Monument record MDO18153 - Greyhound Yard, early medieval field boundaries

A series of east-west land divisions forming 14m wide strips defined by shallow ditches were found during the 1984 Greyhound Yard excavations. These strips were earlier than the 13th century burgages running back from Durngate Street, but the date of their inception is not known. They represent the primary medieval activity in this area.

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).

Two parallel east-west ditches [2023/2103] and [5488] formed the earliest medieval divisions on the Greyhound Yard site and defined a series of east-west strips about 14m wide. Another smaller gully [1371] lay to the north and appeared to be on the same line and spacing and may have been associated. The strips lay roughly parallel to the Roman streets and there was also a correspondence between the ditches and the late Roman enclosure 2500 and the boundaries between the Roman buildings on the eastern frontage (2700, 5433, 3504). The ditches were under one metre wide and 0.3m deep and filled with dark soil with Roman building debris. Both ditches had been recut.

Both ditches were stratigraphically earlier than the 13th century burgage boundaries which ran north-south from Durngate Street These strips may have been contemporary with a terrace [5490] to the north which may have held a building. The southern ditch [5488] established a boundary line which continued in use for a long period of time as the boundary between the back of the Durngate Street burgages and the medieval open field of Estwalles.

The dating of these early medieval boundaries is not certain. They are earlier than the 13th century burgages along Durngate Street, but the date of their inception is not known, although their location suggests that the Roman buildings were still visible in the landscape at that time. A small quantity of 12th century pottery was recovered from the northern ditch.

National Record of the Historic Environment, 1147737 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

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, 86 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:27PM