Monument record MDO18226 - Channon's Garage, High East Street; Roman drain

Observations during the removal of fuel tanks on the site of the former Channon's Garage, undertaken by Exeter Archaeology in 2001, revealed traces of a stone-lined drain sealed beneath a mortar floor base and a chalk surface.

Observations during the removal of fuel tanks on the site of the former Channon's Garage, High East Street, Dorchester, undertaken by Exeter Archaeology in 2001, revealed traces of a stone-lined drain sealed beneath a chalk surface and a mortar floor.

Only small fragmentary portions of the possible drain were exposed. It was constructed from rough yellowish limestone blocks bonded with clay with a limestone capping. It was about 0.5m wide and 0.55m deep and oriented roughly ENE-WSW. Its full extent was not exposed. Above the stone capping was a layer of soil which was sealed by a hard yellowish mortar floor layer. In a similar position over the southern side of the drain was a thin chalk surface, which was thought to be the remains of an external yard surface.

No certain dating evidence was recovered from the drain itself, but stratigraphically it is Roman in date. A large quantity of Roman occupation debris was found in the vicinity, but it is unclear what this drain was associated with and whether it was directly related to a building in the vicinity.

Exeter Archaeology, 2002, Archaeological Observations and Recording during Decontamination works at Channon’s Garage, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9510.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM