Monument record MDO18206 - Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate; prehistoric ditch

A V-shaped ditch oriented roughly NNW-SSE was seen during a watching brief at Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester during a watching brief undertaken by Terrain Archaeology in 2002. No secure dating evidence was recovered, but the character of the fill and the fact that it was cut by a Roman ditch suggests it may be later prehistoric in date. A quantity of worked flint of Bronze Age character was recovered from this ditch, which probably forms part of the extensive prehistoric field and enclosure system known in this area.

A V-shaped ditch oriented roughly NNW-SSE was seen during a watching brief at Cooper's Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester during a watching brief undertaken by Terrain Archaeology in 2002 (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report (2).

The ditch [105] was about 0.5m wide and 0.45m deep cut into the natural chalk. It was filled with yellowish-brown silty clay. The east side of the ditch was cut by a Roman ditch. A small quantity of worked flint of Bronze Age character was recovered from it. No secure dating evidence was recovered, but the character of the fill and the fact that it was cut by a Roman ditch suggests it may be later prehistoric in date. It is likely that this ditch forms part of the extensive prehistoric field and enclosure system known in this area (3).

<1> Bellamy, P S, 2003, Dorchester, Cooper's Wholesale, The Grove. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeology Society, 164 (Article in serial). SDO9505.

<2> Tatler, S, Bellamy, P, and Montague, R, 2002, Units 1-3, Cooper’s Cookers, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester, Dorset: Archaeological Observations and Recording (Unpublished document). SDO9506.

<3> Farwell, D E, 1997, Coopers Wholesale, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester: Preliminary Archaeological Desk-based Assessment (Unpublished document). SDO9504.

Record last edited

Aug 9 2006 5:57AM