EDO5287 - Penny's Farm, Cranborne; excavation 1996

An archaeological excavation was undertaken during November 1996 on land adjacent to the former Penny's Farm, Cranborne. The excavation was commissioned by Downton Village Homes in association with a planning application for a proposed small-scale residential development on the site. The work followed an evaluation comprising the machine excavation of four trenches. The later open-area excavation was located on the site of most archaeological activity revealed in the evaluation and on the area most likely to be disturbed by development [2]. 'A single trench, totalling c. 780sqm in area was opened up by machine' [1]. All features were cleaned and excavated by hand [2]. 'Earlier prehistoric (Neolithic and Bronze Age) material was limited to a scatter of worked flint. Iron Age activity was represented by four pits filled with burnt flint. Romano-British evidence was limited to a few residual pot sherds. Several medieval (13th century) pits were found. Overall the site represents sporadic peripheral activities close to the river'. [1]