Monument record MDO18714 - A37 Western Link; Late Iron Age/ Early Roman Quarry Pits 528

Evidence for Late Iron Age/ Early Roman quarry pits was discovered during excavations along the route of the Dorchester By-pass, Western Link. A group of eight, badly plough damaged, amorphous, and apparently intercutting features [528] was recorded on the upper terrace in Trench H. These covered an area of 60m2 and were filled with dark brown silty clay loam, on the surface of which a number of artefacts were found including four sherds of BBW and two fragments of copper alloy pins. Late Iron Age/Early Roman Grave [522], cut through the fill of one of the southernmost hollows.

Found during a programme of archaeological work conducted by Wessex Archaeology along the route of the Dorchester By-pass, Western Link, Fordington Bottom, Dorchester between 1986 and 1988. The results of the excavations have been published as a Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monograph; (DNHAS Monograph 11). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published report (1). A series of features was recorded in Trenches F and G/H south of the main area of burial in Trench K. Most are poorly dated by artefacts but were stratigraphically early and they may represent sporadic activity during the 1st century AD. A group of eight, badly plough damaged, amorphous, and apparently intercutting features [528] was recorded on the upper terrace in Trench H. These covered an area of 60m2 and were filled with dark brown silty clay loam, on the surface of which a number of artefacts were found including four sherds of BBW and two fragments of copper alloy pins. Late Iron Age/Early Roman Grave [522], cut through the fill of one of the southernmost hollows.

Record last edited

Jan 26 2007 5:13AM