SDO21138 - Land North of Oakley Lane, Wimborne, Dorset

‘Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Richborough Estates Limited to conduct an evaluation comprising 52 no. trenches, each measuring approximately 50 m by 2 m (representing a 2% sample) of a 26-hectare parcel of land located at Land North of Oakley Lane, Wimborne, Dorset, centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) 402500 098800. The requirement and scope for the evaluation has been established through consultation with Steve Wallis, Senior Archaeologist for Dorset County Council, prior to the submission for outline planning permission. The evaluation follows on from a Heritage Statement and geophysical survey. The evaluation revealed features dating from the Early Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, and Iron Age, as well as a large number of currently undated features. Finds dating from the Late Upper Palaeolithic/ Mesolithic to the medieval periods were also recovered. The features included ditches, gullies, pits and postholes. Two pieces of Late Upper Palaeolithic/ Mesolithic worked flint, a blade and a bruin, were recovered from a possible palaeochannel along the northern boundary of the Site. Four pits contained Early Neolithic pottery, another pit contained a near complete Early Bronze Age collared urn, two trenches had post-holes forming semi-circular shapes, interpreted as roundhouses, and one of these postholes contained Iron Age pottery. Four semi-circular gullies, although undated, were also interpreted as possible roundhouses. The majority of these archaeological features were concentrated on the two high plateaus which form the southern portion of the Site.’