EDO3784 - Red Cow Farm, Dorchester, Trench 11

An archaeological field evaluation of a parcel of land at Red Cow Farm, St George’s Road, Dorchester, was carried out by AC archaeology during June 2004. The site lies on the eastern fringe of Dorchester, on land to the west of the by-pass, immediately adjacent to the River Frome. The evaluation comprised the machine-excavation of twelve trenches. Trench 11 was aligned roughly N-S in the SE part of the site. It measured 15m x 1.6m and was excavated by machine to a depth of 0.16m. Topsoil lay directly on top of natural chalk. Two small parallel ditches aligned roughly E-W were found cutting the chalk. They contained a small quantity of medieval pottery in their fills and one also contained a single sherd of modern pottery. These ditches may be part of a field boundary system of medieval or post-medieval date.