Monument record MDO18473 - Poundbury Post-Roman grave 1341

Post-Roman Grave 1341 was discovered during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. The grave was shallow and badly disturbed and cut through a pit and gully which formed part of the post-Roman structure PR11. Only fragments of the feet, legs and pelvis survived of the crouched inhumation of a male aged 25 years placed on his right side with head to the west. It was one of three burials from the site that can be securely ascribed to the post-Roman period. It was later than structure PR11, which was assigned to phase 1 of the post-Roman settlement. Therefore, it has been included as part of the phase 2 settlement, which was characterised by a series of small buildings surrounded by small enclosures, which may represent individual cells for a religious (possibly female) community established 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 reports and archive (1)(2)(3). 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 (4) (5).

Post Roman grave 1341 was one of three burials that can be securely ascribed to the post-Roman period at Poundbury. The grave was shallow and badly disturbed, but cut through pit [E466] and ditch [E481] which formed part of structure PR11. The grave contained the remains of a crouched inhumation of a male aged 25 years, placed on his right side with head to the west. Only fragments of the feet, legs and pelvis survived. (2)

Post-Roman structure PR11 was orginally included in phase VA in the published monograph (1). A subsequent review of the post-Roman evidence has placed it in the post-Roman phase 1 settlement (3). The burial is later than this building and has been assigned to Phase 2 of the post-Roman settlement. This phase of settlement is distinguished by the appearance of small terraced or sunken-floored buildings of post and wattle construction, each surrounded by irregular ditched enclosures (PR5-10 and PR13) (3). Christopher Sparey-Green has recently suggested that this settlement phase of sunken dwellings within small enclosures represent individual cells for a religious (possibly female) community established on the site of the late Roman cemetery (4).

<1> Sparey Green, C, 1987, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1982. Volume 1: The Settlements, 82 (Monograph). SDO9630.

<2> Farwell, D E and Molleson, T I, 1993, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1980. Volume II: The Cemeteries, 83 (Monograph). SDO9538.

<3> Sparey Green, C, 1966-1979, Poundbury, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10096.

<4> Sparey Green, C J, 1996, Poundbury, Dorset: settlement and economy in the Late and post-Roman Dorchester (Article in monograph). SDO10040.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:32PM