Monument record MDO18554 - Alington Avenue Roman building 2126

Evidence for a Roman building was discovered during excavations at Alington Avenue. Building 2126 was located approximately 8m SW of building 459, and roughly on the same orientation (E-W). Its form however, was markedly different. It was semi-subterranean; a rectangular hole 4.7m x 4.0m had been excavated to an extant depth of 1m. The sides were partly vertical and partly sloping, with a flat base. Well-built flint and yellow mortar walls had been constructed on the upper sloping parts of the sides. There was evidence for a plaster finish to the internal surface of the east wall. No evidence for the function of this building survived. It appears to have gone out of use prior to AD 250 and may be contemporary with building 459. It is possible that it had a raised wooden floor to allow air to circulate below and keep off damp, possibly functioning as a granary.

Found during a series of archaeological evaluations and excavations conducted by Wessex Archaeology at Alington Avenue, Fordington, Dorchester, between 1984-1987. The results of the excavations have been published as a Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monograph (DNHAS Monograph 15). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published reports (1). Three buildings with stone footings were revealed; two within the D-shaped enclosure [459] & [2126] and one just outside its eastern side [1737]. In addition there were several short lengths of wall, which may have belonged to other structures. Internal features were rare and there was little evidence for specific function. Furthermore, a series of post-hole structure were revealed within the enclosure with little or no dating evidence. It has been suggested on morphological grounds that they are late or post-Roman in date but it is possible that some may be contemporary with the stone-footed structures. Building 2126 was located approximately 8m SW of building 459, and roughly on the same orientation (E-W). Its form however, was markedly different. It was semi-subterranean; a rectangular hole 4.7m x 4.0m had been excavated to an extant depth of 1m. The sides were partly vertical and partly sloping, with a flat base. Well-built flint and yellow mortar walls had been constructed on the upper sloping parts of the sides. The depth of these wall fragments was variable, an apparently deliberate construction technique. The deepest wall section was on the east edge and the shallowest on the west. The walls on the south side were badly damaged by demolition and robbing. There was evidence for a plaster finish to the internal surface of the east wall. There was no evidence for any roof support, nor for wall construction above ground level and no evidence for the function of this building survived. It appears to have gone out of use prior to AD 250 and may be contemporary with building 459. It is possible that it had a raised wooden floor to allow air to circulate below and keep off damp, possibly functioning as a granary.

Record last edited

Dec 12 2018 5:46PM