Okay, let’s get the weather out of the way. It is hot. What does that mean to a team of archaeologists? Strange tan lines. Ground baked hard as concrete. A glare coming off the natural geology making sunglasses a necessity. New and inventive ways of keeping cool: a wet bandanna round the neck (thank you to Carl in Colorado!). An attractive combination of sweat and dust rings around the limbs. I could go on…..I now begin each day with a megaphone reminder to drink water and wear a hat as I announce slightly shorter working hours after lunch. But 4 days into the new week I do detect that our new Sunday arrivals are now beginning to settle in and acclimatise. They are becoming indistinguishable from the rest of us…casual archaeology-chic and a sun glow developing.
Each early morning I walk on site to a sunglare bouncing off the kabins, swifts flying low over the archaeology, and the smell of fresh coffee brewing in the various staff huts. Jon and I open up the windows of HQ and chat about the events of the evening past. Wednesday night was a very successful Beer and Cheese evening in the Red Lion, culminating in an epic arm wrestling contest which could apparently be heard echoing through the fields all the way to Silchester village….
Silchester-stylee directions to the Red Lion!
Jon, HQ and a cup of coffee
I spent this morning organising volunteers for Saturday’s Open Day and checking that all was well in the trenches. Caitlin, one of our American students, is attending Silchester for credit, and so Nick introduced her to the mysteries and marvels of our on site database. The rotas are running smoothly at the moment – thank you Jen! And if I spend any time in HQ I am interrupted every minute by someone coming in to a) get a sticking plaster from the First Aid kit b) charge their mobile phone c) ask me a variety of questions varying from archaeology to pet care!
I was called from HQ to view the sight of Finds Trainee Leslie in a state of excitement! Leslie wrote his undergraduate dissertation on military finds from Silchester (and received the unprecedented mark of 90% for it…) – and this morning Jordyn discovered a very definite military object from the buildings she is excavating in Sarah Henley’s area. Preliminary identification of this object is an apron terminal…..possibly made of copper alloy. This may have been part of the protective apron which hung from the belt of a Roman legionary. I have never seen Leslie so happy!
Leslie in the 7th military heaven
This excavation has many characters – clearly archaeology attracts us. One of the most visible of Silchester’s eccentrics is my site manager Jon Tierney – always ready with a helpful piece of advice…..
Silchester’s Agony Uncle
And….Jon reinforcing discipline on site……
May the Force of Silchester be with you
Over the next few weeks I hope to share many more of my staff’s idiosyncrasies….
Silchester’s Staff
The School of Human and Environmental Sciences at Reading has purchased a defibrillator to be taken out on all our fieldwork projects – and Silchester is the first to benefit. This afternoon Mark the Medic came out to site to train myself and our other First Aiders on its use. We laid out the Resusci Annie dummy on the floor of the marquee as Mark spent an hour reviewing our CPR abilities and showing us how the iPad defibrillator works. Yet another surreal afternoon on site!
Mark introducing Nick and Ross to Annie
Wonderful Mark the Medic!
Introducing the iPad defibrillator….
Mark keeps us all amused….as Kevin and Dan attempt a resuscitation
No…..it’s not working….
Jenni and Ross’s turn
Final actions of the afternoon include my giving a site tour to Professor Bob Chapman, Alison Wylie and husband Sam- this gave me a chance to review site progress. Even though the sunlight was bouncing off the archaeology making it difficult to see detail, it is clear that progress continues to be made – particularly in Insula III. Here Jeni’s intrepid team are well in their way to identifying exactly how the Victorians approached the excavation of the bath house here. In the Insula IX trench Natalie’s building looks beautiful and the gravel foundation is ready to be excavated. The photo tower was put up so we could take photographs…..very excited to see what lies beneath!
Day off beckons and Pirate Night at the Calleva Arms!
And as I leave site for a cool drink in the Red Lion, I check that all is well with the sausage and mash dinner just arrived from the university!
Tuck in!
Hungry dinner queue
Happy happy!
The weather forecast looks great for Saturday – hot (but not stiflingly so) and wall to wall sunshine! Come and see us – and meet some of the stars of my Blog in the flesh!