EDO4248 - Fordington Farm, Dorchester; evaluation (Trench J/K)

The Duchy of Cornwall commissioned Wessex Archaeology to conduct an archaeological evaluation of land to the south and west of Fordington Farm , prior to the sale of the land for development. The work took place between May and October 1986. The area of a proposed new sports field was subject to geophysical survey, earthwork survey, testpitting and evaluation excavation. The remains of a Bronze Age round barrow of three identified phases was identified together with a number of possible Roman features and medieval field earthworks. Trench J/K comprised two conjoining trenches in a 'dog-leg' arrangement, machined down to bedrock adjacent to and south of the earlier excavation area at Alington Avenue. Two linear features which barely cut the chalk were devoid of artefacts, but were clearly sealed or truncated by the ploughsoil. A medieval origin seems likely. They may represent boundaries between plots visible on the 1779 survey of the Manor of Fordington.