Monument record MDO18043 - Maiden Castle Road grave 02235

A 4th century AD rectangular pit oriented E-W, within the Maiden Castle Road Roman cemetery. No human remains recovered, it may be an unfinished or unoccupied grave. It was cut by grave 02320.

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.

Rectangular cut feature aligned E-W on the line of the northern limit of the cemetery. It was cut by grave? [02320]. This feature was grave size and shape but no human remains were recovered. It may be an unoccupied or uncompleted grave.

No dating evidence was recovered from this grave, which has been dated to the 4th century AD on the basis of its association with other burials of this date within the cemetery.

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.

Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 8:09PM