Monument record MDO18177 - Roman town defences, Dorford Baptist Church

Part of the outer ditch and the counterscarp bank were revealed during evaluation excavation and a subsequent watching brief by Terrain Archaeology at Dorford Baptist Church, Bridport Road, Dorchester,in 2002 and 2004. Only a small part of the ditch was revealed and a full profile was not obtained, but its projected width is 9m and its projected depth is 2.5m. Similarly a full profile of the counterscarp bank was not obtained but the width and orientation of the bank were determined. It survived about 21m wide and 1m high.

Part of the outermost defensive ditch and the counterscarp bank of the Roman town defences was found during evaluation excavation and observations by Terrain Archaeology at Dorford Baptist Church, Bridport Road, Dorchester, in 2002 and 2004. Part of the outer ditch was exposed to the south of the church, in two stanchion pits, during the watching brief. A full profile was not obtained, but sufficient was exposed to be able to suggest that it was V-shaped, with a projected width of 9m and a projected depth of 2.5m. It was filled with greyish-brown soil with occasional flint nodules. No dating evidence was recovered. A full profile of the counterscarp bank, which lay to the west of the ditch, was not obtained either. The eastern edge was exposed to the north of the church during the excavation of evaluation trench 1 and to the south of the church, it was exposed in the side of one of the stanchion pits during the watching brief. The western edge of the bank was also located during the watching brief. The overall width of the bank was about 21m and it survived about 1m high. The bank was constructed directly on top of the prehistoric/early Roman soil and it comprised a series of layers of chalk rubble and clay in varying quantities. No secure dating evidence was recovered.

Record last edited

Jul 6 2006 5:10AM