tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27885695651417195292024-02-25T23:02:17.132-08:00Roman BinchesterDavid Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.comBlogger329125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-8845517604489792462016-06-07T12:28:00.000-07:002016-06-07T13:20:46.960-07:00Binchester 2016: Day 1<div class="MsoNormal">
So , we being our new series of project blog entries- today,
we hear from Madelaine Ager, one our First year archaeology students:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpdbMycSs9a8M9z7YBqKmLJ79DPSniIDeYYZvwB2SMRSILOVK9aCAA2iizddFmYn9syzNCjKILMee_u3RKo6qKw0mM4q80-Qh-76J33aWWU3Va495ZUzAej9GLsDpGHnre-0674ZMR6x7/s1600/DSCF3352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpdbMycSs9a8M9z7YBqKmLJ79DPSniIDeYYZvwB2SMRSILOVK9aCAA2iizddFmYn9syzNCjKILMee_u3RKo6qKw0mM4q80-Qh-76J33aWWU3Va495ZUzAej9GLsDpGHnre-0674ZMR6x7/s320/DSCF3352.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s the beginning of the fieldwork season and it has
fallen to me to start off the blogging of what’s going on at Binchester.
Yesterday, our first day on site, the main activity was cleaning the whole site
using hoes and shovels. This was an important step because it allowed us to see
far more clearly any differences in soil types which might indicate the
presence of a feature. Once the site was cleaned small sections containing
possible features were marked off and work began on clearing those to determine
types of soil and the boundaries between them. The section on which I was
working initially showed signs of a ditch running across it but once we had
cleared it there was no trace of a boundary. We found sherds of pottery and
ceramic building material, as well as bone fragments in our section. We
continued our work searching for the boundary today, and our section was merged
with the next one because the features appeared to be intersecting. Eventually
we came upon the boundary between the dark fill soil and the gravel with our
mattocks. We then cleaned up the area using trowels which allowed us to see the
boundaries more clearly and define them. “</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We should perhaps add,
yesterday was one of the hottest days we’ve ever had on site, and for
many of our student it was their first day working on an archaeological
project. They worked like Trojans and deserve a hearty pat on the pack (and
probably a 99 with a flake!).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AIwbSxKZJoAiREsyL5JJmYT-Qvi7G-EVfiNS-dh6bXuKCiS64KZS34Jaxzxi-eS4UfdmKyKejn4VdifZnP7mkgJNkaxANf20jfznmvJw_GCEGAvhs_mTCmAikwCpweMZIezJmYsR4oda/s1600/DSCF3348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AIwbSxKZJoAiREsyL5JJmYT-Qvi7G-EVfiNS-dh6bXuKCiS64KZS34Jaxzxi-eS4UfdmKyKejn4VdifZnP7mkgJNkaxANf20jfznmvJw_GCEGAvhs_mTCmAikwCpweMZIezJmYsR4oda/s640/DSCF3348.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5NUnoWqQVzzWVjf3-710MammFH6g8C2Wbw7GYynYz374rlIMfK_Kwt16oTnCh60nN9fno4WZkyHtU6RH6h_BKgeGnTKktcdoSjbOpnGOAVgL2YEQc6ongz7l2qDjpKCU0u8iUKMJ3REh/s1600/ager1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5NUnoWqQVzzWVjf3-710MammFH6g8C2Wbw7GYynYz374rlIMfK_Kwt16oTnCh60nN9fno4WZkyHtU6RH6h_BKgeGnTKktcdoSjbOpnGOAVgL2YEQc6ongz7l2qDjpKCU0u8iUKMJ3REh/s320/ager1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3pW-_GQ1dP0IpR7yg-klc9UdB_cJb6a5mZj6PEVhyr4cZ4k4AZjwfoWL6AzEyZr18SsG4kcm68e10MBgoosQC1MzQiT7gu1cHWKqrEYdVTwPEF1n1mwXsYHKBW6hDzg5gfPHCgxWfPJQ/s1600/ager2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3pW-_GQ1dP0IpR7yg-klc9UdB_cJb6a5mZj6PEVhyr4cZ4k4AZjwfoWL6AzEyZr18SsG4kcm68e10MBgoosQC1MzQiT7gu1cHWKqrEYdVTwPEF1n1mwXsYHKBW6hDzg5gfPHCgxWfPJQ/s320/ager2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7v7ijD7hF4RwazmjNzSL6xWy8TKdSGoaEFajESDqo7wCfmQsVgMf0IvX7GmczDOw6McZxqczS5IAG7O3Vs_LOn3VLVKXH4tJXlNMC_fVDXYDE-4lrqOwbRTwYoB3FI8P38ioJHCY5H22/s1600/ager3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7v7ijD7hF4RwazmjNzSL6xWy8TKdSGoaEFajESDqo7wCfmQsVgMf0IvX7GmczDOw6McZxqczS5IAG7O3Vs_LOn3VLVKXH4tJXlNMC_fVDXYDE-4lrqOwbRTwYoB3FI8P38ioJHCY5H22/s320/ager3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-90889337172528394152016-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:002016-06-07T12:20:17.904-07:00Back to Binchester: New season, New trench.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGK7i6i8Nd2COA1yD-MIZsm_LWtpxudSpbkcPv8hasEhDactMExhQCm9TUXHZN-Sw3vM4aV3fHqug8jyl1aafK20-1O04xdCh3gcILCcMmgiZBz_SmUBkzlCYKi2Em5ZLUIVHptRXw65a/s1600/DSCF3347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGK7i6i8Nd2COA1yD-MIZsm_LWtpxudSpbkcPv8hasEhDactMExhQCm9TUXHZN-Sw3vM4aV3fHqug8jyl1aafK20-1O04xdCh3gcILCcMmgiZBz_SmUBkzlCYKi2Em5ZLUIVHptRXw65a/s640/DSCF3347.JPG" width="640" /></a>Yes, we're back! Although last year saw the end of our seven seasons of excavation on trenches in the <i>vicus</i> and inside the fort, we're still not finished with <i>Vinovium</i>. This year, we're going back to look at an area close the mausolea that were excavated by Time Team in 2007 (you can see the result of some of the GPR work they <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOlozJ7huqI" target="_blank">did here</a>).<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5XQ4ou6-bRjfsAChuIuVvtcv3XFcIVqB9D_cvcXrHBwK10bLBROJ0bIUczubazOPV_st0egOApYmd4lgnaTOwSTbOr9x3yu4VPWtf-6sMs-P-R_6ieAsk2vvLVPBCr2GIa0LRoFLl6JM/s1600/trench+location.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5XQ4ou6-bRjfsAChuIuVvtcv3XFcIVqB9D_cvcXrHBwK10bLBROJ0bIUczubazOPV_st0egOApYmd4lgnaTOwSTbOr9x3yu4VPWtf-6sMs-P-R_6ieAsk2vvLVPBCr2GIa0LRoFLl6JM/s320/trench+location.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Rather than re-excavating the Time Team trenches, we are looking at an enclosure behind the one that contained the original mausolea structures. Unlike previous years, we are running on a much smaller scale, with just three weeks in the field for the next two summers. We'll also have a reduced team, with around 40 students and 10-15 volunteers. In another change, although we'll be continuing to regularly update the blog, it will now be done by different groups of students each day, with just the occasional intervention from myself (David Petts) or other members of the project team.<br />
<br />
As usual, we'll also be updating our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RomanBInchester/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> and our Twitter feed (@RomanBinchester).<br />
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-60458583405036256162016-05-15T12:23:00.001-07:002016-05-15T12:23:28.977-07:00We're back! The dead centre of Binchester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4iK1SQQX_wES85edAA6-B_e5dBj9rQ6OWgKVdeBoOe4KyhiKslH2-kDIaw68RKlF4PwtF4RXjqaOPn9xBeGzLn7rYJCvv7s1PPzHj6j0pPMBF3u0AcZIUGjFeF4ouiRA5AtTF3zTQbyg/s1600/bin+maus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4iK1SQQX_wES85edAA6-B_e5dBj9rQ6OWgKVdeBoOe4KyhiKslH2-kDIaw68RKlF4PwtF4RXjqaOPn9xBeGzLn7rYJCvv7s1PPzHj6j0pPMBF3u0AcZIUGjFeF4ouiRA5AtTF3zTQbyg/s400/bin+maus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
It's been a little quiet from us for a while. However, we're pleased to announce we're going back into the field. Although we've completed excavation on our two main trenches (Trench 1 in the fort and Trench 2 in the vicus), we couldn't leave Binchester alone. This means that over the next couple of years we are planning two more seasons of excavations. Rather than looking at evidence for how the Romans lived at Binchester, we are instead going to look at how they buried their dead.<br />
<br />
In 2007, when Time Team visited Binchester, amongst various bits of work, they explored parts of two Roman mausolea situated to the north of the vicus. These had initially appeared on the geophysical survey and the key question was whether these distinctive square stone structures were small Romano-British temples or mausolea. Excavation revealed that they were clearly burial monuments and a small number of burials were excavated. Yet, due to the nature of Time Team excavations, the excavation team only had a chance to scratch the surface of this interesting site. So, this year, 40 Durham students and a group of volunteers will be revisiting these fascinating structures in the hope of getting a better understanding of their chronology and to unpick what as going on around the edges of the funerary complex. The opportunity to excavate a major Roman period burial monument is a rare one, and only a handful have been excavated elsewhere on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.<br />
<br />
There are going to be some changes to our approach this year. We have a partial change in personnel; David Petts is taking a well-earned break and will be concentrating on his new project on Lindisfarne. Stepping into the breach will be Durham University academic staff, Sarah Semple and Mike Church with support from Brian Buchanan, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow. Another change is the length of our season; after seven years of two-month sessions in the field, we are scaling back a little, and over the next two years we'll just be running three-week seasons. Some things will stay the same though; we'll have the great professional support of the team from Archaeological Services Durham University, and we'll continue to keep the blog and Facebook page regularly updated. We are back in the field on Monday June 6th, so keep an eye out for updates.David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-22738738092142474322016-01-23T01:53:00.002-08:002016-01-23T01:53:40.625-08:00Binchester Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylk5AdN9ali1-d52eDMmz588krb6hKlrilgOc2PP5fZWOPdlDn0-7rpHpH2YE2lr03UYdQO4oFfnRbF_uSgESmzK-oeWjs3O1BJO7_wMlCByK_PTer-c1_sHJcHzzHjLmU-R4G_6Wbswi/s1600/party1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylk5AdN9ali1-d52eDMmz588krb6hKlrilgOc2PP5fZWOPdlDn0-7rpHpH2YE2lr03UYdQO4oFfnRbF_uSgESmzK-oeWjs3O1BJO7_wMlCByK_PTer-c1_sHJcHzzHjLmU-R4G_6Wbswi/s640/party1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Apologies for the long delay since the last blog update- but great news; there is going to be a party!!<br />
To celebrate the end of the seven seasons of excavation on the Binchester barrack block and <i>vicus </i>we're going to have (a much delayed) get together.<br />
<br />
Date: Friday March 18th 2016<br />
Time: 6pm-10pm<br />
Location: Department of Archaeology, Durham University<br />
<br />
We will kick off with a couple of short talks- David Mason talking about the results of the project and David Petts taking a lighter look at what we got up to and thinking about the future - followed by a get-together in the Department of Archaeology common room.<br />
<br />
Who is invited? Everyone who has been involved in the project over the last seven years- staff, students and volunteers.<br />
<br />
Everyone please bring some food to share! We'll provide paper plates and drinks<br />
<br />
If you plan to come please let me know at d.a.petts@durham.ac.uk to I have a rough idea of numbersDavid Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-89490249734794198712015-07-19T02:17:00.000-07:002015-07-19T02:17:05.669-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 35<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvYAi0cMH-Z424hTIZfrhGrVf5kPt8eDuhrEMko2jvyPpumrfWKcmMcliHmsG2XfmQ4jrMmeXhlTaIjHgf8RQqA8ksWFwjNaMUm_61yhvE2ZdWmscWcW0eBZ527iqzYDK7L3oXk9393nB/s1600/pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvYAi0cMH-Z424hTIZfrhGrVf5kPt8eDuhrEMko2jvyPpumrfWKcmMcliHmsG2XfmQ4jrMmeXhlTaIjHgf8RQqA8ksWFwjNaMUm_61yhvE2ZdWmscWcW0eBZ527iqzYDK7L3oXk9393nB/s320/pot.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>
An emotional day as we completed our seven-year project at Binchester- after a total of nearly an entire year's excavation, hundreds of Durham students and volunteers, and amazing archaeology, we have had to come to a halt to allow us to analyse and understand the nationally important remains we have discovered.<br />
<br />
Despite this, we kept working right up to the wire. In Trench 1, we took the opportunity to excavate a number of sondages across the site just to give us a glimpse of earlier levels. In general we have tried to avoid these kind of small-scale interventions in favour of open-area stratigraphic excavation, but given the fact that we were completing the project they do allow us to at least to get some sense of the underlying stratigraphy. One of the sondages, started earlier this week, went through an area of slumping in the southern end of the barrack and ended up revealing a possible well. Today, we cored it to find out how far it went down - it turned out that it was at least 3m deep (measured from the surface of the excavation) - there were hints of wood revealed in the core. In another sondage nearby, we revealed further damp deposits, which again included fragments of wood, possibly indicating a wooden lining to the intersecting gully.<br />
