Monument record MWX2771 - Romano-British settlement, Brownsea Island, Studland

A Romano-British settlement in the Inter-tidal zone on Brownsea Island, discovered by Alan Bromby in 1973. Salvage excavations in 1978 revealed a sandy layer of 3rd/early 4th-century date sealing an undated ditch containing peat. Pottery found suggested a settlement near by. Finds included worked shale and pieces of worked wood, one with a mortice and tenon joint.

Romano-British pottery recovered from a ditch 30m long and 0.75 m wide, 80m from the north-east coast of Brownsea Island. The pottery is C3rd/4th and was associated with worked wood and animal bone. The site is badly eroded by the sea. The site was discovered by Alan Bromby in 1973. It was subject to salvage excavation in 1978. (1)

Inter-tidal zone investigations revealed a third-/early fourth-century Roman sandy layer sealing an undated ditch containing 50 mm of acid valley bog peat. The pottery assemblage, which included a high proportion of containers, suggested a nearby settlement. Timber survived in the waterlogged conditions and included furniture fragments. The level of the site at -1.01 m is compared with modern Highest Astronomical Tide of +1.66 m and a rise in relative sea level is suggested. (2)

The site is also recorded by the DCF MAD. (3)

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1981, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1979, 140 (Serial). SDO79.

<2> Jarvis, K S, 1992, An Inter-tidal Zone Romano-British Site on Brownsea Island. , p89-95 (Article in serial). SWX7353.

<3> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Structure 14 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<4> Papworth, M, 1992, Brownsea Island, Dorset. Wessex region, 11 (Unpublished document). SWX1390.

The site discovered by Mr Bromby in March 1973 lay 80m north-east of the sea wall on the north-east coast of the island over 1m below ordinance datum. It consisted of a layer of sandy material containing numerous sherds of Romano-British pottery dated to the 3rd-4th centuries and animal bones, notably ox bones and flecks of charcoal. A linear peat filled feature may have been part of an eroded ditch, was traced for 30m and was 0.75m wide. When examined it survived to a depth of 0.4m. Salvage recording took pace in 1978 by Ian Horsey of Poole Museums Service. Included in the finds were pieces of worked shale and also worked wood one of these was part of a tenon joint. Mr Jarvis of Poole Museums reports that the site will be published in the Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society in 1992. It is possible that other Roman material has been found on the island (Van Raalte, 1905 p187). Visited 2/3/1988.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 888181 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 8 2024 4:43PM