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Rawlsbury

Hillfort

Miscellaneous

Rawlsbury (900ft above sea level) is the second highest hill fort in Dorset being surpassed only by Pilsdon Pen (970ft). It is superbly sited and on a clear day there is a sweep of country all around which in sheer beauty can scarcely be surpassed in all England. Before you lie the Purbeck Hills running down to the sea, the great heath, the glorious fertile Vale of Blackmore running across to Somerset, and Glastonbury Tor. All this can be seen on one side whilst to the other the hill top town of Shaftesbury, the mid-Dorset downs and far away Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can be seen. Truly a place worth visiting for the view alone. This fort must have been well nigh impregnable but as it has never been excavated we do not know if it fell to Vespasian. Certainly from Hod and Hambledon Vespasian must have seen Rawlsbury very clearly and is unlikely to have left so powerful a fort uncaptured on his flank.
'Exploring Ancient Dorset' by George Osborn, 1976.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
5th November 2005ce
Edited 5th November 2005ce

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