A day at the office

With our HLF fund we now have a new gazebo for use on site. It make for a nice place to sit and have lunch, shelter from showers and a temporary office for the paperwork. In windy weather we can have the walls in place too. 

As can be seen, it is not far from our trench, so that we can run for it when it rains. Here's Elaine digging Ditch Slot IV through the large ditch running south-north. 

Nice pottery continues to turn up. This is Ditch Slot I. We are digging four slots through the ditch.

 

 

 

Making an impression

One of the best things about archaeology is that you can make contact with a person from hundreds of years ago, simply by finding  piece of pottery. This small fragment has finger/thumb impressions on it, to make a nice decoration on the rim of the vessel. You can't get that feeling from reading a book.

 

Life's a Ditch

One thing that archaeologists are is resourceful. When we had a busted leg on our gazebo, rather than just stand around in the rain, we had to think of a way of supporting the thing. This was our answer. It worked very well - for now. 

In the meantime, we have started, at last, to dig the ditch in the main trench! The rain had done its job. We were not disappointed. As we chased the edge, it came down on to a very clean fill, so we hope that as that material is taken out a very nice profile of the feature will be had. Also, it is the last of the fills in the base of a ditch where, generally, finds are to be had. Fingers crossed. 

 

Taking the floor

If you live in Dorset here is a chance to see Martin talk about his work at Chedworth Roman Villa!

 

Feeling Flat

Despite lots of pottery coming up in our trench in Grid B1 no features could be found. The stratigraphy came down on a clean blue-green clay. The only interpretation we could come up with was that people cut a shallow flat area and then created a 'hard standing' using stones, soil and domestic rubbish for an animal corral. 

The good news is that it is raining! Hopefully, in a few days we can return to the main excavation area and continue to investigate the DMV house platforms. 

 

Muck = Brass etc

A very exciting prospect for our little B1 trench. After further cleaning, this edge came up very clearly. To the left is the large slabs of stone, set in grey soil and green clay. To the right is the yellow-orange clay that we found under the small stone layer. It is a very sharp line, and we think that this stone/green clay material could turn into a fill of a pit, or even a cesspit. If that is the case we will extend the trench to find its full extent. 

This is the B1 trench, with the potential pit at the bottom. 

We had a visit from Dr Mary Sparks, our researcher of this DMV, and many other sites of the Isle of Purbeck. Saxon the dog came along too. 

Keep looking in to find out if it is a pit/cesspit!

 

Strap In For The Ride

The B1 trench, that we opened because we can't work on the main 10m square trench at the moment, has yielded lots of pottery from a very stony layer. That has now been excavated down to the clay. On the left are larger stones, that may go deeper, so that is our next task.  

This small pit was located in the NE corner. Very neat, but alas, no finds. 

This very nice saddle strap end came up whilst Hugh was using his metal detector in the B1 grid square. He had already found the several buckles shown below, in the same area. It can be dated 1000-1100.  

From this drone shot (looking SE) you can see our 10m square trench, with the 4m x 2m trench just to the north. This little trench will keep us busy until the rains come, hopefully. Top left is the rest of the DMV humps and bumps, this being scheduled.