<br />We also carried out a rapid investigation of areas of the alley to the west of the barrack, just checking areas which had not been explored in detail- inevitably this through up new stretches of wall! We appeared to have the gable end of the narrow stone building which lay perpendicular to the barrack- this parallels the odd building at the northern end of this alley. It is extremely hard to get a sense of the chronology of these structure- do they indicate a replanning of the fort at some point. It is frustrating that we will not get a chance to examine these in more detail.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, there was plenty of planning and recording- but again, there were new discoveries and developments. Most intriguing was a clear stretch of new wall that ran north-south from the road front underneath the metal working area. It was joined the west-east wall that runs along the road front itself, but it is not clear how/if it relates to the Roman bath-house structure- one possible hypothesis is that this defines an area at one time used as an exercise yard, although it is hard to be certain. Elsewhere, last minutes delving in the large strip building that partially overlies the bath compound wall unexpectedly revealed that underneath the substantial but crude post-pad wall lines were the remains of a well-built wall. I'd always assumed that the entire building was a very late addition- but it now seems that it may have just been a late rebuild of an earlier, underlying structure.<br />
<br />
As we came to the end of the day, with about five minutes before packing up Laura revealed the intact rim of a pot embedded within the fill of the metal working area. Following rapid excavation this turned out to be a completely intact pottery vessel complete with its handle still in place- a wonderfully fitting end to our time at Binchester....<br />
<br />
Although this was the last day of the excavation, this won't be our last blog post- over the next week I'll be posting acknowledgements and thanks to all who helped with the project, as well as a more detailed explanation of why we have stopped. I'll also try and post a wider overview of what we've found in our trenches over the course of the excavation and some thoughts about what our big questions are for the post-excavation process. But for the now...vale!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPT4OLQz1BWllPq22f7riIhqbTLNkAFQdbJHcDU1vU8YvM_582EqtL_-ie4-jv8EPEPfQjrZ3J5_2gpooatjmRExxNwKVID9EglqkxWzbrDHy3cw7AUy1l9mfxuSwPEGuv002rCtpAlbK/s1600/DSCF0998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPT4OLQz1BWllPq22f7riIhqbTLNkAFQdbJHcDU1vU8YvM_582EqtL_-ie4-jv8EPEPfQjrZ3J5_2gpooatjmRExxNwKVID9EglqkxWzbrDHy3cw7AUy1l9mfxuSwPEGuv002rCtpAlbK/s320/DSCF0998.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYMgdqcd-2xoCrc2F9eE_4abApGBEBs_HJocokb01VRu7k2JZYcMY6NALPxQQN1LduEURBU6At35sP4R9k8BCDctEMEURhn7L24deW9lUAbQHgXMZ9QleKK4KK8Fg-uUPlL8qBTZc-p0d/s1600/DSCF0999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYMgdqcd-2xoCrc2F9eE_4abApGBEBs_HJocokb01VRu7k2JZYcMY6NALPxQQN1LduEURBU6At35sP4R9k8BCDctEMEURhn7L24deW9lUAbQHgXMZ9QleKK4KK8Fg-uUPlL8qBTZc-p0d/s320/DSCF0999.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiNe3BOjFFmwR5ilVwDx8AQ-LotmWD4qlWByN9uRqu2H1BYdOpGHxT8iAvjsTDYn5tTpdOkDZWhWjHrSQ6HX42D_dEvpjmAWMYS0_uMO3T6-pKmDEWI0Sif0mzyVdCZn3YVuhW0HcYr2/s1600/DSCF1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiNe3BOjFFmwR5ilVwDx8AQ-LotmWD4qlWByN9uRqu2H1BYdOpGHxT8iAvjsTDYn5tTpdOkDZWhWjHrSQ6HX42D_dEvpjmAWMYS0_uMO3T6-pKmDEWI0Sif0mzyVdCZn3YVuhW0HcYr2/s320/DSCF1005.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-47052417746291312402015-07-16T13:19:00.001-07:002015-07-16T13:19:53.156-07:00Binchester Day 33-34Apologies for the lack of blog yesterday, I had to go up north to give a talk about the project to the splendid <a href="http://bamburghresearchproject.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bamburgh Research Project</a> . Today we entered the penultimate day on site, although there is no sign of slowing down as we head straight for the finish line. We also had lots of visitors- including Dr Pam Graves from Durham University and camera people from the University and Archaeosoup.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfjAx_BRHoU4gZ2v46Tc43bydONa-ThNrFxU3W7R3XYFbktD-l8DyhJpomNa_PVJLwU3yxFpbNIwhF_vZLfsFbh8QOh21Mi-Q_2_M5tOPobGqK9iNk3beIfaT2EHvZBcHprQTESmnhCYh/s1600/DSCF0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfjAx_BRHoU4gZ2v46Tc43bydONa-ThNrFxU3W7R3XYFbktD-l8DyhJpomNa_PVJLwU3yxFpbNIwhF_vZLfsFbh8QOh21Mi-Q_2_M5tOPobGqK9iNk3beIfaT2EHvZBcHprQTESmnhCYh/s320/DSCF0980.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In Trench 1, the dark areas continue to expand- we benefitted from a visit from Dr Mike Church from the Department of Archaeology who was able to distinguish areas of burning in situ from secondary dumping layers and also identified the possible presence of charred barley grains in the burnt debris. Further investigation of the large fire reddened area suggests that it might be secondary dumping of burnt material from elsewhere- it was clearly subject to sustained and high temperature burning, but a section put through it today showed the layer of soil beneath it to be lacking in any sign of the scorching that might be expected if the burning had occurred in situ.<br />
<br />
Other work in Trench 1 has included identication of a possible well (or at least a deep straight sided pit)- an area of slumping investigated on Tuesday as a sondage resulted in a pit nearly 2m deep with clear indication from careful coring with a road iron that the internal deposits continued downwards.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, we seem to have finally bottomed our road front section, with the appearance of the probable foundations of the bath-house and what looks like patches of natural. In the adjacent road front areas, the patchy area of stones and dark material continues to be a patchy area of stones and dark material. However, in the metal working area, a previously vague line of stones had transformed into a proper stretch of walling of at least two courses. It is not clear how this relates to either the bath-house or the road front- investigation at the point where the road front wall and this new wall should intersect has proved uninformative. Yet more crucibles have appeared and the remains of a cluster of small bronze rivets and an iron blade which suggests that this was originally a knife with a riveted handle. A very peculiar stone object came from this area- it is either a stone pot lid or more likely a base for a stone vessel.<br />
<br />
Down the side of the bath-house, there are small number of mysterious new features appearing the porch area, including some of our voidy stake-holes and a distinct patch of burn clay. In this area Michelle discovered another nice bone needle.<br />
<br />
Other top finds over the last days include more crucible fragments, various copper alloy "things" and the detectorists recovered another great brooch.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6K4USLJII41zXH8IJtv_8VGmpdcv1hLR3W0M0Y6ScRvVnSPK4KfLJnVKAj2mS4K6CfKWcqn0HEE9GK9dar8zfm4FpbRA1GIlpmSMARcXpQO7XVEv7WV4Wz2wMn67zqFqs5zJRujDonDK/s1600/DSCF0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6K4USLJII41zXH8IJtv_8VGmpdcv1hLR3W0M0Y6ScRvVnSPK4KfLJnVKAj2mS4K6CfKWcqn0HEE9GK9dar8zfm4FpbRA1GIlpmSMARcXpQO7XVEv7WV4Wz2wMn67zqFqs5zJRujDonDK/s320/DSCF0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HoJkNOFVITGBEK5lmlcB-nT12gJzk5pLIB97HHRyBvzJvBrSCzu8vmaV0qQiFM5Z3A6_pmgYJ6p0DP9vrH4cXYUZpqTrp-ynFzVzVMWpF7wj7KNyVdLNsD6uxSRzYx3I5eYzhC7tTHxx/s1600/DSCF0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HoJkNOFVITGBEK5lmlcB-nT12gJzk5pLIB97HHRyBvzJvBrSCzu8vmaV0qQiFM5Z3A6_pmgYJ6p0DP9vrH4cXYUZpqTrp-ynFzVzVMWpF7wj7KNyVdLNsD6uxSRzYx3I5eYzhC7tTHxx/s320/DSCF0983.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjTvsFH39vVkAOou52_5UvhUoiUguGkkV8szudEEdu2FcomCmvDH9oJJbAW0CUP1xFUQpbKB1FIZ5RgFGG6KKZyT8B-ViEMHOGiu9R8cOa5jZYkvuqemrZN-7thm7pLPZ7V1LfGK7KhTv/s1600/DSCF0984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjTvsFH39vVkAOou52_5UvhUoiUguGkkV8szudEEdu2FcomCmvDH9oJJbAW0CUP1xFUQpbKB1FIZ5RgFGG6KKZyT8B-ViEMHOGiu9R8cOa5jZYkvuqemrZN-7thm7pLPZ7V1LfGK7KhTv/s320/DSCF0984.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv5ostqDiUAYkJhGZzwodvISDhYNf5nmlCwd3HLZCao-AddWndoLOQkeIT_VMUDCaSPinZrbuynOzQf4A2F9MxqrwT5_NrBpWEheqh-wqB7VbD3Sr18W0pEZhferX8_aeY2bNykIFF-l8/s1600/DSCF0987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZv5ostqDiUAYkJhGZzwodvISDhYNf5nmlCwd3HLZCao-AddWndoLOQkeIT_VMUDCaSPinZrbuynOzQf4A2F9MxqrwT5_NrBpWEheqh-wqB7VbD3Sr18W0pEZhferX8_aeY2bNykIFF-l8/s320/DSCF0987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LH-2rKbyBtUfkMyQAQ06vdj9AiI_beNAjcBXk2h65gidABKTm84yPBH7sHMjHG93JwnfOckuxRzguETLARvJSrs-7ezwworG7DginZFIm_MtxJkT73QS-L2GF0jt-HeL69n5hEp1mu6N/s1600/DSCF0994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LH-2rKbyBtUfkMyQAQ06vdj9AiI_beNAjcBXk2h65gidABKTm84yPBH7sHMjHG93JwnfOckuxRzguETLARvJSrs-7ezwworG7DginZFIm_MtxJkT73QS-L2GF0jt-HeL69n5hEp1mu6N/s320/DSCF0994.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-16659261125131492432015-07-14T12:28:00.001-07:002015-07-14T12:28:07.183-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 32<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVU4ehZguYph9lBFj9EgTBvSUjuXpNnmAa_xhtbmgLNS39vXe9jbUFoAJOL2lRca3hI3sxwAWbLcYFQW5ICIKtB_I9IqY4OUJF9gZnOWbllZee1YQy8ziIiQuq5bbB7PQPi0e9PfDzeHq/s1600/wiggly+wriggler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVU4ehZguYph9lBFj9EgTBvSUjuXpNnmAa_xhtbmgLNS39vXe9jbUFoAJOL2lRca3hI3sxwAWbLcYFQW5ICIKtB_I9IqY4OUJF9gZnOWbllZee1YQy8ziIiQuq5bbB7PQPi0e9PfDzeHq/s320/wiggly+wriggler.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
A busy day, although the end is nigh...<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In Trench 1, the black features are getting bigger and bigger- it is still not entirely clear whether they represent burning in situ or material dumped from elsewhere. It's not just about burning though; in the north-west corner of the barrack, a small north-south linear feature found when delving below the current layers looks like a beam-slot- but from what? It appears to pre-date the material we assume is part of the industrial phase; perhaps part of a very early barrack. Unfortunately, we won't have much chance to explore this further- it is just a tantalising hint of what else remains in the trench. Stephen also had a good go at turning one of our pits at the south end of the barrack into a sondage. He hit something that looked like natural, but only after going through a good 0.5m of soil-like material containing fragments of bone and industrial residue.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In Trench 2, the area in front of the bath-house remains interesting. There is now a nice metalled surface at the bottom of the main section/slot. The metal working area also continues to produce more crucible fragments and other related material, as well as some more post-holes. In between, there is a confused spread of stones and clay which keep looking like they are going to turn into something but never actually do. Finally on the western side of the bath-house, the putative gully has transformed into a definite gully with capstones in places. Nearby a number of stake holes have appeared within the demolished porch- these must either be earlier, or alternatively cut from a higher level but only surviving clearly where they pierce the compacted gravel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The metal dectorists continue to perform a valuable surface, recovering today's nicest find, a small bronze sea monster or sea creature (or as some have suggested, the Lambton Worm....).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxS1mVNAIGW0sroqQoqkkBtAXpY0G2NQUv8KAzfj4BawRRqgusu3LSG5BMdmPusTKTq1f8XAROvSC7TE6USXHGbAC-ti4vQeso6N1MaHZvH4r7_FbypQyoZLD55cIGL4uClHdA3XJAhkj/s1600/DSC_0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxS1mVNAIGW0sroqQoqkkBtAXpY0G2NQUv8KAzfj4BawRRqgusu3LSG5BMdmPusTKTq1f8XAROvSC7TE6USXHGbAC-ti4vQeso6N1MaHZvH4r7_FbypQyoZLD55cIGL4uClHdA3XJAhkj/s320/DSC_0127.JPG" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIme7yk2w-80C8_foqZFDZTkSt80-afgJh64-zaM2CGpl_JkQTKY_8qhD5dExeC41gzW17zgQk_xYQfw5_bx6l8x91_2evFlcI_G8J2QYBl6yarMRVIw9vPo39xH7fMo6lYqpi5CD3RD0L/s1600/DSC_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIme7yk2w-80C8_foqZFDZTkSt80-afgJh64-zaM2CGpl_JkQTKY_8qhD5dExeC41gzW17zgQk_xYQfw5_bx6l8x91_2evFlcI_G8J2QYBl6yarMRVIw9vPo39xH7fMo6lYqpi5CD3RD0L/s320/DSC_0129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-16274687279304713452015-07-13T14:11:00.000-07:002015-07-13T14:11:57.188-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 31<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6t2Sw8JbcJMjonZhnUGONlgJ8nkvweu2hT6dfo-Sx2bjiZ4KhlAHzxc5Mr4gT3m5LDOeggA49UsVdR50ekDQcq5SDoyY6MHkkilXNuo9hlH5FvQb8bHglZ1JrDxNBjcnp4UsolZa_ZLjw/s1600/DSCF0973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6t2Sw8JbcJMjonZhnUGONlgJ8nkvweu2hT6dfo-Sx2bjiZ4KhlAHzxc5Mr4gT3m5LDOeggA49UsVdR50ekDQcq5SDoyY6MHkkilXNuo9hlH5FvQb8bHglZ1JrDxNBjcnp4UsolZa_ZLjw/s320/DSCF0973.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Today we entered the final week ever of the Roman Binchester excavation. Sadly, the morning was rather drizzly, but it cleared up in the afternoon and we got quite a bit of work done.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, the main focus has been on extending our understanding of the large areas of burning we have associated with an early phase of activity (pre-barrack) within the fort. These patches are getting bigger and emerging in all sections of the barrack block. Other jobs include continuing trying to get to grips with the strange clayey dumps in our road section. There was some excitement when Stephen discovered a large circular copper alloy object whilst excavating near the latrine- we've managed to get it out of the ground intact, but it will need some cleaning up before we can say what it is.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, the roadside sections continue to be expanded, with plenty of the dark fills being removed, whilst Morris and Alan are revealing sequences of gravel surfaces alternating with layers of silt. The metal working area continues to produce plenty of crucibles and following last Friday's photographs, work continues apace. Finally, in the area to the west of the bath-house, the cobbled surfaces are cleaner than ever.<br />
