SDO21216 - UE1 North of Merley, Wimborne, Dorset: Detailed Gradiometer Survey Report

‘A detailed gradiometer survey was conducted at land north of Oakley Lane, Wimborne, Dorset (centred on NGR 402500 98800). The project was commissioned by Richborough Estates Ltd, with the aim of establishing the presence, or otherwise, and nature of detectable archaeological features in support of a planning application for residential development of the site. The site comprises 26.1 ha of arable fields located to the south Wimborne Minster. The geophysical survey was undertaken on 18 – 25 July 2018. The detailed gradiometer survey has demonstrated the presence of several anomalies of archaeological origin located in the west of the site. The archaeological anomalies are thought to relate to three ring ditches, although it is not clear from the geophysical data alone whether these are associated with barrows or round houses. There is evidence for both Bronze Age funerary activity and Iron Age/Romano-British settlement in the surrounding area, making both interpretations plausible. A possible paleochannel has been identified traversing across the northern and north-eastern part of the site. This partly follows the alignment of the current route of the River Stour and corresponds with localised topographic variation. The edges of this possible former wetland/dryland interface may also have acted as an attractive location for former human activity. As such it has potential to contain significant paleoenvironmental and ecofactual remains and may have provided a focal point for the location of the aforementioned circular features. The survey has also identified a number of anomalies that have been interpreted as possible archaeology. A concentration of these anomalies is located in the south-east of the site and may relate to settlement activity comprising ditched enclosures and former boundaries. Several other possible ditches are located across the site but are too isolated to provide confident interpretation. As well as the possible ditch features, numerous possible pits have been identified across the site. It is not clear whether these are evidence of archaeological activity or are natural pitting in the underlying bedrock. The detection and interpretation of these small pit features is hampered by the large amount of ferrous responses detected across the site. However, these are not considered to have reduced the effectiveness of the survey to detect larger archaeological features. The remaining anomalies relate to the area’s recent agricultural past. Several former field boundaries have been identified and correspond with 19th century mapping of the area. Land drains and modern services have also been identified, as well as possible buried man hole covers.’