The work is funded directly by Dorset County Council, and is also monitored by the council to ensure that the archaeological requirements of planning consent are met.

Oxford Archaeology (opens in a new window) has been working closely with contractor for the road, Skanska, to ensure that the archaeological investigations are undertaken to a high professional standard and also fits in with the construction timetable.

• Southdown Ridge investigation

  Between April 2009 and June 2009 Oxford Archaeology carried out excavations on Southdown Ridge, a limestone ridge just south of Littlemoor.

• Ridgeway Hill excavations

  Between October 2008 and December 2008, Oxford Archaeology carried out excavations on the Ridgeway to investigate, and fully record, any archaeology which will be affected by the Weymouth Relief Road.

• Ridgeway burial pit

  Archaeologists working on the Weymouth Relief Road discovered a burial pit of dismembered skeletons on Ridgeway Hill.

• What happened to the relief road skeletons?

  It sounds like the starting line of a joke: how many boxes can 100 skeletons fill? But the honest answer is a lot, and they're all in the safe care of Oxford Archaeology (OA).