SWX8679 - Summary Report on the Archaeological Watching Brief on the site of the new Gunnery School Building, Lulworth Camp, Dorset, 1994

An archaeological Watching Brief was carried out as a condition of the planning consent during groundworks associated with the construction of a Challenger 2 Gunnery Training Building. The work was undertaken on behalf of Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick, agents for the developer. The purpose of the Watching Brief was to observe and record the presence of any archaeological features and natural deposits encountered on the site. The Watching Brief took place between Tuesday 3rd May and Wednesday 11th May 1994. The groundworks consisted of a level reduction to a weathering level followed by a further reduction to building formation level, followed by the laying of stones as a hardcore for the building’s floor surface. Two service trenches and a level reduction for an access road were also dug. The only evidence of human use of the site prior to the Modern period was a sherd of Thirteenth Century pottery from a feature in the section of trench 5. Virtually the whole site consisted of modern make-up. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is from groundworks for the construction of the tank sheds upslope of the site. An archaeological evaluation of the site was undertaken by AC Archaeology in February 1994. It established no positive evidence for in-situ archaeological remains at the depths examined. The geology of the sites was Reading Beds.