LITTLE may be seen today of the Saxons in Dorset when Wareham was a key town on the coast but archaeology provides intriguing glimpses of life in those distant days.
A chapter in author Peter Stanier's thought-provoking book called Dorset's Archaeology, focuses on "Seeking the Saxons" and puts a spotlight on the days when Wareham had access to the sea via the River Frome and Poole Harbour.
He tells of the ramparts built by the Saxons at Wareham to defend their town with a bank protected with timber along three sides, with the river offering protection on the fourth.
"Much of the Saxon town rampart survives up to 4.5 metres high and eight metres from the bottom of the ditch," Stanier writes.
Lady St Mary's Church in Wareham had been one of the largest Saxon churches in England before it was demolished and rebuilt in 1840 and there were once six other churches in Wareham.
St Martin's Church by the north gate, says Stanier, is the most important survivor.
A church was reputedly built by St Aldhelm on the site but the surviving site is later and may represent a rebuilding in about 1030, following destruction by Cnut.
Despite alterations, says Stanier, it is "the best preserved Saxon church in Dorset".
The author's chapter on the Saxons looks at archaeological clues from Shaftesbury Abbey to excavations at Christchurch, and at religious centres from Sherborne to Wimborne Minster.
Dorset's Archaeology: Archaeology in the Landscape, 4000BC to AD1700, Halsgrove £19.95
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