Many thanks to Andy for these three shots. These are images of the very deep section that was cut through the baffling site C feature. Not entirely enlightening perhaps (we are still discussing what or earth was going on at this site), but great in terms of getting a perspective on the depth of this feature, and its composition.
Day 5 became an increasingly frantic affair as the day developed. Knowing that we would only really have half a day to complete any major objectives, it was a case of all hands at full speed. Efforts of course were hampered to some degree by the need to complete recording of all the major features identified during the last week, so while members of the team were doing their best to clear the site, they had to do so while contending with tapes and pegged strings – a series of trip wires – crossing the trenches, while drawing boards and frames were introduced to proceedings.
On day 4, both sites A and B had produced what appeared to be floor surfaces and wall features. For site A, an additional wall crossing the western extent of the building had been all but confirmed, but the floor surface had proven to be more debatable. Of all the trenches, site A was probably the most talkative over the course of the week, in terms of debating just what each respective feature was. A series of flat and reasonably level stones emerging induced debate on whether or not this was actually a floor surface, or just the natural geology. The landscape where we were excavating is almost entirely underpinned by old red sandstone, a material notorious for looking like anything you want it to look like, floors, walls, even ceramics, while all the while being nothing more than naturally shaped rock. However, after some committed work by the Daves in site A, we can be pretty confident that we did have a coherent floor surface coming through. Disturbed perhaps, but the quality and volume of stone work could be little else.
Another late development on site A was the identification of a second building adjacent to that which was the main focus of excavations. While there was only limited time to really look at this feature, it is indicative of a similar building layout to that seen in site B. This is certainly something that we will need to look at again whenever we come back in on these sites, it is interesting to contemplate that the two respective sites demonstrate some form of architectural relationship – something well worth looking at in the future.
As for site B, this site, while large and complex, did feel like we had largely made sense of by the end of day 4. A roughly 7m by 4m long structure, with four internal spaces separated by substantial wall divisions. No entrance way to speak of, but then the southern external wall had been severely undermined through stone robbing, so it might yet be there somewhere. At the end of day 4 at least, this made sense. One of the main objectives then for day 5 was to complete efforts to reveal the excellent floor surface that was appearing in the north east corner of the structure, and finish the identification of all external wall widths. At the same time, Lauren and Claire would attempt to identify the length of the southern external wall, and the southern extent of the internal walls.
In some respects this was a great success. The floor surface in particular proved to not be as large as we originally expected. Only one course of large flag stones were revealed, before the surface hit a dense compact layer of clay. There are however more stones in this clay surface, so it is entirely possibly that more of the stone floor survives, simply at a lower level – another question for when we return. The internal walls were also fully revealed, with a continuation of the internal wall crossing north to south, with an abutment of the feature onto the southern external wall – another success story.
Yet, as the western gable end was being investigated to establish the width of this wall, something unexpected was found. Earlier in the week, we had found a lot of in situ wall plaster on the north eastern interior walls. While establishing the wall width on the other side of the building, we found more wall plaster, this time on the outside. Now while we cannot say this for certain, for the period of construction that this building appears to be in, the application of exterior wall plaster would be unusual to say the least, but what we might expect is for wall plaster to be found internally. So, is it now the case that our western exterior wall is in fact an interior wall feature and a continuation of the building? Sadly, with time against us, there was no way of establishing this yet, but we will certainly be back to figure out this enigmatic structure, sooner rather than later.
And so that brings us to the end of this summer’s excavations. At some point in the next few days there will be a roundup of the excavation results, but for now, a well deserved rest is in order for all. It’s been a brilliant effort by everyone who took part, hopefully the aches and pains will not be too severe!
I'm sure you will all forgive me because tonight is just going to be a photo blog entry from day 5. The full blog posting covering today's activities will follow on Saturday morning, but there is only just enough energy in the tank left to bring up these images, and then sleep! It has been a fantastic weeks worth of archaeological excavations, and we have had some very positive and very surprising results from our three sites. Sites A and B continued on the final day to reveal new features, and what was an external wall on site B, rapidly shaping up to be internal wall by the end of the day, really confused the picture.
More to come tomorrow, but hopefully the images below will begin to tell the tale of the final day of this summers excavations.
Plus - there is now a very good chance that the summer excavations, will be followed up by an autumn excavation as well, but more on that in the weeks to come.
What a day it has been. We knew today would be physically intense, though many of us perhaps still underestimated quite what it would take out of us. With a shorter day coming up tomorrow, today was going to be crucial in terms of answering major questions across the three sites. As is often the way with these excavations, we have probably only generated more questions - but at least we have another day to explore them a little further.
First mention goes to site C today, because we won't be looking at it again tomorrow. Both Dave and Andy did a remarkable job in sectioning this mound, and have managed to bring the mystery to a conclusion. Between them they managed to work through about 1.3m worth of stone rubble fill, creating what looked rather like a well, or a mine shaft, by the end of the day. Despite this feature being sectioned and recorded, it's hard to be certain what was going on here. Certainly this was a stone waste heap of some form, probably associated with one of the other buildings that are being investigated, but this might just be one of those features that requires another look at some point in the feature to better understand how it connects to the surrounding landscape.
For sites A and B, defined features were a little more forthcoming, but perhaps still not particularly easily understood. Site A, having frequently been an exercise in lifting iron sheeting, today became an ongoing argument between David and Anne over whether or not a wall was a wall. 'Argument' should be taken for 'on going' discussion, but a linear feature was certainly subject for debate, with theories split between floor and wall features. By the end of the day this had clearly become a wall, and we were picking up some nice post holes in places, with one post still partially in place. Later in the day, it seemed as though an actual floor surface was coming through in the northern part of the building. However this is one feature that will need to be explored quickly tomorrow morning - the feature is tempting, but possibly a little too disturbed at this point for us to be confident about it being a floor. Hopefully all will be revealed by this time tomorrow.
As for site B, our never ending chase for wall features only really resulted in the uncovering of more wall features. The highlight of the day though had to be the discovery of a complete floor surface in the north eastern end of the building. Having hit a compact clay surface, we thought we might have found a level to aim for, but a little test of the surface uncovered first one flat stone, then another and before we really had a chance to take it in, we had a complete row of aligned stones, with associated flag stones running the width of the building. It was a great find, which included some stratified 17th century ceramics. One interesting element remains though, and that is a large amount of sooting and burnt sandstone. There was clearly a fire in this part of the building, but do we have a fireplace, a bread oven perhaps? Something else to look at in the morning.
We have also found the fourth external wall, making it possibly to plan in the internal parameters of the building. However it now appears that a fourth internal wall, and possibly a fifth have come through. Very early days on this, and the optimistic interpretation could put this as a fire place, or a staircase foundation - the amount of and size of stone rubble coming out of the trench, compared to surviving wall heights, means that a two story structure is not out of the question here.
So, with a day to go, we certainly understand all three sites much better than we did a week ago. Questions remain though, and hopefully one final big push in the morning will see at least some of those issues resolved.
What a day! We had some real breakthroughs on day 2, but the returns today really blew yesterday out of the water. What a difference a big team makes as well. We were back up to around eleven archaeologists today, and the extra hands really helped in moving things along, particularly so on sites B and C. But before we get into the archaeology, special thanks must first by given to Maddy Gray, from the History Dept at the University of South Wales. Guests to the excavation are always very welcome, but those who bring multiple fruit cakes are particularly so - you are most welcome to return!
In terms of the archaeology, we'll start with site B. Yesterday provided some tantalizing features in the largest of the three trenches, with the shape of two internal wall features beginning to emerge by the end of the day. These became the main target for the day, and we were certainly rewarded for this strategy. Two internal wall features have now been partially revealed. After initially appearing to be largely robbed out of its features, by the end of day 3, we had managed to identify several courses of surviving stone on one of the two walls. However, while hard work was being completed on the clearing and identification of these features, work was also undertaken on the north eastern end of the structure, which had largely been overlooked until today. This also proved to be hugely rewarding. Finding one of the remaining building corners was promising, but as the exterior wall was fully exposed, we found a particularly high quality window sill and partial frame. Then we found a third interior wall - it was really a case of one great breakthrough after another. We even returned our first piece of clay pipe, usually not cause for celebration, but any dating material is very welcome in this site.
