Final day of USW 2013 Excavation

Not sure how this blog post will look as I'm tapping this out on my phone as I'm already tucked up in bed after half a bottle of merlot and a couple of ciders and a looooong bath. This was all thoroughly deserved however, after a fantastic week of excavating quite a challenging site in Llanfihangel tor y mynydd. Anyway, here are a few photos of our final day and a promise that I will get round to a more comprehensive post as soon as possible.

Site A

Site B

Site B

Site C

Celebratory end of dig cigar :)

The best find yet: Day 3

Don't tell my Mum, but this cake is better than hers!

Can I just start by saying "I am having the time of my life!", some people get off on expensive holidays in private villas or gazillion star hotels, me? I get off on shifting a couple of ton of earth and stone with my bare hands! I love it I really do. What is my reward you may ask. Well, today it was a slice of the most fabulous fruit cake, made by the fair hands of USW's very own Maddy Gray (if you're reading this, can I please have your recipe?), followed by the unearthing of a delightful clay pipe bowl, not that exciting I admit, but nonetheless both these things pleased me.

Clay pipe, circa 1680

I guess I should add that I had a change of scenery today, I thought I'd have a little scout of site B, and what a fantastic decision that was too. A very interesting site, back on day 1 we thought this was some type of animal accommodation; however it is looking increasingly more like a building of human habitation. We have discovered two, possibly three corners of the building, two windows plus internal walls.  

Today I find myself quite tired for the first time during this dig, so I'm going to try and get to bed before 1.30am and pass you on to a more comprehensive (and professional) blog regarding this excavation. Please check out David Howell's USW Summer 2013 Excavation blog. I will leave you with a few photos and a little mention to say that there will sadly be no excavation blog from me tomorrow because I have to go and do that thing people call 'work'! Pffft! But I will be back on Friday, good night.

Site B

David uncovering a second corner of the building and a wonderful window

Before I got at it!

During my attack (unfortunately I neglected to take an 'after' photo)

Some of Site B's finds from day 3

Plough marks vs. Farmer's tool kit: Day 2

Plough marks or a farm hand sharpening a blade? Oh and a bit of a mower too!

So day 2 starts with me waking with a jolt (after pressing the snooze button three times) and realising I need to get my youngest son to Nanny's in Abergavenny before I get to the dig. There follows a lot of me rushing around and shouting from various rooms "just get out of bed!" and "just put your bloody shoes on!" and "just take your toothbrush with you!", oh my poor child, I didn't even give him breakfast! Any way, after successfully dealing with the domestic issues I reach my final destination, and await the arrival of the rest of the diggers.
After a recap and update on the previous days accomplishments we crack on, Andy and I (minus Gareth) get back to our enigmatic barrow. We are down in numbers today as a whole group, but no less eager to get on with the hard work.

Late medieval green glaze rim sherd

Andy and I decide the best course of action is to remove the loose stone from the base of the mound before we tackle things at the top. After shifting buckets of stone for maybe an hour, we start mid way up the mound to scrape back the loose soil and debris. It was not long before we had our first find, a small piece of rusty metal which looked suspiciously like it may be related to the corrugated iron dominating site A. Not letting the brief excitement of letting our first find overtake us, Andy and I carry on and a short while later we unearth a piece of white glazed pottery. I don't mind telling you that it was at this point I started to question the origins of this 'barrow'. Now we have a couple of finds we are eager to find more, and we are not disappointed.
By roughly 11.30 we had unearthed something rather exciting. Andy was merrily scraping away and 'flick', something most definitely not stone or root shape pops up. "What's that?" says I, excitedly pointing like a 7 year old! We both know straight away that this is part of a substantially sized pot, and it looks early too (not that we're experts of course). Not two minutes later David pops his head around the corner to see how we're getting on. Concurring with us, that this is indeed something interesting, he makes a note and off he goes, shortly to be replaced by Ray, "I hear you have something I may find interesting", a statement which is shortly followed by the words "green glazed" and "late medieval" and "this trumps anything found so far". Wooohooo! Go team C! 
That was about it for us by way of finds until after lunch. We decided to go and pay a visit to the other sites to see how they were getting along.

Site B and the possible long house 

Site A, an image showing the troublesome corrugated iron is propped against the structure. 

 After lunch more shifting stone and loose soil before we decide to extend the top of the trench for us to gain better understanding of the summit of the mound. It was during frequent trips back and forth to our growing stone pile that I noticed not one but two stones that (I thought) had unusual, possibly man made markings in them (see first image on this post). My imagination went into overdrive and I started daydreaming about 19th century farm hands sitting atop a giant pile of rubble, in the sun, drinking cider from a demijohn and attempting to sharpen a blade on a hunk of sandstone.  Then Ray came along and crushed my dreams and said they were probably just plough marks... pffft! Ho hum, lets carry on. 
The rest of the day consisted of us extending the trench and finding lots of sherds of possible Queen Anne ware, hunks of lime mortar/plaster and a curious metal disc probably from a mower(!), all indicating that this barrow feature may indeed be a rubbish tip for the original small holding, but nothing is conclusive yet, we still have three days to go.

