Monument record MDO18972 - Robbed Roman building remains, 50-51a Icen Way, Dorchester

Traces of a Roman building, including a robbed N-S wall and associated with deposits of painted wall plaster, stone rubble, roof tile and 1st-2nd century Roman pottery, were recorded in a trench in Icen Way in 1965.

Christopher Sparey Green recorded the possible remains of a robbed Roman building during the construction of shops at 50-51a Icen Way, Dorchester in 1965. The remains included what may be a robbed wall, running N-S. The robber trench was filled with black soil and limestone rubble. On the east side of the robber trench was a layer of limestone rubble and a layer of plaster and painted plaster rubble overlying a layer of dark soil containing occupation debris, samian and coarse pottery. Beneath this layer further north was a chalky soil containintg sherds of well-made buff or cream ware flagons similar in fabric to the mid-1st century products of the Corfe Mullen kiln, and a sherd of samian form 27 cup. To the south were compacted layers of ash, plaster and clay roof-tile fragments. (1)

<1> Green, C J S, 1967, Notes on Roman Sites in Dorchester; Icen Way: Hardye's School Crafts Building (Article in serial). SDO9704.

Indications of a Roman building, perhaps with a robbed wall, running N-S, were seen some 50ft NW of the Hardye’s site, on the W side of the road. The trenching for a new block of shops was mostly shallow, but a deeper trench on the shop frontage 7.5ft back from the kerb was cleaned down for recording by kind permission of the contractors. The E side of a vertically-sided trench or pit at least 1.5ft wide and over 2ft deept was traced northwards in a straight line for 5ft, as far as the exposure allowed: it contained black soil and limeston rubble, and was thought to indicate a robbed wall. The stratification on the E side of this feature included a layer of limestone rubble at a depth of 2.5 to 3ft, a 6in thick layer of plaster and painted plaster rubble, and a 12in thick layer of dark soil below, with occupation debris, samian and coarse pottery. Below these layers, towards the N end of the excavation, a chalky soil continuing to at least 5.5ft below surface contained sherds of well-made buff or cream ware flagons similar in fabric to the mid-1st century products of the Corfe Mullen kiln, and a sherd of samian form 27 cup kindly identified by Mr B R Hartley as of Neronian or early Flavian date. At a similar depth, to the S there were compacted layers of ash, plaster and clay roof-tile fragments.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1968, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1967, 112-3 (Serial). SDO67.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1430922 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:34PM