SDO16312 - A338, Wessex Fields, Bournemouth, Dorset. Detailed Gradiometer Survey

‘A detailed gradiometer survey was conducted over land at the A338, Wessex Fields, Bournemouth, Dorset (centred on NGR 412820 94565). The project was commissioned by WPS Environment and Energy with the aim of establishing the presence, or otherwise, and nature of detectable archaeological features. The survey was commissioned in support of a planning application (Ref. 7-2017-9177-DH) for a new junction and link road from the A338 to Wessex Fields Business Park and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital via Deansleigh Road. The site comprises eight arable fields covering an area of 14.2 ha. The geophysical survey was undertaken on 20 to 23 February 2018. The detailed gradiometer survey has not identified any anomalies that can be confidently interpreted as archaeology. A possible medieval field system and areas of pitting have been identified by the survey. Further evidence of more recent agricultural activity is apparent in the form of former field boundaries and several phases of ploughing. The remaining anomalies identified by the survey are natural or modern in origin. The modern anomalies include a service, areas of made ground, and a possible trackway.'