EDO3866 - The Recluse, Culliford Road North, Dorchester, Test Pit 1

Wessex Archaeology undertookt a test pitting evaluation on land at ‘The Recluse’, Culliford Road North, Dorchester, Dorset in February 2004. In total three testpits were hand-excavated on the site, with a fourth intrusion into what proved to be an area of hard-standing, the remains of a former hard tennis court. In the three completed testpits, layers of mixed and disturbed material was identified below the turf and topsoil, almost certainly indicative of one or more former ploughsoils. This material was found to overlie the natural chalk, itself pitted and disturbed by root action. A small assemblage of finds ranging in date from prehistoric flint to post-medieval ceramics were retrieved from the mixed deposits, suggesting cultivation of the area for a considerable amount of time. Test Pit 1 measured 2m x 2m in plan and was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.75m onto natural chalk. It was located to the rear of the orchard at 'The Chimneys', close to Culliford Road North. No archaeological features were recognised, although one deposit contained finds dating to no later than the medieval period, and may represent an in situ layer of medieval date.