Monument record MDO37395 - Possible Prehistoric Pit 23004, Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme Evaluation Trench 23

An undated, but possibly prehistoric, pit was found in evaluation trench 23 of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme route. A deep post hole was cut through the centre of this pit. The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water.

An undated, but possibly prehistoric, pit (23004) was identified in evaluation Trench 23 of the archaeological evaluation of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme route. This pit was oval, about 1.58 by 1.22m across and 0.42m deep with a flat bottom and steeply sloping sides. A sample taken from the primary fill produced charcoal remains of alder, hazel, hawthorn, rowan, crab apple, oak, willow and poplar, various species of plant macrofossils and mollusc shells. No dating evidence was recovered. The excavators recorded another small pit (23010) cut through the fill of pit 23004, which in turn was cut by a post hole (23008) 0.29m across and 0.5m deep, in the centre of the pit. This post hole appeared to have been dug through the pit fills and into the natural chalk below. [1]
This pit approximately correlated to the location of a discrete anomaly identified by geophysical survey (Anomaly 212). [2]

The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water.

<1> Havard, T and Nicholl, M, 2013, Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Transfer Scheme, Wessex Water, Dorset and Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation, 15-16 (Unpublished document). SDO14094.

Pit 23004 (Fig. 46, Section 24) was located in the northern half of Trench 23 and approximately corresponded to a discrete geophysical anomaly. An environmental sample (SS13) taken from the earliest thin primary silty fill 23007 recovered charcoal remains of alder, hazel, hawthorn, rowan, crab apple, oak, willow and poplar, various species of plant macrofossils and mollusc shells. This fill was sealed by a silty fill 23006 from which no artefactual evidence was recovered and was in turn cut by pit 23010 which contained a primary fill 23012 and a secondary fill 23011. No artefactual material was recovered from either fill. A posthole 23008 was clearly visible in section, which cut through the later pit fill 23011 and into the underlying chalk natural 23001.

<2> Marsh, B and Biggs, M, 2012, Geophysical Survey Report Corfe Mullen to Salisbury WTS, 24 (Unpublished document). SDO14089.

Record last edited

Jan 11 2016 2:11PM