Monument record MWX624 - Iron Age/Romano-British settlement on St Aldhelm's Head, Worth Matravers

An Iron Age and Romano-British settlement dating from the late Iron Age to the 4th century AD. A shale working site is present and pottery and a Roman brooch were found.

A thin scatter of debris made up of IA, Samian and RB coarse ware sherds ranging from IA A to the 4th century AD, was found on a ridge on St Albans or St Aldhelm's Head. Five turned shale cores of class C were also discovered and a 1st century bronze brooch. (1-3)

A probable Iron Age storage-pit at SY 966761 was discovered during ploughing. It is in excess of 3.0m deep, unlined and had a corbelled roof, perhaps the only known surviving example in Dorset. (4)

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1956, Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset 1956, 76-77 (Article in serial). SWX2752.

<2> Farrar R A H (ed), 1969, Some Recent Archaeological Discoveries in Dorset, 192 (Article in serial). SWX2753.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 621 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> Beavis, J and Cox, P and Woodward, P, 1982, An Iron Age Storage Pit Near St Aldhelm's Head, Worth Matravers, 179 (Article in serial). SWX2754.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456458 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2022 3:32PM