Throughout the history of the project we have often been visited by the local press and radio but in 2014 the BBC came to film a short episode for ‘Mr. Bloom: Here and There’ for their CBeebies network. Children’s presenter Ben Faulks (Mr. Bloom) brought a group of children along to ‘excavate’ the teaching trench. Gary (whatever you say, Gary, you were a natural 😉) did a brilliant job of teaching and working with the children. Ann escaped from the Finds hut for a couple of h

Here we see Matt Cross wielding the ‘staff of power’ during a site tour in 2009. Forward two years to 2011 and a very industrious sight. A group of volunteers are busy meticulously sorting residue. Were you part of this group? Another photo from 2011 that we couldn’t resist adding is this one of Westie on Trench 14. He is clearly working rather deep down but we wonder what he is thinking as he peruses the archaeology? We conclude today with a photograph taken in 2013. It was

We begin today with a find from Trench 6 in 2008. It is a section of a single-sided composite comb. The teeth of such combs were typically shaped from antler as this material was stronger and more flexible than the bone used to form the rest of the comb. This fragment is made up from several pieces including two side-plates and two tooth-plates. The pieces are held together by three iron rivets, which still survive although now corroded. The side-plates have been decorated on

This curious bone artefact was recovered from Trench 6 in 2008. It is an incomplete distal end of a sheep or goats right tibia. The worked end has been rounded and slightly polished. The purpose of the artefact is unclear but the most likely suggestion is that it was intended as a socketed handle for a metal tool such as a punch or awl. There was great excitement on this day in 2015 when Jon found this little treasure in Trench 20. Made from silver it is unclear what this art

Seeing double, treble, quadruple? We were delighted to welcome this family with quads to our Open day in 2013 and as you can see they were all keen to look at our collection of finds. Thank you to them for granting us permission to use this photo. Why not visit us again next year? We would love to see how the children have grown. This day in 2016 produced two rather special finds. First is this finely worked flint arrowhead found in Trench 22 by M. Orridge. Dating to the Late

Back in time to 2006 and another rain-drenched photograph, this time taken up on the Roman Project. Amid the puddles work continues. We even appear to have some recording taking place by a completely headless volunteer! It must have been a jolly wet day as Finnian seems to have found some mud on the campsite too 😊 But go forward seven years to 2016 and we can show you the coin Rob found in Trench 22. It is a silver penny of Harthacnut and as you can see it is in amazingly go

On this day in 2009 a Saxon silver series R8 sceat was found in Trench 10. It dates from c.730-50 and was minted in East Anglia. Interestingly a coin of the same type was found in the Boneyard evaluation trench in 2000. Open day 2009 and we have Rowena in Anglo-Saxon costume showing us she is the best at ‘Toss-the-torc’. We have an eagle-eyed Alyson to thank for this tiny green glass bead. Measuring just 2.37mm in diameter and weighing too little to even register, Alyson disc

We begin today with this great working shot from Trench 13 in 2010. Everyone is standing by a post-hole that they are excavating! So what kind of building once stood here we wonder. This pretty little bead was recovered during environmental sampling of soil from Trench 14 in 2011. It is cylindrical in shape and brownish in colour, with a whitish criss-crossing design. It is typically Anglo-Saxon in style. We are finishing today with just one of the many photographs we have of

We begin today with these two large sherds of Ipswich type ware dating to the Middle Saxon period. Together they form part of a spouted vessel. But what makes these sherds so interesting is the stamped decoration and the attempts at burnishing, a process to help achieve a shiny finish to the pot. They were recovered from Trench 14 in 2011. We always have them out on show in the information centre if you would like a closer look next year. Actually not too sure of the year for

Back in time to 2005 and a line of volunteers are about to start a new morning on the Roman Project. We can see Steve and Ray (and is that you, Mike?) but who else was there that year? More about this project later 😉 2009 was a cracking year for small finds and on this day our little ansate brooch (below) was recovered from Trench 10. As you can see from the photo two deeply incised grooves on the top and either side of the central bow of the brooch create a triple ridged ef