Monument record MDO18502 - Stationmaster's House, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester; Roman ditch

A ditch running parallel to the present Weymouth Avenue was found during excavations by Wessex Archaeology at the former Stationmaster's House, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, in 1988. The ditch was oriented NNE-SSW and lay about seven metres east of the the present road. It had a V-shaped profile and was filled withyellowish-brown clay soil which had silted asymmetrically from the east, perhaps indicating a slight bank on this side. Dating evidence was confined to a single sherd of Black Burnished Ware pottery. The location and orientation of this ditch suggests that it was a flanking ditch to the Roman road to Weymouth, though no secure dating evidence was recovered.

A ditch running parallel to the present Weymouth Avenue was found during excavations by Wessex Archaeology at the former Stationmaster's House, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, in 1988. The ditch was oriented NNE-SSW and lay about seven metres east of the the present road. It had a V-shaped profile and measured 1.9m wide and 0.95m deep. It was filled with two layers of yellowish-brown silty clay which had silted asymmetrically from the east, perhaps indicating a slight bank on this side. Dating evidence was confined to a single sherd of Black Burnished Ware pottery.

The location and orientation of this ditch suggests that it was a flanking ditch to the Roman road to Weymouth, though no secure dating evidence was recovered.

Wessex Archaeology, 1988, Stationmaster's House, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10052.

Bellamy, P S, 1989, Excavations at the Stationmaster's House, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester (Unpublished document). SDO9562.

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

Dec 19 2006 9:53AM