EDO3850 - Southfield House, Dorchester; Trench 4

Southfield House lies across the line of the southern defences of the Roman town of Durnovaria, immediately east of the the suggested site of the south gate and the Roman road to Radipole. Following the observation of eight test pits excavated by developers in 1986, an evaluation of the site was carried out by Wessex Archaeology during June and July 1987. Six trial trenches were excavated by machine in the garden of Southfield House, mainly aligned N-S across the line of the Roman town defences. Trench 4 was aligned NE-SW and was located to the south of trenches 1 and 3, in order to pick up a NE-SW aligned ditch observed in Trench 1. Trench 4 measured 9.m long and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.97m at the NE end and 2.02m at the SW end on to natural chalk bedrock. The ditch was not picked up in this trench, the reason for this subsequently became clear during the excavation of the extension to Trench 1, when it was revealed that the ditch was L-shaped and turned to the SE before reaching Trench 4. No other archaeological features were found in Trench 4.