EDO8251 - Manor Farm, Winterbourne Abbas; evaluation 2025

OASIS: An archaeological evaluation was carried out by Oakford Archaeology in February 2025 on land at Manor Farm, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset. The work comprised the machine-excavation of three trenches totalling 60m in length, with each trench 1.6m wide. These were positioned to provide a spatial sample of the site. The work uncovered the remains of two large sub-circular features in Trenches 2 and 3. The feature in Trench 3 contained 2 sherds of post-1780 industrial whiteware pottery and a single fragment of 19th-20th century redware rooftile, while no dating evidence was recovered from the feature in Trench 2. Although there was no evidence for clay-lining in either feature both are interpreted as dew ponds intended for watering livestock. A small assemblage of post-medieval finds was recovered from the topsoil in Trench 2, as well as a single burnt flint scraper dating from the Neolithic to early Bronze Age. No further features or dating material were found. Project Results: The work uncovered the remains of two large sub-circular features in Trenches 2 and 3. The feature in Trench 3 contained 2 sherds of post-1780 industrial whiteware pottery and a single fragment of 19th-20th century redware rooftile, while no dating evidence was recovered from the feature in Trench 2. Although there was no evidence for clay-lining in either feature both are interpreted as dew ponds intended for watering livestock. A small assemblage of post-medieval finds was recovered from the topsoil in Trench 2, as well as a single burnt flint scraper dating from the Neolithic to early Bronze Age. No further features or dating material were found.