SDO19768 - Admiston Farm, Athelhampton Road, Puddletown. Archaeological Evaluation

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Lewis Wyatt Construction Ltd to undertake an archaeological evaluation of a 1.7 ha parcel of land located at Adminston Farm, Athelhampton Road, Puddletown, Dorset. Six trial trenches, each measuring 30 m in length and 1.8 m wide, were excavated. The evaluation in corroboration with the previously undertaken geophysical survey has demonstrated that there is a low potential for the presence of archaeological remains within the site. One of the trenches contained archaeological features and deposits. Two parallel linear features were recorded in trench 1, and a small quantities of worked flint and clay pipe were recovered from the topsoil layers of trenches 1, 4 and 5. The worked flint indicates a general background of prehistoric activity tentatively dating to the Later Neolithic or Bronze Age within the site, and larger assemblages of worked flint dating to these period have previously been recovered from several sites in and around Puddletown. Geophysical anomalies indicating a possible ditch or enclosure targeted in trenches 3 and 5 could not be identified. The two undated linear features identified in trench 1 were tentatively interpreted as rainwater gullies or drains although they are wide enough to be considered as boundary ditches. They are not indicated on any historic mapping, so potentially predate the 1843 Tithe map, and are an indication of earlier land divisions within the site, and wider landscape.