Wimborne’s Roman fortress uncovered

Locals were clearly very keen to find out about Wimborne’s lost Roman fortress as the two-day exhibition held at Allendale House over the weekend of 24/25 October attracted hundreds of visitors.

Historic Wimborne CIC staged the Roman Heritage Weekend, bringing to light details about the fortress which was built by Vespasian’s Legion on the edge of Wimborne at Lake Farm.

Discovered in 1959 by archaeologist Norman Field, its true scale remained unclear until a Bournemouth University survey in 2016 finally revealed the full extent of what lay beneath the fields – a fortress large enough to house an entire legion.

Uncovering Roman Wimborne was delivered by Historic Wimborne CIC, supported by a Culture Catalyst Micro-Commission as part of Wimborne Town of Culture 2026, with academic input from Bournemouth University’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology.