Monument record MWX841 - Romano-British settlement on Woodhouse Hill, Studland

A possible Iron Age or Romano-British settlement consisting of buildings and huts with finds of animal bones Roman pottery, coins, brooches, spindle whorls, iron slag and nails.

Romano-British pottery and building debris including Purbeck marble found around 1940. {1}

Remains are said to have been wall foundations in the form of chalk rubble. During the construction of a tennis court on the north side, many blocks of Purbeck marble were found. Trial holes have yielded native wares, a fragment of Samian and some unworked fragments of Kimmeridge slate. {2}

Situated on the crest of a hill which falls away on all sides but the Western side, this side is protected by a range of hills not far distant to the South.

The land around is rough pasture and three main excavations are still exposed as shown by author .4. Several small trenches are open between the main excavations but these now reveal nothing.

The walls are dry walled and the soil revealed is light and sandy. There were no surface finds. (3)

The site is exposed to weathering and frosts, and the standing walls are beginning to flake and fall.
See 1/10,560 survey. (4)

Excavations appear to have uncovered an RB native settlement of some twelve buildings and huts. Evidence for these consists of stone foundations or post holes. Five hearths have also been found.

Five coins of 259-96 and one of Allectus (293-6) give evidence of occupation in the fourth century. The minor finds were typical of this type of site and consisted of pottery, brooches, shale spindle whorls, iron slag, nails and animal bones. The pottery was of a coarse ware type and thought to be the 3rd or 4th century. (5)

'Buildings and huts in two groups, dating perhaps from just before the Roman conquest to the 4th century AD, were excavated by Mr N H Field in 1952-8 on the south slopes of a spur of sandstone 200 feet above sea level. Excavation between the groups was insufficient to disprove presence of further buildings". (7)

The site of this building falls in what is now a neglected and badly overgrown part of a large private garden. Nothing was recognised except a small heap of rubble protruding from a bank in the vicinity if the site. (8)

<1> Calkin, J B, 1950, Annotated Record Map Corr. 6 (Map). SWX2543.

<2> 1949, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 71, p68 (Article in serial). SWX3389.

<3> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 01-SEP-52 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<4> Lucas, Vincent Earl, 1952, Field Investigators Comments VEL, F2 VEL 22-DEC-52 (Unpublished document). SWX3391.

<5> N H Field, 1965, Romano-British settlement at Studland, Dorset, 142-207 (Article in serial). SWX3393.

<6> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 edition OS map (Map). SWX1540.

(SZ 0313 8220) ROMAN Building (remains of)

<7> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(46) Woodhouse Hill (SZ 08 SW). Buildings and Huts in two groups, dating perhaps from just before the Roman conquest to the 4th century A.D., were excavated by Mr. N. H. Field in 1952–8 on the S. slopes of a spur of sandstone 200 ft. above sea level. Excavation between the groups was insufficient to disprove presence of further buildings.
In the N. group (03128220) slight lines of stones and traces of post-holes suggested two rounded huts (D) and (E) perhaps of the mid 1st century A.D.; the western (D) of 16 ft. by 14 ft. was succeeded on the same site by a roughly rectangular hut (C), measuring 18 ft. by 14 ft., with a central hearth, paved threshold to N.E. and a clay 'shelf' 6 ins. high on W. A ditch to E., 3 ft. wide and 1½ ft. deep at N., increasing in size to S., was filled in when, according to the excavator, hut C was extended by the addition of sheds on all sides save the W. to measure 26 ft. by 23 ft. Finds on the 'shelf' included a samian platter of c. 65–80, a brooch, and a coin of Vespasian of A.D. 73; the date of abandonment seemed to be c. 85. Pieces of crucibles for copper-working were associated with huts (D) and (E).
The Buildings on Woodhouse Hill, Studland After N.H. Field
N. of these remains were two rectangular buildings or 'cottages', nearly end to end on slightly different alignments, with unmortared sandstone and flint footings some 2 ft. to 3 ft. wide, probably for cob walls. Each building, terraced into the westerly hill-slope, measured 36½ ft. to 37 ft. by 21½ ft., with an entrance 4½ ft. to 5½ ft. wide in the S. wall, and, in the W. building (B), possibly a corresponding N. entrance, perhaps an addition. Gaps in the E. walls were interpreted as double entrances. Floors were largely of clay and earth. The E. building (A), perhaps with an eccentric line of posts bisecting the long axis, for which, however, the evidence is insecure, had a hearth W. of centre, clay platforms in N.W. and S.W. corners, and an internal gully with round sump E. of the S. entrance. Finds from (A) included a chalk loom-weight and shale spindle-whorls, also iron slag and parts of an iron cauldron from the E. part of the building. Five coins of 259–96 and coarse pottery indicated occupation in the 3rd and perhaps the first half of the 4th century. The W. building (B) may have been divided into aisles by two rows of four or five posts, for which again the evidence is slight, and, by revetted changes of floor-level from W. to E., into three rooms, identified by the excavator as a dwelling-room with hearth in S.W. corner, byre and workshop respectively. A mass of stones 10 ft. long and 6 ft. wide, revetting the W. or dwelling-room, had two concavities in the E. side identified as heads of ox-stalls between N. and S. doorways. Evidence for an internal door between dwelling-room and 'byre' and a very low window in the adjacent S. wall is insecure. Most finds came from the E. end where there were a knife, a spike, and some slag. A coin of Allectus (293–6) below the floor and coarse pottery above it suggested construction and occupation in the 4th century.
In the S. group (03128217) five hearths and slight scatters of stones were attributed to seven huts of which the most certain (J) was probably oval about 30 ft. long by 20 ft. and perhaps of c. A.D. 25–75. The finds of pottery and brooches from the other 'huts' (fn. 24) were of similar date, except at hut (I) probably of the 2nd to 3rd centuries. Two parallel lines of walling 34 ft. long and 44 ft. apart were attributed to a barn-like building (F), not earlier than c. 180 and perhaps of the 3rd century, but no firm traces of E. and W. walls were found. N. of (F), a line of flints and sandstone 24 ft. long and 1 ft. wide running N.W. to S.E., and a gully 2 ft. to 3 ft. wide and 1 ft. deep running at right angles to it, were ascribed to a rectangular building (G) with internal partition, preceding (F) and of later 1st century to early 3rd century.
More substantial remains (H) to E. consisted initially of a rectangular building, 26 ft. E.-W. by 16 ft., apparently of the late 3rd century, divided into two rooms of which the eastern was interpreted as a byre, with two ox-stalls as in (B) and with a 5 ft. wide door in its S. wall. An easterly extension marked, however, by little more than a N. wall 23 ft. long, was apparently added subsequently when the 'byre' of phase I was possibly adapted for living quarters or storage; the extension contained a substantial central clay hearth on a stone base 4½ ft. by 3 ft. and a walled recess to N. An irregular line of walling running N. and then N.W. for 19 ft. from the W. end of the extension was interpreted as a new byre of phase II. Pottery, mostly from a rubbish-pit in the S.E. corner of the original building, suggested occupation in the 4th century; iron spikes and nails, two turned shale armlet cores, a baked clay sling-stone with the impression of a grain of Spelt wheat, and animal bones, were also found. The nearest remains of 'Celtic' fields (Ancient Field Group (29)) are ½ m. to S. on Ballard Down. (Dorset Procs. LXXXVII (1965), 142–207.)’

<8> Wardale, C F, Various, Field Investigators Comments CFW, F3 CFW 09-SEP-85 (Unpublished document). SWX2704.

<9> DCMS, 2000, Scheduled Monument Notification 2000, 17-May-2000 (Scheduling record). SWX2721.

<10> Cox, P W and Chandler, J, 2003, Proposed Refurbishment of Hill Close, Studland, Dorset (Unpublished document). SWX8638.

<11> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<12> Historic England, Historic England Archive, F52/62/4 (Index). SDO14738.

CENTRAL EXCAVATION FROM SOUTH-WEST. C1-C4 RB BUILDINGS

<13> Historic England, Historic England Archive, P11362 (Index). SDO14738.

PLAN OF BUILDINGS AND HUTS UNCOVERED BY EXCAVATION IN 1950'S A NATIVE RB SETTLEMENT. COINS SUGGEST 4TH CENT OCCUPATION

<14> Corney, M, 2012, Construction of a new garden store at Hill Close, Studland, Dorset. Results of an archaeological investigation. (Unpublished document). SDO14585.

<15> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457591 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 3:11PM