SDO9907 - 'Appendix' Archaeologia

"Feb. 27, 1812, The Rev. Thomas Rackett, M.A. F.S.A. presented to the Society a Drawing of a Mosaic Pavement found at Dorchester, with the following account of some Antiquities discovered in Dorsetshire. “The Mosaic Pavement was discovered two feet below the surface of the ground, in digging the foundation for a garden wall belonging to the New Gaol at Dorchester (formerly the site of the Castle), about three years ago. The pattern is very simple, and appears to differ a little from that of any tessellated Pavement hitherto observed in Britain. It consists of a series of three parallelograms, one within the other, each formed by two rows of blue tesserae, on a white ground; on each site of this is a blue stripe formed by five rows of tesserae. About ten feet in length of the Pavement have been uncovered, and it is four feet and a half wide. It appears to be part of a passage, and as Dorchester (Durovernum) is so well known as a Roman station, it probably formed a part of a considerable and elegant building. There is, however, but little prospect of future discoveries, as the wall of the gaol stand within a few feet of the eastern extremity of the Pavement, and other buildings within a garden intercept it towards the west. Not far from this spot, whilst the wall abovementioned was building, several larger and coarser tesserae were dug up, and Roman coins are frequently found by the prisoners, who are permitted to cultivate the garden. A small part of the Pavement has been (at my suggestion) protected by a wooden covering." pp330-1.