Day 19: A Farewell to R...

From past experience, the start of the final week heralds a sense of stress and panic that escalates as the end of the dig draws ever nearer. However, this year is different and instead an aura of calm and tranquillity has enveloped supervisors and excavators alike. There is a very simple reason for this; unlike previous years, the number of trenches is gradually being reduced and we thus have more than enough resources to cope with the final excavation and recording of our principal trenches, N and P.

The excavated northern robber cut

Trench N

We have completely excavated the robber trenches for the north and south walls of the hospital church. As we suspected, the vast majority of the stone from these walls have been completely removed, although some extremely large foundation stones remain where they have been keyed into the remains of the east wall. The size of these stones and their rough finish, which contrasts sharply with the superior medieval masonry we have encountered elsewhere, has raised the possibility that the chapel may have Anglo-Saxon origins, although we have little dating evidence to prove this.

Within the church, removal of the orange clay layer has revealed at least three successive floor surfaces; a compact red clay layer, a sandy context with limestone blocks and a compacted mortar floor which would be the ideal foundation for a flagstone floor that has since been robbed. We have now started to record these before starting to excavate them sequentially. 

Discussing the possible drain

Trench P

The excavation team in Trench P have been hard at work cleaning off the area below the demolition debris. We think this is of medieval date as it has produced large amounts of medieval pot alongside large pieces of window glass and roofing lead similar to those found in Trench N. The area alongside the exterior of the church has also been excavated down to the large foundations of the church; these are identical in size and form to those found in Trench N and suggest the first building on this site was constructed in a single phases. Clearing this area has revealed a gap in the stones in the church’s western wall. Although we are still ruminating on what this could possibly be, one possibility is it is a space for an external water pipe or drain coming under the wall; we will investigate this mystery further in the coming days. 

Going...going...gone!

Trench R

Excavation on Trench R has come to an end. The final layer of sand which covers the entire trench has been painstakingly recorded, the sections carefully drawn and there is simply no more archaeology to uncover. Although we were able to ascertain the cause of the earthworks in this area; a building probably medieval and constructed from wood on a stone base, we have little evidence for its function due to the ephemeral nature of the feature. However, you never know what you might find when you start to excavated a trench, and at least it wasn’t empty!

Yellow hard hats, the latest Trench T accessory!

Trench T

The end of Trench T is also nigh. Having ascertained its true function as a lime kiln, we excavated the slaked lime from the bottom of the kiln to reveal an extremely well preserved, and rather beautiful, brick floor. As a result, we decided to extend the trench (again!) to the east to find the other half of the kiln, ensuring we have excavated around half of the entire structure. This task was completed today and the kiln now has a brick floor on either side of a channel which runs out of the kiln’s outtake, presumably to facilitate easier extraction of the slaked lime. We have a further slot to excavate on the outside of the kiln, but this will be achieved within the next couple of days and there will then be nothing else to do except record all brick walls, floors and vaulting in their beautiful entirety.

The speed with which trenches are currently closing is testament to this being our most successful yet; we have had the most exciting archaeology yet and located a hospital which had been long forgotten and everyone, whether director, supervisor or digger, have been able to enjoy themselves. That said, we still have five days to go and, as any archaeologist will tell you, anything could happen! 

The brick floor of the lime kiln

Day 17: Farewell Trench S, You Served Us Well...

Today we say goodbye to rubble in three of our trenches, goodbye to old theories in another and, finally, goodbye and farewell to one trench which has now been fully excavated and recorded.

Trench N

All the rubble in trench N has been completely removed, leaving many areas of pristine soil which probably indicate the medieval ground level. Within the building itself, a band of orange clay against the east end of the church, which is also defined by a row of stones, may indicate the place where the altar once stood, although further investigation is necessary. Amongst the finds recovered today are multiple fragments of lead sheeting, which were once part of the roof, painted wall plaster and a very fine medieval bone parchment pricker.

Trench P

Trench P has also had all its rubble removed, and three doorways have been found leading into various rooms within the complex: a stone doorway levelled by tiles leading into the brick building, another stone doorway levelled by tiles leading into the church and a wooden framed doorway leading between two rooms within the brick building. We have also found lots of window came and glass indicative of the building which once stood on the site. Having removed all the post-medieval demolition, in the next few days we hope to finally start excavating some of the medieval features associated with the hospital.

