Monument record MDO18147 - Greyhound Yard, Roman enclosure 5518

An enclosed area in the south central part of the Greyhound Yard insula, defined by gullies along its north and south sides, was probably part of the initial laying out in the mid 1st century AD. The northern boundary was replaced by another slightly to the north during the later 1st century. Two pits within it contain 1st century AD pottery and may be contemporary.

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).

Enclosure 5518 lay immediately south of Enclosure 5537 and was divided from it by gully [3896]. Its southern side was defined by a shallow gully [3078/503]. There is no evidence for its eastern side, but this is thought be along the same line as Enclosure 5537 to the north. The western side of this enclosure lay beyond the area of excavation. It measured 18m wide N-S and over 30 m long. This enclosure may have been laid out as one of the primary features within the insula in this part of the Roman town and probably dates to pre-AD75.

This northern side of this enclosure was subsequently redefined by gully [3969], at some point during the later 1st century AD.

Two pits [1502] and [3762] appear to be broadly contemporary with the enclosure. Pit [1502] in the southeast corner was a shallow pit 0.9m deep with a rounded base and filled with chalk rubble with layers of red-brown clay above. Pit [3762] lay in the northern part of the enclosure and was 1.8m deep with a conical profile measuring up to 2.8m across. The lower fills were clean chalk rubble with reddish-brown clay loams containing pottery and animal bone above.

In addition to the pits, there was a scatter of postholes, but their relationship to the enclosure is unclear.

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at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document).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, 52-53 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:27PM