Monument record MDO18241 - Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester; Early Roman structure 1604

The remains of a probable early Roman post-built rectangular building was found in Trench 4, during the 1989 excavations at Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester. This building lay on the frontage on the north side of the Roman road 1008. No floor surfaces or occupation deposits survived. It was sealed by deposits dating to the late 1st-early 2nd century AD. This building was succeeded by Structure 1605, which occupied the same area.

Found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1989 in the proposed Wessex Court retail development area between Charles Street, Acland Road, and South Walks, Dorchester (1) (2) (3) (4). The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the report and archive (1) (4).

This structure was excavated in Trench 4 and lay on the northern side of Roman Road [1008] and was aligned on it. The structural remains comprised two slots [1420, 1456] and five postholes [1433, 1436, 1440, 1443, 1460]. The two slots were on roughly the same line, oriented NE-SW, adjacent to the edge of the Roman road. Both were about 0.65m wide and 0.3m deep and neither contained any signs of internal post-settings or other structural evidence, but may have been beam slots. At right angles to the slots was a line of four postholes, the fifth posthole was 4.5m west of this line. All these postholes were about 0.3m in diameter and 0.2m deep, with two having evidence for stone packing. These features formed part of a probably rectangular building fronting on to the street, but it is unclear whether the line of postholes represents an internal or external wall. No floor surfaces or occupation deposits survived. One small oval pit [1425] lay within this structure. It was 1.1m long and 0.45m deep with a rounded base and was filled with an ash-rich fill, possibly indicating it was the remains of a hearth.

Three infant burials [1414, 1416, 1418] were found along the line of postholes, and these may have been foundation deposits. Another infant burial [1484] was found close by above the fill of slot [1420] and may also be a foundation deposit in this building.

Two pits [1422, 1482] were found just to the east of the posthole line and are probably associated with Structure 1604. It is unclear whether these pits are inside or just outside the building. Pit [1422] lay about 2m north of Roman road [1008] and just east of the posthole line of Structure 1604. It was roughly circular, 1.2m in diameter and with vertical sides. It was not fully excavated, but the upper part was filled with grey soil containing significant quantities of domestic debris, including fragments of animal bone, wall plaster, tile, shell, and 1st-2nd century AD pottery. It also contained a 1st century Hod Hill type copper alloy brooch. Pit [1432] lay to the east of pit [1422] and was only partly within the excavated area. The upper part of the pit was filled with slumped flooring and occupation deposits associated with Structure 1605.

Structure 1604 lay beneath the Early Roman Structure 1605, which had probably removed most of the evidence of this building. It was sealed by the consolidation and flooring layers of Structure 1605, which were dated to the late 1st-early 2nd century AD.

National Record of the Historic Environment, 1431039 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<1> Davies, S M and Farwell, D, 1989, Excavations at Charles Street (Wessex Court), Dorchester: Interim report on Stage 1, 25th May-3rd July and Stage 2, 25th July-12th September 1989 (Unpublished document). SDO9408.

<2> Adam, N J, Butterworth, C A, Davies, S M, and Farwell, D E, 1992, Excavations at Wessex Court , Charles Street, Dorchester, Dorset, 1989 (Unpublished document). SDO9409.

<3> Davies, S M and Farwell, D E, 1989, 'Charles Street, Dorchester, Wessex Court Development', Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9414.

<4> Wessex Archaeology, 1989-1990, Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO9878.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM