Monument record MDO18476 - Poundbury Post-Roman Structure PR1b

Post-Roman structure, PR1b, was discovered in the southwestern part of the later post-Roman enclosure during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. This rectangular post-built structure occupied the same terrace as the Post Roman phase 1 structure PR1a. It consisted of an irregular grid of post-holes with several larger paired posts in the centre of the structure. It is possible that dry stone structures may have adjoined or replaced PR1b. This structure was assigned initially to phase VB and subsequently reassigned to post-Roman phase 2 settlement.

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).

The post-Roman post-built structure, PR1b, occupied the same terrace as the earlier post-Roman phase 1 structure PR1a, although on a different alignment more strictly conforming to the compass points. The terrace lay in the southern part of site B towards the SW corner of a postulated settlement enclosure. Structure PR1b consisted of an irregular grid of post-holes at intervals of 0.9-1.5m over an area of 4.6 x 6.1m in the centre of the terrace. The approximate centre line on the E-W axis of the building was marked by three pairs of post-holes, the western-most of which cut the north wall of the earlier structure PR1a. Several postholes also cut the backfilled remains of post-Roman grain drier 1. Several post-holes were packed with limestone and flint, in particular those in the central line and those cutting the back-filled grain drier. The deepest post-holes were larger paired posts in the centre of the structure or those set into soft fills of earlier pits. Few post-holes occurred in the northern end of the terrace but here large quantities of flint and limestone rubble were found in the grey-brown soil that sealed both PR1a and PR1b. This may have been derived from a drystone structure. Several blocks in the vicinity of postholes [E323] & [E324] may have been the foundations of such a structure adjoining or replacing PR1b, cut away on the east by modern disturbance. Similar rubble occurred in pit group i on the west of the terrace; it is possible that this pit group may have coexisted with building PR1b, and the postulated stone-built structures.

Sparey-Green has recently suggested that building PR1b should be grouped into phase 2 of the post-Roman settlement because it is aligned more strictly with the compass points and with the sunken dwellings, which may represent individual cells for a religious (possibly female) community established on the site of the late Roman cemetery (4). Phase 2 of the settlement is distinguished by the appearance of small terraced or sunken-floored buildings of post and wattle construction, each surrounded by irregular ditched enclosures (PR6-10 and PR13) (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 5:32PM