Monument record MDO18986 - County Police Barracks, Dorchester; Roman burial

A coffined extended inhumation burial of an adult male with head to the SSW was found during the digging of a manhole in the southern part of the grounds of the Police Station in 1955. It is undated but likely to be Romano-British in date.

A skeleton in a chalk cut grave was discovered during the digging of a manhole in February 1955 close to the south wall of the Police Barracks. The grave was oriented roughly NNE-SSW. The burial was a supine extended inhumation of an adult male, with head to the SSW and with the arms crossing over the pelvis. The remains of a coffin were found, comprising two layers of iron nails, one of which retained traces of mineralised wood. This burial is thought to be Roman. (1)

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 581, no. 220g (Monograph). SDO150.

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1956, Recent Discoveries in Dorchester; A Romano-british Burial at the County Police Barracks. (Article in serial). SDO9743.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:35PM