Monument record MDO18128 - Greyhound Yard, Roman building 3504

The remains of a stone building behind the eastern street frontage of the Greyhound Yard insula found during the 1984 excavations at Greyhound Yard. It was a small almost square structure with a rough cobbled floor, probably dating to the later 3rd or 4th century. It is likely to have been an outhouse or agricultural or industrial building rather than a domestic structure.

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).

This stone building lay behind the southern end of the eastern street frontage of the Greyhound Yard insula. It lay above the remains of timber building 5407 and was built immediately south of Building 5455. It comprised a single room measuring about 5m by 5.5m internally. The building was constructed on flint rubble footings and two courses of mortared limestone walls with a mortared flint rubble core survived. In the side of the east wall was a vertical slot 0.15m wide, possibly to take a vertical timber and perhaps indicating this building was of timber frame construction on stone sleeper walls. There was some indication of rebuilding on the south wall. In the north wall was an approximately 2m wide area of large unmortared blocks with worn surfaces, which may suggest an entrance in this area. The floor comprised a rather mixed cobbled surface. It is unclear whether this is a primary feature within the building.

The dating of this building and its associations are unclear. It sits in the SE corner of Enclosure 2500 and may have been associated with it. It originally stood south of Building 5455 and may have been contemporary with it, but was later incorporated into Building 5433. The north wall of Building 3504 was butted by one of the walls of Building 5433. The rough cobbled floor suggests it may have been an agricultural building or outhouse rather than a domestic structure.

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at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document).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, 59-60 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:27PM