Monument record MDO6651 - Romano British cemetery Spa Road, Radipole

Spa Hill (Spa Road). About 700 yards ENE of the site... (SY 68 SE 3)...near the highest point of Spa Road at a little below 100ft above sea level and on the E side of the river Wey a number of discoveries have been made that suggest where the nucleus of the Radipole settlement lay. It was about this point....that probably in 1844 (a)(b)o Mr Medhurst excavated a number of Romano-British inhumation burials, some with urns (including Samian ware) found during widening the road (c)(d).He observed that for an area of about 150 yards near his discoveries the soil was artificial made soil, different from the surrounding ground. In 1886 several more graves obviously belonging to the same cemetery were destroyed when water pipes were laid at the highest point of the lane (e). Although the name Radipole Lane is used the location is clear from a reference to the Spa, which was where the Laundry now is and by the mention of the name of Eliot in connection with the property in the accounts of both this (1866 water pipe finds) and Medhursts discovery. Some of the pottery found was apparently figured Samian and Mrs R Elliot was able to secure...a plain red patera' and a small black ware jar, 4 1/2 ins high and 4 1/2 ins in max girth.... in the copse's hand. From Moule's sketch the jar appears to have been a fairly early, probably 1st century type, with pedestal base and central zone of vertically tooled or incised lines.... in the Museum.. but...claimed..1897". <1>

This area is now built over and no information was obtained during field investigation regarding any other finds in this vicinity. <2>

The evidence is insufficient to determine the site of the port installations served by the Roman road from Dorchester (RR 48), although the remains at Spa Hill lie on its projected alignment (See also SY 68 SE 2). <3>

There is evidence that the Romans had a port at the head of Radipole Lake. <4>

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1952, Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset in 1951, 96-97 (Article in serial). SWX2107.

<1.1> Gentleman's Magazine, January 1845, pt 1, p79 (Serial). SWX8280.

<1.2> 1844, Journal of the British Archaeological Association (1844), 350 (Serial). SWX8279.

<1.3> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2, 483 (Monograph). SWX1269.

<1.4> Moule H J, 1895-1898, Moule notebook IX in DCM Dorset (Unpublished document). SWX8282.

<2> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 28-APR-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 614-15 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> Taylor, C C, 1970, Dorset (1970), 190 (Monograph). SWX2984.

<5> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452588 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 12:54PM