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Showing posts from May 7, 2017
We're back for our 12th season. Keep up to date with all the discoveries, brought to you by our daily bloggers.
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Day 6: Everyone knows archaeologists dig, but did you know we also clean? Matt, Peter, Abbi and Amelia report on another cracking day on site and the latest finds from the Roman period to the Civil War… Matt… Day six of the dig has been very much about cleaning; cleaning finds and cleaning trenches. Group B spent the morning sat at washing bowls full of water with toothbrushes in our hands, carefully scrubbing centuries of mud from artefacts recovered during the first week. Making sure to leave fragile late medieval glass and a corroded iron horseshoe to one side, we worked our way through sacks of finds, taking care to keep track of labels telling us which trench and layer items have come from. Decorative patterns appeared from under mud on tobacco pipes, and pottery glazes from custard yellows to acid greens brightened the finds trays.  Carefully cleaning our finds... The afternoon saw Neil and I back working on the narrow 19 th century land drain trench that we’d spen
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Jess, Sophie and Victoria report on a scorching day 5 full of levelling and finds washing… Jess... Today’s day on site started with murmurings of “Have you seen how hot it’s going to be?!” and “Do you have any suncream?” as we all anticipated another scorching day in the sun; we soon settled though and got stuck in for another day in Grosvenor Park. Team A revisited yesterday’s fresh section and cleaned the area to reveal a clay-like surface which we were itching to dig into and discover what lies beneath. The other groups persevered through the increasing heat and barrow after barrow was delivered to the spoil mountain. The rest of the morning was spent in the shade for team A, which was a little light relief, as we topped up our level (and maths!) reading skills. Using the base level just outside of the park, the readings were taken to note the height of the freshly cut trench. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning finds, but I’ll let Sophie talk to you about that exc
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Day 4 brought evidence for horses, board games and an apostle… find out more about this intriguing combination from Ben, Steph and Max… Ben… Today was a bit cooler than the other days have been but we didn't let that stop us. The central part of the trench was cleared of rubble and detritus, revealing the plaster and brick beneath. As always, clay pipe fragments were everywhere but more unusual artefacts were also uncovered. Jamie found a horse shoe (perhaps related to the copper alloy spur?), and me and Pauline both found gaming counters. Matt found a spectacular purple-patterned piece of pottery. As well as these leisure items, I uncovered more martial artefacts: another musket ball, small and ceramic so likely used in canister shot, and a lead lid from an 'apostle', a gunpowder container worn on a bandolier. A gaming counter A ceramic musket ball  The lead cap of a powder measure (also known as an apostle since there were twelve on each bandolier).
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Day 3 brings more finds and a special visitor…Megan and Emily report Megan… Another sunny day down in Grosvenor Park today, fantastic for the public who came to see what we were up to, but not so great for us. The heat had baked the ground solid making our lives quite difficult, and there were definitely a few pink foreheads on site by the end of the afternoon. Still, we've made good progress! Sunny weather is nice but can make for hard soil! Team C spent the day removing the last of the backfill from the edges of our trench and neatening up the sections. Doing this exposed the site's stratigraphy making a mortar-rich demolition layer clearly visible. Our trench sides (sections) need straightening so that we can clearly see the layers of deposits - a mortar-rich demolition layer starts to get clearer here   The backfill we removed also produced a few finds, my favourite of which is a broken glass bottle with "Chester" moulded into it! Looking forw
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Amy, Pauline, Sarah, Jamie and Jack report on Day 2 - the best finds always come at the end of a mattock….read on to find out more! Amy… Another perfect day to start day two of the excavation on, the sun was scorching but the occasional breeze was enough to keep us cool. The digging started from where we left off yesterday, with us working on removing the top layer of soil to reach the beginning of the demolition layer. The soil had hardened after being baked by the sun which made getting through a little harder but worth the effort in the end. The first find on my side of the trench was, yet again, more clay pipe but as the day progressed we found pottery, animal bone and a musket ball. Many members of the public approached the fence today ranging from children to seniors, from doctors to ‘rappers’. It was nice to see so many different people taking an interest in what we were doing and learning their thoughts on the excavation. Hopefully, this weekend will be enough time