Car Dyke, northern end | River Welland, east of Lincoln, UK | photo PHEW | circa 130 AD | Engineering Timelines | associated engineer
Originally thought to be a navigable waterway and now thought to be a Roman catchment drain, Car Dyke runs from Lincoln to Peterborough along the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds.
If the suggestion of Roman construction is correct, then Car Dyke may be thought of as the first large scale effort to improve the Fenland. As the Fens are relatively flat, it was quite an achievement to keep a constant gradient for water flow and arrange continual fall from each upland catchment area as it passes by.
The dyke has silted up somewhat since Roman times and has been recut in various places. We do not know its original dimensions but near Lincoln it may of been some 45ft wide and 13ft deep. The picture was taken in 1978 at Potterhanworth Booths.
The southern end is at OS grid reference TL200980.
