Monument record MDO19849 - Medieval field system, Abbey Primary School, Horsecastles;

An archaeological excavation conducted by AC Archaeology at the former Abbey School during 2003 recovered evidence for medieval ditches aligned NNW-SSE and ENE-WSW apparently dating from the 10th-13th centuries. These are thought to rpresent field boundaries that went out of use when the urban area of Sherborne expanded in this direction.

An evaluation conducted by AC Archaeology during 2003 in advance of proposed development of land to the SE of the former Abbey School, Horsecastles revealed evidence for a number of medieval activity.

This activity appeared to be restricted to the SE portion of the site in Trenches 2 and 3. most of the features recorded comprised a series of linear features of varying sizes, which are likely to represent former boundary and drainage ditches for medieval fields and enclosures. The limited pottery evidence recovered from the ditches suggests they were in use from the 10th-13th centuries AD, seemingly then going out of use at the time of the (later) medieval expansion of Sherborne into this area. (1)

The majority of the ditch alignments correspond with the predominant NNW-SSE alignments in the Sherborne area, established in the Iron Age and continuing to the present day.

<1> Laidlaw, M, Robinson, S, and Valentin, J, 2003, An archaeological evaluation on land at the former Abbey Primary School, Horsecastles, Sherborne, Dorset, p. 7 (Unpublished document). SDO10421.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 1:08PM