EDO4549 - Service Trench, Charles Street cul-de-sac, Dorchester; observations and recording 1984

Observations of a 4m x 2.1m service trench adjacent to the NE corner of Waitrose to the west of Acland Road (formerly Charles Street), Dorchester by Christopher Sparey Green in 1984, revealed the eastern edge of some Roman Road gravels and a flanking ditch to the east. Traces of yellowish-brown and greyish-green gravel overlying a layer of chalk rubble laid directly on natural were discovered in the north and south faces of the trench. The flanking ditch was aligned roughly N-S, with a rounded section and was cut into the natural. It was filled with sandy soil and gravel. These gravel deposits probably relate to the gravels on the west side of a N-S Roman street found in the extreme NE corner of the Greyhound Yard excavations. They are probably related to further exposures of Roman road gravels further to the south in Acland Road.