EDO4533 - 46 Icen Way, Dorchester; observations and recording 1988

Observations in Icen Way during the construction of services to a new building for Dorset County Council, outside and to the north of no. 46 Icen way, Dorchester, were carried out by Wessex Archaeology during July 1988 (1). Two service trenches were observed, the first dug across the road, about 2.8m south of 46 Icen Way to a maximum depth of 1.4m below the road surface; the second trench was cut diagonally across the pavement in a northerly direction to link up to a manhole in the road just outside 46 Icen Way (2). Much of the trench across the road was disturbed, but several areas of intact stratigraphy were exposed. Natural chalk was not reached. A flint and limestone mortared wall aligned roughly N-S was found near the eastern side of the road, with another similar wall about 1.8m further west. A small charcoal-rich feature was found at the base of the trench between these two walls. To the west of the walls was a layer of mortary soil. No dating evidence was recovered. In the diagonal trench outside no. 46 Icen Way, most of the area was disturbed. In the northernmost 2m of the trench, at a depth of 1.28m was a layer of decayed mortar and painted wall plaster, with lenses of charcoal and soil, over 0.65m thick. This may be of the filling of a large pit or ditch (1).