Monument record MDO19402 - Pound Lane, Christchurch (site X1); Late Saxon or earlier boundary ditches

Excavations at Pound Lane car park in the north-east corner of the Saxon burh and medieval town of Christchurch, during 1970-1, revealed evidence for two long ditches, c. 0.4m wide and 0.2m deep, cut into the berm between defensive bank and ditch. These features could be traced running at right angles to, and under, the bank. They appeared to be boundaries. There were no finds associated.

K. Jarvis directed excavations at Pound Lane car park in the north-east corner of the Saxon burh and medieval town of Christchurch, during 1970-1, in order to better understand the line of the Saxon burh defences. These excavations were subsequently published in DNHAS monograph 5 (1). The excavations revealed evidence for two long ditches, c. 0.4m wide and 0.2m deep, cut into the berm between defensive bank and ditch.

They had a fill of darker gravel than the gravel into which they cut and could be traced running at right angles to, and under, the bank. They appeared to be boundaries. There were no finds associated but they appear to pre-date the late Saxon defensive bank. Unfortunatley their position is not clearly marked on the published plan and it is not clear if they relate to parallel gullies seen further to the south east during an excavation adjacent to the millstream in 1981 (site W10). These gullies also pre-date the late Saxon town defences and were interpreted as an early non-defensive delineation of the town limits. It is suggested that the original bank must predate 919 AD when documentary evidence in the burghal hideage suggests that the defensive circuit already existed at Christchurch. If this is true then the boundary ditches must predate 919 AD also.

<1> Jarvis, K S, 1983, Excavations in Christchurch 1969-80, 22-7 (Monograph). SWX4028.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2011 11:53AM