Monument record MDO18497 - 58/60 High West Street; Roman pit

A large rectangular Roman pit was discovered in Trench 1 during the evaluation excavation undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1989 at 58/60 High West Street, Dorchester. This pit contained a very large quantity of Roman building debris, including painted wall plaster, limestone and ceramic roof tile fragments, pieces of opus signinum, tesserae and a small fragment of tesselated floor, mortar debris, worked stone, etc. A range of pottery was also recovered including samian, colourcoated wares, Black burnished wares, New Forest wares and Pelichet 47 amphora, which give a post AD270 date for this pit. A small quantity of animal bone and oyster shell was also recovered. The material dumped into the pit appears to have been derived from the demolition of a high status town house, at some time after the late third century AD. The location of this building is not known.

A large rectangular Roman pit was discovered in Trench 1 during the evaluation excavation undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1989 at 58/60 High West Street, Dorchester. This pit was about 1.6m by 2.0m by over 1.2m deep. It was filled with a number of fills containing a very large quantity of Roman building debris, including 742 fragments of painted wall plaster, limestone and ceramic roof tile fragments, pieces of opus signinum, tesserae and a small fragment of tesselated floor, five fragments of rounded mortar which have been interpreted as being used to attach antefixes, and a few pieces of worked stone. A range of pottery was also recovered including samian, colourcoated wares, Black burnished ware, New Forest wares and Pelichet 47 amphora, which give a post AD270 date for this pit. A small quantity of animal bone and oyster shell was also recovered from this pit. The wall plaster contained a number of refitting fragments and at least 10 different patterns or motifs can be discerned. The material dumped into the pit appears to have been derived from the demolition of a high status town house, at some time after the late third century AD. The location of this building is not known..

Wessex Archaeology, 1989, 58/60 High West Street, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10051.

Davies, S M, 1989, 58/60 High West Street. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 109-110 (Article in serial). SDO10050.

Barnes, I, and Glass, H J, 1989, An Archaeological Assessment at 58/60 High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9898.

Frere, S S, 1989, 'Roman Britain in 1988: 1. Sites explored' Britannia, 352 (Article in serial). SDO10073.

Frere, S S, 1990, 'Roman Britain in 1989: 1. Sites explored' Britannia, 352 (Article in serial). SDO10046.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:29PM