Monument record MDO4668 - Rubbish pit, The Cedars, Angel Lane, Shaftesbury

A rubbish pit of early medieval date. The filling of the pit contained pieces of pottery of probable twelfth or thirteenth-century date. Other material excavated from the filling of the pit included lead and glass slag, which the excavators interpreted as evidence of possible industrial activity in the vicinity.

'2.4 Pit [10] was a near straight-sided, flat-bottomed feature, presumed circular or sub-circular in plan with a diameter of approximately 1.1m. Its depth (as measured from the base of the topsoil) was some 1.35m. Eight distinct layers were identified (Fig. 2 and accompanying descriptions), generally silt-clays with varying quantities of ash and charcoal. The lower layers produced quantities of animal bone and early Medieval pottery (see Section 3 and Table1). Layers [7] and [8] contained substantial quantities of ash and charcoal, and other finds recovered included lead and possible glass slag, suggesting it to be at least partly industrial in nature.' This feature suggests early medieval activity in an area generally regarded as a later medieval suburb. (1)

Record last edited

Jul 11 2023 10:21AM