Site B though, for all of its features, is proving to be more and more confusing. Having initially been presumed to be an agricultural building, it increasingly now looks domestic, with substantial exterior walls, well finished stonework in the window surround, and a series of reasonably substantial interior walls. But, and its a big but, there is very little to no artefactual materials. One pipe stem and bowl, two pot sherds and some glass shards seems a very small return were this to have been a domestic structure in use for any period of time. So, was this a short term use building? Was it actually a very well finished agricultural building (unlikely)? Or have we just got it completely wrong? We'll hopefully find out tomorrow.
From difficult to understand, to utterly baffling, site C continues to confuse. The mound structure was hit hard today, with a large section cut through the feature to try and get some sense of the phases of the mound. This proved more challenging to attain, as the mound appeared to be dominated by stone rubble. Yet at the very top of the mound now appears to be some manner of surface, with level, flat stones in place. Coupled with this feature is the fact that this site continues to produce the oldest dateable material from all three sites, with more late medieval ceramic ware coming from the stone fill. While this could be a simple stone dump, the dateable objects suggest that there is more to this mound than simply being a dump, if just in terms of periods of construction.
Site A continued in a similar vein to yesterday. I must admit I did not have much opportunity to explore site A (being focused on stone removal at site B). However, more surfaces and features are emerging, but it is still the case that corrugated iron sheeting remains the bane of this site. Wherever people turn, they are tripping on sheeting. This has slowed progress significantly, and tomorrow site A is likely to get some special attention, in the form of mattocks.
And so we move into the penultimate day, and how rapidly it has come. Three very interesting sites each with a series of particular archaeological problems. With a smaller team again for Thursday, and a lot of features to make sense of, this is going to be our hardest day of the lot - prepare for a clearer understanding of all the features uncovered today, and some seriously bad backs!
Day 2 was always going to be a bit of a struggle. Not only were we looking at our lowest team numbers today, but site B was destined to be a mammoth exercise in the art of mattocks. However we can’t really complain about anything, the work might have been incredibly heavy going at times, but we had a continuation of the great weather, and some very positive results.
All three sites were producing interesting contributions today, and site C came into its own early on in the day. Site C, the large barrow type feature, is looking increasingly like a waste heap of stone material, possibly from the other two buildings. We are a long way off understanding this feature, and it may yet reveal some much earlier phases when we tackle it with a little more archaeological aggression tomorrow morning. Yet despite looking like one of the later features, it has produced the earliest finds. A very nice late medieval rim sherd came out of the lower half of the mound, with some surviving green glaze on the outer surface. With that find, site C is probably leading the race for find of the week, but its early days.
Site B is becoming the real monster of the excavation. We knew yesterday that this was going to be a substantial building, but we only really got to appreciate the scale of the situation by lunchtime today. A good two hours worth of mattocking, shifting what must have been in excess of a tonne of stone, revealed around eight new courses of stone in the surviving walls, coming down on to our first real surface. While not entirely coherent, a compact clay surface has emerged, which we will look at more closely tomorrow. Suffice to say this building is looking large, and more and more it seems likely that this was a long house. By the end of the day, we had identified an internal wall feature, which will again the focus of attentions in the morning. The way site B is going, is might begin to swallow up team members from other sites – there is a lot more rock to move, a lot more mattocking to come, and a heck of a lot left to make sense of, all good archaeological problems to have.
Site A continued to produce interesting features as well. Yesterday all sorts of odd metal work was coming out of the ground, with corrugated iron sheeting scattered all over the place. Some manner of railing or partition had been identified yesterday, and in rough association, it seems that we have now uncovered a channel, in which some manner of doorway, or barrier, could have sat. Theories at the close of play today were warming to the idea that this was some manner of animal enclosure, at least in the last phase of the sites use. More iron sheeting awaits to be removed, so we may get a better understanding of any earlier phases once the last of this iron surface has been cleared, hopefully tomorrow.
So, that is where we are. Tomorrow will see mattocks at the ready once more, and hopefully some breakthroughs will be made regarding the nature of site C, and the earlier periods of site A. For now though, many hours of mattocking and rock shifting means only one thing, refreshments and an early night!
So we are underway with Excavate 2013 and we really have had a cracking first day. Sun shone all day long, and we had a team of 11 for the day. Great numbers, and we certainly needed them all given that no less than three sites were under investigation today.
Last year we had some reasonably imaginative names for trenches, this year we are clearly lacking in inspiration after day one, having identified the excavation areas as site A, B and C - these are working titles which we hope to improve upon as the week develops.
