SDO12237 - Loud's Piece, Alington Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation Report.

'Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Peter Parsons of Parsons & Joyce Contractors Ltd, to undertake an archaeological field evaluation prior to submission of a planning application for residential development at Loud’s Piece, Alington Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, centred on National Grid Reference 370366, 089973. The evaluation comprised the excavation of six trial trenches concentrated within the area of proposed buildings. The fieldwork was undertaken from 19th to 21st July 2010. The site lies within an area of known high archaeological activity which includes the Flagstones enclosure, a substantial Neolithic causewayed enclosure to the immediate east. The evaluation, therefore, set out to ascertain the impact of the proposed development on any archaeological remains within the site. Six trial trenches were machine excavated to the top of the natural chalk bedrock. A limited number of archaeological features were exposed during the evaluation, all of which were post-medieval in date. No evidence for prehistoric activity on the site was recorded and the shallow nature of the archaeological features noted suggests that some form of levelling event took place prior to the property of Loud’s Piece being constructed. Although the lack of features recorded during the evaluation suggests it is unlikely that the proposed development will have a significant impact on any archaeological deposits, there remains the potential for deep features to survive, albeit truncated within the Site.'