EDO6101 - Jordan's Mine, Portland; evaluation 2006

An archaeological evaluation of the proposed site of the haul road for a projected new stone mine, comprising three trenches between Wide Street and the western limits of the existing disused Jordan’s Quarry. The evaluation trenches were located to sample most of the area of the proposed development and represented approximately 2% of the whole site. The only area not evaluated was within the disused Jordan’s Quarry. No archaeological features or deposits were encountered. The stratigraphic sequence comprised topsoil overlying a thin subsoil directly on top of the natural clay and stone. A sparse scatter of worked chert was recovered, but no other indications of activity pre-dating the modern period. The excavators noted that the area was agricultural land during the post-medieval period (part of Inmosthay Field) and felt that this was likely to have been the case during the medieval and earlier periods.