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Summer 2008 Weblog Week 2
By Katie McKinnon

This week saw a change in the weather for the better which allowed us to continue at a sterling rate, and we have learnt a lot more about our trenches. First of all, early on Saturday morning we brought the big JCB in again to extend Trench 6 and create a new Trench 9 slightly further to the East.

The Northern extension was an attempt to find more of the possible structure related to the beam slot found last week, as it seemed to be extending underneath

the spoil heap. This was a success, exposing several other beam slots, many post holes and lots of other negative features besides. We tried to concentrate on this exciting area in our excavations this week, as well as further work on the East-West ditches. The Southern ditch continued to give plenty of Anglo-Saxon pottery sherds, as well as animal bones and shells, confirming the current theory that rather than being part of an Iron Age settlement boundary ditch, it is actually part of an Anglo-Saxon animal enclosure.

The pit in the South-East corner continued to be excavated, and is now thought to be three ditches inter-cutting each other, as well as having a series of post

holes going through its edge. Although the bones inside the pot are now confirmed as animal, more interesting finds are coming up, including a ceramic loom weight with what appears to be an impression stamp on.

Several other post holes around the site keep popping up, and although some of them seem to be related, many of the relationships will remain unclear until they have all been excavated. They are in a range of sizes, some associated with the various beam slots currently visible.

Another interesting feature is a North-South aligned ditch, apparently later than the East-West ditches with a very distinct fill of mussel shells. This week we had a shell expert visit to take some samples for analysis into their age and source. It appears that there is such a large number that it may be on an industrial scale, for the whole village, rather than individual usage.

The Western extension proved less fruitful this week than we had hoped. At the start of the week, some people were confident we were going to find a palace, but the possible beam slots turned out to be more ditches…

Trenches 7 and 8 were started this week, but weren’t excavated at all. Trench 7 is to the North of the Western extension and Trench 8 is to the West. Both were cleaned and recorded through drawings and photographs, but may not be fully excavated this year, especially since Trench 6 is proving so full of wonders.

The opening of Trench 9 produced one of the sweetest finds of the week, a small bronze amulet in the shape of a horse, which has gained the nickname of Dobbin. It is thought to be Iron Age, giving further evidence of existence of an Iron Age settlement in the vicinity, even if we are yet to find any features that can definitely be dated to this period.

This was where the B.E.R.T. students were working this week. After cleaning, drawing and

photographing, excavation could begin. The 20m x 20m excavation was intended to find the corner of the D-shaped ditch enclosure that extends well into Chalk Pit Field. This seems to have been successful, as well as exposing a number of ditches and pits. Towards the end of the week an articulated cow leg was found within a ditch in the North-Western corner, sparking great excitement and discussions of ritual sacrifices and the like, although that can wait until next week…

Out of digging hours we have also had a whale of a time, with plenty of obsessive puzzle construction filling the occasional rainy hours. The punch party was well attended because of the AGM occurring the following day. The theme was ‘children’s tv shows’ and as usual the costumes amazed,

including a stylish Lady Penelope, complete with wellies, and a valiant effort as the polar bear from Noah’s Island, with the enormous foam creation lasting the entire night.

The Tuesday night lecture was from our very own previous supervisors Gareth Davies and Kris Poole, giving an insight into last years excavations in Chalk Pit Field, putting the current work in context, which was much appreciated.

The first ever SHARP AGM was a resounding success with a new committee being elected and a new constitution approved. Coffee and cake was also enjoyed by all.

Addendum: For more pictures of the excavation and small finds from week 2 please click here.

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