SDO9476 - Dorchester, The Grove. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeology Society

A watching brief during the drilling of seven boreholes through the defensive ramparts of the Roman town at The Grove, Dorchester, was carried out by AC Archaeology during November 2003. The site is a Scheduled ancient Monument (SAM Dorset M141) and the work was undertaken in accordance with a Scheduled Monument Consent. In most boreholes evidence for layers forming the town ramparts was revealed. The various layers recorded within each borehole, while locally variable, are generally consistent with the sequence previously recorded for ramparts in the area. It has been established during earlier work that they were constructed using alternate layers of loam and chalk rubble. Layers of this type were recorded in all cores except the most northerly borehole, which exhibited a very shallow sequence above chalk bedrock.