Just a quick entry this evening, with some photographs from the final day of the autumn excavation. There will be a full write up of the final day's findings on Sunday.
So we are back. It’s been several months since the summer excavation was brought to a close, yet we decided hurricane winds were the ideal condition in which to return to the dig site. Fortunately, apart from the odd rain shower, we did exceptionally well with the weather, and really had the ideal conditions for autumn fieldwork. The rewards were more than we could ever have expected.
Returning to the site, we had several outstanding questions. In the summer we had opened three sites. Questions remained about Sites A and B, buildings which originally appeared agricultural in origin, but which had become far more complex after one week of investigation. Due to potentially adverse weather, and a smaller team, we are putting all our early efforts into Site B, the most complicated of all three sites from the summer.
By the end of the summer, Site B had become transformed from a relatively simple long house of limited age, to a multiphase domestic building, with at least some 17th century activity recorded on site. All sorts of features had emerged during the previous investigation, including clearly defined window features, external wall partitions, surviving and in-situ wall plaster, and a potential extension to the structure at one end, and it was in an attempt to better understand these elements which led us back into this particular building. It was worth it.
It’s worth stressing that a lot of interesting things happened today. Significant additions to the length of the building were revealed at one end, with a very well built wall and corner emerging early on, to be joined by additional internal wall features. In terms of artefactual material, a late flurry of finds in the final hour of the day saw an increasingly large amount of pig jaw bone emerge, while the most distinctive object to be discovered was a complete ceramic vessel, which looked rather like an ink well, though could easily be a candle holder (and we welcome suggestions as to what it might actually be). That all being said though, it is unlikely that anyone on the team would deny that the most significant event of the day, was the loss of our window.
The window feature had been the cause of much excitement during the summer. A frame with very well dressed stonework had provided us with the best indication of domestic activity on Site B yet. It was an objective this autumn, to clean up the window feature, in order to develop a greater understanding of the wall widths. While this cleaning work progressed, something was noted. Inside the ‘window’ feature, was a series of small, flat stones, seemingly stacked against each other. It initially appeared to be part of a wall collapse, falling into the void. However, beyond this ‘wall tumble’ was a void. Wanting to make sure before progressing, eyes began peering into the void, and something more substantial was spotted. The void was just large enough to allow for the digital camera to be pushed through, and one photograph with the aid of a flash, revealed the true nature of the feature, this was an oven.
The flash photograph revealed that not only was this an oven, but as far as we can tell, it is almost complete. A domed interior with a worked stone surround had survived, untouched, and completely obscured from view. Investigations on the other side of the wall identified a semi circular wall feature abutting the main structure, giving an impression of the exterior dimensions of this oven. It was really quite remarkable. Having been involved in fieldwork for several decades, I have never come across a feature so well preserved, in the context of a largely ruinous building. We will see how this ‘oven’ develops during the course of the week, but it would appear that we opened day 1 of the autumn excavations with a real treat.
It might not have been our Howard Carter moment, but peering through into the darkness, that domed oven ceiling really could be described as a wonderful thing.