Binchester 2015: Day 31

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.

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.

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.

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.