Monument record MDO18115 - Greyhound Yard, Roman Street 5533

A Roman street running roughly north-south found along eastern edge of Greyhound Yard excavations by Wessex Archaeology in 1984. Forms the eastern limit of the insula investigated by the Greyhound Yard excavations.

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).

A layer of coarse flint gravel 0.3m thick over a spread of chalk rubble 0.02m thick formed the base of a road built directly on the pre-urban soils. Only very small fragments of this road survived in two places, but during the subsequent groundworks for the new development, the road was observed as a continuous band of gravel running along the whole of the western side of the site.

In the southernmost exposure, the western edge of the road was defined by a shallow ditch [5354] about 0.3m deep with a broad shallow shelf along its western side. Its primary fill was a clayey loam [5353] which contained pottery of pre-AD75 date. This ditch was sealed by deposits dating to the later 1st century AD. In the northernmost exposure the edge of the road was defined by ditch [730], which contained pottery dating to the 2nd century AD.

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at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document).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, 37 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM