EDO4186 - Old Foundry Site, Fordington High Street; Evaluation Trial Pit 7

AC Archaeology undertook an archaeological evaluation of the former Lott and Walne Foundry site, Fordington High Street, Dorchester, in June 1997. This comprised the machine excavation of three trenches outside the existing building and four hand-excavated trial pits within it. Trial pit 7 measured 1.5m x 1.15m and was hand excavated to a maximum depth of 1.4m against the south internal wall of the Foundry building. A number of deposits was observed, including a possible surface and a feature containing post-medieval pottery in its fill. This feature cut a dark grey silty clay layer at a depth of 0.35m-1.15m which contained several sherds of a single medieval vessel, which itself sealed a dark grey silty clay layer (1.15m-1.4m deep) containing RB pottery and tile. A probable floor surface comprising compacted flint nodules lay below this on the north side of the pit at a depth of 1.15m-1.25m. It is possible that this represents a Romano-British surface.