Monument record MDO19407 - St George's Road refuse dump, Dorchester

A refuse dump for Dorchester along the banks of the River Frome to the north of Red Cow Farm was first used in May 1912. This refuse dump was on a former watermeadow and the refuse was deposited as a flood prevention measure. The tipping began from the road to the east and tipping progressed in a northwesterly direction until a dispute with the tenant farmer lead to the closure of the tip in November 1914.

A refuse dump for Dorchester along the banks of the River Frome to the north of Red Cow Farm was first used in May 1912. This refuse dump was on a former watermeadow and the refuse was deposited as a flood prevention measure. The tipping began from the road to the east and tipping progressed in a northwesterly direction until a dispute with the tenant farmer lead to the closure of the tip in November 1914. This dump has been systematically investigated by ALD Archaeology between 2004-2006 (1) (2). AC archaeology also carried out an archaeological evaluation of the site of Red Cow Farm and part of this dump was found in several of the evaluation trenches, indicating the possible limits of the dump (3). The excavations indicated that the earliest material was in the east and gradually tipped northwestwards. The dump was very shallow to the west, confirming that the dump was finished earlier than intended. There is evidence for a small amount of burning of refuse. There is also no evidence for scavenging. This may be partly due to the proximity to the farmhouse and the fact that the farmer kept pigs on the site, which foraged in the refuse for food scraps, etc. The lack of scavenging meant that there was a comparatively high quantity of bottles from local retailers and china pot lids and bases are often found together. Most of the bottles and jars recovered date to c. 1910-1914, contemporary with the use of the dump. Some earlier bottles, mainly local beer and mineral water bottles, dating to the 1890-1910 period. A few earlier glass items were also found. Pottery was not systematically collected, but included primarily late 19th/early 20th century industrial whitewares, with a small quantity of local earthenwares. Some metal objects were also found, mainly enamelled pots and pans.

Record last edited

Feb 21 2018 11:36AM