SDO21655 - North Mead Farm, Portesham, Dorset, Archaeological Excavation and Watching Brief

OASIS: Project Methodology: This report outlines the details of an archaeological excavation at North Mead Farm, Portesham, Dorset undertaken by Bournemouth Archaeology for North Mead Farm Ltd. Two trenches were excavated during the excavation and both of these contained features and deposits relating to the presence of former structures on the site. Trench 1 contained two walls orientated parallel to Front Street. There was a rough yard-type surface which abutted the easternmost wall and the westernmost wall may have been the back end of a domestic building that fronted onto Front Street. Trench 2 contained evidence of two structures which were probably outbuildings to the rear of a domestic property on the edge of the street. The earliest structure comprised a fragment of stone wall and a mortar spread which was possibly part of a floor. The later building was timber built using the ground beam method and the beam slots representing the north east corner of this building were found. A stone surface and an associated chalk surface, which were probably exterior to the timber building were also found. Finds associated with the structures suggest there was a phase of domestic activity on the site which occurred in the 12th-13th centuries. The absence of evidence from after this period, with the exception of a single sherd of post-medieval pottery may mean the site was abandoned for domestic purposes and despite being close to the historic core of the village it was never redeveloped.