Monument record MDO18462 - Poundbury Post-Roman Structure PR2b

Post-Roman Structure PR2b was discovered in the southeast part of Late Roman enclosure 3, during the 1966-79 excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester. This appears to have been a rather irregular rectangular post-built structure, with a central row of roof supports and possibly two opposing entrances on the west and east sides. There is some indications for internal structures. No floor levels survived. The function of the building may have been similar to that of the replacement building on the site, PR2a; a domestic dwelling including a workshop associated with iron working. Structure PR2b was assigned, along with buildings PR1a, PR3a, PR5, PR15, and possibly PR14; pit groups ii-v; grain driers 1,2,3 & 5 to phase 1 of the post-Roman settlement. This represented the earliest post-Roman settlement on the site of the late Roman cemetery.

Found during the excavations directed by Christopher Sparey Green, for the Dorchester Excavation Committee, between 1966 and 1979 during development of the Grove Trading Estate on the eastern slopes of Poundbury Camp, Dorchester (1). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published excavation report and archive (1)(2). Further refinement of the post-Roman settlement sequence has been undertaken by Christopher Sparey Green since the initial publication of the site and this has been taken into account in the following description (3) (4).

Structure PR2b was found in the southeast part of late Roman enclosure 3 in the southern end of Site B. It appears to have been a rather irregularly post-built rectangular structure about 8m x 4.6m across, constructed on a terrace cut into the hillside. The west wall of the building was defined by nine post-holes [B64], [B2005], ?[B2019], [B81], ?[B94], [B95], [B96], [B142] & [B143] but the NW corner post is missing. The east wall comprised eight post-holes [B72], [B117], [B73], [B98], [B54], [B118], [B100] & [B102]. The north gable-end roof support could have been contained in post-hole [B2016] in the centre of the northern end. There was a row of postholes along the centre of the building [B99], [B75] and possibly [B74] which may have supported the roof ridge piece. There was no gable-end post recognised at the southern end, but perhaps the roof was hipped or half-hipped.

There is some suggestion that it had two opposing entrances on the west and east sides. Internal structures are hinted at by the presence of the central row of posts and two short parallel slots [B52/3] near the east wall. The function of the building may have been similar to the later Structure PR2a on the same site, which was a domestic dwelling including a workshop associated with iron working (2).

Structure PR2b was originally though to post-date PR2a and was assigned to phase 5B of the post-Roman settlement based solely on the stratigraphic relationship between a single post-hole [B116] to a gully [B60] (1). A later reappraisal of the post-Roman settlements judged that on structural grounds PR2b was more akin to the post-built structures of the newly coined post-Roman phase 1 and earlier than PR2a (3). As such it forms part of the earliest (5th century) post-Roman settlement on the site of the late Roman cemetery. It is positioned on the central axis of this settlement at the topmost western end, at the head of a central open area thought to focus on an earlier special burial group (3).

<1> Sparey Green, C, 1987, Excavations at Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset 1966-1982. Volume 1: The Settlements (Monograph). SDO9630.

<2> Sparey Green, C, 1966-1979, Poundbury, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10096.

<3> Sparey Green, C J, 1996, Poundbury, Dorset: settlement and economy in the Late and post-Roman Dorchester (Article in monograph). SDO10040.

<4> Sparey Green, C J, Living amongst the dead: From Roman cemetery to post-Roman monastic settlement at Poundbury (Article in monograph). SDO10041.

Record last edited

Aug 3 2010 5:31PM