PLACE Project

An archaeological project in Purbeck. 

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Today we fired the updraft kiln that Hayden and the students built. We managed to successfully fire some of the many pots we’ve made #PLACE18 #experimentalarchaeology

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Hunting for hammerscale in some of our highly magnetic deposits #PLACE18 #huntingthesmithy

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What’s this hiding at the base of one of our terraced structures in Area B? #PLACE18 #sherdsorpot #medievalpuzzle

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The PAST team giving our Roman Potter kiln a nice shower so it ready for a photo #PLACE18 #archaeology #roman

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Day Thirteen.

We have reached our halfway point on this excavation and, as such, we are starting to be able to tell the stories of the people who worked on this site; it appears that the site dates from about the 12th-13th centuries. This is really exciting as most the narratives that surround this era in British history are those of the Kings and Queens, knights, and nobility; not those of the normal person. What we have uncovered here at Wytch Farm seems to be an industrial site, which would have been worked by people, much as we go to work today. We had our resident glass expert at Bournemouth University, Kate Welham, visit the site and inform us that the evidence that we have been getting out the ground is not what would be expected of a glass making site, so what was actually going here remains to be seen. The people who worked here have left behind traces of their stories, traces which have sat undiscovered in the ground until now; it is a privilege to be able to uncover their stories and tell them again, today. The excavation in the trench is going well, with the different features starting to become apparent, and some interpretation has been made; something which should happen more and more in the next two and a half weeks.

Today was an exciting day in the experimental area of the site, with Hayden’s furnace finally ready for a smelt! The bellows were going pretty much all day, to get the furnace up to the right temperature, people were working through their breaks to keep the fires burning. Though there was no river of slag pouring out of the furnace, the fact that there some pieces of fuel ash slag that came out of a furnace is very impressive. The medieval kiln continues to be built, progress on that is going well, it is a very exciting aspect of this dig, to see how people made the materials that they used is not something that everyone gets to see every day.

Photos: the trench on a very hot day and Hayden cracking open the furnace!

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Day Twelve.

Nearly halfway through the dig, and things are seeming to go really well! Supervisors have settled in really nicely and the excavation looks like it is rolling along pretty much like clockwork. Although finds have been few and far between (check the previous enters as to an in-depth explanation as to why) the features that have started to emerge look fantastic. As Kel said, “the features are the archaeology”, while this is disappointing for our finds team, it is exciting for excavators, to see the archaeology emerge from around them.

The experimental corner of the site continues to grow and go really well! Another medieval style kiln is being built and should start providing us with some more pot. The medieval kiln is different from Phil’s Roman kiln, it doesn’t have bricks for a start, and will probably be a bit smaller; although it is no less impressive. Pots continue to be made and there are plans for smelting some iron ore tomorrow!

Photos: Derek, Hayden, and Richard contemplate an interesting feature in section A, and Emma and Izzy writing some very important context sheets. 

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Day Eleven.

It was a fairly slow start to the day today, a burst water main took out a large, important section of road from Bournemouth to our site here at PLACE. This meant that most of us were late on to site, with the bus only turning up at 10:30; not a disaster but a slow start to the week nonetheless. This did mean that the day seemed to slip away from us very quickly, with time moving fast towards the end of the day the trench supervisors were slightly panicked, what with the volume of features to dig in only three weeks. Thank goodness the trench is a very manageable size!

Interesting features are popping up all over the place with a possible (and only possible) kiln like structure being found in section A; at least there is a structure with a fire pit and a hollow covered in collapse. In section B the huge clay slab in the middle, dare I say ‘working hollow’? (probably not), is starting to be dug into, and is turning up some nice finds as well as a possible post hole. While section C the big structure in the middle has shown a large piece of charred wood, perfectly preserved, which is something the first years are very excited to dig. Though it has now been covered with soil to keep it preserved before it is block lifted at some point. A good, but perhaps slow start to week three, nearing the mid point of the excavation!!

Photos: a very empty site at 9:30am, and Phil’s kiln.

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Day Ten.

