Day 2: Meet the Team!

To give you a break from our site diaries, from time to time we hope to focus on various aspects of the dig. Today we focus on the supervisory team who support Hugh and Pete and do the day-to-day running of the trenches.

Trench N

As he is writing a PhD on medieval hospitals, Martin is in his element in Trench N. Never seen on excavation without his hat, he is also fairly photo shy, so don’t expect to see him in many photos!

Trench P

In charge of Trench P is Claire, who is currently writing her PhD on 17^th-century Dutch drinking vessels. As the principal first aider on site, Claire is the go-to girl for all medical emergencies. She also used to collect hubcaps (apparently). 

Trench R

Chris is taking a break from his year out to supervise Trench R but he hopes to do a PhD in medieval and post-medieval distillation in the future. He is particularly keen on a neat trench, so expect the most presentable photographs to be of Trench R. 

Trench S

Trench S is under the tender care of Courtenay, who is currently completing her MA in European Prehistory. However, as she is already finding medieval buildings in Trench S, we are hoping she will be converted to medievalism very shortly!

  

Trench T

Although her PhD will be on the Carthusians rather than the Augustinians, Francesca is looking forward to uncovering more monastic buildings in Trench T. Engaged to an archaeologist from Wessex, she’s already sorted out her entire wedding which will take place in 2016, so a small trench should be child’s play.

We also have several other supervisors who lend a hand, including Rachel and James. Rachel is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield who is taking a break from the Newark Civil War Project whilst James is offering his invaluable experiences of supervising excavations at MoLA Northampton.

Work today has progressed well and all six trenches are now deturfed. Hopefully all traces of topsoil across the site will have been removed by tomorrow, when we will be able to bring you the latest on-site developments.

Trench S now has some very clean walls

All present and correct in Trench N!

Day 1: And so it begins...

After a long but extremely productive day, an undulating piece of pasture in North Lincolnshire has been transformed into an efficient archaeological excavation. Out of the five trenches we are planning to dig, four have been completely deturfed and one (Trench R) has had all the topsoil removed ready for recording tomorrow.

Trench N

Trench N is already revealing the tell-tale signs of building rubble, with large concentrations of broken limestone in the western half of the trench that hint at possible walls lying underneath. We have also had pieces of lead and painted window glass from the topsoil, which suggests there may be a high status building nearby. With a bit of luck it might just be the hospital!






Trench P

Given the proximity of Trench P to Trench N, it is hardly surprising that it too has large concentrations of limestone rubble in its eastern half. The topsoil has also provided several indicators of a high status building, including large amounts of lead and yellow and black-glazed medieval floor tiles that would probably have been originally laid out in a checkerboard pattern. However, there are also hints of a brick building in the western half of the trench, suggesting there may be at least two phases.







Trench R

Trench R has been deturfed and cleaned in record time, so it is already for recording tomorrow before we start to peel back the layers below. Already bricks are appearing above the sandy soil, suggesting there might be something structural underneath.

Trench T

No picture of Trench T (for today at least), but sterling work has gone on here too and already there appears to be rubble and a possible brick wall emerging from the ground. Hopefully we will find out more tomorrow, when we finish removing the rest of the topsoil off this and the other trenches before recording them and starting to uncover more archaeology. However, already it is looking that this might possible be our most exciting season yet, and that is without the debut of Trench S which should take place tomorrow. The next few weeks should definitely keep us busy!

We're back!

After just over 11 months, work begins on another exciting season at Thornton Abbey in North Lincolnshire. This time the team, led by Dr Hugh Willmott and Pete Townend from the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield are focussing on an area south of the main abbey precinct which should contain several buildings relating to the monastic occupation of the site. This year promises to be the most exciting yet, with five trenches being opened to understand an area which was previously thought to have contained little medieval occupation. The general layout of the trenches is shown here, with a more detailed description of each trench appearing below.

The location of this years trenches

Trenches N and P
Trenches N and P are situated over a large building, 25m long and 10m wide, which is orientated E-W. Investigations suggest it may be the remains of the medieval hospital of St James, the location of which is currently unknown.

Trench R
Trench R is located over a circular earthwork and geophysical anomaly which is possibly a building associated with the medieval hospital.

Trench S
Trench S is located in 'Stable Close' to the south of the prospective hospital. A rectangular geophysical anomaly which is also visible a series of rectilinear earthwork, it may be the eponymous stables to which the field name refers.

Trench T
Finally, another unidentified earthwork, this time rectangular, forms the focus of Trench T. Located to the west of the possible hospital, the date and function of this feature will be determined over the course of the next four weeks.

As always, you can keep up to date with the dig's progress online. As well as daily blogs appearing on this site, keep an eye on our Twitter feed and Facebook page for the all the latest news.

The view looking North from this year's trenches; it looks so peaceful...at the moment!