Lucy and Jack’s group
get to the bottom of things in trench 4…
Lucy… Today the main focus
in our section through the ditch was to remove the last remaining large stones
from the fill, and to hopefully reach the bottom. This afternoon after many
attempts we finally managed to get the last sandstone out (shown in the photos
below), which nearly led to some missing toes. Overall today has been a fab day
in the trench, as all our hard work over the last few weeks has paid off, with
us managing to reach the bottom of the ditch. This has led to a feeling of
accomplishment amongst me and my group, as for a long while it was debated if
we would ever reach the bottom.
 |
| Team work and some rope skills required... |
 |
| A sense of achievement in visual form?! |
Jack…Today our
group had a study leave break for the morning, so we were not on site until the
afternoon. This left us feeling refreshed and ready to work in the lovely
weather, and the ditch we were excavating was slightly drier because of the
heat which was a bonus. The ditch started off being full of large stones or
possible building materials, and the mud encasing them was claggy and wet which
was difficult to work with, especially with the animal bones that were found in
it. We eventually started lifting out the stones, working up to the largest in
the centre, which seemed to be glued to the bottom. Many finds of bone and wood
came up from this sediment, which was exciting as there were large pieces of
animal bones such as a jaw and a partial pelvis. Also we were tasked with
removing soil to be scientifically analysed which then meant slightly more
delicate work had to be carried out around the central larger block. Eventually
it was lifted free, and then the ditch was cleaned up, leaving it nicely ready for
tomorrow, where it will be planned and recorded as it is.
 |
| A working shot of the completed section through the ditch all cleaned up and ready for recording. |
Does the ditch form
part of the 'Bishop's Borough' (referred to in Domesday)? Watch this space!
David reports for
the A-team in trench 8… today there were more exciting developments within
our trench. The day began with good weather as we continued to work on our
various projects within the trench. We learned more about the trench and its
specific contexts and levels. Some of the A team took a sample of the soil from a
robbers ditch due to the high yield of finds, primarily animal bone. Later on,
the A team and group B were asked to present finds to a local school. This went
smoothly and the students were very enthusiastic about the trench. Hopefully,
our trench will continue to improve and we will have made an impact on the
student's opinion of archaeology.
 |
| The A-team hard at work identifying features in Trench 4. |
 |
| Today we hosted several groups of interested children from the local primary school |
 |
| David answers important questions. |
 |
| Jack and Alex inspiring the young archaeologists |
Kim reports for group D… Today members of group D were
working on the Roman road and continued to clear the remaining backfill that
had gotten in through the terram, involving lots of meticulous trowelling in
order to make the stones of the road more visible. This will be extra
beneficial when overhead pictures of the site are taken as it will really help
the road stand out!
 |
| The surface of the road before 'cleaning' - a real challenge. |
Comments
Post a Comment