Group D: The Final Act

With this being the last week we thought it would be a good idea to give a summary of what our time on site has taught us. 

What the site has taught me is that an archaeologist needs patience in order to do the job properly. I noticed this when excavating a pit in the first week and continuing into the fourth only to find that it was actually the site of an uprooted tree! 

The four weeks have also taught me that teamwork is a necessity as without each other's help we would have accomplished next to nothing.  

Being on site has allowed us all to get some hands on experience with a real working site. This has allowed us to gain a knowledge that could only be gained by first-hand experience. The four weeks experience has been really enjoyable and has demonstrated what can be accomplished outside the classroom as well as giving an idea of what the future might hold. 

Josh

Today marks the beginning of the end. As I start the last week of our excavation, I can’t help but fear the lack of dirty fingernails, dusty hair and trowel hand that we have become happily familiar with. Doughnut breaks will cease to exist, wheelbarrows will lie abandoned and left to rust with no one to nap in them. 

We've all had a great time on site and are very sad to see come to an end. Three weeks excavating a line of tree bowls may not sound as exciting as working on the Roman road, but it was just as thrilling as I found some great artefacts with the help of the fabulous Team D. My most notable finds are a decorated shard of Samian ware and a decorated piece of a Roman square bottle (see previous entries), which I was lucky enough to unearth. 

A big thank you to all the lecturers for making this year’s dig so enjoyable is needed, which I’m sure will come in the form of lots of free drinks at the end of the week! 

Mona

Team D and the rest of the excavation team are finally reaching the final act of this dig. Today we made further progress, we dug a little deeper, we found more artefacts and we learned a little bit more about the mysteries of life. Plus there was a dude dressed like a soldier from the civil war and he gave a tour and in honour of his presence we got out some of our more interesting civil war artefacts found on that site and showcased them to the public.

What else can I say but the dig was fun and the weather mostly held up [insert over-used derogatory English weather joke here] and we've got several days left.  I hope they will also be enjoyable and I hope we find more cool stuff. All in all GO TEAM D!!!

Whabba! Whabba!! Whabba

Joe