Day 7: Some things are not what they may first appear...

In archaeology, you have some days when the Fates appear to smile on you. Contexts are clearly defined, pot sherds await your every trowel stroke and every hypothesis you make about the remains before you is promptly proven. Then there are the other days, in which trenches lie frustratingly empty, finds are few and far between and your theories are consistently confined to the spoil heap. This has been one of those days. 

Trench N

Cleaning in Trench N to reveal more rubble

Trench N does not appear to have an undercroft. Two sections excavated over the large depressions at the western end of the trench have revealed yet more rubble. However, this is identical to the surrounding rubble and is also fairly compact, which is not what you might expect of a rubble-filled, void-riddled undercroft. As a result, we are currently revising our theories about the building within this trench, although in reality only further excavation will answer our questions fully. 

The Trench P floor

Trench P

The rubble in Trench P has been planned and is starting to be removed from the trench. This has revealed a broken tile floor in the southeastern part of the trench, but in the southwest has raised more questions than it answers. Walls which formerly appeared to be clearly defined appear to be more rubble than structural, and in places seem to disappear altogether. Although perplexing, now planning has been completed we should be able to resolve our difficulties quite quickly as the removal of building debris will hopefully reveal the structures beneath.

Trench R

Trench R is beautifully clean and utterly, utterly empty. Removal of the linear rubble revealed an equally linear robber cut which had presumably been excavated to purloin the stone and bricks from the building that once stood on the site. This was achieved so successfully that the few stones which were visible a few days ago were the only structural material remaining. However, in the eastern return of the robber cut were large fragments of medieval pottery, including the base of at least two Humberware jugs and a cistern complete with spigot hole. Despite this, the rest of the archaeology in the trench is apparently absent, with a single orange layer now visible across its entirety. Having planned this, we will now begin to remove the layer in spits to check that there is nothing of archaeological interest underneath.

Uncovering the wall in Trench S

Trench S

Trench S has received (yet another!) extension in order to reveal more of the wall running north-south within it; however, in contrast to initial impressions, it is composed of chalk rather than limestone and is thus similar to the first wall we found. Removal of the rubble in the western part of the trench has also revealed the foundation course of the wall running east-west, which demonstrates that, following its disuse, the building has been robbed thoroughly. As a result, there is little remaining of the original building and, therefore, it may be impossible to ascertain its former use.

It's nice, but is it a drain?

Trench T

To our great disappointment, Trench T may not contain a drain. Removal of a soil layer to the north of the collapsed structure revealed more soil, not the collapsed drain vaulting we hoped we might have. Despite this, there is still a vaulted structure within the trench, as evidenced by the collapsed masonry which is mortared together and has an arched appearance. It has been suggested that it may be a bridge, although its location makes this moderately unlikely. However, tomorrow we will start to investigate the rubble around the feature to try and understand this feature further and we should hopefully have some more answers soon.

At first glance, today’s post may appear to be slightly downbeat, but there is still cause for optimism. All our trenches have interesting archaeology in them, even if doubt has been cast on our hypotheses about them. As straightforward trenches can be quite boring, in many ways we should probably be celebrating their mysterious complexity! In any case, we still have plenty of time to fully understand the remains we have been presented with and it shouldn’t be too long before we come up with some more theories about the origins of the structures we are currently uncovering.

A beautifully clean and empty Trench R

Day 6: The View from the Trenches

Today marks the end of the final week, and a chance for everyone to gather their thoughts and gird their loins for the challenge of the weeks ahead. Therefore, it is a perfect opportunity to hand the blog over to some of our excavators for them to comment on their Thornton Abbey experience.

The Thornton Abbey Week 1 Team. Thanks for all your hard work, dedication and deturfing skills!

Fin Chesterman, Surrey

This has been my first ever archaeological dig and it’s been fascinating. I was excited to becoming on the trip and it has not been a disappointment. It has been an eye opening experience into the world of archaeology, provided by a welcoming and friendly community from the University of Sheffield and many others. My sincerest thanks goes out to all involved in making this trip happen as I leave at the end of the week.

Victoria Yuskaitis, Sparta, NJ (USA)

Digging in fabulous, sunny weather is unbeatable! After surviving the wet dreariness of yesterday, the warmth, fluffy clouds, and blue sky were especially beautiful. In all seriousness, archaeology is hard work; digging isn’t easy. But it is wonderfully invigorating to work outside all day long (I enjoy using a mattock in particular), then to be able to stand back and see all the progress you have made. I never fail to feel an immense pride and satisfaction when I can step back and see a job well done…Indeed, when I can see history literally becoming unearthed, and know that I am a part of that discovery.

