Monument record MDO18204 - South Walks CSO, post-medieval building

A small part of a building was recorded in a watching brief by Terrain Archaeology in 2002, during sewerage works at the junction between South Street and South Walks, Dorchester. The extent and orientation of the building were not determined. It had a rammed chalk floor and the western wall has been robbed. No firm dating evidence was recovered, butstratigraphically it is later than the Roman road. It is thought to be a post-medieval structure.

A small area of a structure was exposed during sewerage works at the junction between South Street and South Walks, Dorchester. They were recorded during a watching brief undertaken by Terrain Archaeology in January 2002.(1)

The identified elements of the building were a rammed chalk floor on a flint nodule base and a probable wall trench along the west side. The extent and orientation of the building were not determined. In the western part, there was the remains of a replacement chalk floor, separated from the original floor by a thin layer of silt containing a small number of slate fragments. No occupation deposits were found on the floor but it was covered in a levelling layer containing post-medieval material, including 18th century pottery. This building overlies the Roman road. (2)

A small building is shown on the 1810 map of the Borough of Dorchester in the position of this building. It is unidentified on the map, but may be a small booth or similar.

<1> Bellamy, P S, 2003, Dorchester South Walks CSO. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeology Society, 166 (Article in serial). SDO9572.

<2> Bellamy, P, 2002, South Walks CSO, Dorchester, Dorset: Archaeological Observations and Recording (Unpublished document). SDO9571.

<3> Anon, 1810, Map of the Borough of Dorchester, Dorset (Map). SDO9545.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:27PM