Into the 3rd week, and suddenly there are worryingly few days left. A very cold stiff breeze saw most people deep in their trenches trying to keep warm. After lunch Saxmundham Primary year 5 swept on to the site,
and had a couple of hours digging, sieving and washing before a stinging shower drove everyone into shelter. Radio Suffolk came to catch up on progress, and interviewed some children. The arch deacon of Sudbury also visited and was given a tour of the dig.
In the burials area good progress was made, with a lot of plotting on site plans, lifting of small finds, and cleaning for photos. Human remains were found in several more graves. Robert was somewhat upset that monumental labouring in a large and stony area – which undoubtedly was a grave - eventually produced only a few fragmentary teeth. He compensated for this by finding one or
possibly 2 post holes to the south of the grave, which he immediately deduced was the end of a Saxon mead hall. No doubt alternative views will emerge.
We have 3 of the team featured today - Kelly Davies, Victoria Cozens and Val Rea, all seen below looming over Jezz's paperwork. Kelly is a community archaeologist with Suffolk Archaeology, on a 12 month contract sponsored by the Council for British Archaeology which runs until next April. On this dig she is responsible for schools liaison work. She graduated from Cardiff Uni last December with an MA in archaeology, specialising in British pre-history. Before joining Suffolk she was a commercial digger with Archaeology Solutions, a private sector competitor which Jezz refuses to have mentioned on site, so we keep quiet about that. Kelly’s most exciting ‘find’ when digging with Archaeology Solutions was a Bronze Age comb in a gravel pit at Soham in Cambridgeshire.
This is Victoria’s second dig at Barbers Point. She enjoyed it in 2010, but feels really pleased with how things are going this time. Knowing something of the background gave her a good start, and it’s been getting better every day, particularly now she has graduated from heavy mattock work to the more delicate excavation of remains in a grave. It looks like there is a large piece of iron, slightly curved, with ‘a knobbly bit’ on the end, in the centre of the skeleton, so perhaps things are going to get really exciting.
Val was captivated by the experience of short stints in the 2006 and 2010 digs, and was determined to keep her diary clear for all 3 weeks this time. In 2010 she worked on the last grave right at the edge of the excavation area, and shared the frustration at seeing the dark outline of the grave ‘cut’ in the area beyond the boundary. Now she is deep in that very grave, and has had an intricate task unravelling, measuring, plotting and lifting small finds and delicate foot bones at the end of the coffin. There is also clear evidence that ‘something is going on’ in the area beyond the grave – have we time to get there before Friday afternoon?
and had a couple of hours digging, sieving and washing before a stinging shower drove everyone into shelter. Radio Suffolk came to catch up on progress, and interviewed some children. The arch deacon of Sudbury also visited and was given a tour of the dig.
In the burials area good progress was made, with a lot of plotting on site plans, lifting of small finds, and cleaning for photos. Human remains were found in several more graves. Robert was somewhat upset that monumental labouring in a large and stony area – which undoubtedly was a grave - eventually produced only a few fragmentary teeth. He compensated for this by finding one or
possibly 2 post holes to the south of the grave, which he immediately deduced was the end of a Saxon mead hall. No doubt alternative views will emerge.
We have 3 of the team featured today - Kelly Davies, Victoria Cozens and Val Rea, all seen below looming over Jezz's paperwork. Kelly is a community archaeologist with Suffolk Archaeology, on a 12 month contract sponsored by the Council for British Archaeology which runs until next April. On this dig she is responsible for schools liaison work. She graduated from Cardiff Uni last December with an MA in archaeology, specialising in British pre-history. Before joining Suffolk she was a commercial digger with Archaeology Solutions, a private sector competitor which Jezz refuses to have mentioned on site, so we keep quiet about that. Kelly’s most exciting ‘find’ when digging with Archaeology Solutions was a Bronze Age comb in a gravel pit at Soham in Cambridgeshire.
This is Victoria’s second dig at Barbers Point. She enjoyed it in 2010, but feels really pleased with how things are going this time. Knowing something of the background gave her a good start, and it’s been getting better every day, particularly now she has graduated from heavy mattock work to the more delicate excavation of remains in a grave. It looks like there is a large piece of iron, slightly curved, with ‘a knobbly bit’ on the end, in the centre of the skeleton, so perhaps things are going to get really exciting.
Val was captivated by the experience of short stints in the 2006 and 2010 digs, and was determined to keep her diary clear for all 3 weeks this time. In 2010 she worked on the last grave right at the edge of the excavation area, and shared the frustration at seeing the dark outline of the grave ‘cut’ in the area beyond the boundary. Now she is deep in that very grave, and has had an intricate task unravelling, measuring, plotting and lifting small finds and delicate foot bones at the end of the coffin. There is also clear evidence that ‘something is going on’ in the area beyond the grave – have we time to get there before Friday afternoon?