Trench R

Once again, Trench R is looking very clean, tidy and empty. The floor layer within the building has been removed revealing orange sand throughout the trench. However, although it may appear empty, there may be features cut into the sand which we cannot see as the current dry conditions means it is extremely difficult to see differences between contexts. As a result, we have sprinkled water across the trench and are allowing it to soak in overnight, meaning that tomorrow we will be able to decide whether it is necessary to continue excavation in the trench. 

Trench S

Trench S is no more. Its pristine white walls and brown floors have been completely planned, the sides (sections) of the trenches have also been drawn and the final photographs have been taken. As a result, Trench S will not feature any further in this year’s blog. It has, however, achieved exactly what it was meant to; we have proved the geophysics to be correct, we have demonstrated that there was a white building in White Stable Close and we have also retrieved evidence that the building had at least two, and possible three, changes. As a result, we should celebrate the work of Trench S as well as commiserating with Courtenay on its demise!

Trench T

Once again, Trench T has decided to surprise us and present irrefutable evidence that our previous theories have been wrong. It is not a brick kiln as we first thought, but is instead a lime kiln. Once the rubble had been removed from the kiln interior, a thick layer of slaked (decomposed) lime was revealed, including several burnt, but largely whole, limestone blocks. The presence of a lime kiln within this area is mildly surprising as the surrounding geology is sand and river clays rather than limestone, where such kilns are usually found. However, one of the burnt limestone blocks displays clear toolmarkings which match those found on upstanding masonry within the abbey precinct. As a result, it would appear that our structure is a post-medieval feature taking advantage of the many limestone blocks within the hospital and using them to produce lime. This is an extremely important material in agricultural practices, including reducing the acidity of sandy soil for crops and as limewash for the exterior of buildings. This may also explain the odd robbing practices within the hospital as, rather than taking all the stone to build housing and other structures, parts of the building were taken piecemeal for lime as and when the need arose. However, whilst we are extremely confident of this latest theory, it may not be the last time that Trench T decides to bamboozle us!

The bone parchment pricker from Trench N

We are almost entering the final week and in many cases we are only just starting to excavate the medieval layers. As a result, Week 4 may be our busiest yet and, during a period when most excavations would be winding down, we will be pushing forward to investigate the medieval occupation of our buildings. Let’s just hope our diggers are as eager, willing and able as they have been until now!

Day 16: Meet our Metal Detectorist!

Everything is progressing well in the trenches today, with lots more levels being removed all across the site. We’ll give you more of a detailed overview tomorrow, but this evening’s blog post contains another special feature on our technological team. Tonight we’re talking to our onsite metal detectorist, Steve. 

A pewter flower mount discovered by Steve last week

He first got involved with University of Sheffield excavations nearly eight years ago to try find out more about the archaeological side of historic artefacts, although when we discovered his pre-existing passion for metal-detecting, he has become a frequent addition to our survey team. Metal detecting has a controversial history, due to the publicity given to irresponsible or occasionally even illegal detecting on protected sites. However, Steve’s years of volunteering with us have demonstrated how responsible metal detecting can be highly advantageous to archaeological research. By locating the position of metal finds in the ground before archaeological deposits are removed allows excavators to find the artefacts within a specific location, allowing for scatters of finds, such as nails to be identified. This is very useful in recognising areas of building collapse for instance, or other deposits. Steve is also often seen scouring the spoil heaps for nails and pieces of roof lead missed by even the most eagle-eyed of excavators. Steve’s experience and passion for history has also been very helpful in interpreting metal finds on site, particularly degraded metals. For Steve, one of the main benefits of working at Thornton is the ability to see the finds uncovered in their proper context, and to discover how the metals of a site play just one part in the full spectrum of material culture and traces deposited there. It is particularly rewarding on both sides to play a role in the strengthening of trust and the ending of animosity between metal detectorists and archaeologists.

Steve: Mini Bio

Years of experience: Steve has been metal detecting for 10 years with a metal detecting club, and registers his independent finds using GPS points and with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Favourite historical time period: Anglo-Saxon England

His favourite ever find: Fragments of a Roman Equestrian statue, which probably once stood in the centre of Lincoln. He uncovered bits of the helmet, parts of the gilded horse’s harness and the lead solder which would have held the statue together. When the metal fragments were first discovered, the local archaeologist thought it was bits of WWII shrapnel. Only after further pieces were unearthed with the aid of Steve and his metal detector, did they realise what an unusual find they had uncovered.

TV appearances: Steve appeared on the ITV program ‘Britain’s Secret Treasures’ discussing the equestrian statue, during the course of which a digital reconstruction of the entire statue was shown.

Dream find: One day Steve hopes to find a very rare Iron Age coin. Good luck!