Monument record MDO19397 - Pound Lane, Christchurch (site X2); medieval Town Defences

Excavation at Pound Lane (site X2), Christchurch, during 1971, revealed evidence for the Medieval town defences in the form of a series of parallel ditches [F2-4]. No datable finds were recovered from the fills. They could be interpreted either as a series of re-cuts of a single defensive ditch, or as a series of multiple and parallel defensive ditches known at a number of Anglo-Saxon towns.

The South Wessex Archaeological Association (SWAA) conducted an excavation to the rear of High Street, at Pound Lane, Christchurch, during 1971. These excavations were subsequently published as a short note in DNHAS monograph 5 (1).

A machine-dug trench approximately 20m long across the proposed line of the town defences revealed evidence for medieval defensive ditches. A series of three ditches [F2-4] all contained a dark loam fill with little sand or stones. [F2] was a round bottomed ditch, [F3] was square bottomed, 1.0m wide, and [F4] was a rounded V-shaped ditch. A fourth feature [F6] was interpreted as a further ditch, although subsequent excavations suggest it is in fact a quarry pit.

No datable finds were recovered from the fills of any of the ditches, although subsequent excavations suggested they all date from the 12th-13th centuries (site W6). They could be interpreted either as a series of re-cuts of a single defensive ditch, or as a series of multiple and parallel defensive ditches known at a number of Anglo-Saxon towns.

The bank had been terraced away during development, but was seen in a watching brief.

<1> Jarvis, K S, 1983, Excavations in Christchurch 1969-80, 26-7 (Monograph). SWX4028.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2011 11:53AM