EDO3939 - Land to the West of Poundbury Farm, Dorchester; valuation (Trench 17)

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation of land to the west of Poundbury Farm, Dorchester, in advance of the proposed Phase II Poundbury development. The site was known to contain three undated linear cropmarks and a postulated post-medieval chalk pit. Twenty-three machine-excavated trenches were investigated, each measuring at least 1.8m x 30m and totalling c. 1296 square metres. Trench 17 was 31.8m long and aligned E-W. Clay-with-flint natural subsoil was encountered at a depth of 0.35m below ground level. A large parallel-sided feature, 11m wide was excavated by machine to a depth of 1.2m. Three sherds of RB pottery were recovered from the upper fill, although its function remains uncertain. It may have been a prehistoric chalk pit.