Fridays on site are always fun, especially when it’s sunny and warm like this one; the mood on the trench is often dictated by the weather. The day started with a site briefing given by Dan, of course, all the theories that were told to us on Wednesday were discounted by the Friday; such is the norm with a site as complex as this one. Also accompanying the general sense of happiness that floats around site on a Friday was a bit of triumph for Phil, who completed his kiln and started to finally fire it! A certain amount of envy was felt by everyone when the smell of the staff barbecue wafted around during lunch; that bacon smelled fantastic, every student was definitely very jealous.

Unlike most Fridays, the day did not drag; it never does on a site like this, not when there’s so much to do every day. The amount of features and cuts that started to appear last week has only gone up. The complexity of the site has evolved as well, something that is very exciting but also very confusing; the site is surely going to keep the questions burning well into next week for sure! Another tradition on Bournemouth University’s many field schools has been the Dig T-Shirt, what to put on the back fo them is a hot topic around the site; there are some colourful ideas being bandied about. All in all, it’s been another fun, and exciting week for us here at the PLACE field school 2018. Bring on Week Three!

Photos: site briefing, and some very attentive students! 

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Day Nine.

Thursday brought about several questions about this site, as theories and ideas are bandied about by everyone. Something that is very special about this project is that everyone has an opinion which is one hundred percent valued, even the first years, everyone brings something different, and this is what makes archaeology so amazing! Even though this site is continuing to throw up questions about well, everything, there are a few working theories. Salt making is certainly still being thought about, as well as ceramic production, and glass production (all very exciting possibilities). The trench continues to develop and features are becoming more and more interesting, work platforms, and possible thatched structures, as well as interesting charcoal postholes, are starting to become evident.

The day started off a little soggy, so the first years were given a quick briefing on how to fill out context sheets. Archaeology isn’t all about digging, there’s a lot of paperwork and recording that goes into a proper archaeological excavation! After, a mass effort was focused on the experimental corner of the site, where we attempted to construct a Roman kiln structure in just one day. Bricks were being produced by ten people at one point, with a background of sea shanties the work was really very fun! Although those who were working the clay will probably be forever finding clay ground into their clothes.

Photos: a new queen of the spoil heap? Rohan (1st year) ready for work, and archaeology in action! 

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Day Eight.

Wednesday started with a site tour given by Derek, in which he gave us some interesting theories about the features in each section of the trench. Something that is very useful for the supervisors and other diggers that don’t get to see a day by day of what’s going on in the rest of trench. Though those theories have now changed and developed, they were very interesting! Also, Dan gave us a great finds talk where he showed a spout for a water jug which dated from the medieval period.

The rest of the day was spent digging through the features, most of the second and third years haven’t worked with positive archaeology before (features like walls that have to be dug down), this site poses some challenges to them, but they all are doing amazingly! The site continues to grow, and change into something that is completely different, theories are discarded and developed every day; it is so exciting!

Photos: an interesting piece of pottery, area a (taken by Bianka), and Joe, a second year working hard shifting spoil. 

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Trench Talk 1.

Questions and answers coming at you straight from the people digging, and the trench they’re in!

Did you have any sort of experience before doing this? Like what? Explain further?

No I didn’t have any, I wanted to but I never had any opportunities to do it.

2. What has your experience been like so far?

Um yeah it’s been alright, the site is pretty dirty and I have been enjoying it so far!

3. Have you found anything exciting? What? Explain further?

I was the one who found the knapped flint scraper on top of the clay walls, and I found a saddled heath stone on Monday.

4. What sort of things have you done?

I have done the geophysics, we went around and did the geophysics after that we put it into the map generator and it came up with all sorts of walls and ditches, and around here I have been defining features and walls.

5. What has been your favourite part?

Oooooh, probably, I mean, it’s been digging, but probably defining the wall back there.

6. What is the most interesting thing you have learned about?

I don’t know about the most interesting but the most useful thing was learning the difference between natural rock and walls, which is handy so you don’t go through features.

7. What era of site would you like to dig the most?

I think I’d have to say ancient Egyptian or Greek

8. If you could bring any album/song on to trench which would it be? Like a desert island disc type situation….

I think I could be really mean and No Grave but The Sea - Alestorm.

Thanks Connor!!!

