Monument record MDO18589 - Trumpet Major Durotrigian Burial 1031

Evidence for a Durotrigian burial was discovered during excavations at Trumpet Major I. Grave 1031, containing burial 502, was located towards the SE corner of Trench E. The grave was 1.3m long, 0.7m wide, 0.3m deep, and ovoid. The burial was that of a male aged 45+ tightly crouched on his right side. The head was to the south east. The burial was cut by features [1021] & [1019] and unaccompanied by grave goods but probably dates to the 1st century AD.

Found during two small-scale excavations conducted by Wessex Archaeology in Fordington, Dorchester. The first comprised the investigation of a small plot of land adjacent to the railway on the NE side of Alington Avenue during 1986 in advance of the construction of two houses (Trumpet Major I). The second involved the excavation of footings for an extension to the Trumpet Major public house during 1988. The results of the excavations have been published in the 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 report (1).

Three crouched inhumation burials were found, in simple sub-rectangular graves cut into the chalk. Nine similar burials were excavated nearby at Alington Avenue. In total one was a juvenile, five were adult females and six adult males. There was no obvious focal point in the distribution of the graves. The preference was for the bodies to be laid on their right sides with their heads to the NE-SE. Grave goods comprising pottery vessels, personal ornaments or animal bones, presumably food offerings accompanied seven of the nine Alington Avenue burials but none of the Trumpet Major burials, although [008] may have been coffined. The dating of this group of burials is dependent on the grave goods from Alington Avenue, and also on parallels with other sites in the locality. It is likely that the range lies between 50/75 AD to 125 AD. There has been other probable Late Iron Age burials found in the immediate vicinity (at Wareham House, Flagstones, Max Gate and Came View) so that the Trumpet Major burials probably form part of a larger cemetery.

Grave 1031, containing burial 502, was located towards the SE corner of Trench E. The grave was 1.3m long, 0.7m wide, 0.3m deep, and ovoid. The burial was that of a male aged 45+ tightly crouched on his right side. The head was to the south east. The burial was cut by features [1021] & [1019] and unaccompanied by grave goods but probably dates to the 1st century AD.

<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 5:47PM