Well, that was a busy week! The weather was kinder this week with just a gale or two on Tuesday (always good when you are trying to do your paperwork!!!) and the sun came out on Friday and was a much warmer day.

Trench 1

Tuesday saw work continuing in Trench 1 to try and understand the make up of the “ditch” like feature.

Having recorded and removed the stones last time revealed a crusty iron pan deposit lying in the lower parts of the trench. This is a natural deposit formed when soil, clay or fine organic matter is carried down from the upper layers in suspension and then accumulates as a layer of iron oxide, giving the impression of a thin sheet of rusty iron in the ground.

Having recorded and removed this deposit we uncovered a silty charcoal layer which gave way to a clay deposit probably placed to fill and level the “ditch”.

On Friday more recording of deposits before their removal. The removal of the clay deposit took some time as we had to try and work out the limits of the deposit, not an easy task when you are looking for the change between a sandy clay deposit and a clayey sand deposit!!

By the end of play, however, we had found the edges and started the removal of the fill which gave us a nice section through the upper parts of the “ditch”. Work in trench 1 continues ……

Trench 2

The discovery of the spread of stones last time was interesting and it was necessary to see more of this feature to hopefully understand it in more detail. So, it was decided to extend the trench further to the west and south by several metres, much to the dismay of the digging team!

Once the turf was removed, the task of scraping through the topsoil began in earnest. As the extension was a large area this task will probably take several days.

Indeed, on Friday, work continued the removal of the topsoil and the subsequent subsoil below. Very few artefacts have been recovered from the site so far unfortunately, but the team carried on with enthusiasm, always hopeful that the next scrape of the trowel will reveal something of interest!

Work in trench 2 continues ……