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Sometimes we see traces of past societies, sometimes past communities, occasionally we find traces of an individual. In this instance the finger impressions on the clay lining of an ancient kiln #PLACE18 #archaeology

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After a week and a half of digging the ‘structure’ in Area C we have finally started to get to the bottom of it.... quite literally. The students have revealed a layer of burning, possibly associated with the final distraction of whatever type of building it was. Hopefully it’s function will become clear as we begin to excavate these layers #PLACE18 #archaeology #medieval

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Day Seven.

A slightly longer post, thank you very much to Bianka (a 1st year) for your wonderful work! 

After a week on trench walls are starting to be defined in Section B, the diggers there are starting to pinpoint the natural points of soil under the clay. In the same section, all of the clay patches could have been a  working surface for the area, due to the amount of trampling, the boundaries of this feature might have degraded over time. Sasha is drawing a survey of the site, something that she seems to really enjoy, and is also very good at!

Over in Callum’s section (area C), the building has been split into sections that are 3m by 2m to get an idea about what happened to the structure. Looking at the stratigraphy (different layers of the soil), it seems to be that each section has different features. By the west wall, there was a vitrified clay pile found, Callum explains that this might be a dumping ground for maybe salt working debris known as briquetage - this was all excavated by two first years and produced three whole buckets of vitrified clay. All groups in this section are continuing to remove the fill from the structure to hopefully reach the natural ground. Though a lot of the first years are worried about hitting the natural ground by accident! Another exciting development is the potential window which was found by Sophia and Hannah, in what looks like a fallen wall.

Over on the far side of the trench in area A they have found a clay wall with a possible doorway, today they are hoeing back and excavating. The current thinking about the feature that is starting to emerge in this area was a wooden structure that then collapsed, being that post holes were found. There has also been a ditch that has been found which is long but shallow, one section of it has already been dug and recorded. This section is very challenging, because of the sand, it makes seeing the difference in soil texture difficult.

Photos (taken by Bianka): a lovely piece of medieval pottery, a plan drawing, and the same piece of pot placed as it might have been on the pot itself. 

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Day Six.

Digging in the sweltering heat is never easy and everyone handled the bright sunlight and soaring temperatures wonderfully. There was not a breeze on site, and the people in the trenches were suffering. The features did start to come through nicely, lots of the different colours have started to become visible around trench, which is really great, and an impressive sight especially when no one is on trench; like in the early mornings when the bus hasn't pulled in.

Today was a good day for Hayden on experimental, the furnace is now finally finished, though it did start to crack. The heat made the clay on the outside of the furnace dry but the clay on the inside of it remained wet meaning that the cracks didn't go all the way through; this means that Hayden now has to put more sand in his clay and fill in the cracks in the furnace wall. The furnace is also impressively large, bring on the metal working! Work now begins on a kiln for firing some of the pottery the first years have been making, something which is incredibly exciting!

Photos: Hayden’s finished furnace, a feature appearing in the trenches, and the beginnings of a casting hearth. 

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We are starting to get an interesting layer of burnt fibrous material in the bottom fill of the structure in Area C.....

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Day Five.

Friday came about with a little bit of cloud in the morning but that was quickly replaced with blue skies, something that was welcomed by everyone after Thursday’s relative downpour. The main trench is coming along very nicely with the hope of digging down into one of the features in the middle part (known as area B). There have also been some cores taken from the waterlogged part of the trench by Harry, something which is new to most of the first and second years. Hopefully, they will have revealed an interesting feature!

Over in the experimental corner with Hayden, the furnace is looking great and should be finished very soon. A small pit has now been turned into a barbecue pit, which Damien cooked sausages on for lunch. Temperatures climbed higher and higher in the afternoon, which put everyone in a good mood for the first Friday of the Dig!! Utilising the drone for photography of features was a stroke of genius, and also something that caused much excitement on trench as it took a photo of a huge feature in section B. Another suggestion was making a human pyramid but that idea was quickly shot down as health and safety guidelines must be followed! Definitely a great way to end the week! Bring on week two!

Photos: how archaeologist’s hands should be, emma and izzy (1st years), and some pot insitu in area b.