EDO4214 - Dingles Store, Princes Street, Dorchester; excavation 1989

Excavations were undertaken to the rear of the former Dingles department store, off Princes Street, Dorchester in October 1989. The eastern side of the site had been cellared for almost its entire length. So excavation was limited to the western half, the position of the excavation trench was determined in part by cellars and in part by adjacent standing structures, and the need for site access. The upper part of the deposits were removed by machine down on to intact early post-medieval or earlier deposits, which were then excavated by hand. A small number of Roman features were found but severely truncated. These included a series of mortar and chalk floors and a posthole. This building appeared to be earlier than the robber trenches for two walls of a Roman building. The robbing of this later building appears to be late 13th –14th century in date. Post-medieval features included a small post-built structure, a number of pits and several stone walls. Some evidence for it having been used as a smith or workshop in the 18th century.