EDO4209 - The Grove, Dorchester; excavation 1972

Excavation across the presumed line of the western defences of the Roman town was carried out in advance of development, on the western side of The Grove. A trench (Trench 2), aligned roughly east-west and measuring, 30m by 4m, was excavated at the northern end of the site. This excavation revealed two large ditches running north-south, dug into the natural chalk bedrock, which are probably the remains of the two outermost ditches of the Roman town defences. The larger, outer ditch to the west comprised a primary V-shaped ditch, recut as a wider ditch, probably in the later Roman period. This ditch was cut by a probable medieval ditch, which contained 14th- to 15th-century pottery. The smaller ditch to the east had two phases; an early phase producing 2nd- to 3rd-century Roman pottery, and a later phase without dating evidence because of heavy 19th-century disturbance. Part of the chalk and clay bank on the southern edge of the site was cleaned up and investigated, revealing it to be part of the counterscarp bank of the Roman defences. Over the outer edge of the counterscarp was a spread of Roman debris, consistent with cleaning out the ditches in either the Roman or mediaeval period.