Monument record MDO18290 - Middle Farm; pits outside the Middle Bronze Age enclosure

Two pits were found to the north of the Middle Bronze Age enclosure during the 1987 Middle Farm excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of construction of the Dorchester By-pass. One pit cut the external edge of the enclosure ditch and the other was cut by the Middle Bronze Age boundary ditches. One pit contained a small quantity of Bronze Age pottery and fragments of a cylindrical or bun-shaped weight. These features are not well dated, but are thought to be contemporary with the roundhouse and pits found within the enclosure.

Two pits were found outside the northern part of the Middle Bronze Age ditched enclosure during the 1987 excavations at Middle Farm undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the construction of the Dorchester By-pass(1) (2) (3). The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the report and archive (1) (3).

Pit [03157] lay immediately to the north of the Middle Farm Middle Bronze Age enclosure and cut the edge of the enclosure ditch. It ws roughly circular with steep sides and a flat bottom, 0.4m deep. It was filled with predominantly chalk rubble. Two sherds of grog-tempered Bronze Age pottery and six fragments of a cylindrical or bun-shaped weight were recovered from this pit.

Pit [03420] lay to the east of pit [03157] and was largely cut away by the Middle Bronze Age boundary ditches. It was probably originally circular with steep partially undercut sides. Finds recovered from this pit comprised nine pieces of worked flint and a small quantity of animal bone.

These pits are most likely contemporary with the round house and pits within the Middle Bronze Age enclosure.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 73-75 (Monograph). SDO9379.

<2> Woodward, P J and Smith, R J C, 1987, Survey and excavation along the route of the Southern Dorchester By-pass, 1986-1987 – an interim note, 79-89 (Article in serial). SDO9381.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 1987, Dorchester By-pass (Excavation archive). SDO9385.

Record last edited

Oct 2 2006 6:03AM