Monument record MDO41939 - Early Neolithic pit, Prince of Wales Road, Dorchester

A pit recorded during digging of a trench for a gas pipeline in 2017. The upper filling of the pit included pieces of broken sarsen stone. The filling of the lower part of the pit contained fragments of animal bone, struck flint and pottery. Analysis of a soil sample from this lower filling produced carbonised plant remains including grain and hazelnut shell; radiocarbon dating gave an early Neolithic date for the shell.

The pit was around 1m in diameter and sub-circular in shape, with a bowl-shaped profile, cut into the natural chalk. It extended beyond the trench base at 0.80m and further to the western edge of the trench. It contained two fills, the upper containing a damaged Sarsen Stone and fragments of chalk and flint. The lower contained fragments of animal bone, struck flint and pottery and contained less chalk. A sample of the lower fill (context 11) was processed for environmental evidence which included carbonised grain and hazelnut shell fragments. Radiocarbon dating gave an early Neolithic date for the hazelnut shell.

<1> Smith, T, 2018, Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset: Phase 2C, 3A & 3B Infrastructure Contract Works. Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SDO16358.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:40PM