SWX8291 - Lytchett Prospect, Organford, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation. August 1990.

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by British Petroleum Exploration Limited to carry out a full archaeological evaluation on the site of a proposed exploratory well-site situated 1km to the north-west of the village of Organford. The site consisted of a well-site, centred on SY 93380 92850 (1.28ha), and two access roads, track A leading from the main road, the A35, southwards to the well-site (285m in length) and the other a minor road westwards to the well-site (530m in length). The work was carried out during July and August 1990. Previous fieldwork on heathland sites in south-east Dorset has shown that areas of archaeological significance are usually associated with deeper topsoils (Woodward, 1987). The absence of enhanced soil profiles and subsoil features from the evaluation area implies only limited activity in earlier periods. The artefacts are best explained as stray discards, the result of casual loss or domestic rubbish disposal onto the fields from nearby farms. Neither the flint flakes nor the medieval sherd appear to be part of larger assemblages. The results of this evaluation would suggest that the site of the proposed development has little archaeological potential.