Monument record MDO18182 - Maiden Castle First School (Prince of Wales First School): Late Iron Age Round house 512

The remains of a Late Iron Age roundhouse defined by a terrace cut into the hillslope with a shallow gully defining at least part of the circuit, was exposed in the central northern part of enclosure 1 during excavations at Maiden Castle First School in 1993 undertaken by AC archaeology. This house may represent the primary phase of occupation within the enclosure.

The 1992 archaeological evaluation and the 1993 excavations undertaken by AC archaeology on the Maiden Castle First School site (now the Prince of Wales First School), revealed the remains of a probable roundhouse located centrally on the northern side of the Late Iron Age enclosure 1, to the north of courtyard 511. This house was numbered 512 during the excavations and 66 during the earlier evaluations.

This roundhouse was visible as a semi-circular terrace cut into the slope of the hill, infilled with soil. Beneath the soil infill, the floor of the structure and the shallow gully which defined the line of the wall of the house remained intact. A concentration of flint rubble was visible in the central part of the structure and may have been the base of a raised hearth. The house was about 8m in diameter, but the southern half had eroded away. It was not excavated.

This roundhouse was probably part of the original internal layout of the enclosed settlement.

Graham, A and Richards, J, 1992, Archaeological Evaluation of the Maiden Castle Road First School Site (Unpublished document). SDO9664.

Graham, A and Richards, J, 1992, Evaluation and Maiden Castle School, Dorchester, 233-234 (Article in serial). SDO9665.

AC Archaeology, 1992, Maiden Castle Road First School (Excavation archive). SDO9666.

Bellamy, P S , Graham, A , and Richards, J, 1993, Dorchester First School, Interim Report on Archaeological Excavations on the Site of the Maiden Castle Road First School, Dorchester, Dorset., 152 (Article in serial). SDO9480.

Graham A H, 1993, Summary Report on Archaeological Excavations on the site of the Maiden Castle Road First School, Dorchester, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO9479.

Record last edited

Jul 28 2010 10:21AM