EDO5704 - Proposed dairy complex, Bayard Dairy, Goulds Hill, Upwey, Weymouth; evaluation 2010

Archaeological evaluation of about two hectares of agricultural land immediately east of Bayard Dairy, a site situated on the southern flank of the South Dorset Ridgeway. Machine excavation of eleven trenches, comprising approximately 2% of the site. Each trench measured 30m by 1.6m and was dug to the top of undisturbed natural deposits or potential archaeological remains, after which select manual cleaning of trench-bases was undertaken when necessary. The majority of trenches contained similar sequences of deposits, with significant variations noted only in Trenches 3 and 8. Trench 8 lay along a prominent low mound visible in the field surface. No archaeological features were identified, but a possible infilled tree-throw hole was investigated in Trench 9. The low mound was proved to be natural in origin. All eleven trenches produced quantities of struck flint and chert, from the topsoil and upper interface of the underlying natural silty clay. A small quantity of post-medieval pottery was found. Spreads of pre-historic flint and chert-working debris were identified (apparently concentrated most densely in the south-central and south eastern parts of the site) which can not be accounted for by colluvial redeposition from the Ridgeway slopes to the north, and must, therefore, have been generated (at least in part) by knapping activity on the site. There remains, within the unsampled areas of the site (97.5%), a moderate potential for survival of other archaeological features (heritage assets) associated with the lithic scatters. Any such remains are likely to be of local (rather than regional or national) significance, although they may augment understanding of the setting of the adjacent Scheduled round barrows.