And
we’re back!!! A new year, new faces and hopefully lots of new and exciting
archaeology!
This
season’s excavation looks to be a promising one, with the opening of last years
Trenches M, N and P and the new Trench U. There is a lot to get done, but
thankfully with a team of 54 this shouldn’t be too hard...
As a
quick recap on last year’s activities we left the site having excavated the
remains of a possible medieval church and hospital (Trenches P and N). Out of
these trenches we had some fantastic finds including a grave slab found at the
eastern edge of Trench N. Trench S presented a quick open and closed case
confirming previous suspicions that that area contained a series of stables
associated with the surrounding buildings. To the west of Trench P we had more
confusing archaeology which got us all scratching our heads in Trench T. After
much deliberation and many hypotheses we confirmed the presence of a
post-medieval limekiln. And finally in Trench R, the mysterious geophysical
shape…was revealed to be a slightly mysterious building, with no concrete
conclusions being drawn about this.
All in all last season created a fantastic
platform in which to begin this seasons excavation!
So
what have we got coming up this summer?
Well
in Trench U, following the success of Freya’s finds in Trench L in 2013, we continue
the hunt for Skinners House. So far Trench U has revealed a series of humps
which look suspiciously like a series of walls and some lovely masonry work; is
this the post-medieval manor house we have been looking for? Stay tuned to find
out.
(Above is Trench U)
Trench
M, N and P will continue from where they left off last year, with slight trench
extensions. P has been extended a meter to the east and south and trench N has
been extended a meter to the west. In Trench M we will continue investigating
further from where they left off last year, so fingers crossed for even more
exciting discoveries in these three trenches.
(Above is Trench P)
(Above is Trench N)
Outside
of the trenches our surveying team has been very busy with extending their surveying
further to the south and the west with magnetometry survey in order to locate
possible incoming roads and outlying buildings outside of the precinct.
And finally
techno wise, we have lots going on with on site 3D modelling of the trenches,
landscape, buildings and finds. UAV fly overs for aerial shots of the site and
the trenches will be taking place, along with some great promo videos.
So
in all it should be a pretty great summer, we have a great team, great
archaeology and some exciting new toys! Keep checking the website, twitter and
our Facebook for blog updates, photos and videos to keep an eye on our progress
this summer!
