In 1969 English China Clays (Gravels) Ltd. (now Bardon Aggregates, part of Aggregates Industries PLC) bought 150 hectares of land close to the historic town of Wareham in Dorset. Poole Harbour lies to the east and the site is bounded to the north and south by the Rivers Piddle and Frome. The company had acquired the land with a view to extracting the underlying gravel reserves. However, the relevant planning permission proved difficult to achieve, and it wasn't until February 1991 that the go-ahead to dig a 55-hectare site was given.
An archaeological evaluation in 1989, comprising a 0.37% sample of the site, had confirmed that a large - probably industrial - Roman area lay on the edge of Poole Harbour, but apart from that, the test pits and trenches gave little indication of any other archaeological features.
A planning condition was attached to the 'Roman' site and last minute consultations between the County Archaeologist and the company made provisions for a 'watching brief' to cover the remainder of the site. It was assumed that this would not be too onerous, complicated or difficult. Lilian Ladle came to the project with a keen interest in local archaeology and history, great enthusiasm, but limited excavation experience. The company was eager for as much information as possible to be retrieved and, with this in mind, Lilian was given free access to the site and provided with equipment and basic office facilities.
It soon became apparent that there was going to be a great deal of significant archaeology on the site. Far from being alarmed, the quarrying company was sincerely interested in the exciting finds lying above their reserves, and Aggregate Industries has continued over the years to be actively supportive of the archaeological heritage buried on their site (more about Aggregate Industries...). The wonderful results could not have been achieved without the support of Aggregate Industries and, most importantly, the infectious enthusiasm and commitment of all of the volunteers who have worked at Bestwall Quarry over the years.