Monument record MDO18249 - Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester; Infant burial 604

An infant burial in a shallow grave just within the north side of the later Roman building 1607 was found in Trench 1, during the 1989 excavations at Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester. This burial was probably associated with this building.

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).

Infant burial 604 was found in Trench 1, immediately to the south of the remains of the robbed north wall of Structure 1607. It was contemporary with the occupation level [601] within this building. It comprised a rectangular grave 0.5m by 0.35m and 0.15m deep containing the inhumation of a new-born child placed in a crouched position on its left side and head to the south.

National Monuments Record, NMR Monument Record, SY 69 SE 386 (Index). SDO9937.

<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(Wessex Court), Dorchester: Interim report on Stage 1, 25th May-3rd July and Stage 2, 25th July-12th September 1989 (Unpublished document).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C A, Davies, S M, and Farwell, D E, 1992, Excavations at Wessex Court , Charles Street, Dorchester, Dorset, 1989 (Unpublished document).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.

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

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM