Monument record MDO19423 - Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester; Late Roman building G615

Part of a building of high status, probably a town house, G615, dating to the mid 4th century AD was revealed during excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the redevelopment of the former Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester in 2000-2001. Building G626 was a rectangular building with probable cob walls and a stone threshold in the middle of the eastern gable end. Two rows of internal post settings were noted, but apparently it is not clear whether they formed an integral part of the structure or not. They may have formed an aisled structure or may have supported a raised wooden floor. The demolition deposits within the building included some coarse painted plaster. This building is more likely to have had an agricultural or storage function, rather than a domestic structure. Building G615 was constructed on a large terrace cut deeply into the slope and part of the western end of a range of rooms running E-W with a corridor or porticus fronting a courtyard to the south was exposed. The building may have been founded on timber beams and part of a possible triclinium was found at the western end floored with a fine mosaic. The corridor was provided with a coarse tessellated floor. The building appeared to be of a single phase and was probably a high-status town house. The mosaics suggest a mid 4th century date for the building.

Part of a rectangular building G626, dating to the late 2nd-3rd century AD was revealed during excavations by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the redevelopment of the former Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester in 2000-2001.

This building was constructed on a large terrace cut deeply into the slope. Only a small part of the western and southern side of this building was exposed, comprising a range running E-W with a corridor along the southern side fronting on to a courtyard. The wall lines were marked by footings trenches, which had no masonry or mortar within them suggesting they may have held a timber beam foundation. A trench filled with sand, flint and broken tile was dug immediately upslope of the foundation trench and may be a drain. (1)

At the western end was a large bipartite room, perhaps a triclinium, which contained a fine geometric polychrome mosaic. The western part comprised a rectangular mosaic with a central square panel of a saltire delineated in simple guilloche and with swastika lozenges in the corners and an central guilloche knot in blue-greys, white, red, and yellow. The panel was flanked to north and south by bands of opposed stepped triangles and spaced swastika-meander with guilloche knots between and with a border of grey tesserae with a single line of red on the north, west and south sides. To the east is a mosaic of a grid of octagons within a square or rectangular frame and with a swastika meander around the edges with rectangular panels of guilloche and the remains of a guilloche mat forming a threshold panel at the entrance to the western room. The mosaic is of good quality and probably dates to the mid 4th century AD. (2) The corridor or porticus along the south side had a mosaic comprising six bands of red and grey running along the length of the room. (2) A number of patches of burning and discolouration were found on the mosaic floor and corridor, perhaps from braziers or possibly temporary hearths during a late phase of use of the building.

The building appeared to be of a single phase and was probably a high-status town house. The mosaics suggest a mid 4th century date for the building.

<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