EDO558 - Sherborne Abbey Primary School replacement site Lenthay Road, Sherborne; evaluation trench 2

Southern Archaeological Services conducted an archaeological evaluation on land at the western end of Lenthay Road in advance of the proposed building of the Sherborne Abbey Primary School replacement site between 12 and 19 January 1998. Nine trenches… were excavated by JCB. Two possible ring features 15-19m in diameter, may be the ploughed out remains of Bronze Age round barrows. Ditches, two small annular features, small pits/post holes and stake holes were also recorded. Some features lay below 1.2m of hill wash, suggesting some antiquity, although no dateable artefacts were recovered. Some may be agricultural features associated with the Roman villa 150m SW of the site. Medieval to modern land drains and a grubbed out field boundary were also observed. Trench 2 measured 30m x 1.8m, was aligned N-S and was located in the NE corner of the proposed western playing field. Six linears and eight discrete features were recorded within the trench, all cut into the natural and sealed beneath the topsoil which contained a single sherd of 13th-14th century pottery. One of the linears [207] matched fairly well with a possible ring ditch identified through gradiometer survey. This was cut by a later land drain. Three other linears ran at right angles to the trench they are undated but may be contemporary with eachother. Four of the discrete features were either animal disturbance or modern. Two were of unknown function and date and two were possible small pits of unknwon date.