Monument record MDO18485 - Poundbury Post-Roman Structure PR2a

Post-Roman Structure PR2a was discovered in the southeast part of Late Roman enclosure 3, during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. It occupied a shallow terrace in the SW corner of Site B in almost the same position as the possibly earlier post-built building PR2b. Structure PR2a was a rectangular building defined by slots for sleeper beams and also for possible internal divisions. A line of postholes along the central axis may have supported a roof. The east side of the structure m,ay have been open. In the central part was a heavily burnt area and quantities of burnt stone rubble were found over the interior. This, together with the occurrence of quantities of smithing slag, suggests that this may have been a smithy. Structure PR2a was assigned to the latest phase of post-Roman settlement on the site.

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).

Structure PR2a, occupied a shallow terrace in the SW corner of site B and comprised four slots for sleeper beams, which formed the walls of a possible box-frame building with internal dimensions of about 8.4m x 4.6m. The slots were of ‘U’ profile and varied in depth from 0.25m to 0.07m. These slots contained no evidence for posts. Part of the slot on the south side appears to have been eroded away. The occurrence of only a short section of gully on the eastern side may also be the result of erosion, but alternatively it may indicate a more open eastern side to the building. A gap in the NW corner of the structure may indicate the location of an entrance.

The internal arrangements of PR2a are not altogether clear. There were two substantial posts and a number of other postholes along the long central axis of the building, which probably acted as roof supports. Further smaller postholes may represent internal partitions or other structures. There were also two gullies running perpendicular to the west wall, which may also be the remains of some internal division.

Quantities of stone rubble were found spread over the interior of the structure and may have derived from drystone walling. Much of this rubble was burnt and there was a substantially burnt and trampled area sealed below the rubble in the centre of the structure. Slot [B85], in the western half of the building, produced smithing slag from its fill. This suggests that the building was used for iron smithing. The potentially open nature of the building would have allowed for a draught to the hearth. Finds from within this building were few but included simple iron knives.

Structure PR2a was originally thought to pre-date PR2b and was assigned to phase VA of the post-Roman settlement based solely on the stratigraphic relationship between a single post-hole [B116] to a gully [B60] (1). A later reappraisal of the post-Roman settlements judged that on structural grounds PR2b was more akin to the post-built structures of the newly coined post-Roman phase 1 and earlier than PR2a (3). It was thought that this structure could belong to the latest phase of the settlement, phase 3, apparently on the basis of the post and slot structure being more akin to other buildings from this phase and the fact that it was sealed by burnt rubble from its final destruction.

<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.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:33PM