9 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

6,000-year-old Finds in Dorset Downs

In the Dorset Downs, a significant landscaping project has revealed a plethora of intriguing findings on a grand scale.

Excavations ahead of the works revealed a Roman settlement, as well as Neolithic and Bronze Age, finds. The oldest artifacts were flint tools and pottery from about 4,000 BC.

More than 25 archaeologists have unearthed convincing evidence of human activity in the region stretching back 6,000 years, barely 20 months after National Grid began work on its Dorset Visual Impact Provision (VIP) project just outside Dorchester in 2018.

By dismantling 22 pylons and replacing an 8.8km length of overhead line with subterranean cables in the villages of Winterbourne Abbas, Winterbourne Steepleton, Martinstown, and Friar Waddon, National Grid’s VIP project will enhance vistas of the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It’s one of the first projects in the world to remove existing high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure solely to enhance the landscape.

A corn drying oven was discovered among buildings at a Roman settlement
A corn drying oven was discovered among buildings at a Roman settlement. Photo: OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY

Work concluded last month and initial results are being revealed in a series of webinars hosted by the National Grid.

At one of the sites, they discovered eight late Roman eight stone buildings, as well as a corn dryer, two enormous malting ovens, and  several millstones that would have required livestock, water, or slave labor to operate.

A bone textile comb
A bone textile comb, thought to be from the Iron Age, was found in the settlement. Photo: OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists also found 34 burials accompanied by Iron Age pottery, suggesting the site was occupied for about 500 years.

The investigations, which involved Historic England, the Dorset AONB Partnership and the Dorset county archaeologist, also revealed a cremation cemetery, believed to be Bronze Age, and 11 barrows – or burial mounds.

Oxford Archaeology senior project manager John Boothroyd said, although the archaeological potential of the sites had been assessed during pre-construction works, “it didn’t stop the scale of the archaeological remains identified far exceeding our expectations”.

human burials
Initial trial trenches revealed seven human burials from the mid-sixth century. Photo: OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY

Analysing and recording the thousands of finds is expected to take up to two years.

National Grid lead project manager Paul Hamnett said: “The scale of the archaeology work is incredible. This is a scheme designed to enhance the landscape and enrich local experience. We are looking forward to sharing what we’ve discovered.”

The Dorset Visual Impact Provision project involves the removal of 22 pylons from the area which is designated as a landscape of national importance.

Dorset AONB is the fifth largest in the UK. It stretches from Lyme Regis to Poole Harbour and inland to Blandford.

Cover Photo: NATIONAL GRID

Source: Dorsetecho

Related Articles

More than 50 pairs of tweezers found during an excavation of a 2,000-year-old Roman settlement – Romans to blame for no-body-hair trend

31 May 2023

31 May 2023

More than 50 pairs of tweezers were found during the major excavation in Wroxeter City, Shropshire, one of the largest...

A 2000-year-old bronze military diploma was discovered in Turkey’s Perre ancient city

2 January 2022

2 January 2022

During excavations in the ancient city of Perre, located in the southeastern Turkish province of Adiyaman, archaeologists uncovered a bronze...

The biblical narrative of Sodom may have been inspired by a cosmic meteorite that devastated an ancient city

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The Bible account of Sodom’s destruction lies at the heart of classic “fire and brimstone” judgment day prophesies. But what...

A new Indo-European Language discovered in the Hittite capital Hattusa

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism announced in a written statement that a new Indo-European language was discovered...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

Restoration of Türkiye’s 2,000-year-old King’s Daughter Roman bath nears completion

1 August 2023

1 August 2023

The 2,000-year-old Roman bathhouse Basilica Therma or King’s Daughter in Türkiye’s central Yozgat province is nearing the final stages of...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

600 Years Old Sword and Equipment Found in Olsztyn

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

Aleksander Miedwiediew, a history buff, and detectorist discovered a bare sword, a sheath, and a knight’s belt with two knives...

12,000-Year-Old rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age

13 March 2022

13 March 2022

South America was filled with ice age animals more than 12,000 years ago, including car-sized ground sloths, elephantine herbivores, and...

New discoveries announced at Sanxingdui Ruins

20 March 2021

20 March 2021

Chinese archaeologists announced on Saturday that some new major discoveries have been made at the legendary Sanxingdui site in southwestern...

Hidden past of Ani ruins in eastern Turkey to be uncovered by excavations

31 May 2021

31 May 2021

Archaeological excavations will reveal the historical mystery behind the ruins of Ani on the present-day Turkey-Armenia border. The Ani archaeological...

Findings showing the connection between Troy and Tavşanlı Höyük have been reached

23 August 2022

23 August 2022

Archaeologists unearthed 4,200-year-old hazelnut remains and marble idols during excavations at Tavşanlı Höyük (Tavsanlı Mound), located in the central Turkish...

5,000 years old Mother Goddess statuette unearthed in Yeşilova Mound

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

A Mother Goddess statuette, determined to be 5 thousand years old, was found during the excavations carried out in the...

Ancient gypsum furniture was discovered in a fire temple in the ancient region of Vigol in Iran

1 June 2021

1 June 2021

Sets of gypsum furniture, including a carved table and chairs, were discovered during an archaeological dig in central Iran. According...

Researchers use AI to read words on ancient Herculaneum scroll burned by Vesuvius

13 October 2023

13 October 2023

Researchers used artificial intelligence to extract the first word from one of the first texts in a charred scroll from...