Monument record MDO18839 - The Castle Ground, Dorchester; Roman building

Roman tessellated floors and Roman coins had been discovered during garden digging on the Castle Ground, at some time before 1709. The precise location of these mosaic floors is not known.

A brief mention is made by the Rev. Conyers Place in a letter dated 1709, of the previous discoveries of tesselated floors at Dorchester Castle (1). The relevant extract of the letter is as follows: "There is on the North side of the towne a ground called the Castle, which I find is not taken notice of by Mr. Camden. Silver coins have been severall times found there in digging of gardens, pertty deep in the ground, and the opus tesselatum, or floors, made up of little squares like Dice. Medalls are also found both in ye gardens and fields adjacent; the most freqent are those of Constantin; next to them, those of Antoninus, Severus, Gallienus, Tetricus, Probus, and Dioclesian. Tetricus and others less frequently; the Constantins are the usuallest." (1).

It is not certain whether the reference to the tessellated floors refers to those on the site of the Prison or whether they were found in the gardens adjacent to the prison (2).

<1> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset, 220 (Monograph). SDO10094.

<2> Draper, J, and Chaplin, C, 1982, Dorchester Excavations Volume 1: Excavations at Wadham House 1968; Dorchester Prison 1970, 1975 and 1978; and Glyde Path Road 1966, 107 (Monograph). SDO9690.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:32PM