Monument record MDO18111 - Greyhound Yard, Roman Building 5544

This building lies in the central part of the north frontage of the Greyhound Yard insula and was exposed during the 1984 Greyhound Yard excavations, Dorchester. Only a small part of the south wall of this building was exposed. It was constructed in the mid 4th century AD.

Found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1984 prior to the redevelopment of the area of the former Greyhound Yard. (1) The results of the excavation were published together with the results of the adjacent Old Methodist Chapel excavations. (2) The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the published report (2).

The only evidence for this structure is a wall footing beneath the northern end of the Greyhound Yard excavation Trench C. This comprised a footings trench [3247, 1888] over 0.9m wide and over 0.3m deep. It cut through layers of urban soil which sealed the earlier features in this area. Where it cut through earlier features, this footing trench was up to one metre deep. The footing consisted of flint nodules, in places in pitched courses and included some tile and limestone fragments. At its west end, this wall footing either terminates or turns northwards. The eastern end of this wall was not exposed.

The dating evidence for this structure consisted of a coin dated AD330-345 from within the footing. This suggests a construction date of the mid 4th century AD.

During the mid 4th century AD, another suite of rooms [Building 3146] was added on to the southwest corner of this Building.

Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Dorchester, Durnovaria: Excavations in the town centre at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document). SDO9435.

Wessex Archaeology, 1984, Greyhound Yard, Dorchester excavation archive (Excavation archive). SDO9456.

<1> Woodward, P J , Davies, S M , and Graham, A H, 1984, Excavations at the Greyhound Yard Car Park, Dorchester, 1984, 99-106 (Article in serial). SDO9437.

<2> Woodward, P J , Davies, S M , and Graham, A H, 1993, Excavations at the Old Methodist Chapel and Greyhound Yard, Dorchester, 1981-1984, 56 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM