Monument record MDO18590 - Trumpet Major Late Iron Age/ Early Roman field boundaries

Evidence for Late Iron Age/ Early Roman field boundaries was discovered during excavations at Trumpet Major I. In Trench E there were two small, parallel ditches [1007] & [1013] which had a similar alignment to the early boundaries at Alington Avenue and may be part of the same system.

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).

At Trumpet Major I, in Trench E, there were two small, parallel ditches [1007] & [1013] which had a similar alignment to the early boundaries at Alington Avenue and may be part of the same system. The date of this system is unclear; stratigraphically it is post Early Bronze Age and pre-Roman. However, the alignments match those of the Roman D-shaped enclosure at Alington Avenue, rather than that of the Bronze Age monuments, and it is thought that the system is more likely to date from the Late Iron Age. This period saw expansion into the landscape surrounding Maiden Castle. The ditches at Trumpet Major I may form part of a droveway parcelling land up into large enclosures.

<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

Aug 28 2008 4:20AM