EDO5121 - Greenhill House, Sherborne School, Sherborne; evaluation 1998 trench 2

AC Archaeology conducted an archaeological evaluation during 1 to 2 July 1998 in advance of a proposed extension to Greenhill House, Sherborne School. The work comprised the machine excavation of three trenches, only one of which contained subsoil archaeological features. A trench by the Greenhill Street frontage revealed complete truncation of archaeological features, possibly due to localised quarrying. A small trench in the garden area west of Greenhill House revealed a single N-S aligned ditch containing several 14th century sherds of pottery in its fill. The results of the evaluation suggest that medieval remains do survive on the site, but that preservation is variable. Trench 2 measured 11.5m x 1m and was aligned approximately N-S in the SW corner of the site. A layer of compact greyish-brown silty clay, containing a single sherd of 13th-14th century pottery lay below modern soil layers and above natural clay. It is possible that this represents an in situ medieval deposit.