Monument record MDO18990 - Roman burial at 4 Casterbridge Road, Dorchester

A skeleton in a shallow grave was found during construction of a driveway in 1957. The grave was oriented WNW to ESE with the head at the western end, and the skeleton was of an elderly male, with a badly-healed broken femur. No grave goods were found, though a coin of Constantine I (AD 317-320) was found in the garden nearby. This is one of a cluster of inhumation burials in this area, interpreted as a small cemetery of Romano-British date.

Farrar R A H, 1957, 'Miscellaneous Discoveries and Museum Accessions' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9482.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 578, no. 218e (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(218) Alington Avenue … (e) Inhumations, five, found since 1951 in building the Came View Estate about 100 yds. E. of Max Gate. The known burials fall into two groups, near the N.W. and S.W. bends in Casterbridge Road. … In the S.W. group, a burial extended E.N.E. (head) to W.S.W. in a shallow grave 2 ft. wide cut in the Chalk … Another burial in a similar grave, extended W.N.W. (head) to E.S.E., was found in 1957 about 30 yds. to N. in making the garage drive of No. 4 Casterbridge Road (70558988). The skull faced S. and the arms were folded over the chest; there were no grave-goods. A coin of Constantine I issued between 317 and 320 was found in the garden. The remains (1958.46) proved to be those of an elderly male of muscular build with general periarticular ossification of the fibrous tissues, possibly limiting movement of joints and certainly of the spine; there were signs of parodontal disease in both jaws, and a malpositioned healing of the fractured neck of the left femur.’

Record last edited

Jan 14 2015 5:10PM