EDO4939 - Rear Of Regent Cinema (W42), High Street, Christchurch; excavation 1983

Wessex Archaeology conducted a small excavation during 1983 in advance of proposed construction work to the rear of Regent Cinema, High Street, Christchurch. The excavation was located in order to sample a possible medieval defensive town ditch identified further to the north and running parallel to and west of the High Street but approximately 60m inside the line of the late Saxon burh defences. To this end two sections, 1.5m wide and approximately 13m apart, were cut by machine. They revealed the inner edge of a steep sided ditch running SE-NW. The outer edge lay beneath an adjacent car park so the full profile could not be retreived. No sign of a bank was revealed. Only 2 sherds of pottery were recovered, both probably from 12th-13th century cook-pots.