SDO12302 - Former Olds Garage, 55-59 Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset. An Archaeological Excavation.

Context One Archaeological Services Ltd (COAS) carried out an archaeological excavation and watching brief at the site of the former Olds Garage, Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset between the 25th March 2008 and the 4th July 2008. The work was commissioned and funded by Sherborne Land Ltd. This was the final stage of a programme of archaeological work that commenced with an evaluation carried out by COAS in 2006. The work was requested by the Local Planning Authority, West Dorset District Council, on the advice of Mr Steve Wallis (County Archaeologist, Dorset County Council), as a condition of planning consent 1/E/07/000896 to redevelop the site for mixed residential and commercial use. The archaeological work located part of an inhumation cemetery adjacent to the Roman road from Dorchester to Exeter. All of the internments had been buried in an extended and supine position. The burials were aligned approximately east-west with heads to the west; however, it is concluded that this alignment, as with several other cemeteries of this period in the region, is probably influenced by existing landscape features – such as the Roman road – and does not necessarily indicate a preferred orientation. The lack of artefacts from the graves, as well as the current absence of any radiocarbon dates for the burials, precludes any definitive dating for the burials – although the location of the cemetery alongside the Roman road, its proximity to the west gate of the Roman town, and the mode of burial all suggest a late Roman date. However, comparisons with other cemeteries in the region suggest that an immediately post-Roman date might be more appropriate. Only a part of the cemetery was exposed during the course of the work and no firm conclusions can be drawn about its extent, layout or the number of graves contained within it. However, it appears to contain both sinuous north-south aligned columns of burials as well as a tight cluster of burials, where the intercutting of graves and disturbance of primary burials is common. None of the graves contained evidence for wooden coffins, either directly in the form of nails or brackets, or indirectly as soil stains. Stone or lead coffins were also absent, as were plaster burials. However, over half of the graves exhibited some form of stone lining, ranging from carefully placed limestone slabs or flint nodules at the sides or ends of the graves to full cist type burials. There was no indication that any of the burials were accompanied by artefacts, such as coins, pottery vessels or personal adornments, or by offerings of food. Likewise no hobnails were recovered to indicate burial with footwear. The few artefacts that were recovered are all likely to be residual and incorporated into the graves during their excavation and backfilling. One further burial was also recorded, on a different alignment to the other graves. This was accompanied by two iron knife blades of probable 5th -8th century date and is thought to represent a later intrusion into the cemetery. A glass beaker of 6th/7th century date had been inserted into the top fill of one of the graves. There was no evidence to associate this with any of the burials, but it does suggest a terminus ante quem for at least part of the cemetery. The cemetery was located over a penannular ring ditch of probable Neolithic date - possibly the remains of either a small round barrow or a hengiform monument. A row of small pits parallel to the modern Bridport Road are thought to represent tree planting holes for an avenue of trees that flanked the road and was established and extended during the 18th century. Other than this, there is no further evidence for activity on the site, other than post-medieval agriculture, until it was incorporated into the urban mass of Dorchester in the 19th century. Its use for a steam laundry and subsequently a motor vehicle garage/salesroom in the 19th and 20th centuries appears to have had a significant impact on the extent and state of preservation of the burials.