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Celtic and Roman Wyke Regis
From 43AD onwards the way of life for the inhabitants of Dorset was rudely interrupted by the Roman 2nd Augustan Legion under Vespasian (a future Roman Emperor) who advanced from Wareham to overcome the Durotriges at Maiden Castle. The Romans founded a major settlement at Durnovaria (Dorchester) and spread out into the surrounding countryside, including Wyke and Portland.

Evidence that the Romans lived and died in Wyke Regis all those many centuries ago first became known in 1858 when a labourer digging in the Glebe (Church) Fields on the sloping hillside above All Saints Church (Church Knapp) discovered several large, flat stones accompanied by a small black beaker - it turned out to be a Romano-British grave.
In 1900 a water reservoir for Wyke was built at Church Knap and when it was being extended in 1937 several more Romano-British graves were discovered as well as a Roman coin of Faustina, wife of Antonius Pius, Emperor from 138 to 161 AD.
Further evidence of Roman occupation was discovered when the foundations of the bridge at Passage (Ferrybridge) were being laid in 1839. The remains of a building of Roman origin or Roman influence where discovered and this ties in with the considereable evidence that the Romans settled in on Portland. They must have often traversed the "Passage" to Portland.

Remains of a Roman wall and trackway at Church Knapp
In 1998 came more conclusive proof of Roman settlement at Church Knapp when the results of an archaeological survey at the site revealed that there must have been considerable activity in this area some 2,000 years ago. Among the finds were five skeletons, a ring, a considerable amount of pottery pieces and several coins - one of them probably Celtic and dating to around 50 BC. There was also the remains of what appeared to be a large and unique stone ceremonial platform as well as possible buildings and an ancient track way or "holloway" leading down towards old Wyke. Perhaps there was a Romano-British shrine on this exposed hillside with its fine views across to Portland, Smallmouth Passage, Jordan Hill and the Ridgeway. Sadly there was not sufficient justification for the site to be preserved and it was subsequently covered by the Legions Field housing development.

What happens to the artefacts - they were taken away by the people conducting the archaelogical survey and have never been seen since. This evidence of Wyke's long and rich history should not be lost to local people and pressure must be exerted by residents to ensure the authorities see that they are returned to the locality and are readily accessible to Wyke residents.

Celtic Coin At Church Knapp

The archaeological excavations at Church Knapp were reported locally and as a result of the publicity two important coins were brought forward by local residents so that they could be included in the official report on the dig. All the artefacts from the site should eventually find their way to local museums.

The two coins had been dug up many years ago by local residents from their allotment at the site. One coin was a well preserved Romano-British type (c150AD) and is believed to be similar to ones found at the site during the building of the water reservoir at the turn of the century.

The other coin was provided by Charlie Mullins of Portland Road and it could well prove to be Celtic (iron age) and pre-date the Roman-British occupation by two hundred years or so. Experts on Celtic coinage will be involved in assessing the find, but it appears to be made of debased gold ie. bronze alloy with some gold.
The first Celtic coins in this country were imitations of the gold "stater" of Philip of Macedon, issued in the late fourth century BC and probably brought back to this country by Celtic mercenaries fighting on the continent. By 100 BC the most widely circulating coinage in the south of Britain came from Celtic tribes in Northern France and they inspired the first generation of British made coinage. The coins are classified by association with the areas and tribes that existed at that time - the region from Dorset northward to Hereford and Worcestershire was occupied by the Durotriges and the Dubunni. The Durotriges of Dorset produced a stater that closely copied designs from other areas. It was debased rapidly from good silver with a small percentage of gold, to base silver and eventually bronze. The major place of manufacture was at Hengistbury Head to the east of present day Bournemouth and a series of cast bronze coins were produced in the early first century AD. This may be where the Wyke Regis Celtic coin comes from. Some of these coins evidently had very simple patterns of dots but on the Wyke coin there can clearly be seen a galloping horse. Horses were a very common symbol on early Celtic coins. There appears to be no writing on the coin and nothing on the obverse side of the coin.

The final analysis of the Wyke Regis coin will come after it has been examined by experts but the initial assessment suggests that the area of Church Knapp might have been occupied long before the Romans arrived in 43AD. For those readers with access to the internet an informative site for Celtic coinage is at http://info.ox.ac.uk/~archinfo/ccindex/ccindex.htm. If there are any coin experts in Wyke Regis with alternative opinions about the Celtic coin found at Church Knapp then the Wyke Register or Doug Hollings would be interested to hear from them.