the site, though no predecessor has been discovered as yet. Fragments of cement floors and tesserae, incorporated in the make-up floors of the long building, indicate that a building of some pretensions existed on the site at an earlier phase. (8)

Two decorative relief carvings were noted lying close to the temple site. These apparently dated from the later 2nd or 3rd Century and suggest the possible former presence of a major building which would pre-date any so far found. (9)

Two small horizontal adits or mines (for the extraction of iron ore), discovered during Wheeler's 1932 excavation noted in a review of industrial archaeology in Gloucestershire. (10)

The entrance of one of the iron mine adits excavated by Wheeler was consolidated by Dean Local History Society in 1985. (11)

The attempted consolidation of a hypocaust system in the bath house in 1958 revealed a fissure associated with early Roman or Iron Age iron workings. these were partly excavated by C Scott-Garrett. (12)

SO 6102 The room of the temple in which the coin hoard was discovered by Wheeler was re-excavated in 1981 disclosing a phase of flooring beneath that in which the hoard was found. The excavation cast doubt on Wheeler's chronology for the site suggesting that the majority of the buildings may d

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