Monument record MDO18316 - Members' Car Park, County Hall; Roman building TP4

Mortared flint wall footing aligned E-W with mortar floor to north found in Tree Pit 3 during a watching brief carried out by AC archaeology in 2000, during tree planting in the Member's Car Park, County Hall, Dorchester. These are probably part of a late Roman building of 3rd/4th century date. Similar wall footings were found in Tree Pits 1 and 5, running parallel or at right angles to that in Tree Pit 3 and may be part of the same building, though this cannot be proved without further excavation. The wall footings were on the same alignment as Building 1 found during the 1960s excavations on the adjacent Library Site to the west.

Found during a watching brief carried out by AC archaeology in 2000, during tree planting in the Member's Car Park, County Hall, Dorchester (1) (2) (3).

The remains of a greenish-grey compact sandy mortar surface were found immediately above the natural chalk in Tree Pit 4. These may be part of a late Roman building of 3rd/4th century date. Further traces of mortar floor were found in Tree Pit 3 to the west. Mortared wall footings of late Roman date were found in Tree Pits 1, 3, and 5, running parallel or at right angles to that in Tree Pit 3 and may be part of the same building, though this cannot be proved without further excavation. The wall footings were on the same alignment as Building 1 found during the 1960s excavations on the adjacent Library Site to the west (4).

<1> Robinson, S, and Laidlaw, M, 2001, Excavation of Tree Pits at the Member’s Car Park, County Hall, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9582.

<2> Robinson, S, 2000, Dorchester, Members Car Park, County Hall. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 162 (Article in serial). SDO9583.

<3> Fitzpatrick, A P, 2001, 'Roman Britain in 2000: South-Western Counties' Britannia, 371 (Article in serial). SDO9588.

<4> Aitken, G, and Aitken, N, 1982, 'Excavations on the Library Site, Colliton Park, Dorchester' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9729.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM