EDO6231 - Flood alleviation works near Charminster Bridge, East Hill, Charminster; watching brief 2015

Watching brief during associated flood alleviation works in St Mary's churchyard and adjacent locations in Charminster, Dorset, Focused on monitoring groundworks in three main areas: drainage and kerb/path construction in St Mary's churchyard and the adjacent riverside; preparatory work locating services in East Hill road either side of the bridge ; and drainage channel excavation and connection to existing culvert in Nine Acre field, located approximately 100 m to the south-west of the bridge and church.Standing building record and watching brief on replacement of Charminster bridge separately reported site code 108150. Very limited archaeological remains were uncovered during the archaeological monitoring. As anticipated, some human bone was uncovered in St Mary's churchyard and found to be the articulated upper probable right side of a possibly supine inhumation, only part of which lay within the excavated trench. These human remains were fully recorded, lifted and reburied in approximately the same location. One wide shallow ditch was uncovered during works in 'Nine Acre' field; a single sherd of post-medieval pottery was recovered from its single fill. Later observations recorded that this ditch continued to the northern extent of this field and into an existing brick culvert, so the feature is likely to be late post-medieval/modern in date, probably19th /20th century, and served a drainage function, just like the new channel that was excavated as part of the groundworks in this area. A very small quantity of medieval pottery was also recovered from the topsoil in this field.