EDO3852 - Southfield House, Dorchester

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. The earliest feature found on site was an earlier Roman L-shaped ditch, possibly part of a rectilinear enclosure, which was sealed beneath the counterscarp bank and cut by the outer ditch of the Roman town defences. It was also cut by two graves and another three possible graves were noted on site but not excavated. Elements of the Roman town defences were found in five of the six trenches excavated; the outer ditch was present in trenches 1, 2a and 5; and the counterscarp bank lying to the south of the ditch, in trenches 1, 2, 2a, 3 and 5.