Find Spot record MDO8191 - Mayor's Quay, Wareham Sewer Replacement, 1994/1995

An in situ medieval soil horizon dated by ceramics to 12th to 14th centuries AD was observed during observation of sewer replacement in 1994/5.

In situ medieval soil horizon observed in 1994/5 during pipeline excavation at Mayor's Quay, comprising alluvial soil some 1.2m below the current ground surface, and containing 20 sherds of pottery dating from late 12th to 14th century AD. No features associated with earlier quayside structures were observed. In 1974 holes on the Quay dug by contractors were observed but no features or finds were found and the deposits appeared to be made up ground. Based on these observations David Hinton suggested that the Quay area may be a post-Saxon encroachment on the riverside, and the original shoreline was on the edge of the gravel terrace beneath or behind the houses on the north side of the quay. The archaeologists on site noted that these more recent observations support this view, and commented that there may be earlier in situ deposits beneath the medieval 13th to 14th century buried soil, but this cannot be gauged.

Record last edited

Apr 4 2016 4:09PM