EDO3835 - Damers First School, proposed new site, Poundbury, Evaluation Trench 13

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 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. 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 13 was aligned approximately NE-SW, located on moderately sloping ground in the eastern portion of the site and excavated to a maximum depth of 0.6m on top of natural clay with flints (overlying upper chalk). The ploughsoil was 0.25m thick on top of subsoil at 0.25-0.6m. It was positioned to target two linear anomalies interpreted by the geophysical survey as modern field boundaries or land drains. However, only one linear feature was revealed on excavation. This was a one metre wide ditch with steeply sloping sides and slightly rounded base 0.5m deep [F1302]. The single fill contained a small quantity of Bronze Age pottery. This is probably part of the same ditch found in Trench 9 and is likely to be a Bronze Age field boundary ditch. No other archaeological finds or deposits were recorded.