Monument record MDO18035 - Maiden Castle Road boundary ditches

A north-south boundary ditch found during the 1987 excavations at Maiden Castle Road. It lies on both sides of a ditched trackway. The northern part appears to define the eastern edge of a 4th century AD cemetery and the southern part divides two plots to the south of the trackway.

Found during the excavations to the north of Maiden Castle Road undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1987 in advance of the Dorchester By-pass construction. The following description is abstracted from the final published report on the site (1). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report.

This boundary was defined by two lengths of ditch on the same line, to the north and the south of the E-W ditched trackway, i.e. this boundary respected the trackway. To the north, the ditch [02225] was 0.4m wide and very shallow being only 0.1m deep. It appeared to terminate about 8 m beyond the north side of the trackway.This ditch appeared to define the eastern limit of the late Roman cemetery. Its northern terminal was on the same line as the northern limit of the cemetery. The southern ditch [02277] was 0.5m wide and continued southwards beyond the area of the excavation.

There was no secure dating evidence. Ditch [02277] contained a few finds including some 2nd-3rd century AD Black Burnished Ware sherds and an iron key stem. A 4th century AD date is suggested on the basis of the relationship with the cemetery. The southern ditch probably defined two separate plots to the south of the trackway. Buildings [02309] and [02357] lay in the western plot and building [02406] lay in the eastern plot.<1>

SY 676 894 (FCE) A rapid examination of air photography suggests the presence of a number of features, including rectilinear enclosures, linear features and pits, possibly of Prehistoric or Roman date, visible in the process of being excavated to the north of Maiden Castle, c.150m northeast of Bush Road Cottages. <2>

National Record of the Historic Environment, 983909 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

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

Woodward, P J and Smith, R J C, 1987, Survey and excavation along the route of the Southern Dorchester By-pass, 1986-1987 – an interim note, 79-89 (Article in serial). SDO9381.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 56-70 (Monograph). SDO9379.

<2> Miller, Andrew, 1993, RCHME: AP Primary Recording Project, 12-FEB-1993 (Unpublished document). SWX1708.

<2.1> Boyden, J R, JRB 3421: 07-8, 10, 16; JRB 3425: 16, 18-30 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20335.

Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 8:31PM