SDO9557 - Excavations at the New Rugby Football Ground, Coburg Road, Dorchester. Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society

The construction of a new rugby football ground on the western outskirts of Dorchester allowed for the archaeological examination of c. 4 ha of land lying between Coburg Road and Maiden Castle Road. The southern part of the site was masked by colluvium another band of colluvium ran east to west across the middle of the site. Only limited excavation of archaeological features was possible. Four ring ditches, previously identified as soilmarks were located in the north part of the site. No dating evidence was recovered from them. Between two ring ditches were two scoops containing cremated bone and Deverel-Rimbury pottery. Possible Bronze Age boundary ditch ran just to the south of the ring ditches. A sequence of structures and settlement features were identified in the northwest part of the site, including several post-rings and pits containing possible Early Iron Age pottery. Further elements of a Bronze Age field system were identified. One sunken floored post-Roman building identified. A series of boundaries probably part of the medieval field system were also found.