This week we have had extremes of weather on site, with both very hot days and rather stormy ones! (thankfully not much rain). Spirits have remained high as good progress has been sustained.
In addition to the on-site work, longer term placements have had the opportunity to gain experience of post-excavation work with the YAT database; digitising context cards and plans.
Click for sketch trench location plan
To the north-east side of Trench 4 this week work has concentrated on the removal of a mixed dump layer. Several small features have become apparent within this layer, including two post-holes on a north-south alignment. To the other side of the large wall a footing has been revealed; possibly relating to the wall. A layer of black material has also been removed; revealing a thin layer of green mortar rich dumping, which appears to sit on top of a layer of rubble. All this requires more investigation next week.
Finds this week have included lots of brick and tile, oyster shell, and medieval green glazed pottery. We also found what appeared to be a spillage of lead.
Like last week, cobbles have been a focus of work in Trench 5. The clayey layer did not overlie the cobbles as thought, and thus has been left for this week. The last of the rubble layer was removed before the cobbles were planned, and these cobbles are being removed at the moment. A slot cut through the clayey layer revealed two possible cut features which will be investigated after the rest of the cobbles and clay have been removed.
The majority of finds from Trench 5 have been medieval in date, including green glazed pottery. But there has also been some pottery dating from the Roman period. Two pieces of copper alloy were also found; a disc and section of wire: possibly part of a horse harness.
The top of the large wall in this trench has now been uncovered. On either side of this work has focussed on the removal of trample layers. What was though to be a small wall last week has turned out to be a shallow layer of stones, and these have been planned in preparation for their removal.
The finds in Trench 6 have been mainly medieval, and a lot of green glazed pottery has been found. A more exciting find is a bone object, the right size and shape for a domino but with no markings.
Cleaning cobbles in Trench 6
After being planned last week, the concrete base of the brick footing has been removed. This has exposed the construction cut for the footing, which is now being planned. A line of bricks and tiles at one side of the trench has been identified as possibly being part of a tank, possibly for industrial processes. The backfill of this tank is now being removed.
There have been several interesting finds from Trench 7 this week. These include a worked brick, possibly part of a mullioned window, a ridge tile from a high status building, and two clay pipe bowls, one with a stamp on the base. Some large pieces of green glazed pottery have also been found.
Cleaning in Trench 7
Due to a number of questions about the design of the t-shirt, here's a sneak preview for all those wishing to buy one.
