SDO16944 - Archaeological investigations at the former Cottee's auction house, East Street, Wareham, Dorset

'Between July and August 2019, following an earlier trench evaluation, AC archaeology Ltd carried out archaeological excavations on land at the former Cottee’s Auction House, East Street, Wareham, Dorset (SY 92600 87419).The excavations comprised three areas, all of which revealed evidence for occupation dating to the medieval period. This activity comprised largely of probable refuse pits and other pit-like features, along with a small quantity of other feature types. Little evidence for structural activity was present on the site. A number of postholes were revealed, although of no discernible pattern. The proximity of some of these deposits to East Street would suggest that this activity is not likely to be associated with former tenements or burgage plots that may have once been present in this area of Wareham and therefore may represent an area located for the dumping of deposits associated both with settlement and industrial activity elsewhere in the area. A summary of the trench evaluation results is also included in this report. Dating evidence recovered from the investigations included pottery with a date range mostly spanning from the 11th to 14th centuries.'