Welcome to 2015 at the Thornton Abbey Project!

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!

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!