Monument record MDO18124 - Greyhound Yard, Roman building 5457

The remains of a stone building on the eastern street frontage of the Greyhound Yard insula found during the 1984 excavations at Greyhound Yard. Parts of two rooms open to the north were exposed. These probably date from the mid-late 2nd century and had probably gone out of use by the 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 remains of a stone-footed building found at the southern end of the eastern street frontage. Only a small part of this building was within the excavated area. The evidence for this building comprised the remnants of three flint and limestone footings [5423, 5202, 5188], with a small length of 0.7m wide wall of mortared flints [5186] surviving on the western part of the structure. These remnants defined two rooms, open to the north, one measuring 5m wide and the other 3m wide. In the area adjacent to the surviving wall fragment, traces of in situ layers within the building were discovered. These comprised layers of mortar and tile fragments, sealed by a dark brown loam, sealed by a compact chalk rubble layer.

This building possibly formed part of a larger unit with adjacent buildings 5455 and 5456, but no evidence survived for the use of Building 5457. The dating of this building is reliant on stratigraphic evidence which suggests a terminus post quem in the mid-late 2nd century AD. The date this building went out of use is unclear, perhaps some time in the late 3rd century

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at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document).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, 57 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM