Monument record MDO18727 - A37 Western Link; Later Roman Structure 5198

Evidence for a later Roman structure was discovered during excavations along the route of the Dorchester By-pass, Western Link. Structure [5198], at the east end of Trench E, comprised a rectangular structure c. 6m long and 4.8m wide. It was built in a terrace cut into the coombe side. A portion of dressed limestone wall survived against the SE corner of the terrace as a foundation for a timber frame. Colluvium from behind this wall contained 44 sherds of 2nd century or later pottery. A chalk rubble floor surface and hearth were found within the structure. 30 sherds of 3rd-5th century Black Burnished Ware and fragments of ceramic roof tilewere recovered from the destruction layers above the floor surface. The building may have served as a dual domestic and working area.

Found during a programme of archaeological work conducted by Wessex Archaeology along the route of the Dorchester By-pass, Western Link, Fordington Bottom, Dorchester between 1986 and 1988. The results of the excavations have been published as a Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monograph; (DNHAS Monograph 11). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published report (1).

There was no discernable break in occupation from the Early Roman period into the 3rd and 4th centuries but a distinct change in the emphasis and scale of occupation. The settlement spread over trenches F, G/H and K and as far south as Trenches D and E. For the first time the coombe floor/ lower terrace was intensively used as a working area with associated features. At least nine new buildings, probably serving a variety of functions, were constructed along the coombe side.

Structure [5198], at the east end of Trench E, comprised a rectangular structure c. 6m long and 4.8m wide. It was built in a terrace cut into the coombe side. A portion of dressed limestone wall survived against the SE corner of the terrace, to three courses and was 0.4m wide. Flat limestone blocks had been incorporated into the top of the wall as post-pads, implying a timber frame for the structure. Colluvium from behind the wall, thought to date to shortly after its construction, contained 44 sherds of 2nd century or later pottery, fragments of at least two fired clay slabs and six fragments of wall plaster.

A chalk rubble floor surface and hearth were found within the structure. The hearth [728] was rectangular, 1.2m long and 0.1m deep, and situated towards the centre of the structure. 3rd-5th century Black Burnished Ware, including an unusual perforated vessel, was recovered from the fill. Fragments of a colourless glass cylindrical beaker, a blue-green glass bowl and a broken iron bar share were also found. A compacted chalk surface [725] lay around the north and east of the hearth. Four other irregular shallow scoops, containing Black Burnished Ware, glass fragments and a broken bone pin, were also recorded within the structure.

A second chalk rubble floor [717] was laid and contained 3rd-5th century Black Burnished Ware, New Forset and Rhenish wares, eight pieces of iron work (including a scythe or bill, a pair of wool shears and a drill bit), fragments of glass vessels, a bone pin fragment, a shale spindle whorl, and four conjoining fragments of a sharpening stone.

The later floor was disturbed at the western extreme of the structure by two irregular features [336] & [338] both very shallow and without any obvious function.

30 sherds of 3rd-5th century Black Burnished Ware, a piece of amphora carefully drilled to form a spindle whorl, a fragment of millstone and fragments of ceramic roof tile were recovered from the destruction layers above the floor surface. The building may have served as a dual domestic and working area.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 203-223 (Monograph). SDO9379.

Record last edited

Jan 30 2007 10:56AM