Touch the Past

Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group

 presents 

 TOUCH THE PAST 

 a talk by CHRISTOPHER J. TRIPP BA (HONS) MA 

 Stratton Village Hall, Dorchester , DT2 9WG 2pm, 15th November 2025

 Chris Tripp founded Dorset Diggers in 2012 . He has helped local people discover their heritage through hands on experience of archaeology at locations in Dorset: Nether Compton, Maiden Newton, Stalbridge and the Isle of Purbeck. Chris will talk about the work of Dorset Diggers and lead a handling session of the latest finds from a Deserted Medieval Village in Purbeck. Chris is an award winning archaeologist with decades of experience in Community Archaeology. He graduated from The Institute Of Archaeology (UCL) in the 1980’s, then worked with MOLA ( Museum Of London Archaeology ) where he started working in community archaeology. He won The Culture, Media and Sport Award for The Best Schools Project in 2003 . 

 DDCAG Members : Free Visitors : £5 

 RSVP : media.dorsetdiggers@gmail.com

No If's But Butts

Last year, in our 5m square trench, we had a series of intercutting small ditches running east-west. This year we confirmed that these ditches have butt-ends, or if you are posh, termini. 

The thing is, that in archaeology it is the features that count, with finds being used to date them. Finds are okay in themselves, but it is the context in which they were found that is of interest to archaeologists, as they have been constructed by people when setting up a settlement. 

When these not very exciting looking features are all dug they will allow us to understand how the village was set out several hundred years ago.   

 

Pipe Dream

As we carried on digging slots through the large ditch we were hoping that more dating evidence would emerge, and it did, all medieval pottery. As we dug down to the base of the ditch we found... a pipe! After the crying had subsided we then realised that this pipe was not on the same alignment as our ditch.

The pipe is heading off to the right and out of the trench, whilst our ditch is heading due south (this view is from the north.

So, we will continue to dig the other slots in the knowledge that we are not working on a modern feature! 

 

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. 

 

Hole Pots

These two holes in the ground may not immediately grab your attention, but they may suggest that there was an earlier settlement on this site before the medieval DMV. The pottery indicates this, but we will have an expert examine the evidence and thus give us a date for these features.  

This pottery fragment, however, is medieval, with internal glaze and nice little indents along the external edge.
 

Shining a Light on the Past

 More interesting finds from our metal detecting surveys. The two buckles add to our collection and the candle  holder is a nice little thing, that connects to our village inhabitants in a very intimate way. 

Stone me, buckle up!

 

Our first day digging the D2 trench and here is our portable HQ. All our paperwork and kit under one roof! Also good for keeping off the drizzle, if we ever get any. 

The 10m square D2 trench is very dry at the moment. As the ground is clay, this is a problem, as it is nearly impossible to get a mattock into it. It's a case of chipping away gradually. We pray to the rain gods to bring us a bit of moisture. 

However, our resident DDCAG metal detectorist has come up with two nice buckles, a fragment of something (?) and a bullet! The buckles are comfortably within the life of the DMV. 

One bonus of detecting is this stone pad, probably used to sit under a vertical post that may be structural or for a door. 

So, along with the pottery that has been unearthed all is going well, and we have just started! The next post will be images of the features. 

  

BGD 2

We also returned to the Big Garden Dig at Charmouth to undertake more Test Pitting. A second pit was dug next to the 13th century wall. 

A great deal of fun was had by all and more information was added to the history of the village. 

 

DMV for Victory!

 

This week saw DDCAG members back to our main site, the Deserted Medieval Village on the Isle of Purbeck. We returned to the area of the 5m test trench we dug last year and opened it up to 10m square. We immediately encountered several features that we will excavate in the coming weeks and months. We also collected some pottery.

This piece in particular was of interest due to the thumb decoration along the rim.

This will be added to last years haul and will give us some dating evidence for the settlement. We also found two interesting artefacts.

This piece of stone will have to be left to an expert to make an interpretation.

This is also another find that will need an expert eye.

An intriguing fragment of metal with raised decoration. It has been suggested that it is a piece of a cooking pot. This type of artefact can really make one feel that we can be in direct contact with past people. 

It's going to be a busy season. 

 

 

The 'Big Garden Dig'

Last weekend we worked with the Charmouth History Society to undertake the 'Big Garden Dig'. Several garden owners volunteered their gardens to have a 1m square test pit dug, which they either did themselves or allowed other village volunteers to do so. 

This test pit uncovered a stone drain running at the front of the property. 

Charmouth

This is a 13th century wall that runs behind the original garden plots. Although much rebuilding has been done, it still has a good percentage of original material. This trench was looking for the foundation. A 1:10 scale drawing will be made to record the exposed fabric.

Exposing the foundation.

This test pit was producing lots of finds.

This is the village hall HQ for processing the finds. 

All the finds were put into bags with the house details written on them. After analysis all finds will go back to the property owners.

It was a busy weekend and despite the heavy rain on Saturday afternoon a lot was done in the morning. Sunday was cloudy but warm and the work progressed very well. All who took part enjoyed themselves. This weekend we will be digging at several more gardens. 

 

Birds Eye View

Last weekend DDCAG undertook a geophysical survey at a site in north Dorset. As you can see, it was a large area, but the team did a great job. Roman pottery had been picked up in this field by the landowner, also metal objects using a detector.

A steady progress up and down the lanes

Logging the results

Keep going lads!

The results showed some possible features and these will be looked at in due course. 

 

 

Wool Fair

We had a very nice day at the Wool Charter Fair last weekend. Several membership sheets were taken away and we had an approach from a local photographer and drone flyer volunteering to work with us on sites!