Monument record MDO19418 - Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester; Roman building G555

Building G55 was a stone-footed house dating to the later 2nd-3rd century AD, found during excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the redevelopment of the former Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester in 2000-2001. Only the western end of this building was exposed and parts of four rooms with a corridor to the north were revealed. It probably fronted on to a Roman street which is projected to run to the east of the building. The southern room contained the remnants of a mosaic floor). The corridor along the northern side of the building was shortened at its western end by the insertion of a blocking wall and subsequently removed completely. To the north of the building was a boundary wall dividing this property from one to the north that contained a range of stone-footed buildings. Between the boundary wall and Building G555 was a trackway with a chalk and mortar surface. This trackway was widened to cover the area of the northern corridor of the building, once the corridor had been demolished and probably provided access from the street into the central area of the insula. To the south of building G555 was an open courtyard with a series of external surfaces, including a layer of clean river gravel, a layer of crushed stone roof tile and layers of flint nodules. A well was associated with these surfaces. A relatively large quantity of stratified coins suggest that clearance of building G55 took place at the end of the 3rd or beginning of 4th century AD.

This later 2nd-3rd century AD stone-built house was found during excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the redevelopment of the former Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester in 2000-2001 (1). G555 was found in the southern half of Block 1&3 and probably fronted on to a Roman street, which is projected to run to the east of the excavated area. Only the western end of this building was exposed and parts of four rooms with a corridor to the north were revealed. The floors in this building were on split levels to accommodate the sloping ground. The southern room contained the remnants of a mosaic floor, which comprised a wide red border with an almost completely destroyed central panel (2). The corridor along the northern side of the building was shortened at its western end by the insertion of a blocking wall and subsequently removed completely.

To the north of the building was a boundary wall dividing this property from one to the north that contained a range of stone-footed buildings. Between the boundary wall and Building G555 was a trackway with a chalk and mortar surface. This trackway was widened to cover the area of the northern corridor of the building, once the corridor had been demolished. A number of wheel ruts were found in this latest phase of trackway, which probably provided access from the street into the central area of the insula.

To the south of building G55 was an open courtyard with a series of external surfaces, including a layer of clean river gravel, a layer of crushed stone roof tile and layers of flint nodules. A well was associated with these surfaces.

A relatively large quantity of stratified coins suggest that clearance of building G555 took place at the end of the 3rd or beginning of 4th century AD.

<1> Trevarthen, M, 2006, Bentleigh Cross Limited Former County Hospital Site Dorchester, Dorset. Internal Post-excavation Assessment. (Unpublished document). SDO10014.

<2> Cosh, S R, and Neal, D S, 2005, Roman Mosaics of Britain. Volume II South-west Britain (Monograph). SDO10182.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:39PM