SDO16535 - Nappers House, West Walks, Dorchester, Dorset. Archaeological Field Evaluation

Report on an evaluation by Terrain Archaeology in 2019 in relation to the proposed development of additional almshouses. A trench was dug by machine in the garden, revealing truncated natural chalk bedrock sloping downwards to the east at depths from 2.8 to 3.2 metres below modern ground level. Work was limited due to health and safety considerations. Finds recovered included Roman coarseware pottery and Roman ceramic roof tile. Above Roman levels a layer of dark soil was recorded consistent with prolonged medieval and post-medieval agriculture and horticulture in the south-west corner of the historic town. The remains of what may have been a 19th-century pathway was recorded and, above these layers, redposited soil laid down during the construction of Nappers House in 1957.