EDO4383 - New Children's Ward, Dorset County Hospital, Somerleigh Road, Dorchester; observations and recording 1963

During the construction of the new Children's Ward of the Dorset County Hospital on the west side of Somerleigh Road, a number of Roman features and deposits were observed by Christopher Sparey Green. An east-west Roman street was discovered, sectioned by foundations and drains for the Children's Ward, which was traced for about 18m from WSW-ENE. The road was about 3m wide and consisted of a cambered layer of cobbles surfaced with small flints on foundation layers of 'brown clay' and rammed chalk (1). A ditch about 1.2m wide and 0.5m deep, was found on the northern side of the road. Two pits, a gravelled area and building debris were also observed on the south side of the E-W street. One pit to the north of the street had 4th century pottery and tesserae in its fill; the other to the south contained clinker (2).