EDO4239 - Trumpet Major I, Excavation Trench E.

To the west of The Trumpet Major, Alington Avenue, Wessex Archaeology cut three trenches within an overgrown coppice prior to development as two houses. The three trenches, machine stripped to chalk bedrock showed that settlement was intense on this side of Alington Avenues (the opposite side in relation to the Alington Avenue and Fordington Farm excavations). The western Trench revealed a Romano-British ditch. The NE trench contained late Iron Age droveway ditches and a crouched burial. The southern trench contained a series of LIA/early RB settlement ditches and 2 crouched burials. Trench E (north eastern trench) showed some 19th century pits which may be related to landscaping and gardening at Wareham House (now the Trumpet Major). Two parallel ditches of droveway dimensions ran NE-SW, and contained late Iron Age BBW. A crouched burial with head to the east was found in a shallow cramped pit which was sealed by a beam slot and associated stakeholes.