EDO5527 - 40 High West Street and Sterling House, Princes Street, Dorchester; excavation 2009

Excavation of two trenches; one with plan dimensions 4 m x 1m excavated by hand in the rear of the garden of 40 High West Street. The second trench was opened by mechanical digger in the Sterling house car park,and was approximately 6m in length and maximum width 1.8m at its northern extent. The location of Trench 1 was shifted slightly to the west of the approved scheme of work to avoid interference with a mature shrub. Trench 2 was excavated in two stages; the southern section was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.3m through modern deposits, which were recorded and backfilled immediately due to the proximity to adjacent standing walls. The northern section was excavated initially by machine, and then by hand leaving a suitable baulk in place. The Trenches reveal evidence of earlier buildings and structures, although for Trench 1 the evidence is most probably of 20th centurty date. Trench 2 is more complex, elements of which can be related to former structures shown in historical cartography, the earliest phase possibly medieval. A total of eleven sherds of pottery weighing 173g was recovered from the two trenches; Small finds assemblage comprises pottery, clay pipe and brick. The pottery includes Romano-British, Medieval and post-Medieval sherds.