EDO4819 - Former County Hospital Site, Dorchester; Block 2

Excavations were conducted by Wessex Archaeology prior to redevelopment of the former Dorset County Hospital site, adjacent to and south of Somerleigh Court, in the SW corner of the Roman town of Dorchester. The fieldwork took place intermittently between October 2000 and December 2001. The principal archaeological works comprised three separate excavation trenches corresponding to the proposed footprints of new buildings: Blocks 1 & 3 (a single N-S aligned trench along the eastern side of the site; Block 2 (an 'L-shaped' trench in the southern part of the site); and Block 4 (a sub-rectangular trench in the western part of the trench). There were also three evaluation trenches to the west of Block 4 and a watching brief was maintained on a new service trench across the site and two areas of unscheduled ground reduction. A 'strip-and-record' programme also exposed archaeological remains immediately south of Somerleigh Court, which were preserved in situ. The excavations revealed a sequence of structures, associated features and deposits which document the development of this part of the town from the 1st century AD until the early 5th century. Block 2 was an irregular 'L-shaped' excavation area excavated in advance of the construction of the new Somerleigh Court building on the west side of Chesil Place. Pre-Roman evidence from Block 2 comprised red-brown soil layers sealing chalk and/or patches of flinty clay. Prehistoric struck flint was plentiful dating from the Mesolithic to early Iron Age. The early Roman (1st-2nd century AD) remains were concentrated in the SE part of the trench. Parts of two sub-rectangular sunken-featured structures were found, one in the east end of the trench, which contained the remains of a flint footing and a small pit and another which was found on the southern edge of the trench. These structures may have been used as crop storage facilities. A series of pits, post-holes and ditches lay between these structures. In the later 2nd-3rd centuries AD a building was constructed in the western end of the trench. It was a rectangular structure, but was not fully exposed within the excavated area. It appeared to have had cob walls with a stone threshold in the middle of the eastern gable end. In the interior were two rows of postholes. There was the patchy remains of a clay floor. Some fragments of coarse white-painted plaster were found in the demolition and backfill deposits. This building probably had an agricultural or storage function, rather than being a domestic dwelling. To the east of this building was an open area with a number of make-up layers and surfaces present. This may represent an open yard or enclosure in the centre of an insula block. In the mid 4th century AD, a range of high-status domestic buildings probably representing a wealthy town house was erected on a large terrace cut into the hillside. Part of two rooms at the western end and a corridor running along the southern side was exposed in the excavated area. The westernmost room was fully exposed and contained a fine, but damaged, geometric polychrome mosaic. This room lead into another room with a mosaic floor, but which was only partially exposed. The corridor or verandah to the south had a plain red and grey striped tesselated floor. A soakaway was constructed to the west and north of the building. There is no evidence for stone foundations within the wall trenches and it is possible that the building was of timber beam construction. A number of other trenches and post-holes on similar alignments to the building may represent drainage, boundaries and fence lines.