<br />
Also, another vote of thanks to our metal detectorists, who continue to find the things we've missed the first time around. Today's finds included a lovely little copper alloy stud and some well preserved coins.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohkvRazkKO7s0N7PixCKzhTueUfHy0xWHFTRWFgoNT8AHB9E95Bo9vENs5FcEHH-jtCCUtwmWRcIFAUnja7Xep8p1wuBv2OZ_KZ_slOSCS7e0_j-LY0FyuLThRaDo1hDsVYcRwD5VgeIk/s1600/DSCF0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohkvRazkKO7s0N7PixCKzhTueUfHy0xWHFTRWFgoNT8AHB9E95Bo9vENs5FcEHH-jtCCUtwmWRcIFAUnja7Xep8p1wuBv2OZ_KZ_slOSCS7e0_j-LY0FyuLThRaDo1hDsVYcRwD5VgeIk/s320/DSCF0968.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cUhjS5XvudBPzFpiiGy6lcjSPdEblBVJMuNCrzI9Uy_pz1wAZQGWGhGL3pu1TOKKhZ4GoSJ7rPwNqq0wxzNDkx4E9jKM2FnTsF_snqjC2j5-n6RHUkXnL9IuPcAMiGwPjX89ZI3kgnHD/s1600/DSCF0972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cUhjS5XvudBPzFpiiGy6lcjSPdEblBVJMuNCrzI9Uy_pz1wAZQGWGhGL3pu1TOKKhZ4GoSJ7rPwNqq0wxzNDkx4E9jKM2FnTsF_snqjC2j5-n6RHUkXnL9IuPcAMiGwPjX89ZI3kgnHD/s320/DSCF0972.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmLvPjCLRN0gku1hGGrpxzOq2uMPtrHnrflr77dw-bgXFu7_7zF3VEsZvKcKolKbHWTG4itHRz5abgxmtWaiVLts0KKmgaHK4DfJC6wCc688NwldqTEaeuy8vZ4cOhxm7HJx9uO2VE4im/s1600/DSCF0974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmLvPjCLRN0gku1hGGrpxzOq2uMPtrHnrflr77dw-bgXFu7_7zF3VEsZvKcKolKbHWTG4itHRz5abgxmtWaiVLts0KKmgaHK4DfJC6wCc688NwldqTEaeuy8vZ4cOhxm7HJx9uO2VE4im/s320/DSCF0974.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zWBcGSWcJzIobRb2Z8ggQEp0YPqgC16nuoz4rWmOy-v21ieYADTm-UHmnB2tN0TjzLms6Ylg8rjJkVPDZyVPtGYnqjQ3mxH3f8Bg0y6IDutd8RY_v1XwPWmsGGbKIDGG66ZQdzAeF75e/s1600/DSCF0975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zWBcGSWcJzIobRb2Z8ggQEp0YPqgC16nuoz4rWmOy-v21ieYADTm-UHmnB2tN0TjzLms6Ylg8rjJkVPDZyVPtGYnqjQ3mxH3f8Bg0y6IDutd8RY_v1XwPWmsGGbKIDGG66ZQdzAeF75e/s320/DSCF0975.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zyNIQxxpf-rEpPoMOCMY_wkFURXNXHpdAjEaRxYxdEdsjHsHsIYNLjPXwgfEI929e0Dn2EfLNC-qajmyJ1qMtlt63ar6wnC3N8O3ve4-fmz1PR2KvZvLOtPnTPZbzkMjqSGptiXW05EF/s1600/DSCF0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zyNIQxxpf-rEpPoMOCMY_wkFURXNXHpdAjEaRxYxdEdsjHsHsIYNLjPXwgfEI929e0Dn2EfLNC-qajmyJ1qMtlt63ar6wnC3N8O3ve4-fmz1PR2KvZvLOtPnTPZbzkMjqSGptiXW05EF/s320/DSCF0976.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-59830137889847971112015-07-11T00:34:00.003-07:002015-07-11T00:35:14.211-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 30<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsBYuyJ1Wc75W-YxS3A_9HYOAGEFFtZf7BPzTO03ldirw5iqwmStKigU_kB3ykasLDa8EmDz54rrnzIQzQM30Q8xO7N8dMO2iTHnZ1sYfBd7r7MYkbNIZTQiXA7Qo6snFpM9KoVnxh4VZ/s1600/DSCF0948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsBYuyJ1Wc75W-YxS3A_9HYOAGEFFtZf7BPzTO03ldirw5iqwmStKigU_kB3ykasLDa8EmDz54rrnzIQzQM30Q8xO7N8dMO2iTHnZ1sYfBd7r7MYkbNIZTQiXA7Qo6snFpM9KoVnxh4VZ/s320/DSCF0948.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
A beautiful day on site today - again, we had lots of visitors, including appearance by Durham's own Professor Jenny Price. Earlier in the day she had taken a look at the glass we had discovered this season and noted we had fragments from several bath flasks, used for holding the oil used in the bathing process.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, we continued to define the large spread of burnt clay and sandstone in the southern end of the trench, although we are no closer to understanding its actual purpose. Across the rest of the trench most of the focus was on excavating the spreads of burnt material belongin, we assume, to the pre-barrack phase of activity. Several of these areas have produced quantities of crucible fragments, and industrial residue. Not all these spreads are associated with actual scorching of the underlying layers so may well be dumps of debris from elsewhere.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, we are continuing with drawing the elevations in the bath-house although we will supplement these with photogrammetric photography once the main excavation is over thanks to Aerial-Cam. In the area to the west of the bath, we've done some recording and also clearly have a well-defined curved edge of set stones, although it is not as clear precisely what they are actually defining. In the bronze working area we spent much of the day giving it a thorough clean to get some photographs taken. This revealed a series of further stake holes defining an internal area within the larger building- these can be seen on the vertical shot below.<br />
On the main road front, the big slot continues to go down seemingly onto yet another cobble surface. In the area in between, the dark street front soils continue to be removed- with a finds assemblage dominated by massive quantities of cattle bone.We've also had some more drone photography- the image at below shows our metalworking area in Trench 2.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSjaIJUbypp3OvxQeOe-ztNtoo_-v22Rtdnj5LKfK3aGJ2SLzum8I3FORf9fX_vE8sH79PP3Ur1q4tRosDWu0rCZ2fRJsqBfGurjyBapFuieO2beMuZv5mNhD28H6ICjYNrn4AyGot2xw/s1600/metalworking2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSjaIJUbypp3OvxQeOe-ztNtoo_-v22Rtdnj5LKfK3aGJ2SLzum8I3FORf9fX_vE8sH79PP3Ur1q4tRosDWu0rCZ2fRJsqBfGurjyBapFuieO2beMuZv5mNhD28H6ICjYNrn4AyGot2xw/s320/metalworking2.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsgcxotnRSsDlwYQxTUITcn4SVW2xX8huMXFynEldKlav7R8cMg_GFhtwzU5DnYcXLancAhrRVeA_iMDOc2FM-_47JPu9A7yRM9hltVPgm-ViNGZ8VGcw_zTid0bKU21nWtAD9mnAS-FM/s1600/DSCF0944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsgcxotnRSsDlwYQxTUITcn4SVW2xX8huMXFynEldKlav7R8cMg_GFhtwzU5DnYcXLancAhrRVeA_iMDOc2FM-_47JPu9A7yRM9hltVPgm-ViNGZ8VGcw_zTid0bKU21nWtAD9mnAS-FM/s320/DSCF0944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtl7FiASOV3aqMwczR2WMMDVC5XRxPPq0VsGU_fDsNpm8zhBKE_Air6r3S-8zlqk3YS30TBxufsxgWvfLk62thFgH1BzRmctdI0wpRk1Z8VpuZ84g3Y56qgvBsL_DM6PHqCweR-2rWxAKw/s1600/DSCF0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtl7FiASOV3aqMwczR2WMMDVC5XRxPPq0VsGU_fDsNpm8zhBKE_Air6r3S-8zlqk3YS30TBxufsxgWvfLk62thFgH1BzRmctdI0wpRk1Z8VpuZ84g3Y56qgvBsL_DM6PHqCweR-2rWxAKw/s320/DSCF0951.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfMsqD1Zp2I316BH7UqQwo1lTr2O40XYS-K6KDY0CbDk3_3CIej7_dOmVbOnWWcNRmHqrzS6659Dmb7_ueCeRQrmGC9qo5X7L12xmEy4ESLmLt6PfTUbFZkWvKrNM0xLOPVZpigGcqPWB/s1600/DSCF0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfMsqD1Zp2I316BH7UqQwo1lTr2O40XYS-K6KDY0CbDk3_3CIej7_dOmVbOnWWcNRmHqrzS6659Dmb7_ueCeRQrmGC9qo5X7L12xmEy4ESLmLt6PfTUbFZkWvKrNM0xLOPVZpigGcqPWB/s320/DSCF0952.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-5789529483568393272015-07-09T13:23:00.001-07:002015-07-09T13:23:22.424-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 29<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlUvFoyYCIfUcknTC9heUTRVEyGtqhJRizF71MhZa8FpmY27sNdQipcIc9h4_AGl9HZ7ceKVidcDgBu2TUo90R35rfiy921UW8k8t4fcE1QU-2sMOSur_bmfMiIEZPuCSxkwzHUnmaGNR/s1600/DSC_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlUvFoyYCIfUcknTC9heUTRVEyGtqhJRizF71MhZa8FpmY27sNdQipcIc9h4_AGl9HZ7ceKVidcDgBu2TUo90R35rfiy921UW8k8t4fcE1QU-2sMOSur_bmfMiIEZPuCSxkwzHUnmaGNR/s320/DSC_0113.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
After yesterdays soggy times, today was much more pleasant. We had lots of visitors- we welcomed Iain Ferris, who led the major campaign of excavations on the praetorium and its bath-house. He had lots of useful insights which were extremely helpful We then saw Lindsay Allason-Jones, who had time to record some our sculptured stone fragments. We were also visited by Marc from <a href="http://archaeosoup.com/" target="_blank">Archaeosoup</a> with whom we hope to do some filming next week.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, the burnt areas are getting more extensive and we are still particularly flummoxed by the large spread of burnt sandstone and clay which appears much more substantial than any oven we have seen so far. It is clearly earlier than the barrack but its function is still opaque. Some nice finds, including the second bone dice of the week.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, we were are in the final stages of tidying up and recording the bath-house interior. In the area outside to the west, we can really see how the flagstones are edged by a nicely defined kerb, with a more scrappy area to the east- although there is still an intriguing and difficult to understand stone setting. To the south of the bath-house - lots of recording but also more work on the metal working area which has produced a beautiful crucible lid seemingly with some wood or a similar fibrous material embedded in it. In general, we have continued our splendid run of nice finds - two fine spoons (one bone with a pierced bowl and one copper alloy with possible silver surfaces in places) and a wonderful little lead phallic pendant from Mary.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYN84BzpEqiR6lv9le3iPFormvwPboHSrNRSI08ft7cOMipWyLE-maTzeYY3i4XeDMnvJ9jeuG6vjZkFvYv8BqBmqtE6poaWeXSVFlpnrwOfz6bBRVJmzW-jywb6VqlcAyCy4gAoJcApc/s1600/DSC_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYN84BzpEqiR6lv9le3iPFormvwPboHSrNRSI08ft7cOMipWyLE-maTzeYY3i4XeDMnvJ9jeuG6vjZkFvYv8BqBmqtE6poaWeXSVFlpnrwOfz6bBRVJmzW-jywb6VqlcAyCy4gAoJcApc/s320/DSC_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjn8mDPDueFL9z83i0h1G-v8mvlfnCSCovgFvh1JpbqMRLBmBz9TMfHIAa9-JbhAo37K1bBaATcES_hjX2oGhjBOBV4fg0M9YPEtw947Oj6FpRN7Tswfvkrla_QqcS0fif0_q-6gF-yNB5/s1600/DSC_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjn8mDPDueFL9z83i0h1G-v8mvlfnCSCovgFvh1JpbqMRLBmBz9TMfHIAa9-JbhAo37K1bBaATcES_hjX2oGhjBOBV4fg0M9YPEtw947Oj6FpRN7Tswfvkrla_QqcS0fif0_q-6gF-yNB5/s320/DSC_0116.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwfYNamU2GFSe49pHHdwGWqxQ8Rcu9IeoehSnX4S7D1BKAYNJF19huNJ1vrDTfdOlyW6ukA0_wWTelJdK4_TAzmF8EbaF_uB7FY4kv8NqFFIwkUEbJ-TT-b-l1V2djzSrM9zcmMGEKwrA/s1600/DSCF0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwfYNamU2GFSe49pHHdwGWqxQ8Rcu9IeoehSnX4S7D1BKAYNJF19huNJ1vrDTfdOlyW6ukA0_wWTelJdK4_TAzmF8EbaF_uB7FY4kv8NqFFIwkUEbJ-TT-b-l1V2djzSrM9zcmMGEKwrA/s320/DSCF0942.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-19208472829326721292015-07-08T12:50:00.000-07:002015-07-08T12:50:05.780-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 28<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFoQz1za1KLoToCYQuGy0q8QbWOu5CW35kv1Q29HyyiSskEQeazynILLnkuEGJyaQlAgqf5TDvfJuwkh2BaAhax9bvyMWBGEEBF8iwsjQZdRjKJOB19KkI2VpOlCapwwIcTFOF5EKWprC/s1600/copper+thingy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFoQz1za1KLoToCYQuGy0q8QbWOu5CW35kv1Q29HyyiSskEQeazynILLnkuEGJyaQlAgqf5TDvfJuwkh2BaAhax9bvyMWBGEEBF8iwsjQZdRjKJOB19KkI2VpOlCapwwIcTFOF5EKWprC/s320/copper+thingy.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">No news from Trench 1 today- it has been a while since we have had any message from them and we fear they may all have drowned. Tomorrow we will send a small search party equipped with galoshes, mackintosh squares and Kendal mint cake to round up survivors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile in Trench 2, we have received despatches from Lieut. Jamie "If you a better 'ole" Armstrong...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; line-height: 115%;">In Trench 2 we
started well up in numbers, despite the rain falling from the beginning.
