Doing very Well

The cap on the Well was removed to assess the shape, depth and construction of the Well. After recording, photographing and leveling the cap will be replaced. H & S demands that this feature is now finished and the farm manager will back fill. However, he may decide to keep the outer walls showing as a feature and this would make a nice memorial to our work this year. 

Removing the cap stone

A sturdy feature

Over 8m deep

We are now concentrating on establishing the shape and form of the house by opening 5m square trenches at certain locations and also looking at some walls that were indicated by geophysics to the east of last years trench, which may also be indicated on this old drawing. Also, it may have had what is called a 'stylobate'. This is a platform in front of the main door of a house, sometimes decorated with columns. As can be seen here the gate gives access to an enclosed area leading up to the entrance where the stylobate would be situated. This is where the elongated earth mound now sits. 

Our 2018 trench is the right hand corner of the house with what looks like a wall running away from it.

    

To uncap it all

The great stone covering the well will be opened on Wednesday!

Work continues on the earth mound wall section.

We will also be opening another trench in the south east area of the site to find out the exact location of this part of the house. 

Testing, testing...

We have been given permission in July to do a small 2m x 2m test pit at Weycroft Hall, Axminster to see if there are any surviving foundations of the medieval buildings once attached to the hall. 

Not sure why the videos won't open, so back to pix.

The 'well' dig goes on. The walls are being recorded now that the internal fills have been removed.

The Great Drain mystery has been solved. They serviced.... garderobes! 

Well wall went well

We are continuing the excavation of the 'well' and after recording lifting the 'cap' stone. 

The deep past?

Trench A: the 'well'

Saturday: the rain kept off, mostly, so we got a lot done on Trench A - the 'well'. Nice worked stone on the outer face and the potential for more under the dump of stone. Hopefully we can open up the next 10m x 10m trench on Wednesday, as the farm manager was not available yesterday. This trench has produced new information about the house, not mentioned in any archive we know about. That adds to the Great Drain as new history for the village.

Not just thrown up, the structure is solid and well made

Spurs lost... and found

This nice George II halfpenny turned up at the Stalbridge excavation yesterday along with a spur buckle of the 17th or 18th century, with 'W' marked on it. It is always useful to have a detectorist on site to go over the spoil heap!

... well.

Today was a mixed bag, with Trench A feature looking more and more like a well. More work needs to be done and all the stones recorded before we venture to lift the capping stone seen here, safely with a small machine.

Trench A

Trench Q3 did not turn up must at all, so we are opening another, F3 next week. Look in for details.