SDO11455 - The Archaeological Evaluation of the Proposed Extension to the Existing Car Park at the Waitrose Supermarket, Gillingham, Dorset

The archaeological field evaluation on the site of a proposed extension to the existing car park at the Waitrose Supermarket, Gillingham, Dorset was carried out by AC archaeology during May 1998. The site lies in an area of proven archaeological potential and incorporates surviving elements of a once extensive set of earthwork enclosures, platforms, trackways and other features which have been shown by excavation to relate to a former suburb of the Medieval town of Gillingham and associated field systems of earlier investigations. Perhaps the most significant discovery present was the presence of a possible iron ore roasting oven of late 7th- to early 8th-century date. This was discovered and excavated under the Relief Road, immediately south of the south-east corner of the present development area. This evaluation comprised the machine-excavation of two trenches and the combined hand and machine-excavation of twenty trial pits, generally 1m2, although some were extended owing to the need to further clarify features. Trenches and trial pits were positioned to either test specific earthwork features, or to provide area coverage in all zones of the site. The evaluation revealed archaeological features and structural evidence across most parts of the site, the density of features considered high in proportion to the excavated sample of c. 2%. Evidence uncovered included a well-preserved medieval wall footing, possibly part of a building, at the northern end of the site and possible middle-Saxon evidence located in the southern zone. The central portion of the site contained extensive evidence for settlement and agricultural activity of medieval date. Artefacts recovered comprised mesolithic flints and Romano-British pottery recovered from alluvial layers and from later residual contexts, quantities of medieval pottery dating from the 12th to 14th centuries and quantities of fired clay and burnt stone from the southern portion of the site, perhaps indicating a saxon industrial component in this zone. The current proposals for the development of the site includes open space green areas at both the southern and northern ends, areas occupied by perhaps the most significant buried evidence. It is therefore uncertain whether the development will affect these remains. The central portion of the site is, however, likely to be affected, and contains important evidence relating to the origins and development of this former suburb of the medieval town.