Monument record MWX2806 - Bestwall Quarry Archaeological Project, Early Medieval to Post-Medieval activity

Early Medieval to post medieval artefacts retrieved during surface collection. Area believed to have been under pasture during the medieval period with a return to mixed farming in the post-medieval era. Few medieval features, several of post medieval date.

Phase 1, 1992. Field A: two amorphous spreads of C18th material revealed during watching brief and finds of the C16th onwards unearthed during metal detector survey Phase 1 and 2, 1993: Field A: few pieces of Medieval or earlier pottery. Range of local and imported post-medieval wares, predominantly Verwood ware and in general dated to the mid-17th century. Phase 2, Field B: medieval pottery and post medieval pottery, a Saxon mount, a medieval cut penny, finger ring, horse furniture, feet from cooking pots, beehive thimble and a Spanish coin (1) Phase 3, 1994. Fields B and D: Five fragments of Saxon pottery recovered. Pottery and metalwork of mid-late medieval period confirms utilisation of the land at this time. Much of the metalwork would have been stray losses but the pottery probably came onto the land via manuring. Metalwork included coins, brooches, buckles, seals, book clasps and feet from cooking pots (2) Phase 4, 1995. Field C: Medieval pottery and metal finds scarce although a coin, three buckles and two pieces of horse furniture were recovered. Small quantities of Post-Medieval ceramics, glass and clay pipes. Majority of metalwork post-medieval (not listed in text). Attributed to manuring or stray losses. (3) Phase 5, 1996. Fields E and P: four sherds of medieval pottery and no metal finds. Thin spread of post-medieval finds including an almost complete late 17th century wine bottle, two silver coins of Charles 1, a penny of 1626-7 and a shilling of 1641 (4) Phase 6, 1997. Field P (top soil reinstated from Field B and F): No medieval features but metal detector finds included a 15th/16th century buckle. Post medieval finds included pottery, glass, clay pipe, a George II penny, three 17th century trader's tokens and a 16th/17th century decorated copper alloy button, a silver groat of Elizabeth I and a 16th century German Jetton (5) Phase 7, 1998. Field G: two silver coins of Charles I (6) Phase 8, 1999. Field H. Small amount of medieval pottery from collection areas. Field R: Smaller amounts from this field and all in the vicinity of Swineham Farm, pot types paralleled by vessels found in the early medieval levels of Wareham and Corfe Castles. Finds found during metal detection dating from the 16th to the 20th century (not listed) (7) Phase 10, 2001. Field J: Metal detector survey yielded a variety of later post-medieval finds and a copper alloy strap end dating to the 9th century. One sherd of Medieval pottery was retrieved during surface collection (8) Phase 11, 2002. Field T: fresh, unabraded sherds from a thick-walled cooking pot scattered over a 2m area, dated to the 11th or 12th century. Two small fragments of pottery were also retrieved from ditch fills. Residual pottery of post-medieval date also recovered. Metal detector survey revealed two buttons, a piece of rolled lead and one 18th century penny. Field N: some large sherds of post medieval pottery including a piece into which two pieces of lead had been embedded. Metal detector survey identified a significant number of artefacts including a broken chape dated to the 15th/16th century and a silver groat of Charles the 1st. The majority, however, dated from the 18th to the 20th centuries (9)

Record last edited

Nov 10 2022 4:30PM