Monument record MDO19071 - Roman building, Cedar Park, South Street, Dorchester

SY69199056. Traces of a house built on the foundations of an earlier house were noted in 1936.

SY69209056. A silver coin hoard, probably a `bank' hoard, deposited in or soon after 257CE was found in 1936 buried 3 feet below the level of the Roman house. The hoard of over 22000 antoniniani and 16 denarii, including so many die identities as to suggest that the money had not been in normal circulation, was contained in a bronze jug, a plain bronze bowl, and a box or keg, apparently cylindrical with bronze bound staves of yew wood. The jug, doubtlesss foreign, is of Wheeler's ype B1 or B2, probably of the C1st or early C2nd. The objects are in the County Museum; the coin hoard was broken up for sale after retention of collections by the British Museum, the County Museum, and the Portland Museum.

SY69219055. A fragment of coarse mosaic pavement, probably part of the same floor, was found in 1898 on a site at 47 South Street.

SY69179057. A fragment of coarse tessellated pavement, of which about 7 feet wassaid to have been taken up, was found in 1932. Part of the same pavement, or another, was noted by CD Drew in Sep-1932.

A damaged mosaic pavement found in circa 1725 at a depth of 3-4 feet, came from the same area. (1-4)

National Record of the Historic Environment, 1410234 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

1895, DISCOVERY OF A ROMAN PAVEMENT (Article in serial). SDO9800.

Moule, H J, 1901, Dorchester Antiquities, 17-18 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9439.

Moule, H J, 1906, Dorchester Antiquities, 37-38 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9552.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 564, no. 194b (Monograph). SDO150.

'(194) Buildings with mosaic pavements have been found at various times between South Street and Trinity Street in the area formerly known as Cedar Park, and to the W. of Trinity Street. They may belong to a large house W. of the street (179) running S. in the centre of the town. … (b) A fragment of a coarse mosaic pavement was found in 1895 against the S. wall of Cedar Park on a site E. of (a), now covered by the same store (69219055). The remains running approximately N. to S. measured 8 ft. by 5 ft. with a red lattice pattern on a grey background within a border of four alternating red and grey bands. The piece was relaid in D.C.M., without the outermost band. (Moule, 37–8; Moule MS., 3; D.C.C., 21st Feb. 1895, 9; Southern Times, 23rd Feb. 1895; photograph, Dorset Album I, part i, f. 14, in D.C.M.)'

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:36PM