SDO20810 - Roman Town House, Dorchester, Dorset. An Archaeological Programme of Works. Report

‘Context One Heritage & Archaeology carried out an archaeological programme of works at the Roman Town House, Dorchester, Dorset, as a condition of granting planning permission, Listed building consent and Scheduled Monument Consent relating to a proposal to improve access and interpretation of the monument. The project was commissioned by Dorset Council as part of Heritage Lottery Funding. The proposal comprised the provision of a new entrance gateway and ramp from Colliton Walk; construction of new paths and a seating area and other changes to infrastructure items; repairs to the west range of the Roman Town House and its modern cover structures; and a new interpretation scheme for the site. The new entrance involved reopening a former gateway in the west wall of Colliton Park, and was subject to historic building recording. From this entrance a new ramp was constructed alongside the wall, with archaeological excavation carried out during associated groundworks. Where necessary, the remaining works across the monument were covered by archaeological monitoring and recording. The historic building recording of the reopened gateway proved that the ashlar piers were infilled in recent times, although it was interesting to note that the fabric approximately mirrored the form of the early 18th century walling on either side. Archaeological monitoring and recording did not identify any archaeological remains here and no residual discarded artefacts from the 1930’s excavations of the Town House were recovered, although the limited nature of the ground impacts should be noted. Excavations along the new ramp trench provided a valuable opportunity to explore the western edge of Colliton Park, along the trajectory of the Romano-British rampart. A series of alternating deposits identified beneath a probable early 18th century path yielded only a few artefacts to indicate a Roman date. However, the absence of later artefacts and the similarity of the deposits to those identified during other interventions through the rampart give weight to this interpretation. While it remains a possibility that the deposits found during the excavation relate to modifications associated with re-use of the defences during the medieval period and the English Civil War, the general dearth of cultural material is more in keeping with the redeposition of virgin soil during the earlier period of Roman occupation.’