Monument record MDO28158 - Possible Roman road ditches, Hamworthy Lodge, Blandford Close, Hamworthy, Poole

Two ditches running parallel and eight metres apart have been interpreted as the flanking ditches of a Roman road projected to cross the site at Hamworthy Lodge.

Sections of two ditches running parallel and eight metres apart were observed during a watching brief carried out by Poole Museum at Hamworthy Lodge, Blandford Close, Hamworthy in 1989. These ditches were 1.5 m wide and 0.3 m deep. No dating evidence was recovered. The alignment and location of these ditches suggested that they may have been the flanking ditches of a Roman road projected to cross this area.

<1> Collins K W, 1989, Observations at Hamworthy 1989, 106 (Article in serial). SWX3771.

Hamworthy Lodge
A watching brief of foundation trenches, excavated though the line of the Badbury-Hamworthy Roman Road (SY 9992090538), exposed the sections of two ditches, 1.5 m wide, cutting 0.3 m into natural gravel. Thdse ran parallel across the site, approximately 8 m apart.

Neither feature produced dating evidence, but their alignment and location would suggest that they were in fact all that remained of the road at this point.

The site is very close to a change in the line of the Roman Road, and such changes sometimes incicate the presence of fort defences. However, no evidenceof this was observed, suggesting that the change of direction here was simply intended to take the road more directly to the Hamworthy shoreline.

Record last edited

Jan 24 2013 4:44PM