Dig Day Tuesday 27th July 2010

Wasn't late this morning. Got the early bus and had breakfast at McDonalds with a good book. However, thought the day was going to be a washout when I left 'cos it was chucking it down.

Got to site, signed in and wandered up to the gardener's shed. Emily and I volunteered to weigh the CBM of which there was quite a lot. Seemed a sensible thing to do to get out of the rain, except that 2 minutes after starting, the rain stopped! Oh well, it only took us to t-break to do the lot, leaving the place looking a bit bare which was goog (except for the bits to be kept).

After tea and a chat, Emily went back to her wall and I went back to the brew house. Can I just say that as far as finds go, I've never found so many in the 14 days I've been coming! First bit out was a nice but of green Tudor ware glazed on both sides, with a decoration. Probably part of the top of a jug.




Then came a very small bone from a digit of a small animal. How I spotted that I don't know. This was followed by a selection of bones.

The aim of today was to trowel back the right hand side of the area to see if the orange layer went under the still very brown/grey layer. As it was I found a second patch and this was separated by the original patch by clay. In the corner the soil continued to be grey/brown.



After lunch I re-visited the brew house and found another bit of Tudor green. This time a rim sherd, glazed on one side only. Then I spotted a 1.5cm hollow cylinder. Again, don't know how I saw that. Just after that, Liz asked me to work at the other end of the trench with another lady, but 10 mins later i was pulled out to complete the planning I'd started yesterday. Boo-hiss!!!!

Actually, Mark had distinguished the area more which actually made it easier to plan. He'd added the context numbers and "drawn" around several features to be put on the plan. Once I got started it was fairly easy. One good thing was that I didn't have to draw the oven just the outline. That little task has been allocated to Emily who was completing her wall plan. I apologise now if my measurements are out!!!!!!



Completed the plan and was crowing about it, with the help of a cream scone (well actually a biscuit today 'cos there weren't many scones. Tuesday is also a good day to volunteer!), when I realised I hadn't actually added the crude brick path by the brick pit!!! Shucks!! Did half but unfortunately didn't have the time to complete the other half.

Ended a perfect day with a large bottle of well chilled Cobra sat outside the van, wishing I could be an archaeologist everyday!

Dig Day Monday 26th July 2010

Buses... a question of necessity when you're stuck a mile from town. Two conflicting timetables didn't help either! Anyway got there late. I hate that, so it's the really early bus tomorrow and a McDonalds breakfast.

Bless, Kevin was there picking up his trowel which he'd left here yesterday.

Then I ran into Will! 'Twas a shock 'cos I didn't think I'd see him again until after his hols. He was shocked to. I think he thought he'd got the wrong day!

So not good really 'cos when I went to see what he wanted me to do, his one word was "planning". Urgh!! He knows I love it....not!

So, what's to do? Well trace of from the original permatrace to show main features and extent of trench in Knot Garden. Then trace from the next plan done of the knot garden, and then add everything that's current. Not a lot to it really !!!
Started tracing under the mulberry tree at the front on the picnic table, when a maniacal blackbird decided to deposit on me! He'd obviously been eating mulberries and I was covered....loverrrrly! Liz wandered over to see what I was chuckling about and she just cracked up when she saw the evidence. It took us a long time to calm down before we were able to move the picnic table to a blackbird free zone!

So basic plan done, it was time to meet my fellow volunteers in the knot garden. Mark, one of the supervisors, was busy scratching his head over the burnt/ash feature in the corner, and then there was Emily and Mat busy planning the brick work in the brick built pit.



We had everything..rain, sun and humidity. How nice. Drawing isn't fun in the rain I can tell you, but against all odds and a certain reluctance on my part, I did what I could and hope that the results are upto Will's high standards.

All that and no cream scones today. Roll on tomorrow.

Dig Day Sunday 25th July 2010

Joyce, gerry and Anne came along today. Nice to see they weren't put off too much by their visit yesterday. In fact all 3 have now signed up as volunteers. Good for you. Rita and Kev came today as well, but as Kev's an old hand (and an old git!!) it was only Rita who had health and safety. We all sieved this morning while the rest went out front to dig. Regarding help from the visitors, it was a quiet day, punctuated with bursts of madness and the world and his wife! Below is a short video of Kev, just demonstrating the height of the sieved heap.

