Monument record MDO2930 - Iron Age iron working site north west of Bunker's Hill Plantation, West Stafford

An enclosure, pits and other features of late Iron Age (or possibly early Romano-British, on limited dating evidence) date. Evidence of burning and clearance of woodland, and the presence of iron slag in some features suggests that iron ore may have been roasted and/or iron worked here or close by.

A number of features appear (on the basis of limited dating evidence) to belong to a late Iron Age or early Romano-British period of activity, possibly including the smelting of iron. The excavators described three groups of features:

Three trenches [59][222] and [223] of varying size but with common characteristics of shape and infill. They were vertical-sided trenches with one deeper end, within which there was evidence of burngin and a filling of blackened loam, ash and charcoal. Feature [59] was the largest, being 0.65m deep. The upper part of all three features was filled with colluvium, directly comparable to the layers which covered the site generally, suggesting that considerable erosion took place up-slope of the features, resulting in the being filled before any weathering of their sides could take place. The excavators felt that this may have been due to clearance of woodland for charcoal resulting in increased or sudden erosion of the hillside. Two of the features contained large pieces of iron slag. They were dated on the basis of only four sherds of pottery of late Iron Age or Romano-British date. The excavators say 'Though they may be some form of oven, the recovery of iron slag from the site could indicate that these trenches were used for the roasting of ore prior to its smelting. They may be paralleled by similar features excavated by Cleere (J.G.McDonnell pers comm.), and the features excavated by Jackson and Abroase at Wakerley (Britannia vol IX, 1978). Those features were interpreted as ore roasting hearths.'

Two pits [68][80], both shallow, rounded features with dark infills containing iron slag fragments which in Pit [80] comprised a substantial dump of material in its base. The function of these features was not clear. Neither was deeper than 0.15m, but there was evidence of burning on the base of [68].

Parts of two ditches were excavated, and appeared to define the eastern side of an enclosure which lay mainly beyond the area of the excavation to the west and north. A causeway 7m wide suggested an entrance to the east. The ditches had steep, V-shaped profiles, and were up to 1.5m wide, with a maximum depth of 0.9m. Sherds of pottery, provisionally dated to the late Bronze Age or Iron Age, and fragments of iron slag were found in the filling of the ditches. The ditches also contained a scatter of animal bone including an ox skull, but no material that could be described as occupation debris. That part of the interior of the enclosure that lay within the excavation area was blank of features, though much of this area may have lain beneath an internal bank; the function of the enclosure remains unclear.

Several other features to the south east of the enclosure may be associated with it, though dating evidence is limited. Feature [102] was a short length of curving ditch, deliberately backfilled, and interpreted as being possibly unfinished. Feature [116] was another short length of ditch, containing one sherd of Iron Age or later pottery. Feature [135] was a straight, trench-like feature, and a similar feature was recorded just to the west of it. Beneath Feature [135] on its eastern side was a pit or trench [136].

<1> Graham, A and Newman, C, 1994, Valley of the South Winterbourne, near West Stafford, Dorset. Archaeological Excavations. Interim summary report and proposals for analysis. (Unpublished document). SDO12405.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1995, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1994, 128-129 (Serial). SDO94.

‘WEST STAFFORD, WEST STAFFORD BOREHOLE. Excavations in advance of construction of a drilling site took place on gently sloping ground close to the base of the south side of the South Winterborne valley (SY 719891). The site lies in sight of the prehistoric complex of Mount Pleasant, on the chalk ridge on the north side of the Winterborne valley, and in close proximity to Bronze and Iron Age sites on the ridge and in the dry valley to the south. The development of the prehistoric landscape around the eastern side of Dorchester has become increasingly well defined in the last decade but much of the work has been confined to the chalk ridges, and the prehistoric use or occupation of the potentially complementary areas of the valley bottom is less clear.
The removal of layers of hillwash, which covered the archaeological features, revealed an earlier topography and a number of episodes of activity in the prehistoric period. The earliest of these was situated on a low mound of periglacial gravel at the base of the valley and comprised three pits datable to the Early Neolithic. A cluster of smaller pits along the edge of the gravel represented activity in the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age period, perhaps contemporary with the land divisions represented by a number of field ditches and a possible droveway aligned north-west to south-east.
A ring-ditch, probably marking the site of a barrow or other funerary monument, lay within one of these fields. Many of these features appear to have been extensively eroded. A later period of activity dates to the Late Iron Age or early Romano-British period and consisted of three trenches which may indicate processes connected with iron smelting on the site. A number of pits and the ditches of an enclosure in the north-west part of the site may be contemporary with this period of activity. All the features were sealed beneath colluvial deposits of the 1st millennium A.D.
The excavations revealed significant evidence of activity, perhaps related to settlement, close to the base of the valley in the Early Neolithic period. The Bronze Age sees the laying out of fields and trackways, perhaps in a more open environment, and these are elements of a wider landscape. The droveway suggests a crossing point of the river valley, indicating a link with contemporaneous activity to the east of Dorchester, and the evidence from the excavations must be considered against the background of the more extensively known Bronze Age landscape to the west.
Of some importance is the evidence for the latest phase of activity. Late Iron Age or Romano-British, particularly if analysis of the metalworking residues indicates the iron smelting was taking place on the site. Presumably a source of iron stone was being exploited and, though the activity may be shortlived, it is significant in being previously unknown in the area. Whether the enclosure in the north-west part of the site is evidence of a settlement is unclear but again, the evidence for the use of the area in the Iron Age must be considered in the light of other sites in the vicinity. The Late Iron Age cemetery and probable settlement at Whitcombe is no more than 1km to the south-west.’

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 2005, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 2004, 157-160 (Serial). SDO12290.

Record last edited

Apr 8 2013 2:46PM