Devil's Dyke, Ancient cross dyke in Stetchworth, England.
Devil's Dyke is an ancient earthwork stretching roughly 11 kilometers between Reach and Woodditton in a ditch-and-bank pattern. The structure rises to about 10 meters in height at its most prominent points.
The earthwork was built after the Roman period ended in Cambridgeshire, as shown by Roman artifacts found beneath it during 20th-century excavations. These discoveries reveal how the region changed during the transition from Roman to post-Roman times.
The name comes from medieval terms like 'le Micheldyche' and 'magnum fossatum', which both mean "great ditch". These words show how local people once described this earthwork in their everyday language.
The earthwork is crossed by modern roads including the A14 and A11, as well as the Ipswich to Ely railway line at several points. Visitors should plan their approach carefully since these modern routes split the original structure.
The earthwork supports rare plants like purple milk-vetch and bastard toadflax growing on its chalk grasslands. Its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest reflects this botanical value.
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