EDO4491 - Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester; Trench 1

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken at Cooper’s Cookers (a.k.a. Cooper's Wholesale), Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester during groundworks associated with the construction of proposed industrial units 1-3 in the southeast part of the site. Three separate trenches were observed. Trench 1 was excavated along the southern edge of the property to locate an existing modern drain. It measured 12.5m by up to 2m wide. A number of features were found in the eastern 6.5m of this trench, which was left open to allow full recording of the features, the remainder of the trench was backfilled immediately after opening. One possible prehistoric ditch, two Roman ditches and a possible flint footing for a Roman building were observed. These were all aligned roughly north-south.