Guy Trevellyan, Surrey

Recording Trench S

This trip has been an excellent opportunity to uncover the mystery that is archaeology. I have gone from the joy that is de-turfing to uncovering hidden Saxon walls to being moved to the main trench to uncover even more miracles. I thoroughly enjoyed the camping experience of having my tent flooded 3 times which was eventful but none the less made the trip feel more adventurous. I loved meeting new people who came from Sheffield University and some from the US and Canada, it was very enjoyable especially some of the very funny conversations but overall the experience of actually digging and finding various mysteries and camp life really made this trip special  and one that I will remember for ever.

Jonathan Rose, Highland, ILL (USA)

So far I am really enjoying myself here in merry old England. The food is great, the people are really friendly, and the history is amazing. I still can’t believe I’m really here digging on an actual medieval dig site (I must be dreaming). But it hasn’t been all sun shine and rainbows, as a matter of fact the weather can be quite problematic. However this does not slow the crew down, we persevere and finish the job the following day. I feel really privileged to be here and I can’t wait to see what the next weeks have in store for me.

Cleaning Trench P

Ryan Milton, Kinburn, Ontario (CAN)

The dig thus far has been a blast. Apart from the occasional rain, the atmosphere on-site and in camp has been great. The professor and the supervisors are available to answer questions, no matter how small, any time and will take the time to ensure that you understand. With such a deep history here at Thornton Abbey, and in the whole of Britain, this dig allows you to see history in first-person, uncovering the past one trowel scrape at a time. Good times in good company.

Tim Ayling, Surrey

The excavation at Thornton Abbey has been an interesting experience, cementing my interest in the past and the “mistakes” made by a man who saw himself as the “renaissance king”. It has been my first experience in theoretical and practical archaeology and I have come away with damp clothes and mud in rather strange places. However, I have really enjoyed this week, meeting new people, especially those who have travelled across the “pond” to trowel through “fire, wind and tempest”. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this wonderful experience!

The trench talks, in which supervisors discuss their trenches, draw each week to a close.

Day 5: Understanding undercrofts and deciphering drains

Today has been another rain-affected day, with a very damp and bedraggled team making their way back to camp a little earlier than planned. However, things are still steadily progressing and there have been exciting developments in almost all the trenches. 

Trench N and P

Although the two trenches are separate, the building they share between them is causing much excitement between the archaeologists. In addition to the large number of glazed floor tiles from Trench P (see the blog entry for Day 1), Trench N has produced a rather lovely piece of anthropomorphic sculpture; a hand clutching an object which appears to be a book. Whilst fragmentary, it does suggest a high profile building originally stood on the site and supports our supposition that the two trenches are situated over the medieval hospital. Furthermore, the large mounds of masonry contrast sharply with the large depressions between them, which suggests the floor collapsed after the building fell into disuse. This raises the possibility that the building may have an undercroft, in which case our diggers have a lot of work in the weeks ahead! By early next week we should be in a position to remove the rubble and start to investigate the structure beneath.

Whilst the excavators work, the supervisors compare hypotheses on the archaeology being uncovered

Trench R

Trench R is proving to be a slight enigma. The trench is situated over a strong geophysical anomaly and clear earthworks, but this does not correspond with the current archaeology. The rubble, whilst linear, is not overlying any substantial structure and, once it has been removed, the trench will consist of a single sandy clay layer. Despite this slightly pessimistic outlook, the geophysical and topographic surveys still suggest there may be something lying underneath this and we hope to uncover this in the upcoming days.

Trench S

Finn, finder of the Trench S wall!

Careful excavation and removal of subsoil in Trench S has revealed another wall in the southeast corner of the trench. This appears to be the return of the wall we had uncovered originally, although unlike our first wall it is composed primarily of limestone rather than chalk. However, the junction of the two walls appears to have been robbed, with clear evidence of a robber cut containing small fragments of broken masonry (this is just in front of Finn's trowel in the photo). We are currently removing the rubble from either side of the original wall and by next week will be in a position to investigate this further.

Trench T

Trench T has a drain! As monastic drains are one of Francesca’s key interests, she is particularly excited about the find of a brick built structure with a vault in the extended portion of her trench. Although the vault has collapsed, it appears to be the outflow of a drain which continues as a rubble-filled depression in the south of the trench. We have a lot of work to do in the area surrounding the drain before we can start to carefully excavate this feature but, as drains are usually associated with disposal of household and human waste, we are extremely hopeful that the trench should produce plenty of environmental material as well as some sensational finds. 

Trench T, with the collapsed drain and a damp digger clearly visible

Despite the rain (which has just about stopped!), spirits remain high; the camp is currently filled with the sound of impromptu communal song and everyone is looking forward to a quiz which will begin shortly. The high morale is just as well, as we are already almost a quarter of the way through the excavation and there is plenty of archaeology still to uncover!