Monument record MDO7473 - Romano-British occupation, Corfe Common near Sandyhills Copse, Corfe Castle

A surface scatter of fragments of pottery, and pieces of burnt and unburnt clay, first reported by Mr P A Brown and subsequently visited by R A H Farrar, who suggested that material seen in a concentration along the western edge of Sandyhills Copse might possibly represent the site of a pottery. A further scatter of pottery with pieces of shale and flint flakes was seen in the adjacent field to the south west, and may be associated.

(Centred SY 970815) Sandyhills Copse. Occupation debris of Iron Age 'C' or early Roman date comes from ploughing, W of Sandyhills Copse and the adjacent part of Corfe Common, on and near the crest of a ridge some 150 ft above sea-level. A concentration of coarse ware sherds and some burnt and unburnt clay occurs close to the copse (96958157); a scatter of similar sherds, flint flakes and shale fragments has been found on the common about 100 yds SW (96888149). A waste core from a hand-cut shale armlet comes from E of the copse at SY 97098148. The pottery, all coarse black ware, consisted of quite large pieces unlike that usually found on long occupied sites, and may possibly indicate a site of specialized character such as a kiln. The recognizable pieces were all pedestal bases. Finds are in Dorset County Museum. <1> <3>

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1963, An Early Iron Age C or Romano-British site near Sandyhills Copse, Corfe Castle; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO15286.

‘A new site was discovered by Mr. P. A. Brown in 1961, and further examined by myself, S. of the Chalk range, on Wealden Beds, close to the W. side of Sandyhills Copse at SY 96958157, and with some further signs to the S.W. over the border hedge at Corfe Common at 96908149. The waste centre piece of a hand-cut shale armlet came from E. of the copse at about 97098148. The objects are in the County Museum (1962.28).
The site lies on and to the N. of the crest of a low E. to W. ridge sloping down to a small stream, where the ground rises again northwards to the parallel ridge followed by Sandy Hill Lane. The field W. of the copse, where Mr. Brown noted a few sherds, was under plough when I visited it, and revealed a very local scatter of pottery and much burnt and unburnt clay, extending some 20 feet N. to S. against the edge of the copse but showing no lateral spread into the field. Some large sandstone lumps were noticeable, again only in the verge of the ploughland, some 50 feet further S., un-associated with pottery and possibly of natural origin although they were not apparent elsewhere along the crest of the ridge in this field. The soil is loamy and light brown in colour, with no occupation debris other than the remains specified above, and since the pottery was unusually fragile, and consisted of quite large pieces unlike what is usually found on long occupied sites, it might possibly indicate a site of specialized character such as a kiln.
The pottery was all coarse black ware of Early Iron Age C or relatively early Romano-British type, the recognizable pieces consisting of several pedestal bases.
The remains in Corfe Common, a little over 100 yards to the S.W. and on the crest of the ridge, consisted of a few sherds, some pieces of shale and a thin scatter of flint flakes. The recognisable sherds were, again, pedestal bases, although there was one countersunk-lug handle of unburnished ware which, on its own, might possibly be referred to Iron Age B. The field was under grass when I saw it in 1962, but molehills contained a few scraps of pottery and a flint flake a few yards W. of Mr. Brown’s location at 96858150. There are traces of ‘Celtic’ fields on the Common further south which might be related.
The area E. of the copse, where Mr. Brown found the shale armlet was piece, was under crop, and no other traces of occupation could be seen.’

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1963, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1962, 114-115 (Serial). SDO62.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1968, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1967, 145 (Serial). SDO67.

‘Mr. Brown has a shale spindle-whorl 1½ins. in diameter with ½in. perforation found on the site on Corfe Common near Sandyhills Copse recorded in the Proceedings, Vol. 84, p. 114.’

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 599 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey (Index). SDO147.

Site lies in a field that is regularly ploughed and in ley pasture when visited. Lies close to a copse of mixed deciduous woodland

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF00137 (Index). SDO14738.

Corfe Common, Dorset. A large scale archaeological survey and investigation of Corfe Common was commissioned by the National Trust to provide detailed information to aid future management and conservation decisions. The common is a unique landscape, an SSSI entirely enclosed by cultivated land, which incorporates an impressive variety of relatively undisturbed archaeological features. The analytical investigation was undertaken by staff from the English Heritage Exeter Office in the Spring of 2003.Background AutoCAD files stored on CD03001: 'Plan.dwg' and '1to10000plan.dwg'.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456843 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2022 4:40PM