SWX8330 - Bearwood School, Wheelers Lane, Poole, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation.

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken during November 1992 of a c. 11,800m² area adjacent to Wheelers Lane, Bearwood, Poole (NGR SZ 0455 9675). The evaluation was commissioned by Dorset County Council (County Building Services Dept) in advance of proposed development of the site as a new school. A total of six trenches were opened by machine across the site and a number of archaeological features were located. The majority of the features were subsoil ditches and gullies, several of which could be traced across the field in different trenches. Severe weather conditions experienced during the investigations prevented the full examination of some features. However, all features were planned and the majority were subjected to sample excavation by hand. A single sherd of late Iron Age pottery found on a spoil heap was the only artefact retrieved from the site. It is probable that the archaeological features located represent the continuation of a late Iron Age or Romano-British field system first recorded by Poole Museums Service in the plot of land immediately to the west of the site during the Stour Valley Gravels Project (Whites Pit).