EDO4795 - Middle Farm, Bridport Road, Poundbury, Dorchester; evaluation (Trench F)

Wessex Archaeology conducted an archaeological evaluation during February 1990, on a field east of Middle Farm, Dorchester, in advance of housing development. Fifteen machine trenches, covering some 2280 square metres, (1.9% of the development area) were excavated. Four trenches contained no visible features (Trenches E, J, K, M); two trenches only natural tree holes (Trenches A & P). The remaining 11 trenches contained archaeological features. These included nine ditch segments, one small pit, three ?marl pits, one articulated cow burial and three modern post-holes. Trench F measured 83m x 2.25m and was aligned N-S in the central part of the site. A number of archaeological features were revealed. In the northern part of the trench was a recut V-profiled ditch running E-W, measuring 1.9m wide and 0.6m deep (with a recut 1m wide by 0.7m deep). The earlier ditch contained four sherds of of Late Bronze Age pottery and four worked flint flakes. They are likely to have been part of the Bronze Age field system which covered this area. Towards the southern end of the trench were two very large features filled with reddish brown clay, which are probably marl pits, possibly of Iron Age or Roman date, though no dating evidence was recovered. At the southern end of the trench was a shallow scoop containing an articulated immature cow skeleton, probably post-medieval or modern in date.