The Soil Sausage Test

Oli becomes one with mud:

After being attacked by a downpour of rain our chance of finally starting to get some archaeology revealed was sadly shut down and so we had to retreat back to the cabin where we had a session on how to write out context sheets. We learned the main purpose of the context sheets and how to fill each part out in depth. With excavation being destruction, it was essential to learn how to preserve as much of the evidence as we could and context sheets are our main written form of to preserve this knowledge.

I think it was beginning to show how the dig was affecting people as being in that snug cabin after 2 hard days digging people were already beginning to drift off, not mentioning any names of course *cough* Daniel *cough*. We did however get an opportunity to get our hands dirty again in the second part of the session where we were taking soil and trying to understand how to classify it by looking at its texture, composition and malleability. Have to admit it was great fun making sausages out of mud to test whether it could make rings or not. Luckily for us though, the rain eased up a little bit and we finally got back out to the dig site to begin uncovering the archaeology (or in our case revise how to use a dumpy level).

Oli, Calum, Joe and William examine soil in the dry warmth of the site cabin.