However, after tea many decided to call it a day given the rather gloomy
outlook. Ironically it improved, and those who stuck with it messaged to make a
little progress. Most significantly Jacqui and Graham found a possible wall to
the west of the bathhouse, although its a little early to be sure: tomorrow
will make this clearer. In our large sondage against the bathhouse we made
steady progress, and Steven found the step foundation for the wall to the
south. A very nice piece of copper was found in the same area by Alan, which
exhibits holes for stitching and must have been attached to some leather. The
rest of the day was filled with a visit from a school group, and also a guided
tour of the bathhouse for some of the volunteers."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEt1GEC-ZlFQ85QY2PwzLjjTEmJM2jCPuNucjuwUm98-iDZDZfK_jVcUzJM1REJSosEPGzIa58hLApoFRwm8zgenHu6NfXx-_N0eJi78cq2UPOSiWr1HD4mmGtaVln-SEc1SaY63xZkEu/s1600/soggy+sue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEt1GEC-ZlFQ85QY2PwzLjjTEmJM2jCPuNucjuwUm98-iDZDZfK_jVcUzJM1REJSosEPGzIa58hLApoFRwm8zgenHu6NfXx-_N0eJi78cq2UPOSiWr1HD4mmGtaVln-SEc1SaY63xZkEu/s320/soggy+sue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-45359517636069478182015-07-07T13:28:00.001-07:002015-07-07T13:28:56.940-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 27<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEc4ygpWevBvbnjHcX5bEdCBUpJB4QX5lhdKAujvKeWuORRZ2-vHC29i4mFZqPjCozhyphenhyphenlDvMMYkbS55SweSVNnx_Kh6jVV3QeLynfvjPvi7YJNQl2TTiW_faXqTei3iSIzparDeWV6LFD/s1600/DSCF0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEc4ygpWevBvbnjHcX5bEdCBUpJB4QX5lhdKAujvKeWuORRZ2-vHC29i4mFZqPjCozhyphenhyphenlDvMMYkbS55SweSVNnx_Kh6jVV3QeLynfvjPvi7YJNQl2TTiW_faXqTei3iSIzparDeWV6LFD/s320/DSCF0936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Busy day on site - today we were visited by Adam Stanford from Aerial-Cam. He was able to take a series of great images of both trenches both from his static camera on a low-level mast, and also using a drone. This has provided us with some fantastic hi-resolution images of the site. We'll be sharing these pictures on the blog soon.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, the mysterious big burnt splodges continue to be mysterious, big and burnt... although they are clearly producing evidence for metal working, such as the small mould pictured (although it is not clear what it is a mould of). In the north-east corner in the area of newly revealed road, our crudely defined road drain today metamorphised into a more nicely constructed drain seemingly curving to head towards the latrine- although we cannot see any evidence of it appearing in the section nearer the latrine itself. It may either change course, have been destroyed or we simply may not have the correct level.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2 - the focus continues to be outside the bath-house. In the road area to the west of the bath building we continue to record the cobbles, flags and surfaces as more become exposed. Meanwhile, in Morris's huge section through the roadside build up, he is more or less at the same level externally as the internal floor level in the bath! His work has revealed some more possible vents or flue-holes in the external wall face.<br />
<br />
Some nice finds today, including a splendid copper alloy handle and a mysterious u-shaped object with a swivelling fitting (which looks like a spur or stirrup, but is probably neither)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlol1EbtFUB2dYUs-wVBQgHAtHwWrEhbvJtRgODFxX1ZEYlFGPCC0oREfkW9FD-FGNcdLmGICL5Ly9oKVXGUx2ED_khV-XHdZm6TS7s6iN_IIQ05occyfdUiDT5fPXLDgH3QQlupqmaM0/s1600/DSCF0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlol1EbtFUB2dYUs-wVBQgHAtHwWrEhbvJtRgODFxX1ZEYlFGPCC0oREfkW9FD-FGNcdLmGICL5Ly9oKVXGUx2ED_khV-XHdZm6TS7s6iN_IIQ05occyfdUiDT5fPXLDgH3QQlupqmaM0/s320/DSCF0935.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixka-i8K2s3HEUZ76bo3tTO3lMl3deeQLd2nvQvFVsQIJN6jshjo-0rwl25GqzhLA5se6v4NWf8w2o6lBSkmDvGO0cZpuESwHxFhTrXKJzA-YkLUkjOEqXXHXQfYZfdmg33XzpEZ4R5zTN/s1600/fitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixka-i8K2s3HEUZ76bo3tTO3lMl3deeQLd2nvQvFVsQIJN6jshjo-0rwl25GqzhLA5se6v4NWf8w2o6lBSkmDvGO0cZpuESwHxFhTrXKJzA-YkLUkjOEqXXHXQfYZfdmg33XzpEZ4R5zTN/s320/fitting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFVuWaIYmpvJzhF3N3rIVfavU7sTaZwzTO9SZjZAC8rX6CaJEUIk2NVoCws5zOdTDP6sD0iNmo-eJkwcEfbjrYArw4pREAt5brwgBNpbo4xW2B6XOcCcpZFCbVOR8w5gYDa1wtqtr2q6m/s1600/twit+spur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFVuWaIYmpvJzhF3N3rIVfavU7sTaZwzTO9SZjZAC8rX6CaJEUIk2NVoCws5zOdTDP6sD0iNmo-eJkwcEfbjrYArw4pREAt5brwgBNpbo4xW2B6XOcCcpZFCbVOR8w5gYDa1wtqtr2q6m/s320/twit+spur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-11678290016854942702015-07-06T14:24:00.001-07:002015-07-06T14:24:08.655-07:00Binchester 2015: T-shirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNegGuBk36VMXPZOmL78UYJzNMKmg-qNekMDvdDGcXG38wB2x2P7vdn0mKfyzqbHMD0WTioPzxbN1H4QcP53RZ_I9vjGizFIH6F3SXSSgneY3fLfuaZc22WQpfS7cVjiRPou2UQFCGCYOA/s1600/tshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNegGuBk36VMXPZOmL78UYJzNMKmg-qNekMDvdDGcXG38wB2x2P7vdn0mKfyzqbHMD0WTioPzxbN1H4QcP53RZ_I9vjGizFIH6F3SXSSgneY3fLfuaZc22WQpfS7cVjiRPou2UQFCGCYOA/s1600/tshirt.jpg" /></a></div>
Fresh from the catwalks of Spennymoor, we are proud to announce the release of this year's Binchester t-shirt. Designed by long-time Binchester volunteer Daniel Adamson, this will be a welcome addition to the wardrobe of any 'archaeologist about town'.<br />
<br />
You can by the <a href="http://www.spreadshirt.co.uk/-C59/product/130866885/view/1/sb/l" target="_blank">women's t-shirt here</a>: and the <a href="http://www.spreadshirt.co.uk/-C59/product/130866848/view/1/sb/l" target="_blank">men's t-shirt here</a><br />
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-23300231804373134162015-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:002015-07-06T14:18:36.289-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 26<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYNKIS7u8GKW-_xOmsqZbOT5wHeT-lr6O_cvPIlizhzKZggmXjL_6ESwfZ4CEDdWT_HtySQw0N_P7KzbS0X3iEZCojjcyi4zxh7V4aeaLmff6LE1z7ldVc_37yguK7Q4Anawtf1lCtJJW/s1600/DSCF0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYNKIS7u8GKW-_xOmsqZbOT5wHeT-lr6O_cvPIlizhzKZggmXjL_6ESwfZ4CEDdWT_HtySQw0N_P7KzbS0X3iEZCojjcyi4zxh7V4aeaLmff6LE1z7ldVc_37yguK7Q4Anawtf1lCtJJW/s320/DSCF0932.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Dull and overcast day punctuated by a bit of drizzle and lots of visitors. Unfortunately I was away for much of the day, so this is only a brief report.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, we struck more natural! Poking around in the bottom of the strange building to the west of the barrack has produced an area of sandy material that looks like it could be proper natural (although this remains to be confirmed). Elsewhere, our big burnt patches continue to expand- we now have three distinct, but amorphous blobs of burning in the northern compartment of the barrack - these have produced crucible fragments and possible hearth lining.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, we're trying to draw a line under our work in the bath-house. We're finishing off recording and tidying up. In the southern part of the corridor Sue has identified the tops of four pilae, which will allow us to calculate the spacing of these hypocaust supports. In the northern part of the corridor Steven has shown that some of the later floor level is built upon a dump of earlier demolished material, which included a number of fragments of old flue tiles that had been knocked off the wall, as well as number of iron t-clamps.<br />
<br />
Outside the bath-house Morris continues to take down the section in front of the bath building- revealing more layers built up against the main structure. Elsewhere, more cobbles, more surfaces, more gravel layers....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBlok_7yKIySkvatBVgfRgRAOMurspR-rTWBfol7GH2UPQPRKeYw9gaWBk9twFSkTBRN2z8-TbFydLAUkQBhkbF1KxHz9d5G-GPNUjkw6ryBTXko-5GDQyr-UIerCOosjBV3vFJM7x3yE/s1600/DSCF0923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBlok_7yKIySkvatBVgfRgRAOMurspR-rTWBfol7GH2UPQPRKeYw9gaWBk9twFSkTBRN2z8-TbFydLAUkQBhkbF1KxHz9d5G-GPNUjkw6ryBTXko-5GDQyr-UIerCOosjBV3vFJM7x3yE/s320/DSCF0923.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxszrC6Io1S2weTmBWswqDrRZBMlrZPUAU4crB-73RWuHnuPzvBpo35xJC5ScPNGKrz0rsliaB4ctRyyzs1xmytpigO7w_TRB6hWLAyPcF9oeKFig35NLNtPUHL49iHyQswZwTZLclMf7Z/s1600/DSCF0925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxszrC6Io1S2weTmBWswqDrRZBMlrZPUAU4crB-73RWuHnuPzvBpo35xJC5ScPNGKrz0rsliaB4ctRyyzs1xmytpigO7w_TRB6hWLAyPcF9oeKFig35NLNtPUHL49iHyQswZwTZLclMf7Z/s320/DSCF0925.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2RItzTbm9dqLIDjpaHaFCnVC6lewtMt8dC0WcvkzuICOS_3Um-IgDl9TTH47EDBw_ukRUjeJ1arbIwHo4o3MXhObik9kACQyJnMDmUimCHeXLou_tgYF2E-geK9XEZfOsnjqRWBtRqZ1/s1600/DSCF0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2RItzTbm9dqLIDjpaHaFCnVC6lewtMt8dC0WcvkzuICOS_3Um-IgDl9TTH47EDBw_ukRUjeJ1arbIwHo4o3MXhObik9kACQyJnMDmUimCHeXLou_tgYF2E-geK9XEZfOsnjqRWBtRqZ1/s320/DSCF0931.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-33887700715346562402015-07-05T12:25:00.002-07:002015-07-05T12:25:24.255-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GEGUFZsQoqe2V2XCnkzkuMdcJbhgcVIQ4t5VA9CwCZ9L3DkXoMGRLm5w1Hwyw8VayuWOd2CGMI45JKA4-Xaree6lb58s6pREWxQm_IB9cRbd6I9La1cZ9IkjNhxtH4ZS3JD5Bbi8nver/s1600/DSCF0858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GEGUFZsQoqe2V2XCnkzkuMdcJbhgcVIQ4t5VA9CwCZ9L3DkXoMGRLm5w1Hwyw8VayuWOd2CGMI45JKA4-Xaree6lb58s6pREWxQm_IB9cRbd6I9La1cZ9IkjNhxtH4ZS3JD5Bbi8nver/s320/DSCF0858.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Today was the last day of week 5 and everyone was busy in both trenches, although we found time for Matt and Jamie to give us trench tours to bring everyone up to speed with the progress we've made over the last couple of weeks.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, there has been lots of umming and ahhing over the road surfaces. We are still not entirely clear whether we have reached natural or not in the road section, and despite the hopes of Matt and the valiant efforts of Alastair the burnt area we thought might be an oven has remained rather stubbornly just a large burnt area - we may have to expand the slot. Across the rest of the trench, ranges of internal features are still appearing, but I suspect that it's not until we've got them all planned and properly phased that it will be really possible to draw out the possible groups of features and identify whether they mark anything structural.