Monument record MDO6597 - Medieval rubbish pit, land adjacent to 'Old Med', Southwell, Portland

A medieval rubbish pit observed in the course of a watching brief during development in 1996. Medieval and Roman pottery collected from topsoil.

Rubbish pit, 1.2m in diameter and 0.38m in depth. Contained cess, limpet shells, charcoal, limestone fragments, chert, two small fragments of ceramic building material and animal bone. Small amounts of hammerscale suggested smithing in the vicinity. Two medieval sherds and one Roman sherd of pottery recovered. Scattering of medieval and Roman pottery recovered from cultivated topsoil on site. Modern features also encountered.

The archaeologists on site concluded that the site was likely to have been on the edge of settlement in the medieval period, and used for the disposal of rubbish. {1}

Brading R, 1996, Summary Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at Land Adjacent to 'Old Med', Southwell, Portland, Dorset. (Unpublished document). SWX8565.

Record last edited

Aug 5 2014 12:12PM