EDO3830 - Damers First School, proposed new site, Poundbury, Evaluation Trench 8

An archaeological evaluation was carried out by AC archaeology in August 2005 on two proposed sites for the construction of a new Damers First School. The investigations comprised the machine-excavation of five trenches on the existing Damers First School site and eight trenches on a proposed site immediately west of Poundbury Cemetery (1). This work followed an earlier geophysical survey of both sites which identified a number of subsurface magnetic anomalies indicating the presence of archaeological activity (2). The eight trenches on the proposed new site west of Poundbury Cemetery (trenches 6-13) totalled 165m in length, each 1.6m wide. Topsoil and overburden were removed by mechanical excavator. Machining ceased on top of natural subsoil, or intact archaeological deposits. Only four of the eight trenches revealed evidence for archaeological activity, all of which corresponded with anomalies identified on the geophysical survey and interpreted by the geophysical surveyors as possibly modern. Trench 8 was aligned approximately NE-SW, located on moderately sloping ground in the S portion of the site and excavated to a maximum depth of 0.4m on top of natural clay with flints (overlying upper chalk). The ploughsoil was 0.2m thick on top of subsoil at 0.2-0.4m. It was positioned in order to target an amorphous geophysical anomaly thought to be possible ploughed in ferrous objects. However, on excavation it was revealed to represent a large subsoil feature 1.8m deep containing a single fill with a single body sherd of Roman Black Burnished Ware pottery and four pieces of struck flint. This feature was probably a chalk quarry of possible prehistoric or Roman date. No other archaeological features or finds were recorded