EDO5118 - South Street/ Ludbourne Road, Sherborne; Evaluation Trench 3

Lindsey Archaeological Services conducted an archaeological evaluation of land at South Street/ Ludbourne Road, Sherborne during 1998 in advance of re-development of the site as Sainsbury’s Supermarket. Three trenches were excavated. ‘Trench 1, at the west end of the site, established that the area of the possible medieval mill is heavily disturbed and that significant archaeological remains are unlikely to survive. Three ditches of possible Iron Age date were recorded in Trenches 2 and 3, located in the eastern half of the site. These ditches were sealed by a possible inundation layer at a depth which is unlikely to be impacted upon by the proposed development. Later features were post-medieval to modern and appear to have removed evidence of intermediate activity.’ Trench 3 measured 8.7m x 1.4m and was aligned approximately E-W at the northeastern end of the site, parallel to Ludbourne Road. 1m of modern make up overlay two parallel E-W aligned ditches filled with dark brown clay containing no artefacts. Between the two ditches was the remnants of a small bank of grey clay silt and yellow gravel. Above this survived a baulk of greenish clay (1).