SDO9522 - New Cemetery, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset: Archaeological Excavation.

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by the Dorchester Joint Burial Committee to undertake an archaeological excavation on land adjacent to Poundbury Road, Dorchester. The area is centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) 367940 090980 and it will be used for a new cemetery. The presence of archaeological remains within the Site, surviving as man-made features cut into the natural subsoil, had been established by two previous phases of archaeological assessment. Evaluation trenches within the area of the proposed new cemetery had revealed a pit and ditches probably relating to a Bronze Age field system. In addition, a Bronze Age enclosed settlement had been recorded in the area immediately south-west of the proposed new cemetery. Two areas, totalling c. 570 m2, were excavated. Area 1 was located to establish whether any archaeological features, deposits or artefacts associated with the Bronze Age enclosed settlement identified in the 1997 evaluation extend into the proposed development area. Area 2 was positioned to explore a confirmed ditch intersection to improve our understanding of the prehistoric field system. Two large pits were found in Area 1. Early Roman (1st to early 2nd century AD) pottery in the upper fills of one of these pits suggests that it is of prehistoric date. The proximity and morphological similarities of the second pit suggest that the pits were contemporary although neither can be more precisely dated. These pits were probably chalk quarries, the material obtained being used to marl the fields or perhaps in the construction and/or remodelling of the Poundbury Camp ramparts. Unfortunately, no further evidence for the date of the well-defined ditched field system was recovered during the excavation, although a Bronze Age date still seems the most likely. Stakeholes found in the base of the ditches cannot be paralleled in the immediate area but probably represent a fence constructed within the ditch itself. This would not have formed a very strong or formidable barrier but would have served to emphasise the boundary, perhaps for display purposes. The presence of two small pits in the north-east corner of Area 2 may indicate the presence of further settlement activity in this area beyond the limits of the present excavation.