Find Spot record MDO19175 - Tesserae and a Roman Coin from The River Frome near Poundbury, Dorchester

A fragment of white tesselation, possibly of imported marble, was found in the Frome near Poundbury by a boy bathing in the river. These tesserae are mostly less than 0.25 in. square. At the same time a large (AE 1) copper alloy coin of Faustina junior was found corroded to an iron nail.

A fragment of white tesselation, possibly of imported marble, was found in the Frome near Poundbury by a boy bathing in the river. These tesserae are considerably smaller than any other Dorchester specimens known to Moule at the time, being mostly less than 0.25 in. square.

At the same time a large (AE 1) copper alloy coin of Faustina junior was found corroded to an iron nail. Moule suggested that these finds may have originated from a temple within Poundbury Camp. <1>

(Area of SY68509142). Some years ago a boy, bathing here or hereabouts, found a little fragment of tessellated floor lying loose on the bed of the River Frome. At, or near the same spot, was found on an earlier occassion, a brass of Faustinia, corroded onto an iron nail. The floor fragment , 2" by 3", is composed of 35 tesserae, each less than 1/4" square.

During a drought 35 years ago, the turf inside Poundbury Rings showed plainly the outlines of an oblong building 20 feet by 12 feet (see SY69SE63). It may have been modern, but may have been ancient, and the doubtful suggestion has been made that that it may have been a finely floored Roman shrine cleared for cultivation and the debris thrown down the banks, whence the above floor fragment found its way into the river. <2>

No further information was obtained on this site. There were no finds. <3>

<1> Moule, H J, 1901, Dorchester Antiquities, 19 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9439.

<2> Moule, H J, n. d., Notes made by Mr H. J. Moule on Roman mosaic floors found in or around Dorchester (Unpublished document). SDO10092.

<3> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 26-Aug-1954 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1430599 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 12 2024 4:20PM