EDO5454 - Mill Lane, Wimborne Minster; observations and recording 1984

Observations of a deep trench cut at right angles on the north side of Mill Lane during building work revealed a ditch running parallel to the lane, and about 5m from the building frontage. The ditch was situated beneath 0.5m to 0.8m of topsoil, between 1m and 1.2m deep, and at least 2m wide. The profile of the ditch was U-shaped in the section on the western side of the trench, but flat-bottomed in the section on the eastern side of the trench. The filling of the ditch consisted of grey-brown clayey silts, with a grey ashy deposit at the bottom; the only finds from within the filling were an oyster shell and some charcoal. Though the ditch could not be dated securely, it was noted that its size, shape and orientation were similar to ditches recorded on the site of the Crown Hotel. These ditches had been interpreted as being medieval property boundaries, possibly for burgage plots, and a similar interpretation has been offered for this feature.