Monument record MDO18023 - Maiden Castle Farm ring-ditch 52032

A ring-ditch defined by a single slightly irregular semicircular ditch, probably origninally circular with a diameter of about 11m. No internal archaeological features.

A ring-ditch discovered during topsoil stripping for the Dorchester By-pass construction. It was investigated by Wessex Archaeology in summer 1987. About one-third of this ring-ditch was exposed, the southern part was obscured by a temporary haul road. It lay to the southeast of ring-ditch 02027, the southeasternmost of a line of four ring-ditches.

The complete plan of ring-ditch 52032 was exposed and comprised a rather irregular semicircular feature with an external diameter of about 11m and an internal diameter of 10m. The shallowness of the surviving ditch suggests that it may have originally been a continuous circuit that has been subsequently eroded away. It was defined by a shallow ditch with an eroded profile up to 0.7m wide and 0.1m deep. It was filled with chalky soil. No suggestion of a mound was evident from the character of the ditch fills. No internal features were found other than a single natural feature. The finds recovered from the ditch fills consisted of a small quantity of worked flint of Bronze Age character.

The profile and infilling of the ring-ditch was different to the other adjacent ring-ditches, suggesting it may have had a different function or form. It was on the same line as the other ring-ditches so would appear to be a component part of the probable linear round barrow cemetery.

National Record of the Historic Environment, 983948 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Wessex Archaeology, 1987, Dorchester By-pass (Excavation archive). SDO9385.

Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 53-55 (Monograph). SDO9379.

Record last edited

Mar 20 2024 4:59PM