EDO3848 - Southfield House, Dorchester; Trench 2a

Southfield House lies across the line of the southern defences of the Roman town of Durnovaria, immediately east of the the suggested site of the south gate and the Roman road to Radipole. Following the observation of eight test pits excavated by developers in 1986, an evaluation of the site was carried out by Wessex Archaeology during June and July 1987. Six trial trenches were excavated by machine in the garden of Southfield House, mainly aligned N-S across the line of the Roman town defences. Trench 2a was aligned N-S and located to the north of, and on the same line as, Trench 2. It measured 15m long and 1.2m wide and was excavated down on to natural chalk bedrock at c. 2m. The outer ditch of the Roman town defences was found in this trench. It was about 7m wide and was excavated by machine, revealing a V-shaped profile about 2.2m deep. The lower 0.75m of the fill was reddish-brown silty clay with chalk wash on the north side; the rest of the ditch was filled with dark brown humic soil. A narrow gully was also exposed but this was probably related to the drainage of Southfield House.