Monument record MDO18661 - Library Site, Colliton Park, Dorchester; Roman Oven 2

Oven 2 was one of eight ovens found during the excavations on the site of the new Dorset County Library, Colliton Park, Dorchester in 1961-63. Oven 2 lay within the area of Building 2 in the southeastern part of the site. It was constructed in a cut into the natural chalk and comprised a rouchly circular oven built of limestone in a chalky mortar, with a firing floor to the west. The oven was filled with rubble, soil and ash and capped with chalk after use. Some late 3rd/early 4th century pottery was recovered from the firing floor suggesting this oven went out of use in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. The relationship with Building 2 is unclear, the oven may have been used late in the life of the building or may post-date it.

Oven 2 was one of eight ovens found during the excavations on the site of the new Dorset County Library, Colliton Park, Dorchester in 1961-63 (1) (2). Oven 2 lay within the area of Building 2 in the southeastern part of the site. It was constructed in a cut into the natural chalk and comprised a rouchly circular oven built of limestone in a chalky mortar, with a firing floor to the west. The oven was filled with rubble, soil and ash and capped with chalk after use. Some late 3rd/early 4th century pottery was recovered from the firing floor suggesting this oven went out of use in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. The relationship with Building 2 is unclear, the oven may have been used late in the life of the building or may post-date it.

<1> Aitken, G, and Aitken, N, 1982, 'Excavations on the Library Site, Colliton Park, Dorchester' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 97 (Article in serial). SDO9729.

<2> Draper, J, 1983, 'Some further discussion of the Library Site, Colliton Park, Dorchester' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 158 (Article in serial). SDO10071.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:30PM