Find Spot record MDO7854 - Roman finds near Broomhill Bridge, Moreton

<1> Smith, R J C, 1990, Archaeological Observations on the Route of the East-West Dorset Link Main 1989 (Unpublished document). SDO180.

‘Observation 2: SY 81158821 (Fig. 1). A small quantity (12 sherds/176g) of Romano-British pottery was recovered 170m north-east of Broomhill bridge on the floodplain of the River Frome. The material consists primarily of Black Burnished ware and includes forms of 1st-/4th-century date. The material was not directly associated with archaeological features but was adjacent to an undated, linear ditch of undertermined depth, aligned approximately north-west to south-east, and to a c. 25m2 spread of burnt flint, 0.18m deep, the southern extent of which lay beyond the south edge of the easement. A sample of this deposit was sieved for material other than burnt flint, and two sherds of Black Burnished ware and a sherd of prehistoric flint-tempered pottery were recovered.
It is perhaps noteworthy that the only material of this date from the pipeline route should be recovered from the floodplain of the River Frome. Similar such collections of Romano-British material are recorded from the River Frome floodplain from Moreton to Wareham (RCHM 1970, fig. on page 634) and have similarly been identified as casual finds. A recent important exception is the discovery of a series of timber structures to the west of Wareham (Maynard 1988), also in this instance identified during construction of a pipeline. While the nature of the activities associated with these finds has yet to be identified by excavation, these collections reiterate the importance of the River Frome as an arterial route inland from Poole Harbour and suggest a preference for settlement, in this area of heathlands away from the isle of Purbeck, in areas adjacent to the river and its flood plain rather than on the heathland soils. ‘

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1990, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1989, 111 (Serial). SDO89.

‘2 Roman material from Broomhill Bridge possibly associated with a spread of burnt flint and an undated ditch SY 81168821.’

Record last edited

Nov 1 2016 5:04PM