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, the main development was inevitably the increasingly complex state of the bath corridor (although I'm not sure we can really call it a 'corridor' anymore). Poking around to the north of the footings of the new cross wall revealed that the box flue tiles ran across the northern side of this wall. I also took a good look at the upstanding walls adjacent to the cross-wall founds- it is just about possible to see where the wall once ran, but following its demolition it had been cleaned up pretty thoroughly. One key question remains- where was the furnace? Presumably somewhere to the north. Related to this uncertainty is how the hot air reached the section of the hypocaust to the south of the cross-wall- I'm guessing at this stage that there may be an arch underneath the wall head, similar to those visible in the <i>praetorium</i> bath house.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3NbFme56fVw-yB8SL5YAUm9MoZTiK9SGJTdCxGaslVz3_iwLX26WOjlQXObcsQCINm-sw-imsD9dzCmcm-qA_DZunX8InTaOgGZnT8Avxahk2v1jPGj53wih5LC4rWzvWGaUOuI9na_W/s1600/DSCF0859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3NbFme56fVw-yB8SL5YAUm9MoZTiK9SGJTdCxGaslVz3_iwLX26WOjlQXObcsQCINm-sw-imsD9dzCmcm-qA_DZunX8InTaOgGZnT8Avxahk2v1jPGj53wih5LC4rWzvWGaUOuI9na_W/s320/DSCF0859.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-53252952405195397442015-07-02T12:42:00.000-07:002015-07-05T12:07:26.279-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC1hxTmh0IECuWbOCkooceNis6tr-hBLHI8DXBJhtDkgyMVwntBomuTMujdXUEPlMEowWRhFfqV8Vbuiubrwjv498a3KrsZF5bwQt7NkOhPfEMg8aqHuykMui1QxWKTc25hTxJzQFiEYD/s1600/DSCF0840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC1hxTmh0IECuWbOCkooceNis6tr-hBLHI8DXBJhtDkgyMVwntBomuTMujdXUEPlMEowWRhFfqV8Vbuiubrwjv498a3KrsZF5bwQt7NkOhPfEMg8aqHuykMui1QxWKTc25hTxJzQFiEYD/s320/DSCF0840.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Another hot and sticky day on site, but everyone persevered with their work.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, there were lots of interesting developments. Perhaps the best way to sum these up is with the one word "Burning". In the southern end of the barrack, our large burnt area of stone which underlies the western wall of the barrack just gets bigger and clearly represents a significant conflagration. Also in the southern end of the barrack, a new area of possible metal working / smithing is emerging; it is not clear how this stratigraphically relates to the barrack, although it is clearly early. It may well even represent evidence for pre-barrack activity.<br />
<br />
In the northern compartment of the barrack, our area of new flagstone flooring has emerged and been consolidated. Our nice worked stone drain clearly sits above it with a soil layer in between. We've not removed the stone drain as we want to keep it in situ for possible future consolidation and display. The flagstones clearly run under the drain, but have yet to emerge on the southern side. This may be because we are not down at the correct level in this area- although another large patch of burning with some evidence for debris assocaited with metal working has been emerging from here. It may represent in situ smithing or a dump of debris from elsewhere. Finally, towards the end of the day, we uncovered the remains of a small clay oven up against the edge of the eastern wall of the compartment. This would have been a small domed 'tandoori' style oven, although the upper elements have now gone.<br />
<br />
We've also continued poking around in the slot through the eastern stretch of intra-vallum road. This has revealed a large patch of burning and clay up against the rampart. It <i>may</i> be part of a large early oven subsequently covered over by later rampart and road layers. This also seems to represent possible pre-barrack activity and may be linked to the earliest phase of fort.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, the main developments were in the bath-house. Excavation to the north of the newly discovered cross-wall foundations in the corridor have revealed some more evidence that the walls were formerly lined with box-flue tile, which was largely stripped out but remains in situ at floor level. It seems likely that the many iron clamps/fittings we have found embedded in the wall of this area were used for securing the flue to the stone wall.<br />
<br />
To the north of the cross-wall, Sue has continued to explore the early floor layers. This revealed a void in the floor next to the west wall of the corridor. Our ever curious trench supervisor Jamie had the bright (and brave) idea of sticking his phone down the hole to take a photo - and revealed evidence for a hypocaust pila of stacked ceramic tiles. We now seem to have two hypocausts, one each side of the corridor cross wall.<br />
<br />
Lots of nice finds- including a really nice ring from one of our metal detectorists. It is worth mentioning how helpful the detectorists have been. Although we always try to retain all the finds in situ, inevitably some get missed. By having a regime of detecting our spoil heaps we are able to recover items we may have initially missed. They have found some of our nicest finds - including last year's Christian ring. Without them our recovery rate would be much lower.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg5_3TGvro4l_r3HLXy0k_PVHcVnZA_YQtNRYQZlTobVdbYEf1RV-d1WM2E4ZDJ_rfaanl5UGDfixooJl856LOF5QSva2r41jUk4_JHxmGIwJtXg-Xrvz4n9kfrbbJhzBcY1g4Eln-M7I/s1600/DSC_0103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg5_3TGvro4l_r3HLXy0k_PVHcVnZA_YQtNRYQZlTobVdbYEf1RV-d1WM2E4ZDJ_rfaanl5UGDfixooJl856LOF5QSva2r41jUk4_JHxmGIwJtXg-Xrvz4n9kfrbbJhzBcY1g4Eln-M7I/s320/DSC_0103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstktQ_ua34PqShjPcu1Wr-kke4KH0dI8CZoL9Tii0ysSDSy5MGCEaS0DYB6Q1THA1yFR0g188ozxRQpOakR8BO4u-8vM7FY7S2kyxZw7kkHRp6RFlgXyuWWjDzVuOKAcBFx33b3tSK9dc/s1600/DSCF0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstktQ_ua34PqShjPcu1Wr-kke4KH0dI8CZoL9Tii0ysSDSy5MGCEaS0DYB6Q1THA1yFR0g188ozxRQpOakR8BO4u-8vM7FY7S2kyxZw7kkHRp6RFlgXyuWWjDzVuOKAcBFx33b3tSK9dc/s320/DSCF0843.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdoIyeMkuRaYA4X2JJfdDQDAzKHsXf0CH39ciG8p2vSPdlUKzJK7OwJIJOcJgjrzNRQwAbcfpc5-QPpcwFK4mfb4WQqQabbeTMnhIaPXMcP7NL2cZX-Zt3PQ4yfpjO4FXVOjEavBM9RZD/s1600/DSCF0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdoIyeMkuRaYA4X2JJfdDQDAzKHsXf0CH39ciG8p2vSPdlUKzJK7OwJIJOcJgjrzNRQwAbcfpc5-QPpcwFK4mfb4WQqQabbeTMnhIaPXMcP7NL2cZX-Zt3PQ4yfpjO4FXVOjEavBM9RZD/s320/DSCF0846.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcBhvOJOgvh02D5Lf6bB5L6iOY9-aSkD-8t8E-4ivDeogcwz7jRBZe6LKpT4uIXHKGXcG_AdPmi8t1OBQ-r1Pi66_xHtRTNHJ4xEdJ9LaF1I5Jl1cxGo7n3wYCA4tzjSKDBDCQBY35xgC/s1600/DSCF0851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcBhvOJOgvh02D5Lf6bB5L6iOY9-aSkD-8t8E-4ivDeogcwz7jRBZe6LKpT4uIXHKGXcG_AdPmi8t1OBQ-r1Pi66_xHtRTNHJ4xEdJ9LaF1I5Jl1cxGo7n3wYCA4tzjSKDBDCQBY35xgC/s320/DSCF0851.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ce6FPraAjAbuVuoPOqV-cxLtMK61cp9UY8s5LeXvew8Qa-W5Rgt4caNDubLhAnl2JvvqnjQGRUrKSc6jEZ4AVsOzRwOjuRULqRXyrju_410Jg223bC97s13bc3uJAQd2bdnJDIYhsJP7/s1600/DSCF0852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ce6FPraAjAbuVuoPOqV-cxLtMK61cp9UY8s5LeXvew8Qa-W5Rgt4caNDubLhAnl2JvvqnjQGRUrKSc6jEZ4AVsOzRwOjuRULqRXyrju_410Jg223bC97s13bc3uJAQd2bdnJDIYhsJP7/s320/DSCF0852.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3I2AiOf9ENbz-Nf709xY-m4aI69ZVea_AEyAvENiuH01lUGjhmgdnesbiveaBs6VPtIaB9kq-YcIccKBJagvmBNA5BSr3tfPh8ZVkYt1vMN7Ire_w90Bm2vJtAqQ-v8avLkL3drff-cX/s1600/DSCF0854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3I2AiOf9ENbz-Nf709xY-m4aI69ZVea_AEyAvENiuH01lUGjhmgdnesbiveaBs6VPtIaB9kq-YcIccKBJagvmBNA5BSr3tfPh8ZVkYt1vMN7Ire_w90Bm2vJtAqQ-v8avLkL3drff-cX/s320/DSCF0854.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-63096464397140498002015-07-01T12:21:00.001-07:002015-07-01T12:21:55.334-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 22<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL6rh-in-t39ufxcSXkz6Lz4tRfOnhTm_gfmPpVzLeeXYuYmwkcoZubTWuaIWTddeaqs-zTcnmo0XkQtlMr4EXyO7ue_vq92SYGIZ9KMr0jDwRrwsdF0aGaexw8ePs0NOVL1Fb6nni_dI/s1600/DSC_0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL6rh-in-t39ufxcSXkz6Lz4tRfOnhTm_gfmPpVzLeeXYuYmwkcoZubTWuaIWTddeaqs-zTcnmo0XkQtlMr4EXyO7ue_vq92SYGIZ9KMr0jDwRrwsdF0aGaexw8ePs0NOVL1Fb6nni_dI/s400/DSC_0095.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Another sweltering day, although we did have a mid-afternoon lolly break! The heat wave was finally broken by a massive thunderstorm directly over the site, so we knocked off a little early.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, more picking away at the barracks. A nice flagstone floor is appearing in the officer's compartment to the north of the building. A splendid range of nice finds, including some samian with maker's marks and several fragments of stamped amphora- I am pretty sure this is the first example we've seen in the entire excavation.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, more picking at external surfaces and plenty of context sheets being filled in . We've also decided to take a closer look at the surface Laura uncovered yesterday, so she will take down the adjacent section of stratigraphy leaving just a baulk. In the bathhouse, our section of hypocaust which we planned to explore and expand came to an abrupt halt, when Sue and Karen hit the foundations of a substantial cross-wall that runs west-east across the corridor (to the north of the standing cross-wall) - it is not clear what this is. It may have been a feature of the first phase of the bath-house that was demolished in the reworking of the building or it may conceivably relate to an even earlier structure.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCLQkrRVfkBMYKhWKe3xiqhLTZHaJhlzX0L-B1Eod8IZKiy1fdm_5ahFFuN3pr-WFzbrSsRr_VAeMnDwPqp7Vy6LotOyuO5ZRDvXIIm0s-QlBxh_Q9imKQiapVSEFvFuZaPBcs805D3fU/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCLQkrRVfkBMYKhWKe3xiqhLTZHaJhlzX0L-B1Eod8IZKiy1fdm_5ahFFuN3pr-WFzbrSsRr_VAeMnDwPqp7Vy6LotOyuO5ZRDvXIIm0s-QlBxh_Q9imKQiapVSEFvFuZaPBcs805D3fU/s320/DSC_0090.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB85a0YIUqK-f6jDUz-Khb-yAy812qE39w_xx9oHSH-6tUSNyiwANKCd1tbxNFzofLGC9Q7ne4Jl6eawIhGTCCs9CfHBwOhTKUQrU42wIsqI9oBWpNgUB61huNK9NDbIxBnkal2_Gu7GOL/s1600/DSC_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB85a0YIUqK-f6jDUz-Khb-yAy812qE39w_xx9oHSH-6tUSNyiwANKCd1tbxNFzofLGC9Q7ne4Jl6eawIhGTCCs9CfHBwOhTKUQrU42wIsqI9oBWpNgUB61huNK9NDbIxBnkal2_Gu7GOL/s320/DSC_0091.