We are now entering that time of the excavation when Mike and I are inundated with booked-in visitors to the site – I look through my diary and on some days we have 5 booked visits! Hope my throat lasts…each tour I give is always different…slightly. I hope the facts remain the same but the light and shade does change. The vibes coming off each group is very different and so my tours inevitably react to this. Giving site tours this season has the extra challenge of taking the visitors down to Insula III – which adds an extra half an hour to the experience. I do enjoy seeing the reactions to our 2 very different trenches – and it gives me a chance to interact with our visitors as we stroll down the Processional Way to Insula III!
My booked in tour today was Peter Dawe’s group ‘Walking with Cameras’. It was slightly unnerving to be faced with 20 cameras as I went into the trench to do the Timewalk….but they were a lovely, friendly, interested group who pointed their cameras at everyone and everything!
Today I appointed Jon and John as my Fire Officers! I decided this was needed during these dry, dry days – I was only sorry I couldn’t equip them with a fire buggy and a uniform….The 3 of us did a ‘tour of inspection’ of our fire procedures and satisfied ourselves that we are ready and prepared…
On site……the beautiful building under Natalie’s 40 to 60AD building is emerging butterfly like from its gravel cocoon…..removing the surprisingly thick layer of gravel foundation is a tantalising activity…..we can see the earlier building underneath but we have to go through all of the necessary archaeological recording hoops before it can be fully revealed. Natalie is sadly leaving us on Sunday to go back to her real life, her real job…..so it would be a great ending to her time on site this year to have her new building on view.
Wholesale gravel removal!
This is how we do it!
New hearth revealed (under bucket)…set into a dark silty floor
Weather update…it is getting cooler (slightly) but still no rain! The long sunny evenings are a wonderful way to end the day…I love that moment when HQ is locked up and shut down, the day’s jobs are over, and I can sit with a sigh in a soft chair and stop thinking! Week 100 half way through!