EDO5435 - Belle Vue, 2 Pound Lane, Wareham; observations and recording 2009

The elevation of the house together with the need to sink a large water tank, required the removal of large amounts of earth, initially by hand but a machine was needed for deeper levels. In the area of the garage, a depth of 2m of overburden was cleared. Section drawings were made when excavation to the required depth was reached, however this was only possible after concrete had been laid. A separate sondage pit was dug to a depth of 1.5m at the eastern edge of the swimming pool. Spoil from the site was stransported to a nearby field, where it was dumped in separate heaps according to soil type and searched for finds, including use of metal detector. The eastern 'tail' of the Saxon rampart of the west walls was recorded. This comprised layers of brown soil, sandy clay and gravel intermixed with discrete deposits of white clay. These probably relate to phase 1 and 2 defences as recorded by the RCHM in the 1950s. 346 artefacts were retreived weighing 7054g. The majority of pottery was 19th-20th century in date and belong to a period when much of any households refuse was dug into the garden. The assemblage as a whole is dominated by broken pottery, the fragments illustrating the range of wares available to Victorians and Edwardian middle-class households. There were only 9 medieval sherds from unstratified contexts. [1]