EDO4827 - Dorchester By-pass; fieldwalking survey 1986 to 1987

Systematic fieldwalking was undertaken along the route of the Southern Dorchester By-pass by Wessex Archaeology in 1987-8. A total of 15 fields were fieldwalked on a 25m grid aligned on the OS National Grid giving a 10% surface scan of the total field surface. About 75% of the By-pass route was fieldwalked, the remaining six fields were not accessible or suitable for fieldwalking This work was undertaken as an extension to the fieldwalking programme being undertaken as part of the Maiden Castle Landscape Survey and the results have been considered and published together as part of the Maiden Castle Landscape Survey (1). Overall, there was little distinctive variation in the distribution of flint and chert and pottery across the survey area. In the area immediately south of Bridport Road, there was a noticeable concentration of flint, mainly cores and tested nodules, perhaps suggesting an area of raw material procurement. Another concentration of core material was found on the slopes below the western end of Conygar Hill. The distribution of stone tools largely followed the trend above with the greatest concentration on the slopes below Bridport Road. The pottery recovered was largely post-medieval in date with only a sparse scattering of Roman pot across the area. No specific sites were identified as a the result of the fieldwalking.