Monument record MDO18059 - Maiden Castle Road 4th century AD Roman cemetery

An inhumation cemetery of 23 graves or possible graves containing 22 skeletons. The majority were extended inhumations with a small number of flexed or crouched burials. The graves were aligned E-W or N-S and their positioning suggested they were part of a planned, ordered cemetery, within a defined plot attached to the northern side of the ditched trackway. This cemetery appears to be 4th century AD in date.

Found during the excavations to the north of Maiden Castle Road undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1987 in advance of the Dorchester By-pass construction. The following description is abstracted from the final published report on the site (1). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report. A cemetery containing 23 graves or possible graves with 22 skeletons recovered from 19 graves. Four graves contained no skeletons and may be unoccupied or uncompleted graves. Three graves contained two skeletons. At least 15 skeletons from 13 graves were buried in wooden coffins. Two coffined burials had stone slabs over them. The majority of skeletons were extended, with a small number of flexed and crouched burials. Seven skeletons were accompanied by grave goods. Grave [02202] had a copper alloy finger ring. Grave [02220] had two copper alloy bracelets. Grave [02228] had a Black Burnished Ware Type 10 beaker and a possible Oxfordshire ware vessel. Grave [02318] had a copper alloy bracelet, a copper alloy intaglio finger ring and a large iron nail with copper alloy covered head. Grave [02350] had a New Forest slipped ware bowl. Two burials were accompanied by food remains. Graves [02230] and [02367] had parts of juvenile sheep deposited with the body. The cemetery was laid out to the north of the ditched trackway and was aligned on it. The eastern limit of the cemetery was defined by ditch [02225] and the southern limit by the northern trackway ditch. To the north, the graves were arranged on a single E-W alignment, with the exception of a single outlying grave [02220], suggesting the former presence of a boundary, perhaps a low bank or hedge. Within this enclosed area, the graves were well-ordered with the majority being E-W and a smaller number N-S. The close positioning of the graves suggests an ordered sequence of burial within a defined and planned cemetery area. The graves were the stratigraphically latest features in the area. The dating of the cemetery comes from the small number of datable artefacts deposited as grave goods or incorporated into the grave fills. These suggest a 4th century AD date for the cemetery, but it is not closely dated.<1> SY 676 894 (FCE) A rapid examination of air photography suggests the presence of a number of features, including rectilinear enclosures, linear features and pits, possibly of Prehistoric or Roman date, visible in the process of being excavated to the north of Maiden Castle, c.150m northeast of Bush Road Cottages. <2>

Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 8:32PM