It's early days on all three of the sites, and today was largely an exercise in site clearing. We can't be sure when the two buildings that make up sites A and B were last in use, but the corrugated iron sheeting scattered all over site A suggests not that long ago. Despite that, both structures were heavily overgrown, and a lot of foliage needed removal. Once that had been achieved, it quickly became apparent that a far more complicated process of clearance would be required. On site B, the largest of the two structures, a few hours worth of clearing had gone some way to revealing the outline of the structure. But on top of the structure, and obscuring any surfaces, was a huge amount of building rubble. It seems that the structure at site B was far more substantial than we originally thought, and the majority of the large walls on the northern side of the structure, currently fill the primary trench. Two hours worth of mattocking had made little dent, and tomorrow will probably be a festival of mattock work. as we try and work through the wall collapse.
Site A offered similar problems with a large amount of stone rubble covering the site. The well rusted wheelbarrow brought out of retirement for one last excavation, was already riddled with holes by lunchtime, as the heavy rocks punctured through the weakened metal. Come the end of the day though, some prominent wall features had been identified. The main concern on site A is establishing where a series of iron roofing sheets will end. It seems that the last roof to sit on the building collapsed and covered the floor surfaces. unfortunately a lot of stone rubble then compacted the iron sheeting, making it hard work to break through to the archaeology beneath. One or two chinks were made, and hopefully the last of the iron sheeting will make way for the features beneath by lunch on day 2.
Site C, the mysterious barrow, remains no less a mystery, and looks likely to be the most challenging of the three sites when it comes to making sense of proceedings. A loose rock scatter is slowly giving way to a compact surface beneath, but beyond that, not much can be said. Again, site C was an exercise in clearing and preparation - so with the hard work done, hopefully some initial results will present themselves tomorrow.
In terms of finds, we've already surpassed last years haul, which would not have taken much effort. Site A was probably the winner on the day, with a near complete iron sickle being discovered - though probably not a tremendously old one. Site B boasted an assortment of pig bone, giving credence to the idea that an adjoining feature to be explored later in the week, was indeed some form of pig sty. Site C was lagging a bit in terms of artefacts, but some manner of sherry bottle shard gave plenty of inspiration for the evenings recovery activities.
Lots more to come during the week, and we'll do our best to keep the blog up to date. For tomorrow though, expect mattocking to the theme of the day, lots and lots of mattocking.
We had our final preparations today with all of the tools loaded and relocated to the dig site. On inspection, new barrows will be in order for next summer - these rust buckets may not make it through the week. Hard hats make an appearance for the first time in a while on our excavations - working near some standing remains make it a must this time around. In some of the other shots, you can make our two of the target areas for this week. Site A has some nice standing features, recording these will be the first order of business, while site C remains as mysterious a mound as it has ever been, hopefully we'll have this cleared up by the end of the week.
Hi my name is Lauren Davies; I’m 19 and have just completed the first year of my BA (Hons) History degree at The University of South Wales, Caerleon. I finished my A Levels last year before being accepted on to Caerleon's beautiful campus and I never thought an opportunity like this would come with studying history! It’s safe to say that me being excited about this dig is an understatement, it is my first ever excavation and I’m sure it won’t be my last!
Whilst studying at Caerleon, the History team have successfully managed to get us all hyped up over the possibilities of a summer excavation, and now that we are here, I can’t wait to start and see what we find! I hope the whole team looks forward to having a complete amateur ‘archaeologist’ on their hands!
Having an opportunity like this is brilliant, and one I wouldn’t miss out on, so wellies and trowels at the ready! (Not forgetting the flask of tea!)
This is the second time I’ve been involved in an excavation with the University, the first at Park Farm near Lodge Hill was a huge learning experience for me and really taught me the physical ‘nitty-gritty’ side to the study of History and Archaeology. The prospect of a possible Bronze Age feature is intriguing to me because my work placement at The Great Orme Copper Mines spurred an interest in the Bronze Age in Wales and so the opportunity to dig again was something I could not pass up. The digs provide a friendly, relaxed, yet informative atmosphere where you can refine your skills and learn from more professional Archaeologists and so is unique in its nature. I’m excited to see what we can discover about the site and hopefully unlock some clues to the history of Llanfihangel Tor y Mynydd.