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87uQkP1LKi6RcNMPWK1yvU4t3mfG5tALxPKZf2tZuWe-Ni-YRTy1-Nf425t5tfILeZjhyi_msUXTkS648fRlwru8i8Sin_Lc_7g2iBSpwVPwXYpHO13fOAlAa2GUSBAJ7n6xYZZ1ULjR8/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87uQkP1LKi6RcNMPWK1yvU4t3mfG5tALxPKZf2tZuWe-Ni-YRTy1-Nf425t5tfILeZjhyi_msUXTkS648fRlwru8i8Sin_Lc_7g2iBSpwVPwXYpHO13fOAlAa2GUSBAJ7n6xYZZ1ULjR8/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-50499597073434336742015-06-30T13:08:00.001-07:002015-07-05T12:07:16.795-07:00Binchester 2015: Day 21<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XRwEkPyqp3w_DSfhNWjw0FJrCKFupnOjPv0Saw2NGUwsIU6f_NZU2w3QrGXVZ7OWpE54ftWdyiDbEud6WVmAGkUzg6nB9wKdqB_lHyOw8NzJK-0uPwhfH2GPIjHXtX2WQseYDz-GH6pX/s1600/darren+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XRwEkPyqp3w_DSfhNWjw0FJrCKFupnOjPv0Saw2NGUwsIU6f_NZU2w3QrGXVZ7OWpE54ftWdyiDbEud6WVmAGkUzg6nB9wKdqB_lHyOw8NzJK-0uPwhfH2GPIjHXtX2WQseYDz-GH6pX/s320/darren+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A stinking hot day today, but all the diggers persevered through it and we made good progress despite the sun - tomorrow is set to be even hotter though; I think I might have to do a lolly run.<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, as yesterday, the focus is very much on the barrack interior. Following on from the last blog entry, we have done good work tying the interior of the building into the road sequences and other features outside.We now have two cobbled surfaces that cross beneath the barracks wall and must be related to a pre-barrack phase of use of this area. We have also started to uncover a large area of fire reddened flag stones; this is certainly more than a simple hearth and seems to indicated a big period of burning. It will be interesting to see if evidence for this burning comes up elsewhere. Was the wooden barrack destroyed by fire?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KiEXKNWWIdPX6mdHNAiBu6Fb79VzZj4iIYGz7UR7vZahKUuiZ36UYaev0J90FluuGkBYIJctuLmm_FOPJtCBT-5kcTBHtf96kA7Kpez5W2hY-Jqh8ysOBMWt11Y5hDPRjMAkS7E1KuLz/s1600/darren+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KiEXKNWWIdPX6mdHNAiBu6Fb79VzZj4iIYGz7UR7vZahKUuiZ36UYaev0J90FluuGkBYIJctuLmm_FOPJtCBT-5kcTBHtf96kA7Kpez5W2hY-Jqh8ysOBMWt11Y5hDPRjMAkS7E1KuLz/s320/darren+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, the biggest excitement was in the bath-house corridor. Whilst probing in the floor area at the northern end of the corridor, we have identified a probable hypocaust pila made, as is typical, from a pile of stacked ceramic tiles. Although ever since we found the flue tiles embedded in the southern wall of the corridor, we have suspected that we might have an underfloor heating system in this area, this is the first time that we have actually found direct evidence. Presumably this extends beneath the entire floor of this compartment and was presumably extended when the southern extensions were built. In this southern end, we also probed the floor area more, and can now clearly see that opus signinum is laid across the floor in the extensions, with the later flag stone floor and integral culverts built up over this floor. This seems to suggest that initially the entire southern end may have been one plunge bath, before being cut down and turned into a smaller plunge bath and changing area.<br />
<br />
In the area to the south of the bath-house, there has been lots of recording in the slot being dug by Morris and Michael ("Tom"), particularly getting the section drawn. To the west, in the metal working area, just at the end of the day, Laura uncovered a flagstone surface beneath the dense spread of burnt material she had been excavating. This surface appears to run up to a wall line within the wooden structure. It is not, as yet, clear whether this represents another building, or perhaps a well-constructed smelting hearth - it should all come out in the wash over the next few days.<br />
<br />
Finally, one of our 2nd year students, Darren Oliver, had the chance to experiment with the drone he is working on today- although this was his first test flight at Binchester he was able to get some great aerial shots of Trench 2. We look forward to seeing more!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCGbtItZZCHlG4Dhrbdwh25qSyF8K68DmxgKT3a64Yql2Y_2o4AOENx1hydwdleheY-Pwxr-wD1I4rdnrtM3EXQC5tVXPHRs7pAhNBgi1gMxgPKujI33WdEtV-r6B4_HMTyZQ85GyQMEc/s1600/DSCF0823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCGbtItZZCHlG4Dhrbdwh25qSyF8K68DmxgKT3a64Yql2Y_2o4AOENx1hydwdleheY-Pwxr-wD1I4rdnrtM3EXQC5tVXPHRs7pAhNBgi1gMxgPKujI33WdEtV-r6B4_HMTyZQ85GyQMEc/s320/DSCF0823.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_44IT7A_k-RdcT3IO5ltandrQVT_aKDSRtS9Kj0qZtOdGC4-jBa0KVUDN2f0BUYdOrZGrNe_6uRBqQ-Pnb5RfW5Ixej4AvdyPJ-NYn7dzSFV_Vq2L2TiTmbNYySFaR1PYYoKFnbOG0kr/s1600/DSCF0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_44IT7A_k-RdcT3IO5ltandrQVT_aKDSRtS9Kj0qZtOdGC4-jBa0KVUDN2f0BUYdOrZGrNe_6uRBqQ-Pnb5RfW5Ixej4AvdyPJ-NYn7dzSFV_Vq2L2TiTmbNYySFaR1PYYoKFnbOG0kr/s320/DSCF0826.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa7BdF6MmLQfVPA8Wnyi5N9q2KsnewVSQtLbfb-piIsP2OQU_Ob51CeIuUAYb7BTBah-X8je3jOhmrX-DVymSmVfV0PLo86xQ22vBWyuoIGhEK3k04KkSH4ioJoA2hir-EMvkRUh23XZx/s1600/DSCF0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa7BdF6MmLQfVPA8Wnyi5N9q2KsnewVSQtLbfb-piIsP2OQU_Ob51CeIuUAYb7BTBah-X8je3jOhmrX-DVymSmVfV0PLo86xQ22vBWyuoIGhEK3k04KkSH4ioJoA2hir-EMvkRUh23XZx/s320/DSCF0833.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJma3auFBhTxehqCEuz3F8mR0ATPwx_EJ70JCLRgrv8lB5kcd0PLKQhdjLRxBE9Rs09UQDF6lRM2tvk7lb2KFh1D4k8xJsFkSvsnmkT-LUMfBT2Oe2K7dLQ4j0YPwhPoBFEGWC4hN6HtR2/s1600/DSCF0838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJma3auFBhTxehqCEuz3F8mR0ATPwx_EJ70JCLRgrv8lB5kcd0PLKQhdjLRxBE9Rs09UQDF6lRM2tvk7lb2KFh1D4k8xJsFkSvsnmkT-LUMfBT2Oe2K7dLQ4j0YPwhPoBFEGWC4hN6HtR2/s320/DSCF0838.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-45756448046872246582015-06-30T03:45:00.000-07:002015-06-30T03:45:22.034-07:00Binchester 2015: Days 20-21<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvJkf0ZMSGnhh9uKXm4CYeQgv_FSoknilnsPz1rFP5h_QguCts2eUmIbHkj1qXALESLrWBROWxX4935sxwBUiGYyKwyqbZngSGUw7CZ_GQLXna1pvajtRiuWSQVn7ugM5UXCTK10qg-q6/s1600/DSCF0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvJkf0ZMSGnhh9uKXm4CYeQgv_FSoknilnsPz1rFP5h_QguCts2eUmIbHkj1qXALESLrWBROWxX4935sxwBUiGYyKwyqbZngSGUw7CZ_GQLXna1pvajtRiuWSQVn7ugM5UXCTK10qg-q6/s320/DSCF0801.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Apologies for getting a little behind with the blog posts. It's been a hectic couple of days and I've barely had a chance to sit in front of a computer since Friday. Anyway, we've had two very constructive days, facilitated by the wonderful weather- it's starting to warm up now!<br />
<br />
In Trench 1, we've moved nearly everyone into the barrack block to blitz the final internal features. There are still drainage slots and post-holes appearing; the number of the post-hole voids in particular continue to multiply. Particular developments include the discovery that one layer of external road surface appears to run across and into the barracks area- for the first time, we've been able to securely stratigraphically link the barrack with an external surface. In the south-west corner, we've welcomed our long-term volunteer Jonathan back- he's been cleaning a strip across the very southern end of the trench and appears to have found something that looks like it could be natural. We've also gone back to beavering away in the small section of structure to the west of the north end of the barrack. We've clearly got several levels of stone walling and traces of what looks like a floor surface which had been partly removed in the past. Yesterday a chunk of possible Rhineland lava, probably from a quern, was found wedged into the foundations of one of the walls.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, inside the bath-house there has been lots of recording, with Darren bravely tackling a sheaf of context sheets in the corridor. Meanwhile, next door in the changing room, Sue and Karen have been looking at the section excavated through one of the culverts. They have removed the lining stones and shown even earlier potential surfaces. The construction of the plunge bath can also be seen- the foundations of its walls go down quite some way; certainly deeper than the level of the op sig floor.<br />
<br />
In the area to the south of the bath-house, Michael, John and Morris have been continuing with their section through the dark deposits- lots of evidence for burning, but they have come down onto a compact gravel floor. This work has also exposed a possible flue-hole in the external face of the wall, presumably connected in some way to the flue on the inside of the same wall. This section produced one of the nicest of our recent finds- the handle of a copper alloy pan/skillet - another cracking discovery from Michael.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHLbTsWwm2uT-3fit1H03nsxofiY6YOVvNeJHhB5pCacC_vA9axNwp5Z-d5CymUfiOIBdIwEcoXqdyyf3S81ZObBd4ywOJlyuqiLdIfG4F1MOc5Q3U7hO6qqyFwdfhpWV2z5coyKgLJFP/s1600/DSCF0802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHLbTsWwm2uT-3fit1H03nsxofiY6YOVvNeJHhB5pCacC_vA9axNwp5Z-d5CymUfiOIBdIwEcoXqdyyf3S81ZObBd4ywOJlyuqiLdIfG4F1MOc5Q3U7hO6qqyFwdfhpWV2z5coyKgLJFP/s320/DSCF0802.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In our metalworking area, Stephen and Laura have been making great strides, unpicking what may be an oven structure (it certainly contains a lot of burnt material with masses of copper alloy splashes), more crucible fragments are emerging, and yesterday Laura found a beautiful, intact lidded crucible.<br />
<br />
Finally, Michelle, Jacqui and the others have been making great inroads into unpicking the layers of cobbled surface along the west side of the bath-house. Not the most exciting task, particularly in this heat but crucial for working out the sequence of activity in this area.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0MawVrw4u_yU8ce6wNkSs8EnfR3zOtZ2IPSt4daoJ3VTpMGPywutxaPcmyGTVrnAe096E9XvJXW1dYtDif_HvF8V0h9cvqopVPdPC0sgx0hhdu5ofACPkhNPGJ2vHTETGLFlpFfBaHF_/s1600/DSCF0804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0MawVrw4u_yU8ce6wNkSs8EnfR3zOtZ2IPSt4daoJ3VTpMGPywutxaPcmyGTVrnAe096E9XvJXW1dYtDif_HvF8V0h9cvqopVPdPC0sgx0hhdu5ofACPkhNPGJ2vHTETGLFlpFfBaHF_/s320/DSCF0804.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc-jnCL-bi2ZdS2jj_SrjYKD9vIj765pzIPRmn5yqcl3fhXtTLWpI3ff_kfrhSRRV1Siye14EM_F6PXA4KN_B95RsiK7j50T6ZFLIKSn0NEjS1gySwN0TX29JjH82pURpsNXS0YWPgqeg/s1600/DSCF0809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc-jnCL-bi2ZdS2jj_SrjYKD9vIj765pzIPRmn5yqcl3fhXtTLWpI3ff_kfrhSRRV1Siye14EM_F6PXA4KN_B95RsiK7j50T6ZFLIKSn0NEjS1gySwN0TX29JjH82pURpsNXS0YWPgqeg/s320/DSCF0809.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsfojmLsCtNWQ-n-wQhgrqKRhqMx9vWeyqUr8SNDPzGAxIsDxxGJCvV0taWsQy3q7Uc2SG1cwv_oVT29gsDjr6M0qQE7393OvZqsmoQrym9rdetWw71d_hyphenhyphensFGu3QTMAp7D9tbhJtrnzf/s1600/DSCF0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsfojmLsCtNWQ-n-wQhgrqKRhqMx9vWeyqUr8SNDPzGAxIsDxxGJCvV0taWsQy3q7Uc2SG1cwv_oVT29gsDjr6M0qQE7393OvZqsmoQrym9rdetWw71d_hyphenhyphensFGu3QTMAp7D9tbhJtrnzf/s320/DSCF0813.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-45780142516987752852015-06-25T11:55:00.001-07:002015-06-25T11:55:12.866-07:00Binchester 2015: Day Nineteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmEiO9rrn9cdc9pwhoPZ_T-Q5jKiT_QTWOdEHB4_FtlZHyl3m7nRzJo_TG543zqn52XFmKqYfUbb0COrEZkS_uRD5jBlTWQgzKRCU6uNG7UhIDXWdY1SOiWs7EYRMx6wFTV8xykQVnx6i/s1600/DSCF1437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmEiO9rrn9cdc9pwhoPZ_T-Q5jKiT_QTWOdEHB4_FtlZHyl3m7nRzJo_TG543zqn52XFmKqYfUbb0COrEZkS_uRD5jBlTWQgzKRCU6uNG7UhIDXWdY1SOiWs7EYRMx6wFTV8xykQVnx6i/s320/DSCF1437.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I was off site today - I was in York looking at the site archives for the impressive Roman building (possibly a bath-house) excavated on the site of Queen's Hotel, Skeldergate (York), where the walls survived in places even higher than ours at Binchester (over 3m in places!). I was working on this material as part of a project to re-assess the dating evidence for the important (but complex) Roman to early medieval transition.<br />
