Monument record MDO19092 - Somerleigh Court, Dorchester; Roman building

Parts of a tesselated floor were found in 1863 under the lawn just south of Somerleigh Court house. Some stone roof tiles were found overlying the floor (6), but no other elements of the building have been recorded. The tesselated floor had been badly damaged by later disturbances and comprised parts of two rectangular panels at right angles to each other. The larger panel had a series of intersecting circles with heart-shaped leaves in the centre and the other had a running pelta design. The mosaic was originally thought to be part of a border to a plain central panel, but it is more likely, given the design of the mosaic, that it is the corner of a porticus with a plain border. The style of the mosaic suggests it is fourth century AD in date. The orientation and precise location of this mosaic are not known, so it is unclear which corner of the porticus it was. It is also difficult to be certain whether it was part of one of the other Roman buildings later discovered on this site.

Parts of a tesselated floor were found during the digging of the foundations for Somerleigh Court in 1862, but no further information about this survives (1) (2). In 1863, whilst digging a drain to the south of the house another tesselated floor was found (3) (4) (5) (6). This appears to have been found in April 1863 (3), then covered over and re-exposed in August 1863 (4). This tesselated floor lay under the lawn just south of the house (5). Some stone roof tiles were found overlying the floor (6), but no other elements of the building have been recorded. The mosaic was covered with slates to protect it and reburied (1) (2) (4).

The tesselated floor had been greatly damaged by later disturbances but a drawing was made of a corner of it (reproduced in Moule 1901 (fig. 1) (1)) and a photograph was taken by Mr. Pouncy (not traced) (7). The mosaic comprised parts of two rectangular panels at right angles to each other, divided by a row of superposed thorns. It was said to contain at least six or seven colours. The larger panel had a series of intersecting circles with heart-shaped leaves in the centre and the other had a running pelta design. The mosaic was originally thought to be part of a border to a plain central panel, but it is more likely, given the design of the mosaic, that it is the corner of a porticus with a plain border. The style of the mosaic suggests it is fourth century AD in date (8).

The orientation and precise location of this mosaic are not known, so it is unclear which corner of the porticus it was. It is also difficult to be certain whether it was part of one of the other Roman buildings later discovered on this site. It is possible that it formed part of the same building as the remains found in 1962, just to the southwest. It may also form part of the same building as revealed, but not investigated by Wessex Archaeology in 2001 in a 'strip-and-record' area immediately to the south.

<1> Moule, H J, 1901, Dorchester Antiquities, 14 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9439.

<2> Moule, H J, 1906, Dorchester Antiquities, 33-6 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9552.

<3> Anon, 1863, 'Antique Pavement' Dorset County Chronicle, 163 (Article in serial). SDO9807.

<4> 1900, Letter to Mr Moule from Robert Edgecumbe (Unpublished document). SDO9994.

<5> 1900, Letter to Mr Moule from Robert Edgecumbe (Unpublished document). SDO9995.

<6> Anon, 1863, 'A Tesselated Pavement' Dorset County Chronicle, 763 (Article in serial). SDO9806.

<7> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, p561, no. 189a (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(189) Building Remains with fragmentary mosaic and tessellated pavements have been found at Somerleigh Court, now the Maternity Wing of the County General Hospital, during building operations since 1862. They may belong to a large house or several houses, probably fronting on a street (178) to the E. (a) A much damaged mosaic pavement was uncovered at the foot of the garden terrace S. of the house in 1862 or 1863 and subsequently reburied (69069048). A drawing, apparently of a corner of the decorated portion, shows a band of intersecting circles about 3½ ft. in diameter with geometrical and leaf motifs in the spaces, separated by a narrow strip of linked triangles from a running pelta panel. At least seven colours were used, mainly black, white, red, grey and blue. The design may have had a plain centre according to Moule. (Letters from Sir Robert Edgecumbe (1900) and sketch in D.C.M.; Moule, 33–6; Moule MS., 2; D.C.C., 23rd Apr., 24th Sept. 1863.) This is with little doubt the pavement 'almost Gothic in character' of which a photograph, untraced but probably by J. Pouncy, was exhibited in 1864 (J.B.A.A. xx (1864), 201)’

<8> Cosh, S R, and Neal, D S, 2005, Roman Mosaics of Britain. Volume II South-west Britain, 110 (Monograph). SDO10182.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1410232 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:36PM