Monument record MDO18259 - Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester; Later Roman structure 1613

Structure 1613 was oriented NE-SW about 15m north of Roman street 1008 in the northern end of Trench 4, excavated during the 1989 excavations at Wessex Court, Charles Street, Dorchester. Only a small part of one of the walls was exposed during the excavation, so its layout and size is not known. It was built over the remains of Building 1611/1612.

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).

Structure 1613 was found in the northwestern corner of Trench 4, about 15m north of Roman street [1008]. It was represented by a single wall footing oriented NE-SW with possible associated occupation deposits to the north. The bulk of this building lay to the north of the excavated area and the size, form and function of the building cannot be determined. The wall footing [1388] was of mortared flint 0.75m wide and 0.4m deep with the disturbed remains of a limestone and flint wall surviving on top, with a line of four large limestone blocks at the eastern end, probably indicating the position of a doorway. The size of the foundation argues for a substantial building. The footing cut through the footings of Structure 1611/1612, so is later than that building. It was difficult to associate specific deposits directly with this building. A single infant burial [1488] may have been associated with this building.

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(Wessex Court), Dorchester: Interim report on Stage 1, 25th May-3rd July and Stage 2, 25th July-12th September 1989 (Unpublished document).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C A, Davies, S M, and Farwell, D E, 1992, Excavations at Wessex Court , Charles Street, Dorchester, Dorset, 1989 (Unpublished document).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