Saturday, 16 November 2024
Thursday, 31 October 2024
A Ditch in Time...
Friday, 25 October 2024
Our first ditch!
The drainage ditch has worked very well and although we had to bail-out the dug features 90% of the water had run off down the incline, as planned.
Once we had then cleaned the base of the trench we could see the linear feature running west-east. We started cutting slots and now have some nice sections to draw along its length. Importantly, we have some pottery fragments that will allow us to date the ditch.
Although the conditions are challenging we also found another feature, but it is amorphous, so we will have to investigate this one later.
We are now hoping that the rain will break for a few days (for a few weeks?) and we can continue to investigate the lives of the medieval people that once lived on this spot.
Friday, 18 October 2024
All going swimmingly...
Thursday, 3 October 2024
Potastic!
Jolly fine boating weather...
Although the weather has been very wet and the underlying material is clay, we have found that there is a linear feature cutting the pink clay material and may be a surviving part of the surrounding ditches that were dug to make the house platforms to keep them above the wetter ground.
Thursday, 19 September 2024
First Features
Wednesday, 4 September 2024
DMV update
Saturday, 31 August 2024
Stone me!
We were looking for a possible Roman road on the high ground above the village, part of helping the Charmouth History Society in their researches. This is part of a project that will include small excavations in the village next year. However, as with much of archaeological research, nothing was found other than made up ground. Even so, local members were happy with their hours digging and being part of the project and both Groups are now going to plan The Big Garden Dig over the winter. This partnership will work to add more information to the story of this ancient settlement on the coast of Dorset.
If at first you don't succeed...
Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Pole position on the Grid
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
There we was, digging this 'ol...
Sunday, 18 February 2024
AGM 2024
The DDCAG AGM took place and we discussed the forthcoming sites that we will be working on this year.
The DMV in East Dorset was presented as an exciting opportunity to research an important area of settlement in the county over several years. Our first job will be a geophysical survey and then we will concentrate on an area where features are located.
Our collaboration with Bournemouth University will continue, as we look at an Iron Age/Roman site, with the geophysical survey done and test pits to follow.
We are about to start our investigation at the Bridwell site on Sherborne. The geophiz showed some features that may be cess pits, so we will open a couple test pits. It is a well known trope that humans will always fill any holes in the ground with rubbish, and rubbish is our game!
Close to Dorchester we will look at a site that was investigated in 2006, which found a Bronze Age burial in a garden. The owners now wish to see if any other features are there, so more test pitting for us.
We are in touch with two museums in Dorset, where we will be undertaking collaborations.
More walks and talks are planned, one walk being in Thorncombe Woods walking the Roman road and then looking at two Bronze Age barrows.
We are hoping to have geophysical training days for members, so that we have a broad base of trained people for any sites we work on in future.
2024 is looking busy for our group and we look forward to doing some great research onto Dorset's past.
Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Sherborne Survey
We undertook a geophysical survey in Sherborne last week, looking for any evidence of structures and features behind buildings that date back to the 15th century. We are now planning to do one or two test pits looking at features that will hopefully contain dating evidence relating to pre- and post-dissolution activity on the site, thus adding information on this area to the archive.
The 5m square test trench has proved very fruitful. Ditch features and Early Medieval dating evidence has been produced and the evidence sug...
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Martin (left) and WDDAG WDDAG visited Martin Green's Down Farm this weekend, and what an experience it was! He took us through ...
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The South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership held a morning introduction to monitoring and recording ‘at risk’ monuments in our landscap...
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This is a little film about how to distinguish between natural flint and human made tools. If you have found anything that you may think ...