Good progress has continued to be made in all trenches this week, aided greatly by the dry and sunny weather that we have been experiencing. Trainees have continued to learn the basic techniques of archaeological excavation and recording, along with more specialised skills such as surveying.
The trainees have also had the opportunity to wash finds and bag dry artefacts. More can be read about the finds from the site after the main web update.
Trench 4
Work in Trench 4 has again concentrated on the area to the east of the possibly medieval wall. What were thought to be two pits were actually mixed dump deposits, and these have been removed from the eastern side of the service trench. A third dump deposit was also removed, and a fourth is being excavated at the moment. A mortar layer has been exposed by the removal of a dump in the south eastern section of the trench. This mortar appears to extend all the way across the eastern side of the trench, and it is likely that the construction cut for the large wall is cut through this deposit.
Finds this week have included brick and tile and some medieval pottery, along with a small, probably bone, dice (about which more can be seen below).
Trench 5
This week began with the removal of the backfill of a large cut feature and the spread of material it was cut through. The removal of this spread fully exposed the second cobble layer which was then removed, exposing a third layer of cobbles. This layer appears different to the two above; it is much rougher and there is more variety in the size and shape of stones. According to the previous excavation, this should be the final cobble layer! The possible wall in the south west corner of the trench is more visible now, and we hope to expose more of it once the third layer of cobbles is removed.
Finds this week have included medieval pottery, brick and tile, animal bone, and a piece of worked flint.
Digging in Trench 5
Trench 6
To the north of the trench a cobbled surface has been revealed, and is now recorded ready for excavation. It is possible that this cobbled surface relates to one of those from Trench 5, though we cannot be sure. To the south of the trench a linear cut next to the wall has been excavated. This is not the construction cut for the wall though, so work must continue around the wall for the time being.
Trench 6 has had a good range of finds this week, including bone blanks from button making and a bead along with brick and tile and both Roman and medieval pottery.
Trench 7
This week trainees in Trench 7 were able to remove the sides of the tank
that had been uncovered to the north of the wall. One section was constructed
mainly of tile, while the other was mainly brick. Work then concentrated
on the cleaning of the construction cut for photographs of the section
revealed in the side of the cut. This is important as it shows a slice
through the archaeology that is still to be uncovered in this trench;
and it looks very interesting! To the south side of the wall a pit-like
feature was excavated, and was found to contain what looks like a stone
slab.
As work this week has concentrated on the tank, this is where the finds
have come from. There were lots of bricks and tiles, some of which had
glaze on them.
So we’re half way through the dig now, six weeks gone and six more to go. The archaeology continues to get more exciting, and everyone is learning new skills. Keep checking the website to see how the dig is progressing.
Finds
The trenches have offered up an array of outstanding finds since excavation began, but especially this last week. As well as the usual animal bone, shell, medieval green-glazed pottery and iron objects, there have been a number of less common objects found this week.
We have been fortunate to recover eight fragments of bone blanks, mostly from trench 7. These are probably the remnants of button or counter production. Three of these pieces can be fitted together to show how a small sheet of bone was made to yield the maximum number of circular objects. The amount found may suggest a possible production site, though we have yet to find the buttons themselves…
We have also found three small oblongs of bone in trenches 5 and 6. These all resemble off-cuts that would be expected from the working of bone for comb-making. If this is the case, they may well date from the Viking period of York’s history.
A bone or ivory object, probably part of a bracelet, was recovered from trench 6. Being black in colour it was first thought to be jet. Further examination suggests it to be more likely to be bone, or even ivory.
A beautiful example of a six-sided die was found in a mixed dump layer in trench 4. Probably made of bone, this is likely to be medieval in date.
Two glass beads were found this week in trenches 5 and 6. One is a rich blue in colour, and possibly Roman in date, the other a darker blue/black of uncertain age.
A fine example of clasp or brooch was recovered from trench 7. The distinctive green tint is from the corrosion products and shows it to be made from a copper alloy.
