Monument record MDO18765 - Hollands House, Poundbury Road, Dorchester; prehistoric quarry pits?

Two large features were revealed during topsoil stripping on a watching brief undertaken by AC Archaeology in October 1997 during groundworks to create a car park extension on land adjoining Hollands House, Poundbury Road, Dorchester. One was a large curvilinear feature which contained a large quantity of flint knapping debris and the other was a large subcircular pit. Both features produced a single prehistoric pot sherd each. The precise function and date of these features is not known. The large size may suggest that they are quarry pits. The character of their fill and the artefacts recovered suggests a possible Bronze Age date.

Two large features were revealed during topsoil stripping on a watching brief undertaken by AC Archaeology in October 1997 during groundworks to create a car park extension on land adjoining Hollands House, Poundbury Road, Dorchester.

Feature F1 was a possibly curvilinear feature measuring over 6.2m long and over 2.4m wide, aligned NW-SE. The limits to the north and south were not found and it was not excavated. It was filled with very pale brown clayey silt with chalk flecks and contained a large quantity of worked flint of probable Bronze Age date and a single sherd of prehistoric pottery. The flint was fresh and appears to be primary knapping debris.

Feature F2 was a large sub-circular pit about 7.4m in diameter. It was not excavated. The top of this pit was filled with pale brown silty soil and contained a small quantity of worked flint, animal bone and a single sherd of prehistoric pottery. Pit F2 appeared to cut feature F1.

The precise function and date of these features is not known. The large size may suggest that they are quarry pits. The character of their fill and the artefacts recovered suggests a possible Bronze Age date.

Mcmahon, P and Richards, J, 1997, An Archaeological Watching Brief at Hollands House, Poundbury Road, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO10090.

McMahon, P, 1998, 'Dorchester, Hollands House' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 117 (Article in serial). SDO10091.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:35PM