SDO16938 - Land to rear of 98-102 West Street, Corfe Castle, Purbeck, Dorset. Results of a Geophysical Survey

The results of a geophysical survey by South West Archaeology Ltd (SWARCH) on land on the west side of the village across a relatively low-lying field rising to the north and west. Former field boundaries, lynchets and ridge and furrow are visible in surrounding fields on aerial photographs and LiDAR imagery. Geophysical survey identified three groups of anomalies: a ridge and ditch aligned approximately east-west and dividing the site in half; a ditch that fed into the dividing ditch/ridge from the south; and a possible drain running roughly north from the dividing ditch/ridge. All these corresponded to topographic features visible on the ground and on LiDAR imagery. General background responses indicated a waterlogged landscape. It was concluded that the potential for buried archaeological features was low but that the potential for prehistoric or medieval artefacts or discrete prehistoric features remained.