Monument record MDO19009 - Roman oven(?), South East corner of County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester

A 'pear-shaped' feature, described by the excavator as a corn-drying kiln, was found near the south east corner of County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester in 1948. The dark earth fill contained some Roman pottery.

A possible Roman oven was found to the south east of County Hall, Colliton Park, during an excavation by Miss P A M Keef in 1948. It was a described as a small pear-shaped unlined oven cut into the natural subsoil. It had a rounded stone slab at the bottom and was filled with dark earth containing sherds of Romano-British coarseware pottery. This feature was identified as a corn-drying oven by the excavator. It was sealed beneath a floor on which was a sherd of Late Iron Age 'Belgic'-type pottery. (1)

In the excavation archive, this feature is described as a spoon-shaped depression 8 inches long by 8 inches wide with a curving flue. The fill of the feature contained some small flecks of charcoal. (3)

On current knowledge, this seems unlikely to be a corn-drying kiln.

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1948, Dorchester, Colliton Park, 60-61 (Article in serial). SDO9759.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1949, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1948, 60-61 (Serial). SDO48.

<2> Farrar, R A H, 1948, Colliton Park, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO13152.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1431018 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:35PM