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.