<br />
As a result of my absence, today's report is from Jamie Armstrong- our Trench 2 supervisor<br />
<br />
"<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Trench 1</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">(Conversation in the van on the way home)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Jamie: Damn, I forgot to come and look at your trench today: did you find anything interesting for the blog?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Matt: No.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Trench 2</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">A little low on numbers, but we still got plenty of things done. On the south side of the bath-house, near the southeast corner the trench Morris, John and Michael made good progress blitzing a sondage between the bath-house southern wall and the new wall which fronts directly on to Dere Street: for security reasons this trench shall be referred to as “Tom”, and we anticipate being beyond the wire (or possibly on a floor level) by Monday. There are some lovely soft deposits in this area, including a thick black layer of burnt material. The new wall was also found to have a stepped course, indicating we may be close to the bottom. Finds from this area included the base of a square glass vessel and a copper object, as well as the inevitable mounds of animal bone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Just off the southwest corner of the bath-house further work by Laura and Margaret (helped by a late surprise cameo from Peter) has defined the deposits within the post-built structure. To the south of this, Steven has finished excavating a small stone-lined pit which has been filled with an interesting mix of burnt material intermixed with copper fragments. Several more crucible fragments were also found in this feature, to add to the ones found previously from the same area, indicating at least one focus of metalworking, although interesting there is no evidence of in situ burning within the pit itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">At the northern end of the side road Graham and Jacqui were kept entertained unveiling the latest of a series of layers of stones in our excavation of a long strip between the west side of the bath-house and the very fine wall to the west. We should be in a position to record this and begin its removal tomorrow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Within the bath-house, Sue and Karen have excavated a section through the floor to the north of the long plunge-pool in the changing room. As a result we now know the depth wall of this plunge pool , and also that it was constructed on some large flat slabs: whether these slabs are part of the foundation of the wall, or are in fact an earlier floor is not yet clear. Quite a long discussion with Peter has led to a decision to dig a bit more and see what happens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">At the south end of the corridor Darren completed his lovely plan and began the exciting job of numbering everything. Once this is completed we should be ready to continue. During the course of the day it suddenly dawned on me that, while there is a very obvious drain from the eastern plunge pool in this area, there is no similar drain from what I presumed was the western plunge pool. It seems that there was only one plunge pool after all, and that the space opposite with the remnants of a stone bench was actually a changing space, presumably for a private bathing area."</span></div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-33994840250126601832015-06-25T02:08:00.001-07:002015-06-25T02:08:12.789-07:00Binchester 2015: Finds conservation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2WDwRgnrxk4cmkhf2SiE9Ffg77wpjAPUwwCqx8z-5g_8kgWLXwPjfaeCVhhfFujju6CXw8dFOaDjTb0UmImEj9I3ui9bZoU5GDYQB0ROGLOMnWa5R7pxh6wfjkiRqs2lsXLSGeMg0vA5/s1600/P6190049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2WDwRgnrxk4cmkhf2SiE9Ffg77wpjAPUwwCqx8z-5g_8kgWLXwPjfaeCVhhfFujju6CXw8dFOaDjTb0UmImEj9I3ui9bZoU5GDYQB0ROGLOMnWa5R7pxh6wfjkiRqs2lsXLSGeMg0vA5/s320/P6190049.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">An extra blog entry today - this is a brief report by our conservator Vicky Garlick on what happens to our finds: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Objects are retrieved from the site every couple of days, with exciting finds discovered daily. Often during conservation of these objects surprising discoveries are made, including confirming that several objects are in fact silver, rather than copper alloy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
The objects arrive into the conservation lab where they’re initially photographed and recorded. The object then have the surface dirt removed using cotton wool swabs and a suitable solvent and a scalpel is used to remove the corrosion on the surface. Once cleaned, the metal objects are then consolidated using an adhesive and solvent solution to prevent future deterioration and damage during storage or display.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
The images show several of the recent finds before and after conservation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kLPFIq3fQO114vCCmv-K5iNn7kSdA3hsEoOZTeJALP6xm8DcheO6z7w1WM5Nymut5mNLTqTloVnNpj3Jl1PYdVNTSEwJMq6MFMtsbNC098Hu3vLIUCYeUFyAlWfInOjcHZxks9y2OToA/s1600/986-15568_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kLPFIq3fQO114vCCmv-K5iNn7kSdA3hsEoOZTeJALP6xm8DcheO6z7w1WM5Nymut5mNLTqTloVnNpj3Jl1PYdVNTSEwJMq6MFMtsbNC098Hu3vLIUCYeUFyAlWfInOjcHZxks9y2OToA/s320/986-15568_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGO4qmLzzR30MG3tw-UOPGzhcDMm0hmjSRXgM7WsJSdGdbwu6ml6hZdX3VmBu9-6HBB-zbTDQlIXSS69cUfopSqzzGoTKZW8_E_wRLy1sYd3Jzdq1CxRGsS9PZN93ol4QrHVXT8UU5hvbp/s1600/986-15568_1A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGO4qmLzzR30MG3tw-UOPGzhcDMm0hmjSRXgM7WsJSdGdbwu6ml6hZdX3VmBu9-6HBB-zbTDQlIXSS69cUfopSqzzGoTKZW8_E_wRLy1sYd3Jzdq1CxRGsS9PZN93ol4QrHVXT8UU5hvbp/s320/986-15568_1A.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyBvgJJkpO-bANajNjpcfjmR2zpjAW8U5X16ODqf-yzrTJR8kzJrXxePog7VhLcpgtNHepYcwPFvGHj3iM6CxIa3pftA8-M26BuQ8gy2Yzf4Oh5xTBtdw_rJj5SAWVpSuAGYyAYl1RiDR/s1600/820-15629_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyBvgJJkpO-bANajNjpcfjmR2zpjAW8U5X16ODqf-yzrTJR8kzJrXxePog7VhLcpgtNHepYcwPFvGHj3iM6CxIa3pftA8-M26BuQ8gy2Yzf4Oh5xTBtdw_rJj5SAWVpSuAGYyAYl1RiDR/s320/820-15629_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2PMNuIWvS_tfhfXagEOW8XcBfigCP7byvLyZe1YcEM0gMUhoS7vvf6DcfkslaZDqgs-sGMhuKWPgCWjkIxue6la59ujIhfysck8wmlIeH21WXSDUfadu5EWF-1MWzhdlWOP7uAn1qYRM/s1600/P6190024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2PMNuIWvS_tfhfXagEOW8XcBfigCP7byvLyZe1YcEM0gMUhoS7vvf6DcfkslaZDqgs-sGMhuKWPgCWjkIxue6la59ujIhfysck8wmlIeH21WXSDUfadu5EWF-1MWzhdlWOP7uAn1qYRM/s320/P6190024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrZq7J8rmP07TA3eWY62m-zXW59acuu_AlxBFJKlt8KZPk86Jn3ZWmJ6txb4Dq8suALznmdDq85NthSdYOOwln6khVq6_ny63CXCrZMmYNk02SVfjKXaO3RUzxUNSFSBWXiNZbqkRKVuH/s1600/5909-12147_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrZq7J8rmP07TA3eWY62m-zXW59acuu_AlxBFJKlt8KZPk86Jn3ZWmJ6txb4Dq8suALznmdDq85NthSdYOOwln6khVq6_ny63CXCrZMmYNk02SVfjKXaO3RUzxUNSFSBWXiNZbqkRKVuH/s320/5909-12147_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqSSnsezczntYQ5peWgnRjEH_bnQjGDFgi29J_paUEv2fq8QFEZThoIzcQSP6CLZHAwHjGnWnUNDHB3z4lri-TwgxXN7AFF-7SaNf6-o5SH6LLhPFbF7oPMFLFokli2KmCNnlJ0V7JnfW/s1600/Amber+Ring1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqSSnsezczntYQ5peWgnRjEH_bnQjGDFgi29J_paUEv2fq8QFEZThoIzcQSP6CLZHAwHjGnWnUNDHB3z4lri-TwgxXN7AFF-7SaNf6-o5SH6LLhPFbF7oPMFLFokli2KmCNnlJ0V7JnfW/s320/Amber+Ring1.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFECURLHWTvGDkhRVhVzZ2tbKwFXWu0OqnxBcdtQh6RGV_dGLKhDU9wrToIppArh0lH38_t1rQM_JMBrjsiTWtzDtqYsaylZ2jE-KKfOgMfFUqr5lILN-ZxMP_ZH-1qCuxEZQalRbPgrw6/s1600/5603-10754_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFECURLHWTvGDkhRVhVzZ2tbKwFXWu0OqnxBcdtQh6RGV_dGLKhDU9wrToIppArh0lH38_t1rQM_JMBrjsiTWtzDtqYsaylZ2jE-KKfOgMfFUqr5lILN-ZxMP_ZH-1qCuxEZQalRbPgrw6/s320/5603-10754_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVagbgkGfvsFDj7mLvdmFartoo1XIL2CIpKcJsv75e-lKbLcb_40fhsHGPDfIBkNs24QVjn55IJ_caa-WSgYDRsm4BCAli9QGPj_z3QWqC44CE_IFjjNiDtZSaCJp-OeGp-zmXeFS1y4JE/s1600/P6190026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVagbgkGfvsFDj7mLvdmFartoo1XIL2CIpKcJsv75e-lKbLcb_40fhsHGPDfIBkNs24QVjn55IJ_caa-WSgYDRsm4BCAli9QGPj_z3QWqC44CE_IFjjNiDtZSaCJp-OeGp-zmXeFS1y4JE/s320/P6190026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VyQAtfZTXis4dwO52Tr8-ttf6eb4ycI-tZ2rI3n0dnDF4n-DeUrHKXpuxVULyYnKL7TK96ias1JpbJQ-9D5bAotPMqmjBRGmDSTRBjTbmf6gWzY12d9S91OBYOWkXnCV91fLy2Zyt_LR/s1600/5630-10713_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VyQAtfZTXis4dwO52Tr8-ttf6eb4ycI-tZ2rI3n0dnDF4n-DeUrHKXpuxVULyYnKL7TK96ias1JpbJQ-9D5bAotPMqmjBRGmDSTRBjTbmf6gWzY12d9S91OBYOWkXnCV91fLy2Zyt_LR/s320/5630-10713_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-duREEtn2uPOG5H5Ksl7ss9ot-Mj5SuiH98eQEZji9RhTEon7CDV-vHaGXezfYM3Vc06k-HgLNEAj3M4KVLX3Vyg6wbjR2Vw2NfC9TBDf3MbPFHfUpEO4gpZOR3FaAIdLju4KmjysuoE4/s1600/917-15609_1B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-duREEtn2uPOG5H5Ksl7ss9ot-Mj5SuiH98eQEZji9RhTEon7CDV-vHaGXezfYM3Vc06k-HgLNEAj3M4KVLX3Vyg6wbjR2Vw2NfC9TBDf3MbPFHfUpEO4gpZOR3FaAIdLju4KmjysuoE4/s320/917-15609_1B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2WDwRgnrxk4cmkhf2SiE9Ffg77wpjAPUwwCqx8z-5g_8kgWLXwPjfaeCVhhfFujju6CXw8dFOaDjTb0UmImEj9I3ui9bZoU5GDYQB0ROGLOMnWa5R7pxh6wfjkiRqs2lsXLSGeMg0vA5/s1600/P6190049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2WDwRgnrxk4cmkhf2SiE9Ffg77wpjAPUwwCqx8z-5g_8kgWLXwPjfaeCVhhfFujju6CXw8dFOaDjTb0UmImEj9I3ui9bZoU5GDYQB0ROGLOMnWa5R7pxh6wfjkiRqs2lsXLSGeMg0vA5/s320/P6190049.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-47271514903418616032015-06-24T12:14:00.001-07:002015-06-25T11:55:35.960-07:00Binchester 2015: Day Eighteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnTJOR_zXqvwkCD9cR99lBVYQjGTW6fCiKf_jzmsp-5oaLOV8IEtCJpmnMV8SB92vxbvLP7jn2_eeclO3uFIUNaX5iMhUflx05QM5Ma0OVHLPMwWxGLj-B5j69t3B5jfgblxr71w1_6P4/s1600/DSCF0768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnTJOR_zXqvwkCD9cR99lBVYQjGTW6fCiKf_jzmsp-5oaLOV8IEtCJpmnMV8SB92vxbvLP7jn2_eeclO3uFIUNaX5iMhUflx05QM5Ma0OVHLPMwWxGLj-B5j69t3B5jfgblxr71w1_6P4/s320/DSCF0768.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
