EDO4602 - Premature Baby Unit, Somerleigh Court, Dorchester

During the construction of a new premature baby unit for Dorset County Hospital in 1963, on the site of the garden to the south of Somerleigh Court, the groundworks were observed by C. J. Sparey Green. A number of fragments of Roman buildings were recorded. It is unclear whether these form part of one large house or parts of several smaller buildings. Just south of Somerleigh Court, part of a room bounded by walls on the north and east sides and with the remains of a red tesselated floor was discovered. This lay to the east of the tesselated floor found in 1863 and immediately NW of the room found by H.S.L. Dewar and G. N. Aitken in March 1963 (EDO4604). The room measured at least 4.5m by 1.5m. The tesselated floor overlay a length of E-W wall parallel with and 1.2m south of the north wall of the room. his earlier wall was associated with a chalk floor on which lay 2nd century pottery (1). To the north and east, the patchy remains of a thin cement floor were found. This overlay the remains of an E-W Ham Hill stone wall and later 2nd century deposits. To the NE, was a hexagonal stone well head with 0.6m diameter circular shaft, which contained late Roman material in its upper fill. To the south and SE of the room excavated by Dewar and Aitken, the remains of a small rectangular building or yard, 3.3m wide and over 7.6m long (E-W), were observed on a similar alignment. Another parallel wall 2m to the south suggests there was a corridor running along the south side, the western end of which was marked by another N-S wall. The corridor had the remains of a cement floor. Further traces of a cement floor were found to the east. A mid 2nd century samian sherd was recovered from below the cement floor, with 4th century pottery upon it. There were traces of further walls and two successive chalk floors to the south, the lower sealing 1st century material.