SDO9638 - Interim Report on Excavations in the Roman Cemetery, Poundbury, Dorchester, 1968. Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society

The third season of excavations in the Roman cemetery outside the E gate of Poundbury Camp lasted fro six weeks in 1968 and was confined to an area roughly 100 feet square scheduled for building development and lying between the Early Iron Age defences just north of the gateway, and that area to the E investigated in 1966 and 1967. Thw western edge of the excavation was bounded by the hillfort outer ditch and Roman aqueduct, and bothe were sectioned. The Iron Age ditch had a steep V-profile, 21 feet wide at the top and 12 feet deep. It had been rapidly backfilled during the construction of the Roman aqueduct which was traced for a distance of 50 feet and sectioned in three places (30 feet in total). It measure 6 ft wide at the base, 12 ft wide at the top and 4 ft deep. The excavations suggested that the aqueduct had at least two phases; the first with a flat base and steeply sloping sides with the lower part lined with clay; in the second phase the channel was cleaned out with a U-profile and no clay lining. Dating evidence was sparse but a sherd of 1st century Samian within the upper fill of the Iron Age ditch suggests a TPQ for the aqueduct and a sherd of New Forest Ware the lower part of the phase two fill suggests that silting had not progressed too far by the mid 3rd century at the earliest. 66 burials were excavated completely, a double ditched approach road to the hillfort, a further mausoleum and a large masonry building containg 12 or 13 burials, although there relationship to the structure was not clear.