Monument record MDO18631 - County Hall; Oven 499

Oven 499 was discovered during excavations at County Hall in 1988. It comprised a semi-circular pit, as exposed in the excavation (truncated to the west by landscaping associated with the construction of County Hall), 1.9m wide and 0.6m deep with a shallow U-profile. At its deepest point the pit was lined with two burnt limestone slabs, which were sealed by layers of black, grey and orange ash, containing 3rd-4th century material. The floor of building 572 sealed the whole thing. It probably represents the stoke-pit for an oven or furnace to the west, removed by the construction of County Hall.

Found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1988 prior to construction of the New Computer Wing and car parking facilities at County Hall, Dorchester (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published report (1).

Oven [499] lay to the west of the Roman street [575] and was sealed by the floor of the late Roman building [572]. It was truncated to the west by terracing associated with the construction of County Hall. Within the excavation the feature was semi-circular in plan, 1.9m wide, and 0.6m deep with a shallow U-profile. At its deepest point the pit was lined by two limestone slabs, both burnt and discoloured by fire, and sealed by layers of dense black, grey and orange ash. The ash layers were sealed by a deposit of compacted, discoloured and possibly burnt chalk. The material recovered from these layers is dated to the later 3rd and earlier 4th centuries.

This feature probably represents the stoke-pit for an oven or furnace to the west that has since been removed by construction of the North Wing of County Hall. Samples from this feature suggest that it was probably not used for cooking or grain-drying as it contained only a small quantity of burnt grain.

Oven 499 is an addition to the large numbers of ovens, hearths, and smithies identified in this area and in use during the late 3rd-4th century. Although its precise use cannot be determined, it provides additional evidence for the industrial and agricultural characteristics previously identified in this quarter of the town (3)(4).

Wessex Archaeology, 1988, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10074.

<1> Smith, R J C, 1993, Excavations at County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, 1988 in the North-West Quarter of Durnovaria (Monograph). SDO9660.

<2> Smith, R J C, 1988, 'Excavations at County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, 1988' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 147 (Article in serial). SDO9661.

<3> Drew, C D, and Collingwood Selby, K C, 1938, 'The Excavations at Colliton Park, Dorchester: Second Interim report; Excavations carried out in the season of 1938' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9765.

<4> Aitken, G, and Aitken, N, 1982, 'Excavations on the Library Site, Colliton Park, Dorchester' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9729.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:30PM