SDO11441 - Gillingham, Le Neubourg Way; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society

'An archaeological field evaluation of land adjacent to Plank House, Le Neubourg Way, Gillingham was carried out by AC archaeology during April 2000. The site comprises a single plot of land of c.1200m2, which is generally level and slightly raised in the northern corner of the site, there is then a pronounced break of slope, with the site sloping moderately to the west and low-lying ground of the floodplain of the River Stour. The evaluation comprised the machine-excavation of two trenches, both containing an identical sequence of overlying deposits, comprising topsoil above alluvial layers to a depth of between 600 and 800 mm below existing ground levels. In Trench 1, located on raised ground in the northern portion of the site, a linear feature was present, which probably represents a former drainage ditch of unknown date. The low-lying position, coupled with the poorly-drained, heavy clay soils present, appears to make the site unsuitable for early settlement activity. The single ditch located in Trench 1 is clearly draining the relatively higher ground in the eastern portion of the site onto the low-lying flood plain of the River Stour.'