POTTERY more than 400 years old has been unearthed at a Dorset building site.

Now items dug up underneath in the ground in ancient Wareham will go on display in the local museum.

The official start of construction on a Wareham retirement housing development was put on hold for several weeks while archaeologists from Bournemouth University’s archaeological consultancy, BUARC, carried out an archaeological watching brief and uncovered a series of associated deposits with the previous use of the site.

The project at the former council car park, between Pound Lane and West Street, was carried out as a condition of planning consent during the preliminary stages of Renaissance Retirement’s construction of its luxury development.

Among the artefacts recovered during the project have been a sixteenth century Jeton, a small assemblage of pottery possibly dating from the Saxo-Norman period as well as pottery dating back to medieval period. A large ditch and various wall foundations were also uncovered representing previous buildings on the site.

Jonathan Monteith, lead archaeologist and BUARC Project Manager said: “It’s been a fascinating project. The watching brief has presented us with an excellent opportunity to advance our knowledge of this part of Wareham, while answering some interesting research questions on the history of the town itself. We are working closely with Renaissance Retirement to limit the impact on the archaeology and we are very grateful for their assistance.”

Robert Taylor, managing director of Renaissance Retirement, added: “Wareham is a historic market town – with one of the oldest histories on the south coast. I’m not surprised they uncovered some very interesting remains. It’s wonderful news.”

Further to the completion of the project the artefacts will be deposited with the local museum. Renaissance Retirement is hoping to display some of the findings during its open weekend in November this year.

Renaissance Retirement is expecting to start soon on its 21 luxury apartments, which will be known as Fleur-de-Lis Wareham. The company is expecting to launch the development in November this year.

The site is located only a short walk from the historic town centre of Wareham. The building has been specially designed to look like a row of terraced houses in keeping with this historic part of the town.

The luxurious properties will provide an exceptional standard of independent living for those considering downsizing from a larger family home.

The spacious one and two bedroom apartments will be impeccably finished with contemporary interiors, whilst owners will also have access to a sumptuous owners' lounge, hobbies room and guest suite, which will be available to visiting friends and relatives.

The Grand Opening is due to launch in November 2015.

Nick Watkins, Development Director at Renaissance Retirement, comments: “This is a very exciting development in the heart of Wareham. As you would expect we are receiving considerable interest given the lack of retirement options in the area."

Renaissance first development was at Poundbury, Dorchester were the company was hand- picked to be the first retirement provider by HRH Prince of Wales.

Pic caption: 5580 leftRobert Taylor, managing director of Renaissance Retirement and John Millwood from BUARC