Monument record MDO49136 - Neolithic ditch, Chard Junction Quarry Extension (Carters Close), Thorncombe

An archaeological evaluation by Thames Valley Archaeological Services (South West) in 2010 revealed a large number of cut features, but few with any dating evidence. A curvilinear ditch [Ditch 7] however, contained a deliberate deposition of late Neolithic Grooved Ware. The ditch had been recut, and was thought by the excavators possibly to be the remains of a later Neolithic structure or ring-ditch burial site.

Weale, A, 2011, Chard Junction Quarry Extension (Carters Close), Thorncombe, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation., 6 (Unpublished document). SDO14966.

'Trench 26 was aligned W - E and was 25.0m long and a maximum of 0.52m deep. The stratigraphy comprised topsoil up to up to 0.19m thick, below which was subsoil up to 0.33m thick. Beneath the subsoil was Ditch 7 (plate 6) which was curvilinear in plan, over 2.20m wide and 0.70m deep with irregularly sloping sides and a flat base. Ditch 7 was filled with (58) firm light to mid grey clay with moderate chert and charcoal up to 0.21m thick. Fill (58) contained a large amount of Late Neolithic Grooved Ware pottery along its length (Plate 5). Beneath (58) was (73) firm light grey silt with moderate chert and charcoal up to 0.20m thick. Beneath (73) was (74) firm red brown silty clay with very frequent chert fragments and nodules up to 0.35m thick. Ditch 7 appeared to be recut as ditch 21 which followed the same alignment as ditch 7, 1.15m wide and 0.57m deep. Recut 21 was filled with (75) a friable dark grey silty clay with occasional chert fragments and charcoal. Ditch 7 and its recut 21 may be part of a ring ditch although it did not appear in any other trench nearby.'

Record last edited

Mar 27 2025 4:00PM