Monument record MDO18408 - Poundbury Late Roman Structure R16

Structure R16 was a large rectangular stone-footed structure found on Site D during the 1966-1979 excavations at Poundbury. It had been heavily robbed, but part of the all but the east wall could be traced. It may have been a rebuilding of an earlier rectangular timber building on the same site. It was a simple bipartite building, with poor quality plastered and painted walls and a stone tile roof. No floors were identified within the building, which may have just used the natural chalk surface. The smaller northern room of this building may have been a sleeping area and had no real trace of structures, but a number of infant burials were found buried in the floor. The larger southern room had a number of internal features including a number of slots, postholes and stone structures, forming the remains of a square box or bin, some wattle or hurdle structures, ovens and a U-shaped stone structure against the west wall, which may have been the remains of a fireplace and chimney. Building R16 was probably a domestic structure, perhaps with a sleeping area to the north. It was one of three buildings (together with R15 and R17) which lay together within the Late Roman Enclosure 1, probably forming part of a small settlement or farming unit. A large quantity of butchered pig bones were found in the destruction levels overlying this building, together with a small quantity of 3rd-4th century pottery and some mid-4th century coins.

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 numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published report and archive (1)(2).

Structure R16 was a large rectangular building found in the SE corner of Site D, constructed over the remains of the Late Iron Age roundhouse IA10. It had been heavily robbed, but part of the western wall construction trench and slight traces of the north and south construction trenches survived. A small part of the SW corner of the building remained intact; this comprised flat-laid limestone slabs, with a few further limestones surviving along the line of the west wall and some flints along the line of the south wall. The eastern wall of this building did not survive - it was probably destroyed by a modern road. This building measured about 12.2m by 5.5m internally. Just inside the line of the south and east walls was a shallow trench, which may have been to hold a timber cill beam, perhaps indicating that Structure R16 was originally timber framed and later reconstructed on stone footings. No floors were identified within the building, which may have just used the natural chalk surface.

Evidence for the superstructure of this building was found in the destruction layers over this building and particularly in pit [D284], which lay just outside the NW corner of the building, where large quantities of lias roof tiles and poor quality painted wall plaster were found. The walls may have been of cob, plastered and painted and with a stone tile roof.

A number of internal features were identified and there is some evidence to suggest that it had been sub-divided into a larger southern room and a smaller northern room. In the southern part, there were a number of slots, postholes and stone structures, forming the remains of a square box or bin, some wattle or hurdle structures, ovens and a U-shaped stone structure against the west wall, which may have been the remains of a fireplace and chimney. An oven [D319] of keyhole shape lay in the eastern half of the southern end, with a stokehole to the south. It had been demolished and filled with burnt limestone and chalk rubble. Another oven [D294] was constructed just to the north, also of keyhole shape and with its stokehole to the south and the furnace chamber lined with limestone. A square bin [310] was constructed over the earlier oven [D319]: it comprised a shallow square cut into the chalk, with the sides lined with stakeholes. The northern part was notable for the lack of any structures, other than the occasional posthole, but was characterised by the large number of infant burials, buried beneath the floor. A total of nine infant burials were found associated with this building.

Building R16 was probably a domestic structure, perhaps with a sleeping area to the north. It was one of three buildings (together with R15 and R17) which lay together within the Late Roman Enclosure 1, probably forming part of a small settlement or farming unit.

A large quantity of butchered pig bones were found in the destruction levels overlying this building, together with a small quantity of 3rd-4th century pottery and some mid-4th century coins.

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

<2> Sparey Green, C, 1966-1979, Poundbury, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10096.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:26PM