SWX8640 - Watching Brief carried out on the 16th and 20th January 1995 at the Fairfield Hotel, Studland

Watching brief carried out on the 16th and 20th January 1995 at the Fairfield Hotel, Studland. Prior to landscaping a car parking area. The owner cleared 20cms of soil from an area approximately 20x12m. Before this occurred, a trial pit one metre square and 60cm deep was dug to determine the natural levels. It could be seen that subsoil overlay topsoil which itself rested on the natural heathstone bedrock. The land owner stated that over the last fifty years, the site had undergone severe landscaping. This was confirmed by the test pit and the very disturbed surface which was exposed when work began. No archaeological features were present but some finds were noted, including worked flint, medieval pottery, post-medieval pottery, clay pipes, metalwork and an oyster.