St Leonard's Excavation — the second season

Week 3 26-30 June 2002

This week the site played host to four hugely successful children's workshops under the direction of YAT's energetic Education Officer Bone Jones. Four school groups spent an hour on 'spoil heap challenge', washing finds, and wet and dry sieving, as well as learning all about the site. There can be few more exciting ways to bring the past to life, so click here for details about school and family activities!

Maria Vinnels, poised for work, in Trench 1

This week too Maria Vinnels, hitherto a guide on site, joined Toby Kendall as a Field archaeologist in Trench 1. Maria, who holds a medieval archaeology degree from London's Institute of Archaeology, has excavated extensively both in London and abroad and is delighted to be working in such an interesting site.

An aerial view of the site at the beginning of week 3, taken by intrepid Trust photographer Mike Andrews from the roof of the adjacent library

Trench 1

Post pad for a wooden post in Trench 1

Taster trainees continued to work in the roofed area of the undercroft. They uncovered a fine post pad,a stone base for a wooden post, associated either with an early phase of the hospital building or with a pre-hospital building, and also a mortar floor. Dump deposits around the medieval drain, which built up very quickly at the same time as the construction of the drain took place, continued to produce Roman and medieval pottery and bone. Work also began on the Roman fortress turf rampart, from which it is hoped to find some interesting environmental information.

At work in the impressive undercroft setting

Trench 3

Excavating Trench 3 against a backdrop of the Multangular Tower

One layer of the hospital's 16th century limestone flooring was taken away this week- although an expert eye is clearly needed to distinguish between a crushed limestone floor and a levelling deposit of crushed limestone chippings! Work also proceeded on the hearth, identified last week, and tile levelling, presumably put over the hearth when it was no longer needed, emerged. No traces of burning have yet been found on the tiles, which suggests that they were not part of the original hearth. The trench has been taken down to a depth of 1m along all four sides, and will now be gradually worked down through the middle.

This week's finds

	A stone bead, with incised decoration, c.1cm long.
	A shell with a man-made hole.Any suggestions about its purpose?
	A fine example of a stone spindle whorl. Worked objects such as this need very careful handling to avoid flaking.
		Spinning with a spindle and whorl.