Ackling Dyke is a section of Roman road in 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...

 which runs for 22 mi (35.4 km) southwest from Old Sarum

Old Sarum

Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country...

 (Sorviodunum) to the hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

 at Badbury Rings

Badbury Rings

Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort in east Dorset, England, dating from 800 BC and in use until the Roman occupation of 43 AD.-Iron Age:...

 (Vindocladia).

Much of the road exists as an exceptionally large embankment (agger), up to 50 ft (15.2 m) wide and 6 ft (1.8 m) high. This would have been visible from a great distance and must have been intended to impress the native population, as it was unnecessary from an engineering viewpoint. In addition, in places the road cuts straight through prehistoric

Prehistory

Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

 earthworks and barrows

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

, showing the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 attitude to the existing British social structure as well as proving to early antiquaries that barrows preceded the Roman period

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...

. At Boklerley Junction it cuts through both Bokerley Dyke

Bokerley Dyke

Bokerley Dyke is a Romano-British defensive ditch in north east Dorset, England, near the villages of Woodyates and Pentridge. The ditch ran for several miles, cutting across the Roman Road between Old Sarum and Badbury Rings on the Cranborne Chase ridgeway. Dated to 367 CE, it was constructed to...

 and Grim's Ditch

Grim's Ditch

Grim's Ditch, Grim's Dyke or Grim's Bank is a name shared by a number of prehistoric bank and ditch earthworks...

 before being overlaid by the A354 turnpike

A354 road

The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of . From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase and briefly merges with the A350 at the Blandford Forum bypass before crossing the Dorset Downs and...

. 5 km further west at Wyke Down it cuts through the Dorset Cursus

Dorset Cursus

The Dorset Cursus is a Neolithic cursus monument that spans across 10 km of the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase in east Dorset, United Kingdom...

.

After leaving the Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

 suburbs, the route crosses open country throughout, and nowhere comes close to any settlement. Apart from a one-mile section of the main Salisbury - Blandford road which follows its course, the road can mostly be followed along minor lanes and tracks.

At Old Sarum the road connected with the Portway

Portway

The Portway was a Roman road running from London to Weymouth, via Silchester , Old Sarum and Dorchester ....

 to Silchester

Silchester

Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading....

 (Calleva Atrebatum) and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

; and from Badbury Rings roads led to the harbour at Hamworthy

Hamworthy

Hamworthy is a parish and inner suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. Hamworthy lies on a peninsula of approximately and is bounded by Upton to the north, Poole Harbour to the west and Holes Bay to the east. Poole Bridge, the southern terminus of the A350 road, connects the suburb with the town centre...

 (Moriconium) and to Dorchester (Durnovaria

Durnovaria

Durnovaria is the Latin form of the Brythonic name for the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset.-Romans at Maiden Castle:...

).

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