A New Start

After weeks of rainy days I have returned to my neglected dig. I decided to shore the sides up before continuing as they looked unsafe. That way I can leave things open over the winter if I can't get to the bottom before the weather closes in.

How do the professionals cope with adverse weather conditions?

I am just going into level 7. Compared with previous digs into the same ditch feature (only a foot or two away) I am finding fewer sherds of pottery and animal bones, so far, but I am prepared to be surprised.

I am beginning to think that the first test pit I sunk into this feature uncovered the area that was open longest and got filled up with the most Iron Age domestic waste (lots of animal bone, pottery, pot-boilers).

Unexpected Help

I am still continuing with my dig although I have been hindered by bad weather and other demands on my time. Recently, after a prolonged period of rain, I looked in the pit and saw that I'd had help! A hedgehog had wandered in and could not get out. Over a period of days it had scratched away at the sides in an attempt to escape. Luckily I managed to lift it out in time and initially it looked exhausted but when I started up the lawn mower to cut adjacent grass it uncurled and fled. I now leave a hedgehog escape ramp in the pit when I am rained off.

Latest Finds by Level

This photo gives some idea of what has been found in the latest dig so far. I've kept more than I normally would in order to show others what to look out for. Sometimes what looks like a piece of rock turns out to be pottery and vice versa.

The oldest, most interesting pottery sherds are on the far left. Later medieval and modern pieces are further over to the right in the pottery column.

I have been keeping natural geological specimens other than white chalk and smaller pieces of flint. Some of these are distinctive and not like anything I've found before. Which is why I need a geologist as well as a pottery expert to consult! In layer 5 I have just started to find pieces of what look like broken pot-boilers (see a previous post).

In the bottom left corner I have encircled 5 pieces of the late Iron Age pottery which started to emerge at level 4.

A Post Hole

I've got a post hole to excavate in this dig. This shows it carrying on down from the 40 cm level. It seems to be about 72 cms deep from the current ground surface. What I have removed seems to reveal just the hole created by the post. The hole to take the post was dug wider I think. Finds in the hole suggest a relatively recent date. Since this photo was taken and the hole has been widened I have found a piece of clear glass that looks fairly modern.

Removing the top surface of level 5 has revealed a change in soil type. I have come to a fairly poor soil, lacking in humus with a higher chalk content. At a guess I'd say that I am just going below the medieval cultivated surface. It is after this that things should get more interesting. We will see!