EDO5283 - Devonshire House, Stalbridge; discovery of Roman burial 1918

A human skeleton with a roman coin in the mouth was found during the extension of a butter works at Devonshire House in 1918. The site could not be ascertained shortly after the discovery, but the modern Devonshire House lies on the SW side of the junction of Gold Street and High Street. If this is the same as the 1918 Devonshire House then the site is likely to lie to the rear of the building. 'On April 3, 1918, on excavating in the garden of Mr. G. Prideaux, of the Creamery, Stalbridge, for enlarged buildings, there was discovered lying E. and W. (facing E.) a skeleton in good preservation about 3 ft. from the surface. It had belonged apparently to a male of 6 ft. in height, and of good cranial development of the squarish type. The teeth were especially good. It had in its mouth a small coin much defaced (on which AUG only could be deciphered), of bronze, seemingly of the time of some late Emperor. The bones have been sent by the kindness of Mr. Prideaux to the County Museum' [2].