SDO10615 - The New Music Room, Sherborne School for Boys, Sherborne, Dorset. An Archaeological Evaluation

Sherborne School contracted Context One Archaeological Services (COAS) to conduct an archaeological evaluation in advance of construction of a new Music Room. The work took place between July 22-25 2008, and followed on from and earlier desk-based assessment of the site (November 2007).The evaluation comprised the excavation of four trenches measuring approximately 4m x 1.6m. The work has recovered evidence for a medieval ditch and four further ditches tentatively dated to the medieval period or earlier. Only a small number of artefacts were recovered suggesting that the recorded ditches were peripheral to Saxon and medieval settlement and may represent field boundaries. Buried ploughsoil was also recorded and it is suggested that this area had been agricultural land connected to Sherborne Abbey. Buried garden soils and modern land drains were also recorded.