Roman Food & Farming
Roman (43 - 410 AD)
During the Roman times, the growth of towns such as Dorchester provided a market for rural produce.
When the Romans came along, they improved the land's drainage, digging more ditches and defining tracks across the landscape. Woodland may have become less important due to the Roman use of stone, instead of wood, as a building material.
Roman Food
Chickens were introduced along with modern bread wheat and grapes for wine. On the floodplain by the river, a hay meadow was introduced increasing the numbers of animals that could be kept over winter.
