EDO4849 - Dorset County Hospital Site, Princes Street, Further Archaeological Evaluation Test Pit 5

Wessex Archaeology carried out a field evaluation in the grounds of Dorset County Hospital, Princes Street, Dorchester, in February 1994. This work comprised 6 hand excavated test pits and an auger survey, the purpose of which was to provide additional information on the survival, nature and depth of any archaeological deposits within the area, to supplement previous fieldwork (1989) and a desk based assessment (1993). The test pits revealed Roman features in the western part of the area, adjacent to the mortuary (at about 69.8m OD) and in the north part behind Lime Tree House (at about 72m OD); deep modern overburden elsewhere may seal medieval or earlier deposits. The auger survey suggests that archaeological levels (predominately Roman) may survive in several parts of the site which are currently open. Potential for pre-Roman layers is indicated by the apparent presence of clay and silt layers overlying the chalk in auger holes in the north part, the central part and the southern part of the site. This potential cannot be fully assessed without larger scale work. Test Pit 5 was a 3.1x1m test pit located on the sloping shrub border outside and to the north of the mortuary. 1.1m of soil was encountered below modern debris. In the north of the test pit these soil layers overlay the extant Roman stratigraphy at a height of 69.80m OD. This may have been the upcast from pits or debris from structures. The auger could only penetrate it for a depth of 0.15m. In the southern part of the trench the archaeology was truncated by a modern trench, possibly associated with the morgue. This had truncated pits which were only partially exposed in the SW corner of the test pit and were not excavated.