Monument record MDO18441 - Poundbury Post-Roman grain drier 1

Post-Roman grain drier 1 was discovered next to post-Roman structure PR1a, during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. It comprised a sub-rectangular pit with a ledge running round the southern and western sides and contained a deposit of carbonised plant remains, primarily barley and oats, with some wheat and weeds, in the southern end. It cut two earlier pits containing some carbonised remains, which were associated with a small stone-lined hearth. Post-Roman grain drier 1 was assigned, along with buildings PR1a, PR2b, PR3a, PR15, PR16 and possibly PR14; pit groups ii-v; grain driers 1,2,3 & 5 to phase 1 of the post-Roman settlement. This represented the earliest post-Roman settlement on the site of the late Roman cemetery.

Found during the excavations directed by Christopher Sparey Green, for the Dorchester Excavation Committee, between 1966 and 1979 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 excavation report and archive (1)(2). Further refinement of the post-Roman settlement sequence has been undertaken by Christopher Sparey Green since the initial publication of the site and this has been taken into account in the following description (3) (4).

Grain drier 1 lay immediately to the east of Structures PR1a and PR1b. It comprised a sub-rectangular pit [E71]with a flat base, measuring about 3m long, 1.5m wide and 0.75m deep, which was slightly wider to the south, with a ledge running around the southern and western sides. No evidence for any stone lining was found and there is some suggestion that the stokehole was at the wider southern end. It contained a small amount of carbonised grain and plant remains (including barley and oats with smaller quantities of wheat and some weeds) at the base of the southern end, possibly the remains of a poorly-cleaned crop. This drier cut a number of earlier features including a steep-sided sub-rectangular pit [E127] and a round, bowl-shaped pit [E126], which contained some carbonised plant remains. A shallow hollow with a stone lining, possibly a hearth [E317]. The plant remains from these earlier features was mainly chaff waste, probably used to fire the hearth.

Grain drier 1 was one of four driers assigned to phase 5A (1). In a later reappraisal of the post-Roman settlements, this feature was assigned, along with buildings PR1a, PR2a, PR3a, PR5, PR15, and possibly PR14; pit groups ii-v; grain driers 2,3 & 5 to phase 1 of the post-Roman settlement. This represented the earliest post-Roman settlement on the site of the late Roman cemetery (3).

<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.

<3> Sparey Green, C J, 1996, Poundbury, Dorset: settlement and economy in the Late and post-Roman Dorchester (Article in monograph). SDO10040.

<4> Sparey Green, C J, Living amongst the dead: From Roman cemetery to post-Roman monastic settlement at Poundbury (Article in monograph). SDO10041.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:30PM