Romano-Celtic temple and associated remains at Jordan Hill

A Romano-Celtic temple stands on Jordan Hill above Bowleaze Cove in Weymouth. Excavations in the 1930s showed it was used from about AD 69–79 to the late fourth century. Finds from these digs include animal bones, coins and pottery now in Dorset Museum and the British Museum. Nearby Preston Roman Villa lies to the north-west of the temple. The site also served as a late fourth-century signal station. The temple follows a Romano-British plan with a square building inside a walled precinct. Its floor measured 6.8 square metres and the surrounding precinct covered 84 square metres. Excavators found many deposits of bones, potsherds and coins within the precinct. A cemetery with both cremations and burials lies on the site. Stone robbing removed parts of the temple’s ambulatory. English Heritage now cares for the site as a Scheduled Monument. Visitors reach the hilltop to see the temple foundations and distant views over Bowleaze Cove. The Ministry of Works took charge in 1933 and English Heritage has managed it since. Nearby Osmington White Horse offers another historic landmark.