My first full day on site this week- despite driving from rain on the way in, we actually had lovely weather all the time we were out. It was busy- with lots of visitors, including a great group of children, who all proved to be excellent at spotting Roman coins!<br />
<br />
Progress is a little slower this week due to our reduced numbers- nonetheless, there have been some interesting developments. In Trench 1, we've identified a roadside gulley cut into the sub-soil alongside the northern edge of the northern intravallum road- it makes a nice change to be excavating negative features rather than wall chasing. Along the edge of the barracks, we've had more lines of our strange post-hole voids appearing marking possible internal or external walls. We're also finding yet more evidence for subsidence- Helen has been excavating a large "pit" which in fact appears to be a sunken metalled surfaced, which is cut by a drainage gully. We've also been ferreting in our road sections- in the area where we thought we'd more or less got to natural, we've now found a large stone kerb or wall running north-south... no idea what this could be- possibly an earlier road?<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, there is still more cleaning up of the external pavements and surfaces around the bath-house. In our small post-hole area, Stephen excavated a small stone setting packed with coal and other burnt material, with lots of splashes of copper alloy - this must be a candidate for part of a metal working hearth.Further to the east, the team are continuing to trowel through the soft grey and brown roadside layers- the presence of various stone settings all hint at something structural here, but nothing has yet resolved itself clearly<br />
<br />
Some nice finds today- a lovely little enamelled stud found by Laura, and a strange metal grill or mount and a belt-buckle also from the area in front of the bath-house.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aKIPSg7DvxyiGISHXxDXn_CF0WVghHzt0c5VwBuoWp22eTHdNGXUIhx3Mca-emSFMKuiYl3tebuFmWhRJZ_MD2yacj3kj1n3r7nEKKqAMMm2KFCzaSVyO5XqiVvHB_lYFjTEB9FL61Yv/s1600/DSCF0775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aKIPSg7DvxyiGISHXxDXn_CF0WVghHzt0c5VwBuoWp22eTHdNGXUIhx3Mca-emSFMKuiYl3tebuFmWhRJZ_MD2yacj3kj1n3r7nEKKqAMMm2KFCzaSVyO5XqiVvHB_lYFjTEB9FL61Yv/s320/DSCF0775.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzfvrg_qQrPAPAvR7jJYXlScjm_rCxAl4Rt5_sls-F9JJeDIXAnqvqbqxunks_3GCIP1vlf0ZPZHS7CMLyFj9SeNkCLGjWeXMcWBKDXeUv3eTc0Axnf_wk_RTAf_XngYQUSpCiIIXlUmJ/s1600/DSCF0777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzfvrg_qQrPAPAvR7jJYXlScjm_rCxAl4Rt5_sls-F9JJeDIXAnqvqbqxunks_3GCIP1vlf0ZPZHS7CMLyFj9SeNkCLGjWeXMcWBKDXeUv3eTc0Axnf_wk_RTAf_XngYQUSpCiIIXlUmJ/s320/DSCF0777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOM6MqtYz5WtZOwBkkw0sI6qs-3HhDocbo9Mun2NzHCHKDCMAJQvo7aYJKBfQGu9Bke7LC5gvVaaA-LTRWEKc1K12a8AO7-Xhyphenhyphen0w1hn5TPCqZ7QV1X1-LsOJdNZnN6vPbhtKHso-qVZFY/s1600/stud+twit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOM6MqtYz5WtZOwBkkw0sI6qs-3HhDocbo9Mun2NzHCHKDCMAJQvo7aYJKBfQGu9Bke7LC5gvVaaA-LTRWEKc1K12a8AO7-Xhyphenhyphen0w1hn5TPCqZ7QV1X1-LsOJdNZnN6vPbhtKHso-qVZFY/s320/stud+twit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-79533237830401469832015-06-23T13:29:00.002-07:002015-06-25T11:55:26.808-07:00Binchester 2015: Day Seventeen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zDBWcKgqfFD1KFm-f2pGXXX22RneLyl6nIJPTkhyd0TsEMDMc4QSqKzO6XEBsv1hwqPifVNDJyKDoIv7OFId-7t3_Cybb5isdCwqq5Hgu0OsZnPa6AnPK32Znowihe3XnuGfNmrDiPUb/s1600/michael+pot+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zDBWcKgqfFD1KFm-f2pGXXX22RneLyl6nIJPTkhyd0TsEMDMc4QSqKzO6XEBsv1hwqPifVNDJyKDoIv7OFId-7t3_Cybb5isdCwqq5Hgu0OsZnPa6AnPK32Znowihe3XnuGfNmrDiPUb/s320/michael+pot+1.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
I'm afraid I was not on site today as I was attending the graduation of our latest batch of freshly minted 3rd year archaeology students. This means I can't do a full blog entry- but it does look like I missed the discovery of some cracking finds. Michael has been digging for about five seasons, but his discovery must be the best so far- a totally complete grey-ware pot - discovered near the road in Trench 2. Nearby Margaret discovered a rather nice intaglio showing the god Mercury. A good day all round!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7tq7bQQJoxk3Aqi7Gt0u1akJR657XXh3Ffb8WhYXTQiG8wGQbwlPvruw8DyoS8aPxuQC00G3HBQ9OhHoEqNT3KOH7OFnBnBTyqoQ0Q0vmD5q_QjWUfXqSLQywvmVPKG0U4Le5B8OSjPH/s1600/mercury1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7tq7bQQJoxk3Aqi7Gt0u1akJR657XXh3Ffb8WhYXTQiG8wGQbwlPvruw8DyoS8aPxuQC00G3HBQ9OhHoEqNT3KOH7OFnBnBTyqoQ0Q0vmD5q_QjWUfXqSLQywvmVPKG0U4Le5B8OSjPH/s320/mercury1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-62716345708640522202015-06-22T11:48:00.000-07:002015-06-22T11:48:19.410-07:00BInchester 2015: Day Sixteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2FHEIgaKt-YP4BAd39b73zCb75EpRk3iN8HRYOY7V_mw01fOx7d9Ot0ezSljC8fPFSxTsLg6_458_7n__gkYvSierjx0qqyXMjf0X-qJjiz_slHmM_1natjWXTHdxIhjFiimgAOZ568e/s1600/DSC_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2FHEIgaKt-YP4BAd39b73zCb75EpRk3iN8HRYOY7V_mw01fOx7d9Ot0ezSljC8fPFSxTsLg6_458_7n__gkYvSierjx0qqyXMjf0X-qJjiz_slHmM_1natjWXTHdxIhjFiimgAOZ568e/s320/DSC_0042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
A rather desultory day- our numbers are lower than last week as our 1st year students have gone, and rain from lunchtime reduced the workforce even further.<br />
<br />
Trench 1 continued the identification and excavation of drainage slots and post-holes in the barrack. There was also the beginning of an attempt to get our heads around a strange wodge of rubble sticking out in the layers beneath the bread oven in the north-west corner.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, more action on the south and west sides of the bath-house. On the southern side, Michael, Morris and Sue continued to reduce the layers between the building and the road, with Michael picking out some of the possible post-holes associated with a potential structure that lies in this area. Nearby, Laura started to half-section the building defined by the small post-holes and seemingly associated with evidence for metal working. This is already producing evidence of a possible central burnt feature- fingers crossed we have a nice hearth associated with the metal working. Along the side of the bath-house, it's all about the road surfaces, which are slowly being reduced.<br />
<br />
Hopefully more tomorrow- although I'm largely off site due to attending the graduation ceremonies of our recently finished 3rd year archaeology students<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_448998243"></span><span id="goog_448998244"></span><br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2788569565141719529.post-14902294718469872942015-06-19T12:20:00.001-07:002015-06-19T12:20:08.324-07:00Binchester 2015: Day Fifteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbshucbw4mTCPBHCoqq5payVMbV-xi2udJtUQH6SUsbI41FtE_vpEXbsnLlTZWWXFE-9hEFNGa0ba-Oz3s3waKt5KTf6YK_RYLAm5KY0puLrt29xuxXpgY3Z2XnsGB7OT6VTjPoyZqlyA/s1600/crucible1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbshucbw4mTCPBHCoqq5payVMbV-xi2udJtUQH6SUsbI41FtE_vpEXbsnLlTZWWXFE-9hEFNGa0ba-Oz3s3waKt5KTf6YK_RYLAm5KY0puLrt29xuxXpgY3Z2XnsGB7OT6VTjPoyZqlyA/s320/crucible1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A hectic morning- multiple site tours and a meeting at Auckland Castle to plot and scheme. All our archaeology students finished at lunch time as its the last day of term. This afternoon there were only our volunteers on site (even Jamie and Beckah were skiving off), so it was all strangely quiet.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, work continued. In Trench 1, more of the same- more rows of post-holes coming up, clearly associated with areas of pavement. These are all part of the earliest timber barrack. Matt and I measured some levels across the trench this afternoon; the levels we are excavating at seem to be at the same height as the foundation courses of the north and east curtain walls, so it is unlikely that there is much more deep stratigraphy to unpick. Nonetheless, there are still plenty of features to dig over the coming weeks.<br />
<br />
In Trench 2, once the students left, the bath-house was empty, although I think there are still some tasks to carry out in there, particularly some sub-floor furtling in the corridor. Along the side of the bath-house, we continue to reveal the road surfaces; in particular at the moment we are aiming to join up our road surface with the southern porch threshold. Along the south of the bath-house, our possible structure we looked at yesterday is still unclear, although we have uncovered a number of vertically pitched stones, which look like they may have formed some kind of structural base or support, although it is not clear whether this maps directly on to yesterday's proposed building. Next to it, and in the front of our post-hold structure, we're starting to uncover an interesting dump of burnt material. Excitingly, this appears to be clear evidence for metal working - in the space of 30 minutes it produced a fragment of a crucible and a crucible lid- a couple of years ago, some mould fragments came from the same area. The burnt material seems to contain small globules of copper alloy, so it is presumably the remains of Roman bronze working, although it is uncertain as yet whether this is a secondary dump of industrial waste, or if we'll come down onto a hearth. Interestingly, this industrial activity seems to have used coal as its main fuel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyvDuVyVz7_1xXDotZQfUJ_rAU96jgPOSofn1-3WdNaGi7bhCaFx9SJO8TwaEr-HSDuXsU3IUic_j0xQXY_wH_XWRPvN0Gj0VTasbP6mvEXea2Jq9pCXB_YYDHWP5vJi1IOvfD_27gc1-/s1600/DSCF0765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyvDuVyVz7_1xXDotZQfUJ_rAU96jgPOSofn1-3WdNaGi7bhCaFx9SJO8TwaEr-HSDuXsU3IUic_j0xQXY_wH_XWRPvN0Gj0VTasbP6mvEXea2Jq9pCXB_YYDHWP5vJi1IOvfD_27gc1-/s320/DSCF0765.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_6d8SU4NCFVokBT4PI2q019JQfpjQYck0rVXIfGDL2x_skcRTV5uC6l9UbpCZtqNeAOcKPkZoiS-myyJw28PNyQvbi8QNlqPg_b2dzytPl2UUd5cliKelZux-ZcbKisLXAHTdMvtAxiV/s1600/DSCF0766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_6d8SU4NCFVokBT4PI2q019JQfpjQYck0rVXIfGDL2x_skcRTV5uC6l9UbpCZtqNeAOcKPkZoiS-myyJw28PNyQvbi8QNlqPg_b2dzytPl2UUd5cliKelZux-ZcbKisLXAHTdMvtAxiV/s320/DSCF0766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />David Pettshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514706608520437856noreply@blogger.com0