EDO4494 - 2 barrows, South Walks, Dorchester; excavation 1864

In 1864-5 the Roman town rampart was destroyed along South Walks between Acland Road and Gallows Hill [1]. Here Edward Cunnington excavated what he believed to be two round barrows. They were both bell-shaped and only two feet apart. They were stratigraphically below the Roman rampart which covered them to a depth of 2-3 feet. In one an urn with cremated bones was found, and in the sides were several skeletons, buried sometimes singly and sometimes two or three together [2]. There are a couple of problems relating to the location of these barrows. The NMR seems to confuse them with two lost barrows near Fordington Farm (Grinsell's, Dorchester no.s 9 & 10; NMR UID: 650864, 650863). Draper has them positioned at the SE corner of Durnovaria [3] based on Cunnington's description as them being on the SE boundary of Dunium [2]. However, the Royal Commission records the ramparts being levelled along South Walks between Acland Road and Gallow's Hill in 1864-5 [1] and the barrows could, in theory, be located anywhere along this section of South Walks.