Monument record MDO18390 - Poundbury Late Neolithic Flint Quarries

A pair of large, irregular pits was discovered during excavations at Poundbury to the west of, and contiguous with, a probable Late Neolithic settlement in the combe bottom at the base of the eastern slopes of the later Poundbury Camp. The larger of the two pits had a number of post-holes around its edge and three scoops in the base that penetrated to a layer of tabular flint.

Found during the excavations directed by Christopher Sparey Green, for the Dorchester Excavation Committee, between 1966 and 1980 during development of the Grove Trading Estate on the eastern slopes of Poundbury Camp, Dorchester (1). The results of the excavation have been published as two Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monographs; one dedicated to the settlement archaeology (DNHAS Monograph 7), and the other to the cemeteries (DNHAS Monograph 11). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published reports (2) (3).

Two large and irregular pits were excavated in area E, to the west of the late Neolithic settlement. The largest [E2] was a steep sided pit 4.57m in diameter and 0.83m deep. The main sub-rectangular pit had a shallow scoop and a series of possible post-holes round the north and east sides. In the base of the main pit three irregular hollows had penetrated to a layer of tabular flint 0.91m below the surface. These hollows contained a dense mass of freshly knapped cortex flakes. The main fill of pit [E2] consisted of coarse chalk rubble and flint knapping debris, with brown soil and flint nodules in the uppermost levels. This upper fill contained sherds of globular urn, the only occupation debris from the fill, and a molluscan fauna of mixed scrub and grassland.

The smaller pit [E22] was oval in plan, measuring 2.74m x 1.83m and up to 0.84m deep, with a ledge and subsidiary pit on the western side. The fill was similar to [E2] but with considerably less flint knapping debris. A single late Neolithic pottery sherd was recovered from the upper fill.

Sparey Green, C, 1966-1979, Poundbury, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10096.

<1> Sparey Green, C, 1987, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1982. Volume 1: The Settlements, 12 (Monograph). SDO9630.

<2> Sparey Green, C, 1987, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1982. Volume 1: The Settlements (Monograph). SDO9630.

<3> Farwell, D E and Molleson, T I, 1993, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1980. Volume II: The Cemeteries (Monograph). SDO9538.

Record last edited

Jul 26 2010 6:57AM