EWX548 - Council Yard Site (Wareham Library), Wareham; excavation 1974

Hinton and Hodges conducted a trail excavation during a weekend in May 1974 in the council yard on South Street which was due to be developed for a new library. Redevelopment started in January 1975. A 3m square trench was opened against the eastern boundary of the site and 25m south of the St John's Hill Street frontage. This area is close to the focal part of the original settlement, The Quay and the crossing over the River Frome. However the results were disappointing. 1.4m of recent build up rested directly upon natural gravel subsoil. The development of the Library was watched by Poole Museum Service Archaeological Unit. Various modern features were observed as well as a N-S aligned wall of unknown date. Digging for service trenches later produced human bones, possible from a graveyard associated with St. John's chapel.