Monument record MDO47221 - Six Roman ritual pits, Sturminster Marshall

A number of shafts from 6 to 8 feet in diameter and 8 to 10 feet deep were examined by Warne (1) in 1842. They were situated in the common-field of the parish of Sturminster Marshall and contained fragments of Romano-British pottery and some animal bones.

Farrar (5) using Warne's map (a) originally placed the discovery between the Winterbourne and the Stour in the vicinity of Newton Peveril, but later (6) decided it must have been further south where the OS 1st Edn 1" map shows "Sturminster Fields" (SY 937991).

Both he and the Royal Commission (7) refer to the finds being made in a chalk-pit which Farrar thinks may be the old pit at SY 934991.

Shipp and Hodson (3) however make no mention of a pit, and the only one to which Warne refers in his article is at Ewell in Surrey. (1-5)

Six ritual pits. In one was a pot of coarse black ware, broken, together with fragments of another vessel. On the floor of another were portions of four or five vessels heaped together with the skulls of an ox and dog. (2)

<1> Warne, C, 1865, Dorsetshire: it’s Celtic, Roman, Saxon & Danish vestiges (Monograph). SDO10243.

<2> Coles and Simpson (eds), 1968, Studies in Ancient Europe : essays presented to Stuart Piggott, 273 (Monograph). SWX2244.

<3> Hutchins, J, 1868, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 3. 3rd edition, 368 (Monograph). SDO11486.

ed Shipp and Hodson

<4> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset (2nd Edition), 330-331 (Monograph). SWX1971.

<5> Farrar R A H, 1962, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 105 (Article in serial). SDO20180.

<6> Farrar, R A H, 1965, Recent Roman Discoveries in Dorchester. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 115 (Article in serial). SDO9900.

<7> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 611 (Monograph). SDO148.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457261 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 7 2024 2:29PM