Monument record MDO18062 - Fordington Field field boundaries

A series of five shallow linear ditches aligned N-S or E-W found along the route of the By-pass between Maiden Castle Road and Middle Farm. These are likely to be field boundaries in the former Fordington open field.

Found during the evaluation excavations and the watching brief during topsoil stripping between the sites of Maiden Castle Road and Middle Farm undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in 1986-7 in advance of the Dorchester By-pass construction. The following description is abstracted from the final published report on the site (1).

Five linear ditches were recorded, three aligned north-south and two east-west. The easternmost ditch running north-south can be traced as a soilmark for a considerable distance to the north and south. The ditches were no more than 0.45m wide with shallow U-profiles no more than 0.25m deep. The ditches to the east were more eroded and survived only intermittently.

No dating evidence was recovered from these ditches. They appeared to form a series of narrow strips of irregular width but not less than 27m. It is likely they represent field boundaries in the former Fordington open field.

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

<1> Smith, R J C et al, 1997, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-8, 70-71 (Monograph). SDO9379.

Record last edited

Mar 15 2012 10:45AM