Add Kev video

After lunch Rita and mself worked in the brew house, and by the end of the afternoon we were both ready for a brew! It was so muggy. Basically we were trowelling back to the orange layer. There's a rubble patch in the centre and on my side I uncovered a circular featue, about 3 inch diameter, of what looked like burnt material. It was unusual in the fact that it was so round. Gerry took over from Joyce and Anne in the knot garden. After t-break, Bob and myself revealed the mystery beneath the tarpaulin in the knot garden, which has instructions to be left for Mark. Well you can't not look...can you? Very interesting. 2 layers of ash, not charcoal, surrounded by what is obviously burnt material. As to whether that's burnt soil or bricks, I couldn't say. Roll on tomorrow when all will be revealed. And as for the mulberry munchers....you know who you are.....and so do the rest of us! Cream scone and ice-cream followed!

Dig Day Saturday 24th July 2010

No you haven't read wrong. It is a Saturday and yes I'm at Stratford. In fact I'm here for the next 4 days......Am I mad!

Joining me today are 4 newbies: Joyce and Gerry Saunders, Anne Clark and John Stubbins. It's CADAS day at the Stratford Dig and they're all raring to go.
Emma gave them the usual health and Safety check and then showed them round the garden to explain what's what.

Me...I spent all day in the sieving tent. Now I know I've lost the plot, especially as we were inundated with willing volunteers, but as it's not my day and I wanted the newbies to experience all that goes on, I just thought it best. Kind hearted soul that I am. Anyway, the kids were sieving barrows so fast it was difficult to get them filled up again.

What was nice for me was meeting volunteers on other days. By just doing 1 day a week, you tend to feel a little isolated and in your own "Sunday" world. As we say when we rock up on a Sunday, "the archaeology fairies have been in again"!

Best find for me was a large piece of tudor pot with internal glaze and a very blackened exterior.

So piccies.......

Just an up-to-date piccie of trench A. Looks a bit different from when I started.


The flowers in the knot garden are looking gorgeous. The apples are ripening on the trees and the mulberries are just disappearing as fast as people can eat them!!!


Proof of newbies at work...and I didn't coin this phrase...they did but last of the summer wine eat your heart out!!

Dig Day Sunday 18th July 2010

This weeks post is dedicted to Jack, and all the other great kids, and adults, who have joined us on this amazing opportunity. For their enthusiasm and their dirty hands!!




We had a lot of nice kids in the sieving tent today.

After t-break, I went back to the sieving tent but then Emma asked me to start trowelling back in Area A.

After lunch, went back sieving, moved onto pot washing then joined Colin in the knot garden where we spent a very hot and hunid afternoon mattocking (well that was Colin) and clearing the soil (me) and emptying the barrows (Bob).

For all you gardening fiends out there, the Knot garden is looking particulary colourful.....



Star find of the day was fond by Heather in the morning sieving. It's a piece of bone from which they've punched discs to make into buttons. How cool is that!



Oh and another small thing found was the tudor brick built pit! Admitedly it was maissing one of its walls, but the Victorians had replaced it with they're own wall to presumably to support the older sides.



The knot garden it proving to be an interesting area.



Not impressed today..... only half a cream scone each and no biscuits!!!! Bloomin' tourists!

Dig Day Sunday 4th July 2010

Busy weekend with the Godiva and Stratford, but managed to do both by compromise. Just did a morning and spent it weighing CBM (ceramic building material to you and me!).



After t-break, moved onto the sieving tent. Not much to say really.

I felt really guitly leaving early, but it was nice eating lunch by the river, watching the world go by. Followed it with an ice-cream of course!!!!

Highlight of the day was getting our discount pass from SBT for having completed 50 hours, well more like 78 hours but who's counting. It's a nice gesture and much appreciated, so for anyone reading this from SBT....Thank you.