PORTLAND CASTLE CASTLETOWN DORSET PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDING For ENGLISH HERITAGE CA REPORT: 05060 APRIL 2005 PORTLAND CASTLE CASTLETOWN DORSET PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDING CA PROJECT: 1919 CA REPORT: 05060 Author: Franco A. Vartuca Cliff Bateman Approved: ……………………………………………………………. Signed: Issue: 01 Date: 14 APRIL 2005 This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. © Cotswold Archaeology Headquarters Building, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail:[email protected] Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................3 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4 The site ................................................................................................................ 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 4 2. RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 5 3. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 5 4. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 5 5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 6 APPENDIX 1: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS...................................................................... 7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan Fig. 2 The site, showing location of observed groundworks 2 Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology SUMMARY Site Name: Portland Castle Location: Castletown, Dorset NGR: SY 6846 7435 Type: Programme of archaeological recording Date: 24 March 2005 Location of Archive: To be deposited with English Heritage Site Code: PCD 05 A programme of archaeological recording was undertaken at Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset during groundworks for the installation of new signage. No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed, and no artefactual material predating the modern period was recovered. 3 Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In March 2005 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out a programme of archaeological recording on behalf of English Heritage at Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset (centred on NGR: SY 6846 7435; Fig. 1). 1.2 The programme of archaeological recording was undertaken during the installation of new and replacement signage to fulfil a condition attached to a Certificate of Class VI Consent for Works to Properties in Care. Its objective was to record all archaeological remains exposed during the groundworks carried out. 1.3 The archaeological fieldwork followed the Standard and Guidance for an Archaeological Watching Brief issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (1999). The site 1.4 The monument includes an artillery castle situated along the northern shore of the Isle of Portland. It represents one of a pair of inter-visible costal fortifications constructed during the reign of Henry VIII to provide protection for Portland Harbour to the east and the sheltered waters of Weymouth Bay to the north. The castle, which dates to the mid 16th century, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 22964) and is Listed Grade I. It includes a central fan-shaped citadel with a single storey gun room facing across the harbour, and a two storey building situated to the rear. 1.5 To the south and east of the citadel was an outer yard, bounded by a stone wall and an external ditch. The yard contained a large gun platform to the east of the citadel and a smaller example to the west. In the south-west corner of the yard was an ‘L’- shaped, two storey 17th century building incorporated into the outer wall comprising a brewhouse, stable and the sutler’s house. Methodology 1.6 Written, graphic and photographic records were compiled in accordance with the CA Technical Manual 1: Excavation Recording Manual (1996). The site archive will be deposited with English Heritage. 4 Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology 1.7 Two postholes were hand-excavated for the installation of a replacement sign situated in a flower bed, in the location shown on Figure 2. Each posthole typically measured approximately 0.3m in diameter and was excavated to a total depth of 0.5m below present ground level. 2. RESULTS 2.1 This section provides an overview of the results of the programme of archaeological recording; detailed summaries of the recorded contexts are shown in Appendix 1. 2.2 Due to the shallow nature of the excavated postholes the underlying natural substrate was not encountered. Modern make-up/levelling material 101 containing occasional building rubble was revealed at the base of each of the postholes, overlain by garden soil 100. 2.3 Observations made by the attendant archaeologist during the excavation of the postholes identified no features or deposits of archaeological interest and, despite visual scanning of spoil, no artefactual material predating the modern period was recovered. 3. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 3.1 Despite the archaeological potential of the application area the archaeological programme of recording identified no archaeological remains within the area of investigation. 4. CA PROJECT TEAM Fieldwork was undertaken by Franco Vartuca who also compiled this report. The illustrations were prepared by Lorna Gray. The archive has been compiled by Franco Vartuca and prepared for deposition by Sam Inder. The project was managed for CA by Clifford Bateman. 5 Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology 5. REFERENCES CA 2005 Wiltshire and Dorset Castles: Written Scheme of Investigation for a Programme of Archaeological Recording. English Heritage 2004 Certificate of Class VI Consent for Works in Care. English Heritage 1997 Extract from English Heritage’s Record of Scheduled Monuments: Portland Castle, Dorset. 6 Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset: Programme of Archaeological Recording © Cotswold Archaeology APPENDIX 1: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS Postholes (two posts) 100 Garden soil/topsoil: loose, dark grey-brown humic clay silt containing very occasional small angular fragments of limestone. Depth 0.15m. 101 Make-up/levelling deposit: compacted, mid grey-brown silty clay with occasional small angular fragments of modern building rubble (concrete, limestone). Depth 0.35m+ (not bottomed). 7 Reproduced from the 2002 Ordnance Survey Explorer map with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office N c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeological Trust AL50196A Site 0 2.5km COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT TITLE Portland Castle, Castletown, Dorset Dorset FIGURE TITLE Site location plan SCALE PROJECT NO. FIGURE NO. 1:25,000@A4 1919 1 Reproduced from the 2005 Ordnance Survey Superplan map with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office N c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeological Trust AL50196A 685 743 SYSY 0 100m COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT TITLE Portland Castle, Castletown, two adjacent postholes excavated Dorset FIGURE TITLE Site showing locations of postholes excavated SCALE PROJECT NO. FIGURE NO. 1:1250@A4 1919 2.