week2

Week 2

We have been lucky again this week to have had good weather, which has allowed us to progress well with the trenches. The trainees and tasters have learned more new skills, and have continued to discover lots of interesting archaeology.
There are already a large number of walls and other features being revealed over the site, more than anticipated – so keep watching to see what happens to then in the coming weeks Click for sketch trench location plan Trench 4 Week 2 began with the removal of the very rough sandstone and brick floor surface at one side of Trench 4. Below this was found a number of thin mixed deposits; possibly layers of build-up before the laying of the floor. There was also a shallow cut feature in this area of the trench, but we were unable to determine if it had a specific purpose. On the other side of the trench there are more mixed dump layers; one, which has now been removed, slightly covering the possibly medieval wall. A more modern wall has been found in the north-west corner of the trench, and this has been recorded ready for removal next week. Despite still being in modern deposits, finds from Trench 4 are mainly medieval. It is unusual that so few finds of a more recent date have been found. Trench 5 Work continued this week on the removal of the rubble layer which had begun at the end of week 1. This deposit has not been completely removed, but we have revealed some of the next layers. Two of these are cobbly layers; probably surfaces or even roads of some kind. Alongside these are a clay layer; seeming to overlie the cobbles and so this will be the next deposit removed after the last of the rubble deposit has been taken out next week. Finds from Trench 5 have included a lot of medieval pottery, animal bone and brick and tile.
Trench 6 In Trench 6 the first job was to remove a layer of trample from across the whole trench. As well as a sandy deposit in the north-west corner, this cleaning revealed a large wall, probably of medieval date, running east-west across the trench. From this a smaller wall projected out to the north. We do not know the purpose of these walls, and hope to find out more in the coming weeks. There has been a number of interesting finds from Trench 6, including Samian ware and grey ware from the Roman period, a piece of possibly Viking pottery, and plenty of medieval pottery.
Trench 7 The first task in Trench 7 this week was to remove the backfill around the large brick footing. After this was done it was time to remove the pillar, using some brute force! A solid concrete and rubble base was found under the bricks, and this is currently being planned ready for removal next week. There have not been many finds from this trench during the week; mainly brick and tile, along with the occasional piece of pottery.