EDO4820 - Former County Hospital Site, Dorchester; Block 4

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 4 was an irregular 'L-shaped' excavation area excavated in advance of the construction of Hascombe Court on the south side of Chesil Place. Pre-Roman evidence from Block 4 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. A single feature of pre-Roman date is probably a tree throw. During the Early Roman (1st-2nd century AD) the area was divided into several properties by a large 'T-shaped' ditch. No structural remains of this date were found. In the late 2nd- mid 3rd centuries AD, a number of buildings were constructed in this area and survived as a series of shallow mortared flint footings representing at least three structures. A fragment of stone wall bearing remnants of painted plaster was also found and probably represents part of a domestic building, which had been terraced into the sloping ground. Two pits at the northern end of this trench probably belong to this phase, one of which may have been a well. Two oven bases were found in the central part of this trench and may also be contemporary. Block 4 revealed a complex of late Roman remains. It appeared to be an area of non-domestic activity and was dominated by a large aisled building, probably a barn. This may represent part of a late Roman 'urban farmstead'. The building may have been re-floored late in its existence with later subdivisions present. A stone-built oven cut through a structural post-pad suggesting some late activity. A dispersed coin hoard recovered from within the building contained many worn coins minted between 388-402 AD. A group of large pits were identified to the south of the building together with the remains of a flint cobbled surface.