SDO14031 - New Medical Centre, 5-7 Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset. Archaeological Watching Brief Report

'Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by the Peter Gunning Partnership, acting on behalf of the Dorset Primary Care Trust, to undertake a detailed archaeological watching brief during groundworks associated with the construction of a New Medical Centre on land at 5-7 Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset centred on National Grid Reference 369170 090250 (hereafter the Site). The Site falls within the important Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual and funerary landscape of the South Dorset Ridgeway and lies immediately to the south of the Roman town of Durnovaria. The western Site boundary (Weymouth Avenue) comprises a former Roman road linking the town with Weymouth Harbour. Excavations at the Station Master’s House (in the south-west corner of the Site) uncovered a roadside ditch running parallel to Weymouth Avenue. Map and documentary evidence indicate that the Site and the neighbouring Former Eldridge Pope Brewery site was occupied by open strip-fields throughout the medieval period, and that agricultural land-use persisted until the 19th century, when the railway and Brewery were built. Groundwork, which comprised the excavation of foundation trenches and service channels, revealed a topsoil horizon of 0.50m to 0.75m containing building material along with demolition rubble from the previously demolished Victorian buildings overlying the natural chalk geology. Cellars from the demolished buildings were also observed cutting into the natural chalk. A series of foundation footings for the new development were archaeologically monitored for the survival of archaeological features and deposits. Within a trial trench and service channel in the north-west corner of the Site a north to south ditch running parallel to Weymouth Avenue was recorded. Although no dating material was recovered it is possible that the ditch may be a further part of the roadside Roman ditch that had previously been recorded to the south at The Stations Master’s House (Pearce 1987 and WA 1989). No further archaeological features or deposits were observed during the course of the watching brief. The watching brief was undertaken between the 8th January and 22nd February 2008.'