Monument record MDO18357 - Poundbury Farm Track; Roman settlement remains

A number of Roman features were found during a watching brief conducted by Wessex Archaeology on a new farm track created in 1990. These features were probably part of the same Roman settlement as found in Fordington Bottom. Two slots, probably the remains of building foundations, together with a possible yard surface of compacted chalk were found. There was no clear relationship between the slots and the yard surface. A copper alloy penannular brooch of 2nd-3rd century AD date was recovered from one of the slots.

A number of Roman features, probably part of the same Roman settlement as found in Fordington Bottom, were found during a watching brief on the creation of a new farm track, conducted by Wessex Archaeology in 1990. At the northern end of the track, adjacent to the Roman settlement excavated along the route of the Dorchester By-pass Western Link road, there were three features, which probably belong to later Roman structure(s). A subrectangular slot 0.4m wide and 0.35m deep filled with chalk rubble and flint nodules may have been a footing for a building. A second similar slot was also recorded, together with a possible yard surface of compacted chalk. There was no clear relationship between the slots and the yard surface. A copper alloy penannular brooch of 2nd-3rd century AD date was recovered from one of the slots. (1) (2) (3)

These structures lay to the north of a substantial E-W lynchet (3).

Wessex Archaeology, 1990, Poundbury Farm Track (Excavation archive). SDO10027.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 220 (Monograph). SDO9379.

<2> Davies, S M, 1990, Poundbury Farm Track, Dorchester, Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society. (Article in serial). SDO9852.

<3> Coe D, Davies S and Heaton M, 1990, Archaeological observations at Poundbury Farm Track, Fordington, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO10026.

Record last edited

Sep 25 2007 1:21AM