EDO4222 - Middle Farm, Bridport Road, Dorchester; excavation (Trench 2)

An excavation was undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in advance of development by the Duchy of Cornwall. The excavation followed a two-stage trial trenching and fieldwalking evaluation, which had identified a Bronze Age field system. It comprised the excavation of four trenches each approximately 100m x 50m in area, which revealed not only elements of the Bronze Age field system, but associated Late Bronze Age round houses, a series of early and late Neolithic pits, and some Iron Age/Roman marl pits (1) (2). Trench 2, located in the SW corner of the site contained the continuation of a major E-W aligned Early-Middle Bronze Age ditch seen in Trench 1 to the east. Three further but substantially smaller ditches seemed to come off from it. The southern part of the trench was extended to encompass the area of two Middle-Late Bronze Age round houses. A group of Late Bronze Age pits was also recorded to the east and northeast of the round houses.A group of Late Neolithic pits was found in the SW corner of the trench, containing worked flint and fragments of hammerstones and grind stones. A Late Iron Age/Roman marl pit was recorded near the centre of the trench. A pit near the west end of the trench contained nine hobnails, other iron nails and fragments of tegulum.