Monument record MDO18552 - Alington Avenue Roman Building 459

Evidence for a Roman building was discovered during excavations at Alington Avenue. Building 459 was the northernmost building on the site and the larger of three with stone footings revealed within the D-shaped enclosure. Its remains comprised shallow rubble filled footing trenches forming a rectangular structure c. 13m x 7m across, oriented roughly E-W. It had been severely truncated. The wall trenches were 0.55-0.6m wide and survived to a depth of 0.3m with flat bases and vertical sides filled with un-coursed nodular flints in a chalky loam. At the west end of the building two post holes suggested the remains of a doorway. No floor surfaces survived, but a number of small features inside the walls could have been part of the structure. Two pits inside the north wall contained the semi-articulated remains of three sheep. The building appears to have been constructed in the 1st-2nd century AD and was out of use by c. 200 AD. It is uncertain whether it was used as a dwelling or outbuilding.

Found during a series of archaeological evaluations and excavations conducted by Wessex Archaeology at Alington Avenue, Fordington, Dorchester, between 1984-1987. The results of the excavations have been published as a Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monograph (DNHAS Monograph 15). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published reports (1).

Three buildings with stone footings were revealed; two within the D-shaped enclosure [459] & [2126] and one just outside its eastern side [1737]. In addition there were several short lengths of wall, which may have belonged to other structures. Internal features were rare and there was little evidence for specific function. Furthermore, a series of post-hole structure were revealed within the enclosure with little or no dating evidence. It has been suggested on morphological grounds that they are late or post-Roman in date but it is possible that some may be contemporary with the stone-footed structures.

Building 459 was the northernmost building on the site and the larger of the three stone footed buildings. Its remains comprised shallow rubble filled footing trenches forming a rectangular structure c. 13m x 7m across, oriented roughly E-W. It had been severely truncated. The wall trenches were 0.55-0.6m wide and survived to a depth of 0.3m with flat bases and vertical sides filled with un-coursed nodular flints in a chalky loam. Occasionally fragments of limestone had been utilised and the SE corner in particular was filled with limestone blocks possibly indicating repair or strengthening. It seems likely that these footings would have supported a timber and cob superstructure as they were too narrow and ill constructed to support the weight of stone walls to any great height.

At the west end of the building two post holes [2178/2179] placed roughly centrally to the wall suggested the remains of a doorway. Doors in rural Roman buildings were normally placed in the centre of the long wall, but in this case there is no other convincing evidence for a doorway. No floor surfaces survived, but a number of small features inside the walls could have been part of the structure. Interpretation is complicated however by the presence of the later timber structure cutting across this building some of the post-holes for which are not securely dated and could belong to this phase. Two pits [1789] & [2175] inside the north wall contained the semi-articulated remains of three sheep, although again, with the lack of stratigraphic relationships within the building, it is not clear if these pits are earlier, contemporary or later than the Roman building.
Pottery from the footing trenches suggests that the building appears to have been constructed in the 1st-2nd century AD and was out of use by c. 200 AD. Its SE corner was cut away by a pit/well complex, which was dug, in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD.

The form of the building is typical for a small stone-footed Roman rural building, built on the two square unit principle. These buildings served a variety of functions. It did not appear to be split into a number of rooms and no evidence for a floor or hearth survived to aid interpretation of its function. It is uncertain whether it was used as a dwelling or outbuilding.

<1> Davies, S M, Bellamy, P S , Heaton, M J , and Woodward, P J, 2002, Excavations at Alington Avenue, Fordington, Dorchester, Dorset, 1984-87 (Monograph). SDO9565.

Record last edited

Dec 12 2018 5:43PM