Monument record MDO18855 - First century Roman pit found on west side of Dorchester Prison

A large late first century Roman pit was found on the western perimeter of Dorchester Prison in 1978. It was a large subrectangular feature filled with chalk rubble and turf, one of a number of similar features found in this area.

A large pit (Pit 1) was discovered during a watching brief along the western perimeter of Dorchester Prison in 1978. The pit was sub-rectangular, measuring over 1.6 m across and over 2 m deep. It was not bottomed and the full plan extent was not exposed. The lowest layer in this pit was coarse chalk rubble with some turf, which was sealed beneath a layer of pale brown silty turf. The upper fill was of dark soil with chalk lenses. It produced a small amount of late first century pottery including samian dating to about AD70-80 and other fine wares, coarsewares and an amphora sherd. (1) This pit does not appear to have been primarily used for rubbish disposal as it is mainly filled with chalk rubble and turf. The excavators suggest it was used for the disposal of turf stripped from the surrounding area in advance of building timber buildings. It is one of several similar pits filled with turf. (2)

Record last edited

Dec 4 2013 4:05PM