Archaeological Investigations at Bradley House, 8 Malthouse Lane, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

In early 2015 an archaeological evaluation was carried out at 8 Malthouse Lane, Dorchester-on-Thames. This saw the cutting of two small sondages. This evaluation showed that there was surviving archaeology that was identifiable at about 1m below the current ground level. Above this the evaluation simply revealed a layer of dark deposits, an analysis that was shown with the later watching brief to be problematic. The information revealed in the evaluation led to the production of a Written Scheme of Investigation that called for a Watching Brief/Excavation approach. The excavation for the footings and services could be carried out under a Watching Brief arrangement until the top of sub-Roman or Roman archaeology was reached; from this point it would be the case that an excavation would be carried out by hand. As in line with the Written Scheme of Investigation where archaeological horizons were encountered they were cleaned by hand and excavated appropriately. Standard John Moore Heritage Services techniques were employed throughout, involving the completion of a written record for each deposit encountered, with scale plans and section drawings compiled where appropriate. A photographic record was also produced. The resultant spoil from the works was visually scanned, especially for finds relating to the Iron Age, Roman and early medieval periods. All deposits and features were assigned individual context numbers. Context numbers without brackets indicate features i.e. pit cuts, numbers in ( ) show feature fills or deposits of material, while numbers in bold indicate structural features. Soil samples had been taken during the evaluation, but due to the amounts of material that survived in them, due to conditions on site, no samples were taken during the watching brief/excavation. An evaluation was carried out on part of the Scheduled Monument of Dorchester-on- Thames at 8 Malthouse Lane, Dorchester, in early 2015, which was followed by a watching brief/excavation in later 2015. The methodology employed in the 2015 watching brief / excavation was controlled by the nature of the deposits encountered. The initial evaluation showed that at a depth of around 0.8-0.9m the top of the Roman period deposits were reached. In the evaluation these were interpreted as being below a large homogenous layer. However, at the time it was recognised that a large range of pottery came from these deposits and that they would have accumulated over a far greater period of time. From the watching brief / excavation of 2015 it was recognised that there were five phases that had been affected by the current groundwork. It is considered that Early Roman and Iron Age layers probably exist below those deposits identified, primarily because residual early Roman and Iron Age pottery sherds were recovered during the archaeological investigations. Two worked flints were also recovered that are indicative of earlier prehistoric activity on the gravel terrace on which Dorchester-on- Thames is located. Phase 1 was classed as being of a 4th century date, due to the pottery recovered, and primarily relied upon the results of the evaluation. A structural component was noted in Evaluation Trench 1 along with a layer of that date, while deposits of at least a 4th century date were noted in Trench 2. In the base of the foundation trench was a distinct layer (205), which was essentially undated but had to be part of a layer or feature that was located underneath the homogenous black soils. Malthouse Lane appears to be the remains of a trackway that was located over the line of the main north to south road and an east to west spur of this road that extended to a postulated opening in the western town wall. This suggests that this structure is indicative of there being at least one structure located along the south side of Malthouse Lane in the 4th century.