Monument record MDO18328 - Medieval Ditches, Conygar Hill, Winterborne Came, Winterborne Herringston, Dorchester

A series of shallow linear ditches were found in the area north of Conygar Hill and south of Alington Avenue during the construction of the Dorchester By-pass in 1987 and excavated by Wessex Archaeology. These were all shallow U-profiled ditches, possibly the remains of medieval field boundary ditches. No dating evidence was recovered.

A series of shallow linear ditches were recorded during works by Wessex Archaeology in 1987in advance of the Dorchester By-pass construction, in the area to the north of Conygar Hill and south of Alington Avenue (1). The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the report and archive (1) (3).

Three ditches aligned NNE-SSW were recorded to the western part of the area. Only two of these were excavated and both were shallow U-profiled ditches only 0.2m deep. No dating evidence was recovered from these ditches. Further east, to the south of Alington Avenue two E-W ditches were recorded, together with four ditches aligned SW-NE. All were small shallow U-profiled features. No finds were recovered from them.

These ditches were undated but their form was different to the prehistoric ditches found in this area and they may be the remains of medieval field boundary ditches.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 53 (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

Aug 6 2012 4:10PM