EDO4496 - Dorchester Prison Burial Ground, North Square, Dorchester; excavation 1858

In 1858, following the discovery of part of a mosaic floor in the Prison burial ground during the excavation of the grave for James Seal, who was executed on 10th August 1858 (and also part of the same floor found in the grave of Martha Brown in 1856), the Dorchester Prison Governor, J. V. D. Lawrance ordered the full area of the mosaic to be uncovered. This revealed part of a range of rooms, three of which had remains of tessellated floors (1) (2) (3) (4) (5). From the published plan, the orientation of the walls suggests that at least two phases of building were present. The near complete tessellated floor was lifted and initially relaid in the Prison Chapel (1). It was moved to the Dorset County Museum in 1885 (5). The area beneath the tessellated floor was investigated by probing and coring (1). Some 4th century AD Roman pottery was recovered from associated pits. The full extent of the area exposed is not known, nor is the precise location of the Roman remains. In addition, in the same area, the remains of the defences of a possible Civil War fortlet were found, enclosing two pits, one of which may have been a well (4).