SDO20977 - Hammonds Yard, Penny Street, Sturminster Newton, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation

‘Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by A Hammond & Sons Ltd to undertake an archaeological evaluation of a parcel of land located in Hammonds Yard, Penny Street, Sturminster Newton, DT10 1DE, centred on NGR 378753 114030. The Site is the location for a proposed development to demolish the large yard buildings and replace with 6 no. town houses. Two trial trenches were excavated in locations dictated largely by site constraints relating to the active builders yard and the presence of overhead and underground services, which restricted the scope of the work that could be undertaken. Trench 1 measured 2 m x 2 m and was located in the north-east corner of the site, adjacent to the entrance ramp into the yard. Trench 2 was 5 m long and was located in the south-west corner near the yard’s southern boundary. No archaeological deposits were encountered in either trench indicating a very low archaeological potential for the presence of archaeological remains at the site. A yellowish-brown clay natural was found in both trenches with deposits of made ground found to a maximum depth of 0.85 m in Trench 2. The two trenches both suggest that there is likely to be modern truncation on the Site. However, the limitations imposed by the nature of the working yard and its overhead and underground services mean the scale of this disturbance as well as potential presence of archaeological features and deposits is hard to quantify within the scope of this evaluation.’