Monument record MDO18032 - Maiden Castle Road Building 02309

A rectangular structure constructed within a slight terrace cut into the slope. Three sides may have had timber cill beams and the fourth side was post-built. A hearth was found near the centre of this building.

One of three rectangular buildings found in the northwest part of the excavations to the north of Maiden Castle Road undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1987 in advance of the Dorchester By-pass construction. They may represent the eastward expansion of a settlement area to the west of the site. The following description is abstracted from the final published report on the site (1). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report.

On the western edge of the excavation to the south of the ditched trackway was a rectangular structure [02309] 5m by 8.5m across. It was defined by a shallow vertically-edged terrace 0.12m deep cut into the chalk. The northern side was defined by a semi-circular arrangement of 11 postholes. The other sides of the structure may have had timber cill beams placed against the terrace edge. The internal surface was rough and pitted and the building may have had a raised timber floor. Six internal postholes were found and a flint and tile-lined pit, possibly the remains of a hearth was placed almost centrally within the structure. There was no indication of an entrance. The building was filled with soil layers which contained a large quantity of Black Burnished ware, including some which may date to the very late or early post-Roman period. Other finds included iron nails and other iron objects, a piece of unworked shale and two fragments of glass bottle.<1>

SY 676 894 (FCE) A rapid examination of air photography suggests the presence of a number of features, including rectilinear enclosures, linear features and pits, possibly of Prehistoric or Roman date, visible in the process of being excavated to the north of Maiden Castle, c.150m northeast of Bush Road Cottages. <2>

National Record of the Historic Environment, 983909 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Wessex Archaeology, 1987, Dorchester By-pass (Excavation archive). SDO9385.

Woodward, P J and Smith, R J C, 1987, Survey and excavation along the route of the Southern Dorchester By-pass, 1986-1987 – an interim note, 79-89 (Article in serial). SDO9381.

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 56-70 (Monograph). SDO9379.

<2> Miller, Andrew, 1993, RCHME: AP Primary Recording Project, 12-FEB-1993 (Unpublished document). SWX1708.

<2.1> Boyden, J R, JRB 3421: 07-8, 10, 16; JRB 3425: 16, 18-30 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20335.

Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 8:30PM