EDO4175 - Dorchester Police Headquarters, Evaluation Trench 7

Three trenches were excavated by AC archaeology in November 2000 in advance of the redevelopment of the Dorchester Police Headquartes site. The site lies immediately outside the southern gates of the Roman town of Durnovaria, alongside the route of the Roman southern approach road into the town and close to where a number of Roman burials were uncovered during construction work in the 1950s. The three trenches (7-9) were excavated in the northern part of the site in order to determine the potential survival of archaeological deposits. Trench 7 measured 4.5m x 1.2m and was situated close to Weymouth Avenue towards the northern end of the site. Modern disturbance was evident to a depth of 0.65m. Below this was a 0.25m thick layer of brown silty clay, almost indistinguishable from the upper fill of the probable Roman roadside ditch, which lay beneath. This ditch was 0.7m deep and 1.8m wide. Romano-British pottery, oyster shell and animal bone were recovered from the upper fill.