Well, we had hoped to finish things, but hope, expectation and reality are frequently very different things! It was always our intention to be able to say at the end of last week, that site B was done and dusted, and that we could turn our attention back to several other archaeological sites in the same landscape. However, we did not count on the main building extending out by a further four to five metres over the last day and a half of excavations. So, it looks like the story will continue, for another few days or so at the very least.
At the western end of the building, near the previously titled Pig Sty structure, had been identified a new wall feature. Continuing along the length of the main building walls, it had served to confuse us because we were not coming down onto any floor surface. It appeared that the wall simply ran on, with no obvious purpose. Then a purpose presented itself, of course, on the final day.
As excavations continued, a new flagstone floor was revealed, and with it, another wall. This wall looks to mark the actual extent of the building, as it turns at a right angle, and includes what looks to be a very good candidate for a doorway. What remains baffling though is the level of the new floor, as it is significantly lower than any of the other internal floor surfaces. There was not enough light at close of play on the final day to take an official reading of the floor levels compared to each other, but a conservative guess would say that this latest floor level is at least a metre, if not more, lower than the next lowest internal floor level.
Of course, we ran out of time to identify the full dimensions of this extension, but it is clear that this final room, is as well constructed as those to have already been excavated. It is in this final room that additional work will be required at some point in the coming months. With weather conditions becoming challenging and daylight increasingly limited, it is perhaps unlikely that we will have the chance to resolve this final feature in 2014. However, the possibility remains that we might make one final effort to resolve this building before the year is through.
Whatever comes next, we will certainly be looking to publish our findings in the coming months. We have more than enough to consider for a report and it is our responsibility to report on these findings. After four seasons and several tonnes of rock removal, we are left with a vast building, sections of which we can say are comfortably late medieval.
As ever, it has been a joy to work on the site. It would not have been possible to complete without our excellent and developing team, and special thanks go to our fresh recruits, coming to us via the Monmouthshire Beacon, though not forgetting our hardy team of returning excavators, who year on year provide greater expertise and excavation ability, the likes of which that without, we would not have been able to proceed.
More to come on this in the coming weeks and months, but for now, that’s all – there is lots more to write, but a series of finger tip blisters do make typing very painful, so we’ll leave the other stories for another time!
At the western end of the building, near the previously titled Pig Sty structure, had been identified a new wall feature. Continuing along the length of the main building walls, it had served to confuse us because we were not coming down onto any floor surface. It appeared that the wall simply ran on, with no obvious purpose. Then a purpose presented itself, of course, on the final day.
As excavations continued, a new flagstone floor was revealed, and with it, another wall. This wall looks to mark the actual extent of the building, as it turns at a right angle, and includes what looks to be a very good candidate for a doorway. What remains baffling though is the level of the new floor, as it is significantly lower than any of the other internal floor surfaces. There was not enough light at close of play on the final day to take an official reading of the floor levels compared to each other, but a conservative guess would say that this latest floor level is at least a metre, if not more, lower than the next lowest internal floor level.
Of course, we ran out of time to identify the full dimensions of this extension, but it is clear that this final room, is as well constructed as those to have already been excavated. It is in this final room that additional work will be required at some point in the coming months. With weather conditions becoming challenging and daylight increasingly limited, it is perhaps unlikely that we will have the chance to resolve this final feature in 2014. However, the possibility remains that we might make one final effort to resolve this building before the year is through.
Whatever comes next, we will certainly be looking to publish our findings in the coming months. We have more than enough to consider for a report and it is our responsibility to report on these findings. After four seasons and several tonnes of rock removal, we are left with a vast building, sections of which we can say are comfortably late medieval.
As ever, it has been a joy to work on the site. It would not have been possible to complete without our excellent and developing team, and special thanks go to our fresh recruits, coming to us via the Monmouthshire Beacon, though not forgetting our hardy team of returning excavators, who year on year provide greater expertise and excavation ability, the likes of which that without, we would not have been able to proceed.
More to come on this in the coming weeks and months, but for now, that’s all – there is lots more to write, but a series of finger tip blisters do make typing very painful, so we’ll leave the other stories for another time!