Monument record MWX748 - Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Iron Age and Romano-British activity

Excavation has revealed traces of Iron Age and Romano-British settlement at Bestwall quarry. (1) Iron Age settlement site (comprising pottery, ditches, pits, post-holes and various small finds) excavated at Bestwall Quarry (2) Roman pottery industrial site, comprising kiln and kiln-type features, excavated at Bestwall Quarry. Area appears to be production site for large amounts of coarse wares. Some residual Bronze Age and Iron Age material was also recovered (3)

Surface finds include:

Phase 2, 1993. Field B: Iron Age and Roman pottery recovered from trial trenches (4)
Phase 3, 1994. Fields B and D: Iron Age activity implicit in distribution of pottery recovered during surface collection but no features apparent. Abundant Roman pottery recovered, six brooches, three finger rings, nine coins, four pot mends and one tiny bronze bowl also recovered. Major discovery of two coin hoards. Larger hoard of 1564 coins dating to 270AD deposited during period of currency debasement and increasing unrest. Coins contained within a black burnished ware cooking jar, probably manufactured locally at Worgret, covered by thin slab of Purbeck stone. Second hoard of 34 coins may have been a loss or burial, dating to 270 to 285 AD (5)
Phase 4, 1995. Field C: Pottery from the early-Iron Age to late Roman Period found in almost all collection areas, many fragments small and abraded suggesting wear from ploughing. A small percentage of worked flint has also been attributed to this period. Worked shale was retrieved including a hand worked 'rough out' of Iron Age date, part of a roof tile with a peg hole present and a spindle whorl of 2nd to 4th century date. Three fragments of quernstone were also recovered (6)
Phase 5, 1996. Fields E and P: Iron Age and Roman pottery, largest concentrations found in the south of Field E in the vicinity of two coin find spots, a Durotrigian stater and a sestertius of Trajan (7)
Phase 6, 1997. Field F: fewer Roman finds although one 3rd century sestertius was retrieved by metal detecting. Field P: parts of two Roman Brooches recovered from redeposited topsoil, one a rare hinged 'headstud' type dating to the 1st century AD (8)
Phase 7, 1998. Field G: part of a Roman 'Hod Hill' type brooch dating to the late 1st century recovered during metal detection (9)
Phase 8, 1999. Fields H and R: random spread of Iron Age and Roman features across fields (10)
Phase 10, 2001. Field J: Features include: ditches, (see field system WX3565), pits (and charcoal pits WX3516) and evidence for Roman metalworking (WX3664) (11)
Phase 11, 2002. Field Z: enormous amounts of Roman pottery apparent when site was stripped, in both features and surface scatters, related to pottery production centre. Field N: disc brooch (1st to 2nd century) (12)

Smith, R J C, 1990, North Bestwall and Swineham Farms, Wareham, Dorset: Archaeological Assessment (Unpublished document). SDO17149.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 2000, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1999, 153 (Serial). SDO11604.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 2001, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 2000, 160 (Serial). SDO11605.

<1> Smith, R J C, and Barnes, 1990, North Bestwall and Swineham Farms, Wareham, Dorset (Excavation archive). SWX3091.

<2> Ladle, L, 1998, Bestwall Quarry Excavations 1998 - interim report. (Article in serial). SWX7708.

<3> Ladle, L, 2002, Bestwall Quarry Excavations 2002 - interim report. (Article in serial). SWX7971.

<4> Ladle L, 1993, Bestwall Quarry Archaeology Project, Phase 2 - 1993 (Unpublished document). SWX8520.

<5> Ladle L, 1994, Bestwall Quarry Archaeology Project, Phase 3 - 1994 (Unpublished document). SWX8521.

<6> Ladle, L, 1995, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 4 - 1995 (Unpublished document). SWX8524.

<7> Ladle, L, 1996, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 5 - 1996 (Unpublished document). SWX8525.

<8> Ladle L, 1997, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 6 - 1997 (Unpublished document). SWX8526.

<9> Ladle L, 1998, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 7 - 1998 (Unpublished document). SWX8528.

<10> Ladle, L, 2000, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 8 - 1999 (Unpublished document). SWX8530.

<11> Ladle, L, 2001, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 10 - 2001 (Unpublished document). SWX8531.

<12> Ladle, L, 2003, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 11 - 2002 (Unpublished document). SWX8532.

<12> Ladle, L, 2003, Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Phase 12 - 2003 (Unpublished document). SDO13970.

<16> National Record of the Historic Environment (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 5 2024 11:29AM