EDO4538 - A37 Western Link Road; Trench A

Wessex Archaeology undertook a programme of archaeological evaluation and excavation along the line of the A37 Western Link road in advance of road construction, between Autumn 1987 to March 1988. Trench A was machine-cut trial trench about 5m wide and 125m long excavated at the southern end of the route of the road, on the north-facing slopes dipping down into Fordington Bottom. The southern half of this trench was dug down onto a Tertiary clay capping, which made it difficult to distinguish any archaeological features. Four parallel ditches aligned E-W were found in this trench. These ditches contained Middle and Late Bronze Age pottery and are probably part of the extensive Later Bronze Age field system that has been found elsewhere in the area to the west of Dorchester. A small area of burnt flint, perhaps a hearth and a small subrectangular pit were also found in the southern end of the trench.