SDO193 - Gillingham Relief Road, Gillingham, Dorset. Archaeological Assessment.

Because of the historic importance of the town of Gillingham (Penn 1980, 65-69) Dorset County Council commissioned Wessex Archaeology in March 1989 to undertaken an assessment of the archaeological implications of the route of the proposed relief road. The route diverts from the B3081 at the eastern edge of the town at Newbury, which is thought to be a later medieval suburb, passes across the meadows to the south of the town and then northwards close to the western edge of the presumed medieval town. Due to access restrictions the evaluation was carried out in two stages, in March 1989 and in October 1990. Trial trenching at selected points along the proposed route of the Gillingham Inner Relief Road has demonstrated that the area of the medieval town has been severely disturbed and truncated by post medieval and modern features. However, to the west of cemetery road, west of the church, the evaluation suggested the existence of a substantial building aligned on the street frontage probably of early medieval date. Outside the build up area, to the south of the river in Chantry Fields, deposits and structures of an early medieval date survive in relatively undisturbed condition. Cursory examination of the pottery recovered suggests a low level of Romano-British activity in the are. In addition, the range of early medieval pottery types suggests far reaching connections. An industrial function for at least part of the site was suggested by the distribution of fired clay from one of the platforms. This has indeed been borne out by further excavation in this area which has identified well-preserved hearths which related to iron working activities on the site. These structures are at present unparalleled in the country and are therefore extremely important to the study of the history and development of the technology of iron working.