Day 11: A Series of Small Walls

Just a quick update today, as most of the trenches are removing lots of rubble or earth so there is not much progress to report. However, there have still been several developments that are noteworthy.

Pete and Martin discussing the Trench N wall

Trench N

We are continuing to reveal the east end of the hospital church in Trench N. As stated in previous blogs this is very substantial, and it is somewhat surprising that this has remained whilst its adjoining walls have apparently been robbed entirely. One possible theory is that the church has either been extended at some point, so this wall was not visible at the Dissolution, or it is constructed of poorer quality masonry which was of comparatively interest to the stone robbers. We are currently hypothesising that the quality of the stonework indicates the church may be Saxon, although this is far from proven!

Trench P

Removal of the interior rubble in Trench P has revealed yet more floor tiles, with additional evidence of burning that is probably linked to the dismantlement phase of the hospital. However, it also appears that the building continued to be used during the post-medieval period, potentially as a barn. This is due to an area of cobbles at the eastern end of the trench that have been laid deliberately both outside and inside the building. As a result, it is extremely plausible that these were laid during the post-Dissolution period to provide a slightly more level surface for agricultural purposes. This could mean that the several large stones within the trench are in fact pads for roof supports. In addition, there is a hemispherical spread of rubble on the outside of the building which may indicate a projecting staircase for the church tower; this is supported by the large amount of chamfered masonry which we have found in its vicinity.

Flying the quadcopter over Trench R

Trench R

Trench R is still open! Having ascertained the external edge of the robber trench yesterday, we assumed this meant the trench was now devoid of archaeology. However, the silver half penny we found yesterday (see yesterday’s blog) indicated the building had been erected on made-up ground and this has been proven today. A large spit has now been removed to reveal more features, all filled with medieval pottery. As the trench has now been thoroughly cleaned, these will be excavated tomorrow.

Three of the walls in Trench S

Trench S

The walls in Trench S continue to tantalise and confuse in equal measure. Removal of the bricks in the northern portion of the trench revealed another floor layer, this time of crushed and tightly packed limestone, and yet another possible wall in the west of the trench. This supports our theory of a later insertion of a doorway, as unlike the previous brick layer the limestone runs under the later “corridor” to the exterior wall. However, excavation of the robber trench has proved it to be extremely shallow, only removing several blocks at the very eastern end of the wall. Unfortunately this is also the junction between the two north-south running walls; the chalk one to the north and the limestone one to the south which is on a slightly different alignment. As a result, we are unable to tell the stratigraphic relationship between the three walls and thus cannot tell which wall was constructed first. We suspect it is the limestone wall, as it is of a higher quality and this usually indicates a medieval as opposed to post-medieval date. Therefore, like Trench P, the building within Trench S may have both a medieval and post-medieval story to tell.

Cleaning the vaulted structure, Trench T

Trench T

We have decided that Trench T contains a bridge. This is suggested by two linear areas with an absence of stone, which may indicate beam slots to support a wooden bridge over a brick arch. The size of the bricks in the vaulted structure may indicate the bridge is post-medieval rather than medieval in date, and thus is either related to the dismantlement or revised use of the hospital after the Dissolution. 

Tomorrow we will be live tweeting our end-of-week trench talks, so tune in to Twitter or Facebook from 5pm to hear the very latest developments. In addition, whilst we are extremely grateful for the lack of thunderstorms this week, the heat today has meant excavating has been very hard and sweaty work. Therefore, we are all hoping for a repeat of last night’s events, when an ice cream van turned up at the campsite. Keep your fingers crossed everyone!