Monument record MDO18228 - Channon's Garage, High East Street; Late Roman building

Evaluation excavation and subsequent observations on the site of the former Channon's Garage, High East Street, undertaken by Exeter Archaeology in 2001-2002, revealed traces of at least one late Roman building. The full plan and extent of this building was not revealed, but part of a stone wall footing, a mortar-lined drain and a series of mortar and chalk floors were found, sealed beneath substantial Roman demolition deposits of 3rd-4th century AD date. The material recovered from the demolition layers included window glass, tesserae, Oxfordshire and New Forest finewares, with substantial quantities of ceramic and stone roof tile, floor tile and flue tile, which together suggest that the building was a substantial domestic house of relatively high status.

Evaluation excavation and subsequent observations on the site of the former Channon's Garage, High East Street, Dorchester, undertaken by Exeter Archaeology in 2001-2002, revealed traces of at least one late Roman building (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets are context numbers referred to in the excavation reports (1) (2).

The full plan and extent of this building was not revealed and it is unclear whether all of the elements described below are, in fact from the same building. The only structural elements from this building revealed by the work were a fragment of a N-S wall found during observations in 2002 (2) and a mortar-lined stone culvert running roughly NNW-SSE found in evaluation Trench 4 (1). Associated with these structural elements were a number of floor surfaces found in evaluation Trenches 3, 4, and 7.

Wall [976] was 0.8m wide and comprsed tightly packed large pitched mortared flint and limestone footings. No trace of the overlying wall was identified as the wall had been extensively robbed. A number of chalk surfaces were identified associated with both sides of this wall, perhaps suggesting it was an internal division. The uppermost chalk surface was covered by a spread of painted wall plaster, which lay face down, suggesting that it may be the remains of in situ collapse on to the floor. A small quantity of 3rd-4th century AD pottery was found associated with the chalk surfaces.

In evaluation Trench 4, to the east of wall [976], the remains of a culvert 0.25m wide and 0.3m deep, the sides of which were plastered with mortar and which was capped by limestone slabs. This culvert was sealed beneath a mortar floor (1).

In evaluation Trench 3, to the northwest of wall [976] the remains of a disturbed limestone slab floor on a mortar base was found. A chalk floor on a clay base was also found in this trench, but the relationship with the stone floor was not determined. The chalk floor overlay at least four earlier surfaces, which were probably part of an earlier Roman structure on the site (1).

In evaluation Trench 7, to the north of wall [976] a substantial mortar floor was partially exposed (1).

All of the above structural elements were sealed beneath substantial deposits of Roman demolition debris, which contained substantial quantities of 3rd-4th century AD pottery. The material recovered from the demolition layers included window glass, tesserae, Oxfordshire and New Forest finewares, with substantial quantities of ceramic and stone roof tile, floor tile and flue tile, which together suggest that the building was a substantial domestic house of relatively high status.

<1> Gent, T H, 2001, Archaeological Evaluation at Channon’s Garage, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9500.

<2> Exeter Archaeology, 2002, Archaeological Recording at Channon’s Garage, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9499.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM