Car Dyke
Encyclopedia
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.
described it as a canal
used for transporting goods and his 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
. This stretch has been protected as a scheduled ancient monument. Other archaeological investigations have found coal
from the Midlands
in use at a cluster of Roman-era coal-burning forge
s sited between Cambridge and The Wash
and these provide evidence of trade and transport along the Car Dyke. Return cargoes were grain to supply the garrison at York, prepared for transport and storage by drying in coal kilns, and pottery. At its northern end accounts of Roman Britain describe it as an extension of the Foss Dyke
, an accepted transport route. Near Morton
, Lincolnshire, a boatload of dressed quarry stone, identified with the mediaeval period, has been discovered in the canal bed.
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 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. 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 may have "lost their level" at points along the course and these natural barriers were left in place to maintain the required depth of water, or that they were a deliberate precaution against the whole section drying out in summer.
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. 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; the one on the upland side would not be a feature well adapted to a catchwater drain.
It is possible to trace features which could be interpreted as boundaries all round The Fens which are either of Roman date or natural. In c.120 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian
visited Britain and the sections dating from this period may be associated with his plan to settle the Fens. 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
. 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, in some parts at least, it was used by cargo-carrying vessels.
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 Iceni
an rebels a place to hide.
for leisure craft. An engineering study has been made, but because of concerns for its historic status it is not the preferred route, with the Cat's Water Drain being the other considered option.
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
in eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. 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.
Likely purpose
In the eighteenth century, William StukeleyWilliam Stukeley
William Stukeley FRS, FRCP, FSA was an English antiquarian who pioneered the archaeological investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury, work for which he has been remembered as "probably... the most important of the early forerunners of the discipline of archaeology"...
described it as a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
used for transporting goods and his idea is still promulgated: For example, excavations at Waterbeach
Waterbeach
Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village located 6 miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. The parish covers an area of 23.26 km².- Village :...
in the 1990s by the archaeology unit of Cambridge County Council
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
found what were seen as the remains of a Roman-era
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
boat and cargo of pottery from Horningsea
Horningsea
Horningsea is a small village north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England. The parish covers an area of 6.63 km. It lies on the east bank of the River Cam, and on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe...
. This stretch has been protected as a scheduled ancient monument. Other archaeological investigations have found coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
in use at a cluster of Roman-era coal-burning forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
s sited between Cambridge and The Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
and these provide evidence of trade and transport along the Car Dyke. Return cargoes were grain to supply the garrison at York, prepared for transport and storage by drying in coal kilns, and pottery. At its northern end accounts of Roman Britain describe it as an extension of the Foss Dyke
Foss Dyke
The Foss Dyke, or Fossdyke, connects the River Trent at Torksey to Lincoln, the county town of Lincolnshire, and may be the oldest canal in England that is still in use. It is usually thought to have been built around 120 AD by the Romans, but there is no consensus among authors...
, an accepted transport route. Near Morton
Morton and Hanthorpe
Morton and Hanthorpe is a civil parish, formerly known as Morton by Bourne in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. There are other villages and hamlets in the county with the name of Morton. There are 921 households in Morton and 74 in Hanthorpe.Morton Grade I listed Anglican...
, Lincolnshire, a boatload of dressed quarry stone, identified with the mediaeval period, has been discovered in the canal bed.
In other parts, however, the topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
suggests that its use as a canal was unlikely: The segment which ran, and to some extent still runs, through the Soke of Peterborough
Soke of Peterborough
The Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
rises from the River Nene
River Nene
The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...
to a ridge at Eye
Eye, Cambridgeshire
Eye is a village in the unitary authority area of Peterborough in England, south of Crowland and Eye Green. It was formerly in the Soke of Peterborough in Northamptonshire....
then falls to the River Welland
River Welland
The River Welland is a river in the east of England, some long. It rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market Harborough, Stamford and Spalding, to reach The Wash near Fosdyke. For much of its length it forms the county boundary between...
. 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. 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 may have "lost their level" at points along the course and these natural barriers were left in place to maintain the required depth of water, or that they were a deliberate precaution against the whole section drying out in summer.
It acts as a catchwater drain
Catchwater drain
A catchwater drain is a land drain, a ditch cut across the fall of the land, typically just above the level of low-lying, level ground such as The Fens of eastern England, where some land, tens of kilometres from the sea is at about sea level...
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. Conversely, the southern half of its passage through Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
and its northern end, near Washingborough, are accepted as having had a raised bank on each side; the one on the upland side would not be a feature well adapted to a catchwater drain.
It is possible to trace features which could be interpreted as boundaries all round The Fens which are either of Roman date or natural. In c.120 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
visited Britain and the sections dating from this period may be associated with his plan to settle the Fens. The exception is in the south-east of the Fens where the landscape was manually strip mined for phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
so destroying any evidence, before the days of detailed mapping and aerial photography
Aerial photography
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and photographs may be taken by a photographer, triggered remotely or...
. 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, in some parts at least, it was used by cargo-carrying vessels.
In his historical novel Imperial Governor, ISBN 0-432-14750-0, George Shipway
George Shipway
George Shipway was a British author best known for his historical novels, but he also tried his hand at political satire in his book The Chilian Club.Shipway was born in 1908, and served in the Indian Cavalry until 1946. He died in 1982...
maintains that Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, also spelled Paullinus, was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica.-Career:...
, then governor of Britain, conceived draining the fens as a way of denying Iceni
Iceni
The Iceni or Eceni were a British tribe who inhabited an area of East Anglia corresponding roughly to the modern-day county of Norfolk between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD...
an rebels a place to hide.
Fens Waterways Link
The section between the rivers Nene and Welland may be restored to navigation as a section of the new Fens Waterways LinkFens Waterways Link
The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is...
for leisure craft. An engineering study has been made, but because of concerns for its historic status it is not the preferred route, with the Cat's Water Drain being the other considered option.