How big is the trench?

[Toby]

It is Huuuuuuuuuuge!

We finished machining most of the first area today and it is massive.

[P-Dawg]

It must be if it gets a whole thread to itself!

By 'first area', do you mean it is going to get even bigger?

[Pam]

Toby mentioned the trench sizes in the "Interesting news..." thread last October (see quote below) but until you are actually on site it is is difficult to envisage. Now I've walked across the whole area a few times over recent weeks (and shoveled a bit), I can confirm it is BIG ! HUGE ! etc etc etc ;D

In the next week or so I will start machining on a trench which is 20m by 43m (860 sq m). This trench is supposed to last 75 weeks. After this trench is done – or perhaps during – it will be extended by an additional 45m by 55m (2475 sq m) which will last for another 185 weeks (260 weeks… 5 years in total). This gives a total trench size of 3350 sq m which is over 93 times bigger than St Saviour’s 2006. There is another measurement to consider… the archaeology may be in excess of 3m deep in some parts of the trench.

[P-Dawg]

So I take it it's rather on the large side then...

... you're right, I can't envisage it! Will just have to wait til the summer!

[Pam]

I finally got around to putting some pics on a web gallery. You can view the gallery here forum.yorkshireoffroadclub.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=73

Click on the first thumbnail to start viewing the gallery. Click on each photo to open a larger version in a new window.

Here is an example - showing most of H1 (the bit of trench H we are currently working on). As Toby says - it is huge ! The tape measures in the pic are marking out 5x5 metre grid squares..........

[Laura]

Ok that is big!

[ellie163]

That is very big.

[fee]

And we all try to claim that 'size doesn't matter'..... clearly bigger is better in this case

[keiths]

It's a trench but not as we know it, Jim.

[Pam]

Over the last couple of weeks we have been working on the initial planning and are now assigning context numbers. To help in this task we made copies of the 5x5m composite plans, stuck them together in true Blue Peter style, and then put the entire trench up on the tea room wall !

I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot (this is a HUGE trench remember) but this pic shows the grid square plans for about half of H1.....

[ellie163]

That looks complicated... it all fits together nicely though
it scares me to think of the matrix

[Toby]

Just giving numbers to what is easy to see on the intial plan we are well on the way to 500 contexts.

[Pam]

This is what the composite plan looks like now we have put the 480+ numbers on it !! Now comes the task of writing context descriptions for them all, and single context plans/photos etc..... As Toby says there will be plenty of archaeology to dig this summer ..... so get booking !! ;D

[Toby]

This plan is of course turning out to be very simple compared to what is actually in the ground...

[peta]

wow. hungate makes last year's training dig look absolutely puny. are trainees bein advised to bring a compass with them ? or will it be okay to leave a trail of breadcrumbs ?

peta