EDO4306 - Old Market Car Park, Dorchester; evaluation 1985

In February 1985 a series of trial excavations were undertaken by the Central Excavation Unit in advance of works associated with the new road layout in Charles Street and Acland Road. Four trial holes were dug within the area of the Old Market Car Park, a fifth being dug in South Walks. Trenches A-D were on the line of the re-aligned Acland Road; Trench E was associated with the creation of a turning area in the southern end of Charles Street. The depth of the trenches was constrained to the depth of disturbance caused by the road construction. The trenches revealed that the contours of the modern ground surface generally reflected the underlying Roman archaeology. Two trenches found evidence for the remains of the Roman rampart, but this appears to have been severely truncated in this area, by the construction of the walks and by the construction of Longman's Road (which is now part of the southern end of the car park. Elsewhere, the trenches were not deep enough to reveal Roman stratigraphy.