Post by Toby on Jul 26, 2005 19:52:08 GMT 1
Diary by Richard S. (many thanks)
Week 3
A new trench, Trench 9, was opened this week, but as storms hit the site, attention was temporarily diverted from excavation to the art of gazebo-construction. While this was hardly the ideal weather for digging, it proved a good opportunity to catch up with finds washing and the creation of digital plans.
Trench 1
Too large for a single gazebo, Trench 1 was perhaps worst hit of all the trenches by the weather. The sides being covered with bin-liners to reduce hardcore and rubble falling from the section into the trench, with the rain the trench’s appearance was more akin to a swimming pool by mid-week.
In the excavation that could continue, the trench-wide clay layer was removed. This contained a surprisingly large collection of small, abraded Samian pottery pieces unseen elsewhere in the site.
Trench 4
Underneath the roof tile-filled deposit, a series of paths and post-hole features was discovered, related either from the Exhibition Centre or an earlier medieval building. Due to the rain, work focused on indoor activities as much as on excavation.
Trench 6
As in Trench 7, underneath the path layers was a deposit of earlier garden soil. This was removed, turning up finds such as a bone domino as well as assorted pottery. This deposit took most of the week to remove, however, as it was approaching half a meter in depth.
Trench 7
Work concentrated on the removal of the backfill of the wall at the start of this week, followed by the excavation of the wall itself. Meanwhile, work on the garden soil was put on hold until the wall was fully planned and recorded.
Trench 9
On first excavation, several large post-holes were uncovered, extending throughout the trench. These probably relate to scaffolding erected during the construction of the Exhibition Centre. These were excavated, turning up a mixture of medieval green-glaze and Roman pottery, including both greyware and Samian.
Week 3
A new trench, Trench 9, was opened this week, but as storms hit the site, attention was temporarily diverted from excavation to the art of gazebo-construction. While this was hardly the ideal weather for digging, it proved a good opportunity to catch up with finds washing and the creation of digital plans.
Trench 1
Too large for a single gazebo, Trench 1 was perhaps worst hit of all the trenches by the weather. The sides being covered with bin-liners to reduce hardcore and rubble falling from the section into the trench, with the rain the trench’s appearance was more akin to a swimming pool by mid-week.
In the excavation that could continue, the trench-wide clay layer was removed. This contained a surprisingly large collection of small, abraded Samian pottery pieces unseen elsewhere in the site.
Trench 4
Underneath the roof tile-filled deposit, a series of paths and post-hole features was discovered, related either from the Exhibition Centre or an earlier medieval building. Due to the rain, work focused on indoor activities as much as on excavation.
Trench 6
As in Trench 7, underneath the path layers was a deposit of earlier garden soil. This was removed, turning up finds such as a bone domino as well as assorted pottery. This deposit took most of the week to remove, however, as it was approaching half a meter in depth.
Trench 7
Work concentrated on the removal of the backfill of the wall at the start of this week, followed by the excavation of the wall itself. Meanwhile, work on the garden soil was put on hold until the wall was fully planned and recorded.
Trench 9
On first excavation, several large post-holes were uncovered, extending throughout the trench. These probably relate to scaffolding erected during the construction of the Exhibition Centre. These were excavated, turning up a mixture of medieval green-glaze and Roman pottery, including both greyware and Samian.