SWX8575 - Land Off Sweethill Road, Southwell, Portland, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation

Six machine trenches were excavated to evaluate a parcel of land off Sweethill Road, Southwell, Portland (NGR SY683700) proposed for residential development. The evaluation revealed data on the medieval and post-medieval land use of the area. During the medieval period, the whole of the site was open fields. The eastern half of the site was enclosed in the late 18th century. Residual worked chert of Mesolithic date was recovered from the southern side of the site and there was a more widespread scatter of residual Late Neolithic/Bronze Age chert across the field. Almost all the pottery recovered was also apparently residual and ranged in date from the Early Iron Age to the post-medieval period. The Iron Age pottery was widely scattered but the Roman material was concentrated in the southeast corner of the site. Evidence for dumping of a large amount of spoil from landscaping associated with the construction of the former Admiralty buildings was found in the southwestern part of the site.