SWX8620 - Parley Lane, Christchurch, Dorset: Archaeological Evaluation Report.

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by the Cheshire Robbins Design Group on behalf of Wessex Autistic Society to carry out an archaeological evaluation on the site of the proposed school for autistic children, Parley Lane, Hurn (centred on SZ097978). Due to the proximity of the proposed development to important archaeological remains (Iron Age and Bronze Age occupation evidence) an archaeological evaluation of the area of proposed development was requested by Dorset County Council's Archaeological Officer. The archaeological evaluation comprised six machine cut trenches, which were undertaken in December 1999. These were located mainly within the footprint of the proposed school buildings. The presence of an overhead electricity supply running diagonally across the site restricted the location of two of the trenches. The field evaluation identified three principal periods of activity: in the Late Bronze Age, Late Iron Age, Roman and post-medieval periods respectively. The Late Bronze Age was represented by a single, disturbed creation burial, associated with 30 sherds of pottery representing a single vessel. The Iron Age was represented by two ditches which produced a small amount of pottery. Five ditches contained sherds of pottery of Roman date.