As a follow up to the conclusion of my post yesterday, where I mentioned that students should grasp opportunities to enrich their university experience, when I got home, aching and stinking dirty from a days digging, I had a pleasant surprise waiting in the post. Earlier in the year, in a bid to cram in as much as is humanly possible (because being a student and a Mentor just isn't enough), I volunteered to be a Student Panel Representative member of the university's re-validation process, and today I received a certificate for my efforts. Everybody loves a certificate!

Roots, rocks and flies: Day 1

Start of the day

After disregarding my untrustworthy satnav, then missing a turning and ending up in the wrong village, I finally arrived at my destination, and one by one so did everyone else. Our team of 11 diggers started the day by checking out the tithe maps of the area and identifying buildings within our remit of excavation. Following this Ray and David introduced us to the three sites which we would be working on, imaginatively titled A, B and C. 
Sites A and B presented us with the remains of the buildings identified on the tithe map, with site A a possible roadside cottage and site B hosting two buildings, one possibly being a pig sty. Site C however was remarkably enigmatic. A very large mound, which possessed spectacular views across the valley towards Raglan, completely covered in undergrowth. This mound seemed to be entirely constructed of rocks. Is it just the largest pile of rocks I have ever seen, or more tantalisingly, is it a barrow? I guess only excavation can answer that one.

Site C before...

Teams were sorted out and Gareth, Andy and I made up 'Team C'. After gathering ourselves and the necessary equipment together (and receiving a brief advisory note about adders from David), we headed to site C, the enigmatic barrow (well that's what I'm calling it for now anyway). After marking our quadrant we cracked on with clearing the remains of the undergrowth which consisted of a plethora of roots, more roots and ivy, and quickly came to terms with the huge task ahead of us. 

...site C during...

Team C progressed in good spirits, not even dampened by the persistent and copious flies (bug repellent was completely ineffective), or the constant battle with sliding down the mound (I swear by the end of the week I will permanently have one hip higher than the other!), or even the ROOTS! I think I may dream about roots and flies tonight! 

Initially I wasn't really expecting to have much in the way of finds from our site, however we quickly came across a piece of corroded metal, a chunky piece of green glass possibly from a sherry bottle, a piece of charcoal and a metal ring. Not bad for day 1.
All in all, I have really enjoyed the first day of the USW excavation. I don't see it as just something to do to pass the time during the summer, work and family life do that for me, or something to satisfy a passion. I relish the chance to take part in experiences such as these because I know that they are enriching the whole university experience for me. They are teaching me new skills which I may never have known that I possessed and they are also making me much more attractive as a potential employee following my graduation as a mature student. Students (mature or not) should grasp any opportunity that may present itself, life in the big wide world can often be harsh, and definitely comes as a shock after the security of living with parents, so to undertake projects which make you stand out from the crowd can only be a bonus.

...Site C after. Tomorrow we start to clear the stone!

...by the way, that new trowel is pants, I'll be using one of the uni trowels tomorrow! 

Excitement Building...

HAPPY DIGGING!

So, I have completed the online part of my re-enrolment and it's just a few short weeks to the beginning of term, I cannot wait. I'm so excited to see everyone and to get back into a routine and to actually do some serious study again. I had big ideas of reading several books over the summer in preparation of the new semester... well I started several books, but I don't think I passed the first chapter of any of them... not even the fiction!

So what have I done over the summer? Apart from working virtually seven days a week; dressing as Columbia; sleeping in the back of a van on the odd occasion and feeling very jealous of my eldest son, who is, as I type, yet to return from Green Man festival, I have been waiting. Waiting for what? 

Tomorrow is the start of the University of South Wales excavation at Llanfihangel Tor y Mynydd (between Chepstow and Monmouth). I have been waiting for this week since mid September 2012 when all us new BA History first year students were informed during our induction week that there may be a possibility of a dig in the summer. Finally this week has arrived, needless to say I have been out and bought myself a trowel... well... in fact two trowels as I was disappointed to discover that the hardware stores in Monmouth and Ross on Wye do not cater for the amateur archaeologist! One is too large and the other is a wee bit small (for the moment), unless I am lucky enough to discover some intricate treasure.

Any way. I just wanted to post a little something and to get a few of my thoughts down in writing. I can't wait to update this blog with actual events and images from the coming week.