Monument record MDO18480 - Poundbury Post-Roman Structure PR9

Post-Roman structure PR9 was discovered within the north central part of the later post-Roman enclosure during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. This structure survived as a slight terrace with a gully on the southwest side and a sunken feature to the east. A small iron knife was recovered from the soil filling of the terrace. PR9 crossed the western side of post-Roman enclosure PR13 and appeared to be later than it. Structure PR9 was assigned initially to phase VB and subsequently reassigned to post-Roman phase 2 settlement. The size of this structure is comparable to small sheds from the Roman period settlement, but it is likely that this hut served a dual domestic and workshop function. Sparey-Green has recently suggested that these sunken dwellings 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 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).

Post-Roman structure PR9 lay near the centre of the later post-Roman enclosure on the western side of the minor post-Roman enclosure PR13. It comprised a slight terrace, about 4.3m long and just over a metre wide, delimited by a 0.2m deep gully [E189] to the southwest, presumably for drainage. This structure may have been continued to the east by a sunken hollow [E195] which was badly disturbed. A small iron knife was retrieved from soil and rubble sealing the terrace on the western side. Another less clearly defined terrace to the NW [E184] had a similar fill and may have contained another structure.

The relationship of structure PR9 to enclosure PR13 was obscured by modern disturbance, but it was thought that the gully of PR9 cut the enclosure ditch of PR13.

The size of this structure is comparable to small sheds from the Roman period settlement, but it is likely that this hut served a dual domestic and workshop function (1). Sparey-Green has recently suggested that these sunken dwellings represent individual cells for a religious (possibly female) community established on the site of the late Roman cemetery (4).

Post-Roman building PR9 was originally included in phase VB in the published monograph (1). A subsequent review of the post-Roman evidence has placed it in the post-Roman phase 2 settlement (3). 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