Week 6 – a week of highs and lows. New additions to our team (a high); overall numbers go down (a high…just ask Jean, our cook…down to 137); torrential downpours intermixed with searing temperatures forcing us off site (a low); general tiredness (a low – week 6-itis); sprains and drains and bumps and bruises (a low – many visits to Mortimer Surgery); exciting archaeology (high, high, high!).
The east side of the trench is alive with early Roman archaeology (c. 50 – 70AD). We have: a post built building in Emily’s area…..east-west aligned post-holes with no overall pattern emerging as yet. Is this our Roman military granary? Will we ever know??!
Emily's post built building
We have….a round house in Matt Gittins’ area…..a complicated sequence here….earliest appears to be a clay floored rectangular building with a small cobbled hearth. This is succeeded by a very clearly demarcated round house with an orange clay floor. In turn this is replaced by ?2 rectangular clay floored buildings with central scorched hearths – and – finally another round house! So much happening in a very short space of time – possibly a span of 20 years in the early Roman period.
The earliest Roman round house in Matt G's area
The north-east area with Matt's round house to the south
We have….Natalie’s wonderfully complicated clay floored building sat square to the earliest Roman road…surely on top of a precise military predecessor? The more we excavate of this building, the more there is to reveal. A stratigrapher’s delight…
Natalie's building: centre stage
We have….an east-west aligned clay floored building in Sarah Henley’s area excavated to reveal the dark silts beneath….and just later than a diagonally aligned building against the far south section with a wonderful hearth of pebbles, charcoals and fire-reddened clay (and a lot of ants).
Sarah Henley's south-east area
The wells along the eastern half develop apace. The far south-eastern well is late Roman in date: a missed feature obscured in 1999 by our excavation of a Victorian pit dug into its top fills. the team here is Tom, Perry and Steve – closely melded by well-shorer supreme John Brown. Most exciting is the fact that at 2m below the contemporary ground level we found a wooden lining…..currently being revealed….very exciting….
Perry in the well
Duck Aid
We also have….a well beneath the clay floored building excavated in Rob’s area…..early Roman or Iron Age? And it is being expertly excavated at great gravel speed by Will, Helen and Hannah…so far the fills are sterile, but there are possibly metres to go!
Helen and her well
Will at depth
Hannah in action