SDO9468 - The Archaeological Evaluation of a Proposed Residential Development to the Rear of 33 Glyde Path Road, Dorchester, Dorset

The archaeological field evaluation to the rear of the Alington Dairy, 33 Glyde Path Road, Dorchester was carried out by AC archaeology during late April 1998. The site lies within the defences of the former Roman town in its northwest zone. This area contains extensive evidence for Romano-British occupation; buildings of this date have been excavated at Glyde Court to the north, within the boundaries of the prison to the northeast, and to the rear of 37 Glyde Path Road to the south. Two trenches were excavated on this site, both revealing evidence for archaeological activity of the Romano-British period, in each case sealed by a deep post-medieval soil deposit. In Trench 1 (located against the northern boundary of the site) a probable chalk floor was identified above a Roman opus signinum surface. Trench 2 (located against the eastern boundary of the site) was excavated to a depth of 1.90 m below the current ground surface, but intact structural deposits were not identified. A Romano-British demolition layer was present at a depth of 1.40 m, although the full depth of this layer was not reached. It is however considered that this layer is likely to seal evidence for intact structures. Artefacts recovered do not provide evidence of a particularly high status building on the site, as might be assessed by the proportion of imported pottery, presence of metalwork, etc., although the small scale nature of the investigations may mean that the finds recovered are not necessarily representative of the whole structure. It is considered that the deposits identified represent the remains of perhaps a domestic structure of late-2nd to 3rd century AD date, located in an area known to contain other important Romano-British buildings. Any disturbance to these remains, which are sealed by over 1.00 m of post-medieval and later deposits, cannot be assessed at present and would be dependant on the nature and depth of groundworks associated with the proposed redevelopment of the site.