Monument record MDO18207 - Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate; Roman ditches

Two V-shaped ditches oriented roughly N-S were seen during a watching brief at Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester ndertaken by Terrain Archaeology in 2002. Both ditches contained a small quantity of Roman pottery.

Two V-shaped ditches oriented roughly N-S were seen during a watching brief at Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester during a watching brief undertaken by Terrain Archaeology in 2002 (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report (2).

Two roughly parallel broad V-shaped ditches 1-1.5m wide and 0.5m deep [103] [110], oriented roughly N-S and two metres apart were found in Trench 1. Both ditches were filled with reddish-brown soil with flint and chalk. A small quantity of Roman pottery was recovered from them. These ditches continued to the north, where they were picked up in the southern end of Trench 3.

These ditches were on a different alignment to the elements of a Roman field and enclosure system found during previous excavations to the west and north of the site (4), so it is difficult to link the present ditches with the previous discoveries. It must be noted that the ditches at Cooper's Cookers lay on the other side of the coomb. The ditches probably follow the topography, which may explain the differing alignments.

<1> Bellamy, P S, 2003, Dorchester, Cooper's Wholesale, The Grove. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeology Society, 164 (Article in serial). SDO9505.

<2> Tatler, S, Bellamy, P, and Montague, R, 2002, Units 1-3, Cooper’s Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester, Dorset: Archaeological Observations and Recording (Unpublished document). SDO9506.

<3> Farwell, D E, 1997, Coopers Wholesale, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester: Preliminary Archaeological Desk-based Assessment (Unpublished document). SDO9504.

<4> Sparey Green, C, 1987, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1982. Volume 1: The Settlements (Monograph). SDO9630.

Record last edited

Aug 9 2006 6:18AM