SDO12394 - The archaeological evaluation of a proposed gravel extraction site at Throop, Dorset, January 1992

Archaeological evaluation of the proposed site of gravel extraction has been carried out by means of field surface collection and limited machine trenching following a brief set by Dorset County Council. Fieldwalking produced evidence for Prehistoric activity, dated, on the basis of diagnostic flint tools, to the Neolithic period. The distribution of material can be seen to have been affected by local variations in both topography and soil type. No diagnostic material of late Prehistoric or later date was noted except for a very few sherds of Romano-British and post-Medieval pottery. An excavation trench specifically located to test for the presence of a putative Roman road provided no evidence for such a feature. Within the trench, however, large sherds from a late Iron Age bead rim bowl or small jar were recovered from a hollow which may have been natural in origin.