Monument record MDO18553 - Alington Avenue Roman Building 1737

Evidence for a Roman building was discovered during excavations at Alington Avenue. Building 1737 was a semi-subterranean structure and the best preserved building found on the site. It lay adjacent to and immediately outside the phase 3 D-shaped enclosure boundary, cutting through the phase 2 enclosure ditch. Two main phases of construction were evident. The initial structure comprised a somewhat irregular rectangular pit some 9.2m x 5m with slightly sloping sides, lined with walling surviving on three sides. There was no evidence for any form of flooring, but a small gully may have served as a drainage channel. One entrance set in the NE corner was a sloping ramp cut into the chalk with a substantial doorway just outside the wall line. The walls probably supported a timber or cob superstructure with clay tile roof. Six post-holes, paired and set 2.4m apart may have subdivided the building into 2 main bays. The second phase comprised an extension of 2.5m which removed the earlier north wall. The extension was of similar design but of poorer finish. As well as the post-holes the structure contained two pits 3090/2538],a large hearth or oven [3042], and six infant burials in five small pits. The building may have been constructed in the early 3rd century and gone out of use by the early 4th century.

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 [1737] was a semi-subterranean structure and the best-preserved building found on the site. It lay adjacent to and immediately outside the phase 3 D-shaped enclosure boundary, cutting through the phase 2 enclosure ditch. Two main phases of construction were evident. The initial structure comprised a somewhat irregular rectangular pit some 9.2m x 5m x 0.7m deep, with slightly sloping sides, lined with walling, which surviving on three sides to a height of 0.5m. The walls were made of roughly coursed flint nodules with occasional pieces of limestone and ceramic tile, bonded in an off-white lime mortar. Although well faced on the inside they were not apparently rendered. Their thickness varied from 0.3m to 0.5m, giving overall internal dimensions of c. 8m x 5m. There was no evidence for any form of flooring, but a small gully adjacent to the east wall may have served as a drainage channel.

One entrance set in the NE corner was a 2m wide sloping ramp cut into the chalk; the chalk was covered with a slick of mortar, presumably to aid purchase. Three post holes in the entrance passage presumably indicate a substantial doorway set just outside the wall line. A second possible but somewhat dubious entrance lay opposite the ramped one, indicated by a distinct widening of the wall line.
The walls probably supported a timber or cob superstructure with clay tile roof (indicated by their presence in demolition layers). Some of the internal post-holes may have supported a roof. Six post-holes, paired and set 2.4m apart, almost parallel to the walls may have served such a purpose, although four of them might be better explained as supports for a superstructure above hearth /oevn [3-42].

The second phase comprised an extension of 2.5m, which removed the earlier north wall. The extension was of similar design but of poorer finish. The walls varied in thickness from 0.3m –1.0m, and were at their thinnest adjacent to pit [3090]. This pit may have been an integral part of the extension. Two post-holes on either side of the pit and just outside the line of the wall may have indicated another doorway giving direct access to the pit, the rounded profile of which implies that it may have held water or some other liquid. A thin puddled chalk floor was also noted in the extension but not extended into the earlier part of the building.

Another pit [2538] was dug, slightly overlapping the earlier ramped entrance and cutting the floor of the extension. Some of the layers within its fill contained a high proportion of ash and charcoal similar to deposits within the hearth [3042] suggesting that the two were in use at the same time. This weel-built oven [3042] was located centrally in the southern third of the building and may have been in use throughout the building’s life. It was a keyhole shaped oven set within a shallow rectangular shaped cut lined with a 0.1m thickness of mortar. The oven itself was circular, 1m diameter, but with no clear lining surviving. The flue was composed of limestone and clay tile walling set in mortar. Ten post-holes surrounded the oven, with a further four lying to the west, some of which may have supported a superstructure for the oven. There is no evidence for the function of the oven, although cereal grains from the upper fills of the adjacent pit may suggest that it was for drying grain.

Six infant burials in five small pits were found within the building. Four of the five pits were excavated tight against the south and north walls. All the graves were sub-rectangular in plan. Grave pit [3518] contained the remains of two infants placed so as to face each other. Type 8 BBW pots accompanied two graves. The graves were inserted during the use of the building and sealed by the demolition layers.

The building may have been constructed in the early 3rd century and gone out of use by the early 4th century. The original plan of the building was based on the two square module and may have been used as a granary. The later enlargement and remodelling may indicate a change of use perhaps still as a granary, but with the addition of grain drying facilities.

<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