Monument record MDO18320 - Roman chalk surfaces, WDDC car park, Colliton Street, Dorchester

The remains of two rammed chalk surfaces were found during a watching brief carried out by Terrain Archaeology in 2000 during the replacement of a retaining wall. No structural remains could be associated with these surfaces, though one was cut by three undated postholes. It is unclear whether they are internal floors within a building or part of an external yard. One of the chalk floors has a 2nd century AD terminus post quem.

The remains of two rammed chalk floors were found during a watching brief carried out by Terrain Archaeology in 2000 during the replacement of a retaining wall (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets are context numbers used in the report and archive (1).

A 0.1m thick rammed chalk surface [104] on a 0.07m thick soil base was seen in section. This floor was over 11m long and had subsided into the top of early Roman pit [108]. To the north, there may have been a repair to the floor, beyond which it had been cut away by later Roman pits. To the south it continued beyond the boundaries of the site. The soil layer beneath the floor contained some 2nd century AD pottery which gives a terminus post quem in the 2nd century AD for the construction of this floor. No structural elements were identified, which may be associated with this floor. It is not clear whether it represents part of a floor within a building or is the remains of an external yard surface.

To the north of floor [104] was the badly truncated remains of another rammed chalk surface [136] on a thin soil base. This chalk surface was on a similar level to [104], but it is unclear whether both are part of the same surface. Chalk floor [136] was cut by three undated postholes. It is uncertain whether these postholes were associated with the surface.

<1> Bellamy, P, 2000, West Dorset District Council Car Park, Colliton Street, Dorchester, Dorset: Archaeological Observations (Unpublished document). SDO9517.

<2> Bellamy, P S, 2000, Dorchester, WDDC Car Park, Colliton Street. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 173 (Article in serial). SDO9518.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1431033 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:28PM